Coupled Core Science Courses for Integrative Learning

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INTERDISCIPLINARY: 99The project is developing a series of coupled interdisciplinary core science courses for non-science majors and is creating a Resource Center for Core Science to enhance the design, delivery and evaluation of core science courses. In order to increase the science literacy of students, coupled interdisciplinary core science courses are being developed around broad themes. For example, the theme named The Limits of Human Performance couples the course Physics of Sport with the course Chemistry of Nutrition. The new Resource Center for Core Science is partnering with the Center for Academic Excellence to develop, deliver, and review existing and new core science courses. Faculty attend focused workshops to design coupled courses that include creative laboratory experiences, classroom activities, and data analysis projects that engage students in doing science and in connecting scientific knowledge with other types of knowledge. For example, students are using hand-held accelerometers in Physics of Sport, environmental gas monitors in Environmental Science, and solar power kits in Chemistry, Energy and the Environment, to gather data that allows them to ask probing questions about the natural world. By creating an ongoing environment for assessment activities, faculty are able to implement teaching methods recognized as key to enhancing student learning. This project builds on a larger institutional strategic planning initiative that aims to integrate courses across the core curriculum and serves as a model for those interested in the teaching of science using integrative teaching and learning.