Fall 2015 – MHC 20301
Science Forward: Macaulay Honors College Seminar 3
Meeting Time: HNR3 (80053): Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:30am – 10:45am
Location: NAC 6/307
Instructor: Dr. Joyce Fassbender (jfassbender@ccny.cuny.edu)
Office Hours: Tues. in Honors Center (NAC 4/150) from 1 – 2pm or by appointment
Instructional Technology Fellows:
Andres Orejuela Office Hours: TBD
Course Description
Science Forward is a skills-based course that focuses on scientific thinking in the context of a variety
of different fields of science. We will focus on the specific skills that allow one to have good Science
Sense. These skills fall into broad categories: Number Sense, Data Sense, and Knowledge Sense.
Science Sense is…
- being able to distinguish science from non-science.
- the ability to recognize how people collect and process facts into knowledge.
- the ability to recognize how a collection of facts becomes knowledge.
- being able to question and evaluate information that is presented as scientific.
- being an informed consumer, evaluator, and practitioner of science.
Student Learning Outcomes
- Students will hone their Science Sense during this course, specifically:
o Students will acquire a proper sense of scale and be able to make order of magnitude
estimates with reasonable assumptions.
o Students will understand and get experience with measurement and data collection
through activities in the field (including a BioBlitz common event) and be able to
create and communicate their results using graphs and basic statistics.
o Students will become familiar with proper experimental design and the practice of
scientific inquiry.
o Students will understand that science makes progress and changes through time based
upon newly available evidence.
- Students will practice their critical thinking skills and employ reasonable skepticism.
- Students will learn how to communicate science to different audiences through two projects.
- Students will leave this course with an appreciation for the similar set of skills employed by
scientists in seemingly disparate fields of scientific inquiry.
- Students will recognize that these skills are not only applicable to their coursework, but also
to their daily lives.
Course Structure
Science Forward consists of three units built on the idea of grand challenges at different levels of scale
(Environment, Society, Individual). These topics will serve as the context in which we will hone our
Science Sense. This course requires students to read/watch the required science content outside of the
classroom and to be prepared to use that content during discussions and activities inside the classroom.
It is very important to complete the required videos and readings before coming to class and think
about the parts you find most fascinating or most difficult. If you are prepared for class in this way,
Fall 2015 – MHC 20301
then we can use class time to address the most difficult aspects of the material and work together to
apply the knowledge you have gained.
Aug 27 – Sept 1: Science Forward Overview – What is Science?
Aug 29 – 30: BioBlitz!
Sept 3 – Oct 8: Unit 1 – Environment (Urban Ecology, Conservation, Evolution, Climate
Change)
Oct 13 – Nov 11: Unit 2 – Society (Energy, Urbanization, Agriculture, Water)
Nov 12 – Dec 8: Unit 3 – Individual (Medicine, Neuroscience, Intelligence)
Dec 10: Science Forward Wrap Up – What have we learned about the nature of Science?
Attendance
Attendance is mandatory at all class meetings (including one 3 hour shift at the BioBlitz and one
session of the end of semester poster conference). Attendance and lateness will be recorded in every
class meeting. There will be a grade deduction for each unexcused absence and more than two
unexcused absences will result in a failing grade. Absences can be excused for religious observances if
notification is sent to me at least a week ahead of time. If you are sick and cannot come to class, you
need to have a note from Student Health Services or your doctor in order for it to be excused and you
need to tell me you won’t be in class. In all cases of absence, you MUST contact me to get a make-up
assignment.
Academic Integrity
You are expected to follow both CCNY guidelines regarding academic integrity (available here:
http://www.ccny.cuny.edu/about/upload/academic_integrity.pdf) and the guidelines put forth in the
Macaulay Honors Pledge (available here:
http://macaulay.cuny.edu/community/handbook/policies/honors-integrity/). Plagiarizing the work of
others will not be tolerated. You are expected to be familiar with these policies.
Grade and Assignment Breakdown
Assignments for Science Forward include both individual and group work. You are expected to
complete all assignments on time. Using scientific data, you will complete a group research project to
be presented as a poster at the Seminar 3 Conference in December. Grading details for individual
assignments will be provided to you in a separate document. Your final grade in this course will be a
letter grade, although individual assignments will usually be graded on a number scale. The grade
breakdown is as follows:
Participation – 30%
Small Writing Assignments – 10%
News Essay – 10%
Video Project – 20%
Research Project – 30%
Descriptions and Timelines
Participation – 30%
You are expected to attend every seminar and arrive on time. Participation includes attending every
class, arriving on time to class, being actively engaged with the material we are discussing, and
contributing to group work. Your participation will be judged by the group work you hand in at the
end of class and by my observations of you during class.
Fall 2015 – MHC 20301
A note on attendance: If you have an excused absence, you will not lose any participation points for
that day. However, participation points will be subtracted for being late to class or missing class
without an acceptable excuse. You may make up some lost points for missing group work by doing
BOTH of the following: 1) letting me know before class that you are unable to attend AND 2)
requesting a make-up assignment and completing it on time.
You are also required to attend two common events: the BioBlitz and the end of semester Poster
Conference. The BioBlitz is a 24-hour species diversity survey where students are teamed with
scientists to find as many species as they can. Each student will attend one 3-hour shift at a time of
their choosing. The Poster Conference is where you will present your semester research project.
Students are required to attend one session of this conference.
Small Writing Assignments – 10%
There will be a small writing assignment (one minute papers, reflections, blog posts, etc.) at nearly
every class meeting. Occasionally, these writings will happen online. They can also be group
worksheets. They will be graded on a three-point scale (3 = good, 2 = fair, 1 = poor). Your lowest
writing assignment grade will be dropped. They will usually be administered at the beginning of class;
if you are late, you won’t be able to make them up.
News Essay – 10%
The end of unit assignment for Unit 1 is a news essay in the style of the NY Times Science section.
You will chose one peer-reviewed science article from the past two years and write it up as the latest
news for the Science section. You cannot choose an article that has already been written about in the
popular press (including blogs). The word count should be between 400-500 words and the assignment
will be graded on a four-point scale. Due dates are:
- Tuesday, September 8 – By the beginning of class, hand in the citation information (Author,
Title, Journal, Year) for the article you are reporting on. You may email me this ahead of
time if you are having trouble finding a journal article or if you want extra feedback from me
on whether it is appropriate.
- Friday, September 25 – By 5pm, email me your News Essay Worksheet. These will be
returned with my feedback on Thursday, 10/1.
- Thursday, October 8 – By the beginning of class, post your essay to the Science Times
section of our eportfolio website.
Video Project – 20%
The end of unit assignment for Unit 2 is a group video project related to exciting BioBlitz results. The
goal is to produce a 2-3 minute video that discusses some part of the science of the BioBlitz for a
public audience. There will be time during class to work with your group and our ITF on this project.
It will be graded on a four-point scale. Due dates are:
- Tuesday, October 20 – Outline due at the beginning of class.
- Thursday, November 5 – Completed video due. Post to our eportfolio site before class
beings (we will watch them in class)
Semester Research Project – 30%
The semester research project is the largest portion of your grade. You and your group are to come up
with a research question and test it using scientific data. The final output is a research poster to be
presented at the end of semester conference. This project will be a large undertaking and so it is
Fall 2015 – MHC 20301
broken down into smaller parts that are due throughout the semester. Note that some of these dates fall
within the due dates for the other unit assignments. The project will be graded on a four-point scale.
Groups will be determined by interest and questions addressed will be determined in class and online
during the month of September. Formal due dates are:
- Thursday, September 17 – Research question emailed or handed in at beginning of class.
- Thursday, October 1 – Question choice survey due by beginning of class.
- Tuesday, October 13 – Project proposal worksheet due in class. This worksheet can be
handed in at any point before 10/13 if you need to begin extra data collection.
- Tuesday, November 10 – Annotated bibliography of 8 references due in class.
- Tuesday, November 17 – Data analysis and main findings due in class.
- Tuesday, November 24 – Poster draft due in class.
- Tuesday, December 1 – Poster presentation (as a slideshow) in class.
- Saturday and Sunday, December 5 – 6 – You will present your printed poster at the
Seminar 3 Conference on one of these days.
Science Forward Reading List
Dat
e
8/27
Science Sense
Topic
Required Videos and Readings
KS: Nature of
Science
What is
Science?
8/
2930
9/1
DS: Collecting
Data
BioBlitz!
Video:1) Science Forward: The Sciences Senses http://macaulay.cuny.edu/eportfolios/scienceforward/science-senses
2) Science Forward: Tools of Seeing –
http://macaulay.cuny.edu/eportfolios/scienceforward/portfolio/tools-of-seeing/
This will be the opening event for the course. It is 24-hour species diversity
survey. You will attend a 3-hour shift.
KS:
Communicatin
g science,
Nature of
Science
What is
Science?
Video:1) Science Forward: What is Science? –
http://macaulay.cuny.edu/eportfolios/scienceforward/portfolio/what-is-science/
2) Carl Sagan’s Last Interview – http://www.tubechop.com/watch/3499870 The
link is to the first 5 minutes of a 20 minute interview.
Unit 1: Science at the Global/ Environmental Scale
9/3
KS: Asking
Urban
Video: 1) Science Forward: Urban Ecology –
scientific
Ecology
http://macaulay.cuny.edu/eportfolios/scienceforward/portfolio/urban-ecology/
questions
2) Bozeman Science: Biodiversity – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PE3ve3w2w
9/8
KS: Designing Urban
Video: 1) SciShow: The Times and Troubles of the Scientific Method –
experiments,
Ecology
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8wi0QnYN6s
Understanding
Reading: 2) Kellermann JL, MD Johnson, AM Stercho, and SC Hackett. 2008.
scientific
Ecological and economic services provided by birds on Jamaican BlueMountain
progress
coffee farms. Conservation Biology. 22:1177-1185.
3) Stern, R, Dale, I, and L. Sandro. Glossary of Statistical Terms.
http://www.reading.ac.uk/ssc/resources/Docs/Statistical_Glossary.pdf
9/10 Monday
Schedule
9/15 No Class
9/17 KS: Applying
Conservati Reading: 1) Kareiva P and M Marvier. 2007. Conservation for the people.
scientific
on
Scientific American. Pgs. 50-57.
knowledge
9/22 No Class
9/24 NS: Using
Conservati Video: 1) Pavan Sukhdev TED Talk: What is the price of nature? –
different
on
http://www.ted.com/talks/pavan_sukhdev_what_s_the_price_of_nature.html
scales, Making
estimates
Fall 2015 – MHC 20301
9/25
9/29
10/1
10/6
DS: Data
analysis,
finding trends
/relationships,
visualizing
data; KS:
Designing
experiments,
communicating
science,
applying
scientific
knowledge
KS: Science
vs.
Pseudoscience
Evolution
Video: 1) Science Forward: Evolution –
http://macaulay.cuny.edu/eportfolios/scienceforward/portfolio/evolution/
Reading: 2) Palumbi, SR. 2001. Humans as the world’s greatest evolutionary
force. Science. 293(5536):1786-1790.
Evolution
KS:
Communicatin
g Science
KS: Modeling;
DS: Using
proxies; NS:
Using different
scales
Evolution
Reading : 1) Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District. Case No. 04cv2688. US
District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. 2005. ONLY PAGES 735746 and 765-766 ARE REQUIRED
2) Chapter 7: Science in the Courtroom from Pigliucci M. 2010. Nonsense on
Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Field trip to AMNH
Fieldtrip will take place outside of class.
Climate
Change
10/8
DS: Analyzing Climate
data, finding
Change
relationships,
interpreting
graphs
Unit 2: Science at the Society Scale
10/1 NS: Making
Energy
3
estimates
10/1
5
10/2
KS: Making
evidence-based
arguments,
Communicatin
g Science; DS:
Analyzing data
KS: Making
Energy
Urbanizatio
Video: 1) Science Forward: Climate Change –
http://macaulay.cuny.edu/eportfolios/scienceforward/portfolio/climate-change/
Reading: 2) Hansen J. 2004. Defusing the global warming time bomb. Scientific
American. Pages 69-77.
3) What are proxy data? National Centers for Environmental Information.
https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/news/what-are-proxy-data
Reading: 1) Chapter 6: Science and Politics from Pigliucci M. 2010. Nonsense on
Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Video: EVERYONE WATCH:
SciShow – The Why, How, and How Much of Oil –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBBGKx65Ygg
WATCH ONLY 1 (assigned in class)
- Green Revolution: Hydrogen - http://science360.gov/obj/video/e6c0e1eb-07064854-9663-0806b14b2799/green-revolutionhydrogen
- Green Revolution: Biomass http://science360.gov/obj/video/86752499-f847-4458-bcd9-29ec98b2e060/greenrevolutionbiomass
- Green Revolution: Wind Power –
http://science360.gov/obj/video/de111fd3-5fb6-49ae-a02f-11558b417011/greenrevolutionwind-power
- Green Revolution: Solar Power http://science360.gov/obj/video/cb617b37-4eb5-4518-b44a-da0b7d0190e0/greenrevolution-solar-power
- Green Revolution: Microbes http://science360.gov/obj/video/19569fc2-431e-455d-9642-3473fb4e44ac/
Video: 1) SciShow: Facts About Fracking –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51wOisfdIPo
Video: 1) Geoffrey West TED Talk – The Surprising Math of Cities and
Fall 2015 – MHC 20301
0
progress in
science, Using
mathematical
models
n
10/2
2
KS: Applying
scientific
knowledge
DS: Analyzing
data, Statistics,
Interpreting
Graphs; NS:
Having a sense
of scale,
making
estimates
KS: Making
evidence-based
arguments,
Communicatin
g science,
applying
scientific
knowledge;
DS: Analyzing
data,
recognizing
bias, measuring
uncertainty
KS: Applying
scientific
knowledge
Urbanizatio
n
10/2
7
10/2
9
11/3
Water
Water
Urbanizatio
n / Water
11/5
NS: Making
Agriculture
estimates; KS:
Applying
scientific
knowledge
11/1 DS: Analyzing Agriculture
0
data, Statistics;
KS: Applying
scientific
knowledge
Unit 3: Science at the Individual Scale
11/1 KS: Applying
Medicine:
2
scientific
Genes and
knowledge,
Patents
Ethics
11/1
KS: Applying
Medicine:
Corporations
http://www.ted.com/talks/geoffrey_west_the_surprising_math_of_cities_and_corp
orations.html
Reading: 2) Is it Time to Move Past Urban Studies and Toward Urbanization
Science, E. Jaffe http://www.theatlanticcities.com/arts-and-lifestyle/2013/03/ittimemove-past-urban-studies-andtoward-urbanization-science/5022/
Video: 1) Science360: Green Revolution: City Car http://science360.gov/obj/video/709f8691-8d85-4586-b6e1-d2d8a4cde57b/greenrevolutioncitycar
Videos: 1) Science360: Sustainability: Water –The water cycle –
http://science360.gov/obj/video/e540c490-739f-47d4-b03ef52e04918fcb/sustainability-water-water-cycle
2) Science360: Sustainability: Water –Ogallala Aquifer http://science360.gov/obj/video/6d8a2e02-0936-47d8-b2f43833c63d11ad/sustainability-waterogallala-aquifer
Reading: 3) Pimentel D et al. 1997. Water Resources: agriculture, the
environment, and society.
Video: 1) Science360: Sustainability: Water – Baltimore’s Urban Streams –
http://science360.gov/obj/video/6eeebc75-69bd-43a8-91c8da54be22b566/sustainability-waterbaltimores-urban-streams
2) Science360: Sustainability: Water –Los Angeles and Water Imports
http://science360.gov/obj/video/3460a5b7-c231-442b-b82837bd521eb31e/sustainability-waterlos-angeles-water-imports
3) Science Forward: Water –
http://macaulay.cuny.edu/eportfolios/scienceforward/portfolio/water/
Field trip to High Bridge Park; Class will start at 9AM; Field trip will take place
during class.
Reading: 1) Fuller, RA, KN Irvine, P Devine-Wright, PH Warren, and KJ
Gaston. 2007. Psychological benefits of greenspace increase with biodiversity.
Biol. Lett. Pgs. 390-394
2) The High Bridge. NYC Parks Department. http://www.nycgovparks.org/parkfeatures/virtual-tours/old-croton-aqueduct-trail/the-high-bridge
Video: 1) Science Forward: The Challenge of Food –
http://macaulay.cuny.edu/eportfolios/scienceforward/portfolio/the-challenge-offood/
Reading: 2) HCJ Godfray et al. 2010. The challenge of feeding 9 billion people.
Pgs. 812-818.
Videos: 1) Jonathan Foley TED talk: The other inconvenient truth http://www.ted.com/talks/jonathan_foley_the_other_inconvenient_truth.html
Reading: 2) Freedman, DH. 2013. Are engineered foods evil? Scientific American.
Pgs. 80-85
Video: 1) SciShow: Patenting Person Parts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUpgfARGmXs
Reading: 2) Maxmen, A. 2013. Personalized medicine enters new era. Source:
NOVA Next. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/next/body/gene-patents-andpersonalized-medicine/
3) Marshall and Price. 2013. US Supreme Court strikes down gene patents.
Source: http://news.sciencemag.org/people-events/2013/06/u.s.-supreme-courtstrikes-down-human-gene-patents.
Video: 1) Francis Collins TED Talk: We need better drugs – now
Fall 2015 – MHC 20301
7
scientific
knowledge,
Using models
Drug
Discovery
11/1
9
KS: Designing
experiments,
Ethics; DS:
Analyzing
data,
interpreting
graphs
Medicine:
Drug Trials
11/2
4
KS: Science
vs.Pseudoscien
ce; NS: Having
a sense of scale
Medicine:
Counterfeit
s and
pseudodrug
s
11/2
5
12/1
No Class
KS:
Communicatin
g Science
Poster
Practice
12/3
DS: Collecting
and analyzing
data, statistics,
uncertainty
NS: Having a
sense of scale;
DS:
Recognizing
bias; KS:
Applied and
Ethics
KS: Nature of
Science
Neuroscien
ce
12/8
12/1
0
http://www.ted.com/talks/francis_collins_we_need_better_drugs_now.html
2) Science Forward: Drug Discovery –
http://macaulay.cuny.edu/eportfolios/scienceforward/portfolio/drug-developmentand-discovery/
Reading: 3) Ashburn, TT, and KB Thor. Drug repositioning.. Nature. 3:673-683.
Reading: 1) FDA Drug Review Process website.
Be sure to look at both the text on these two pages and the infographic.
http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm143534.htm AND
http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm289601.htm
2) Garber, K. 2009. Melanoma drug vindicates targeted approach. Science.
326:1619.
Video: 3) A clip from the short, Here Be Dragons (2008) by Michael Dunning.
Find the video here: http://herebedragonsmovie.com Watch from timestamp 24:35
– 26:58
Video: 1) Science360: 21st Century Scientists: Facundo Fernandez,
http://science360.gov/obj/video/4e5c899f-274a-4870-8440-a0ee242ee28c/21stcenturyscientists-facundo-fernandez
2) A clip from the short, Here Be Dragons (2008) by Michael Dunning.
Find the video here: http://herebedragonsmovie.com Watch from timestamp 26:59
– 29:21
Readings: 3) Chapter 26 from Bad Medicine by Christopher Wanjek
No required readings or videos.
We’ll be running through our presentations as a slideshow. Make sure the
instructor has the most recent version of your file (or bring it with you on your
laptop).
Reading: 1) Chapter 1 and 3 Thinking about the brain from The Brain: A very
short introduction
Intelligence
Video: 1) Science Forward: Artificial Intelligence http://macaulay.cuny.edu/eportfolios/scienceforward/portfolio/artificialintelligence/
What have
we learned
about
science?
Readings and Videos TBD
Science Sense is…
- Being able to distinguish science from non-science.
- The ability to recognize how people collect and process facts into knowledge.
- The ability to recognize how a collection of facts becomes knowledge.
- Being able to question and evaluate information that is presented as scientific.
- Being an informed consumer, evaluator, and practitioner of science.
Science Sense Skills included
Number Sense
Having a sense of scale
Fall 2015 – MHC 20301
Making order of magnitude estimates
Data Sense
Understanding and analyzing data
Interpreting graphs
Finding relationships and trends
Making measurements
Measuring uncertainty
Recognizing bias
Using proxies
Doing statistical analyses
Knowledge Sense
Asking a scientific question
Using proper experimental design
Using mathematical models
Choosing a research question
Communicating your results to scientists and the public
Understanding how science makes progress
Thinking critically
Being reasonably skeptical
Applying scientific knowledge
Understanding when science can inform ethical decisions
Distinguishing between science and pseudoscience