General Education at Fredonia 

Revised General Education Program Guidelines
VII. Natural Sciences

For approval of a course in the Natural Science section, the instructor will provide a comprehensive description of the course, addressing its aims and general requirements, including:

1. evidence that the course presents general ideas and principles basic to the field of study, including:

1. the historical development of the discipline, including the evolution of central ideas or principles and the contributions of pioneers in the field;
2. the relationship of this discipline to other fields, including how the disciplines share knowledge;
3. scientific methodology, including, where appropriate:

1. data/information collection by observation and/or measurement;
2. development of hypotheses from data sets;
3. design of experiments to evaluate hypotheses (e.g. planning and executing the measurement of variables);
4. mathematical evaluation and analysis of experimental data;

2. evidence that the course requires discussions, written assignments, and/or oral presentations that facilitate improvement of student skills, including critical thinking and critical literacy, in the following areas:

1. understanding cause/effect relationships;
2. understanding differences of interpretation of the same data/information;
3. application of scientific models within and outside of the discipline;

3. a brief description of the methods to be used to assess student understanding of the course's subject matter and student attainment of the abilities and understanding listed above, as well as a method for providing course improvement.

Natural Sciences (Mathematics and Computer Science)

The new General Education Program, as passed by the College Senate last year, allows students to take one Natural Science course in the the areas of Mathematics or Computer Science.

For approval of a course in the Natural Sciences (Mathematics and Computer Science) section, the instructor will provide a comprehensive description of the course, addressing its aims and general requirements, including:

1. evidence that the course presents general ideas and priciples basic to the field of study, including: 

1. the historical development of the discipline, including the evolution of central ideas or principles and the contributions of pioneers in the field;
2. the extent to which the academic discipline is related to other fields of study;
3. basic research techniques used in the discipline;

2. evidence that the course requires discussions, written assignments, and/or oral presentations that facilitate improvement of student skills, including critical thinking and critical literacy, in the following areas:

1. analysis of critical and ethical issues in the discipline;
2. identification, evaluation, construction, and support of logical arguments;
3. application of models within and outside of the discipline;

3. a brief description of the methods to be used to assess student understandings of the course's subject matter and student attainment of the abilities and understandings listed above, as well as a method for providing for course improvement.

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