BES 301B

This class is a general introduction to the practice of science, intended as an overview of the scientific process. You’ll learn by doing, working with real datasets to research the questions that you generate. Since I am a paleobiologist, we will use a database about fossils as our jumping-off point for immersing ourselves in the scientific process.

This course is required for science students in IAS and is also open to others who are interested in scientific inquiry. You’ll learn approaches to communicating science, analyzing and presenting data, and reviewing literature.

How Science Works. © University of California Museum of Paleontology.

Learning Objectives

You can expect to learn approaches to data analysis, data presentation, literature searching and science writing that will be applicable to advanced science courses at UWB and to doing science in general. By the end of this course, you will demonstrate the ability to

1. conduct scientific research and assume a scientific identity.
2. use statistics to analyze quantitative data, and present the results of your analyses in graphs and in words.
3. located read, and understand primary literature about your research topic.
4. adopt a collaborative approach to doing science, including conducting peer review by working with your classmates to exchange ideas, share resources, and review each other’s work.
5. write a scientific paper that presents the results of your original, scientific research and that places your work in the context of primary literature from that discipline.

Is This Course for Me?

Your background

This course is designed to provide an overview of how science works and emphasizes aspects of the scientific process that will serve science students in advanced courses. To benefit from this course:

1. You should have prior exposure to science courses, and thus a basic familiarity with scientific information, its presentation, and the process of scientific investigations.
2. You should be comfortable with algebra, probability, and presentation of quantitative information in graphs and tables (and be able to interpret data presented in such forms).
3. A prior course in statistics might be helpful, but it is not required.

Access to technology

Half of this course is online and therefore requires a reliable fast-speed Internet connection. The Open Learning Lab and the library can provide access on-campus if you need it. You also need to make sure that you know how to access the course using Canvas. If you are not familiar with Canvas, please visit the UWB Learning Technologies student tutorial page (or just Google: UWB Canvas students). We’ll be using Microsoft Excel to complete the statistical analyses for your research projects.

Context for this course in IAS

The School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences focuses all students’ experiences around five core learning objectives:

• Collaboration and shared leadership
• Critical thinking
• Diversity and equity
• Interdisciplinary research and inquiry
• Writing and presentation

These objectives apply across all areas of study and your experiences in every IAS course should allow you to develop your abilities and understanding in most, if not all, of the four objectives. This material and assignments in this course will help you in these topics.

If you are an IAS student, you began (or are currently beginning) the development of a student degree portfolio in the program core course (BIS 300). You will use this portfolio as a way to reflect on your learning in relation to the IAS core learning objectives, particularly in the required portfolio capstone course (BIS 499). The assignments in this course make great evidence of such learning. You may want to save these assignments (the assignment handout and your submission with instructor comments) for use in your final portfolio in your senior seminar course.

Grace

What a roller coaster this last few years have been! Let’s work with each other to find grace in our learning.