Biological Sciences Degree Program at Arizona State - Tempe
Description
![[creative commons]](/images/creativecommons_16.png)
In order to infuse humanistic and meta knowledge into the extant curriculum, we have devised a system of four axes: (1) epistemology, (2) social studies of science, (3) history, and (4) ethics. These axes are represented in the diagram on the right.
Specifically, infusion of BSC content into the Biological Sciences degree has three tiers which integrate humanistic and meta knowledge across our four axes (above). The three tiers follow student learning developmental stages: Introducing, Reinforcing, and Mastering. Students will grapple with increasingly difficult concepts and work collaborative to demonstrate their level of proficiency at each tier.
| Tier 1 (Introducing) | Intro Courses: BIO 181 (General Biology I) and BIO 182 (General Biology II) | Students will be introduced to thinking in all four axes. (see link to the Spreadsheet below for details) |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 2a (Reinforcing) | Core Courses: BIO 340 (Genetics) and BIO 345 (Evolution) | The two Core Courses will each incorporate two of the axes, and will cumulatively cover all four axes. |
| Tier 2b (Reinforcing) |
Upper Division Major Requirements, including but not limited to:
| Each Upper Division Major Requirement course will incorporate two of the four axes |
| Tier 3 (Mastery) |
The capstone to the meta and humanistic knowledge thread will be for students to select a BSC course as one of their Upper Division Electives. Possible courses include:
| The Upper Division Elective will provide a deep-dive into at least one of the axes. |
In Tier 1, students in BIO 181 and BIO 182, our General Biology course sequence, will have two to three lessons in Biology in Societal Context (BSC). These lessons will amplify a piece of the existing curriculum to introduce students to the BSC learning outcomes. Students are introduced to the ideas and arguments that underlie BSC. Students will be expected to identify ideas or arguments from the four axes.
In Tier 2a, students in BIO 340 (Genetics) and BIO 345 (Evolution) will have the four axes of BSC areas reinforced. Each course will provide depth in these two disciplines (Genetics and Evolution), and students will be able to use foundation frameworks in these axes to reflect on how the frameworks have impacted and shaped the discipline.
In Tier 2b, students will engage with two of the four key axes of BSC knowledge, and work with those concepts to reinforce what they have learned in Tiers 1 and 2a. Each course will provide additional opportunities for students to reflect on how the frameworks have impacted and shaped the disciplines.
In Tier 3, students will apply their foundational, humanistic, and meta knowledge, and synthesize literature, case studies, and/or resources to, for example, perform a critical analysis of a phenomenon (e.g., disease, research, society challenge, etc.) with the goal of discussing how various individuals, organizations, or political forces shaped this process.
Evaluation of student proficiency or mastery at each tier, with foci on communication/collaboration and/or problem solving/critical analysis skills, could include any of the following: group and individual projects, portfolios, essays, reports, data analysis, case studies, critique, argument construction or deconstruction, debate, formal presentations, worksheets, town hall discussions, etc. Students would be provided with rubrics for all assignments, providing explicit statements on expectations for student performance levels.
For a deeper dive into how we plan to incorporate these axes and learning activities into our current degree program, please see this excel file: SOLS Spreadsheet (Excel 2007 (.xlsx) 13kB Oct9 20)