GT Pathways Criteria

CONTENT: NATURAL/PHYSICAL SCIENCES
General Education
“Guaranteed Transfer” Course Criteria

State-level Goal:
Collectively, the general education requirement in natural and physical sciences is designed to help students master scientific knowledge at a level that facilitates communication in an increasingly technological society, including:

to instill a clear understanding of the basic scientific viewpoint.
to enable students to learn and use the scientific method.
to evaluate the impacts of science and technology on society.
to increase the level of science literacy.

Content Criteria for Designating a Science Course as State Guaranteed:
1.    The lecture content of a “state guaranteed” science course (GT-SC1 or GT-SC2) shall:
    a). develop foundational knowledge in specific field(s) of science.
    b). develop an understanding of and ability to use the scientific method.
    c). recognize that science as a process involves the interplay of observation, experimentation and theory.
    d). develop quantitative approaches to study natural phenomena.
    e). identify and highlight interconnections between specific science courses being taught and larger areas of scientific endeavor.
    f). distinguish among scientific, nonscientific, and pseudoscientific presentations, arguments and conclusions.
2.    The laboratory (either a combined lecture and laboratory, or a separate laboratory tied to a science lecture course) content of a ‘state guaranteed’ science course (GT-SC1) shall:
    a). develop concepts of accuracy, precision, and the role of repeatability in the acquisition of scientific data.
    b). be predominately hands-on and inquiry-based with demonstration components playing a secondary role.
    c). emphasize a student’s formulation and testing of hypotheses with scientific rigor.
    d). stress student generation and analysis of actual data, the use of abstract reasoning to interpret these data, and communication of the results of experimentation.
    e). develop modern laboratory skills.
    f). emphasize procedures for laboratory safety.

Competency Criteria:
The “state guaranteed” course shall also be designed to provide students competency in:
Critical Thinking
Guiding Principle – The goal of instruction in “critical thinking” is to help students become capable of critical and open-minded questioning and reasoning. An understanding of argument is central to critical thinking.
Definition – Ability to examine issues and ideas and to identify good and bad reasoning in a variety of fields with differing assumptions, contents and methods.
Mathematics
The ability to use mathematical methods, reasoning and strategies to investigate and solve problems.