I. ASCRC General Education Form (revised 2/8/13)
Use to propose new general education courses (except writing courses), to change or
renew existing gen ed courses and to remove designations for existing gen ed courses.
Note: One-time-only general education designation may be requested for experimental courses
(X91-previously X95), granted only for the semester taught. A NEW request must be
submitted for the course to receive subsequent general education status.
Group
II. Mathematics
VII: Social Sciences
(submit
III. Language
VIII: Ethics & Human Values
separate forms
III Exception: Symbolic Systems * IX: American & European
if requesting
IV: Expressive Arts
X: Indigenous & Global
more than one
V: Literary & Artistic Studies
XI: Natural Sciences
X
general
w/ lab  w/out lab X
education
VI: Historical & Cultural Studies
group
*Courses proposed for this designation must be standing requirements of
designation)
majors that qualify for exceptions to the modern and classical language
requirement
Dept/Program Biological Sciences
Course #
TBD
Course Title
Prerequisite
”Why?”
None
Credits
II. Endorsement/Approvals
Complete the form and obtain signatures before submitting to Faculty Senate Office
Please type / print name Signature
3
Date
Instructor
Brent Ryckman
Phone / Email X6948/brent.ryckman@mso.umt.edu
Program Chair Charles Janson
Dean
Christopher Comer
III. Type of request
New X
One-time Only
Renew
Change
Remove
Reason for Gen Ed inclusion, change or deletion
Description of change
IV. Description and purpose of the general education course: General Education courses
must be introductory and foundational within the offering department or within the General
Education Group. They must emphasize breadth, context, and connectedness; and relate course
content to students’ future lives: See Preamble:
http://umt.edu/facultysenate/archives/minutes/gened/GE_preamble.aspx
Creativity, questioning and critical analysis of tangible and abstract concepts are
interconnected, fundamental skills common that foster productivity in one’s academic pursuits,
and in one’s life as members of comminutes in a democratic society. The course titled “Why?”
aims to present these concepts from the perspectives of both physical and social sciences, and
provide students an opportunity to their own critical/creative thought skills.
V. Criteria: Briefly explain how this course meets the criteria for the group. See:
http://umt.edu/facultysenate/documents/forms/GE_Criteria5-1-08.aspx
1. Courses explore a discipline in the natural
sciences and demonstrate how the scientific
method is used within the discipline to draw
scientific conclusions:
Readings and discussions will present
students with examples of seminal scientific
discoveries. For example, the famous
“Hershey-Chase” experiment (1952), which
was among the first to demonstrate that
DNA rather than protein was the genetic
material. Discussions will urge the students
to consider the historical frame or reference
(i.e. the accepted knowledge of the time),
that informed the scientists thinking, and
how newer discoveries can offer insights and
reinterpretations of the significance of older
data sets.
2. Courses address the concept of analytic
Topics will include discussion of the
uncertainty and the rigorous process required to limitations of our abilities to directly observe
take an idea to a hypothesis and then to a
or measure physical phenomena, the
validated scientific theory;
necessity of indirect measurements, and the
assumptions and uncertainties that follow.
For example, the difficulty of measuring
“mass” is generally circumvented by the
indirect measurements of “weight” which in
turn is measured as the force due to gravity
that an object exerts on a scale/balance.
Thus, the common indirect measurement of
“mass” is highly context dependent. Other
topics will include examples of scientific
debate and disagreement among the
“experts” as well as discussions of relative
weights of various types of scientific
evidences.
3. Lab courses engage students in inquiry-based The proposed course does not have a lab
learning activities where they formulate a
component. However, strong emphasis will
hypothesis, design an experiment to test the
be places on consideration of what
hypothesis, and collect, interpret, and present
constitutes a hypothesis, or a “question,” the
the data to support their conclusions.
distinction between testable and a nontestable hypotheses, and critical analysis of
experimental evidence.
VI. Student Learning Goals: Briefly explain how this course will meet the applicable learning
goals. See: http://umt.edu/facultysenate/documents/forms/GE_Criteria5-1-08.aspx
2. understand the methodology and activities
The focus of this course is not any specific
scientists use to gather, validate and interpret
scientific methodology per se, but rather the
data related to natural processes;
general principle of “questioning” as the
beginning point for any endeavor. In this
sense the formulation and refining of
questions, and the consideration of the
testability of questions will be presented to
students as a “method.”
3. detect patterns, draw conclusions, develop
conjectures and hypotheses, and test them by
appropriate means and experiments;
Through the critical analysis of
historical/seminal scientific works, students
will be encouraged to consider their own
interpretation of the data as just as valid “a
priori” as the author’s of the work.
4. understand how scientific laws and theories
Many topics will relate to the challenges of
are verified by quantitative measurement,
measuring, observing and describing the
scientific observation, and logical/critical
physical world both at the macroscopic and
reasoning;
microscopic level. The limitations and
assumptions involved will be discussed.
5. understand the means by which analytic
This learning goal is inseparable from goal
uncertainty is quantified and expressed in the
number 4, and will be met through the
natural sciences.
treatment of the same topics.
VII. Justification: Normally, general education courses will not carry pre-requisites, will carry
at least 3 credits, and will be numbered at the 100-200 level. If the course has more than one
pre-requisite, carries fewer than three credits, or is upper division (numbered above the 200
level), provide rationale for exception(s).
VIII. Syllabus: Paste syllabus below or attach and send digital copy with form.  The syllabus
should clearly describe how the above criteria are satisfied. For assistance on syllabus
preparation see: http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/syllabus.html
Please note: Approved general education changes will take effect next fall.
General education instructors will be expected to provide sample assessment items and
corresponding responses to the Assessment Advisory Committee.