Core Competencies Assessment 2007-2008: Area III Courses
New Mexico Institution Name
State Competencies
Assessment Procedures
(Learning Outcomes Being
Measured)
Biology for Gen Ed I, with lab
(NMCCN 1113/1111)
1. Students will describe the
process of scientific inquiry.
Students should:
a. Understand that scientists rely
on evidence obtained from
observations rather than
authority, tradition, doctrine, or
intuition.
b. Students should value science
as a way to develop reliable
knowledge about the world.
Students are tested on the
following concepts presented
in lectures, readings, and
laboratory exercises:
- Some kinds of questions are
answerable through scientific
inquiry, while some kinds of
questions are not (students
compare things that are
knowable vs. not knowable)
- There is an operational
difference between deductive
(scientific) reasoning, and
inductive reasoning (students
are asked to solve problems
through scientific reasoning)
- Faith-based knowledge can
have value, but it differs
markedly from scientific
knowledge in terms of
reliability, testability, and
falsifiability (students
compare, philosophically,
both traditions of knowledge)
Laboratory Science Competencies
Assessment Results
Based on results from the
first examination in the
course, which covers these
topics, the majority of
students succeed in mastering
these concepts.
One well-known challenge: a
few students always seem to
retain emotional or cultural
reservations to learning about
science, especially if they
(incorrectly) perceive science
to be an aggressive, nihilistic
outlook on life that
invalidates or otherwise
poses a threat to traditional or
faith-based beliefs. This is a
sensitive cultural issue that
seems to be more evident and
problematic in biology
courses, where abiotic origins
of life, phylogenetic
relatedness, and Darwinian
evolution are not mere sidetopics, but central organizing
themes of biological science.
How Results Will Be Used
To Make Improvements
(Optional)
Recommendations/Goals/
Priorities
2. Students will solve problems
scientifically.
Students should:
a. Be able to construct and test
hypotheses using modern lab
equipment (such as
microscopes, scales, computer
technology) and appropriate
quantitative methods.
b. Be able to evaluate isolated
observations about the physical
universe and relate them to
hierarchically organized
explanatory frameworks
(theories).
Students are expected to
understand that the scientific
method is a procedure for
asking and answering
questions in a particular way,
through hypothesis,
experiment, data analysis,
and hypothesis support or
rejection. Students gain
practice in the scientific
method through laboratory
exercises
The equipment used in lab
includes compound light and
dissecting microscopes,
actual biological specimens
(living, fossil, and
preserved), computers and
spreadsheet software,
chromatography equipment,
and standard everyday
laboratory supplies.
In laboratory exercises,
students make their own
observations from specimens,
data sets, or experiments, and
must submit weekly
laboratory reports that
provide their data and results,
as well as answers to
questions that relate the
laboratory exercises to the
lecture material and larger
biological concepts.
Based on results from
laboratory exercises and
graded laboratory reports, the
majority of students succeed
in mastering the use of
laboratory equipment and
scientific methods to ask and
answer questions about the
natural world.
3. Students will communicate
scientific information.
Students should:
Communicate effectively about
science (e.g., write lab reports in
standard format and explain
basic scientific concepts,
procedures, and results using
written, oral, and graphic
presentation techniques.)
4. Students will apply
quantitative analysis to scientific
problems.
Students should:
a. Select and perform appropriate
quantitative analyses of scientific
observations.
b. Show familiarity with the metric
system, use a calculator to perform
appropriate mathematical
operations, and present results in
tables and graphs.
In some laboratory exercises,
students are required to work
in pairs or in teams, which
promotes scientific
communication.
As might be expected,
students usually work more
efficiently when required to
communicate as part of a
team.
Each student also submits
weekly laboratory reports
that provide their results and
conclusions. Data formats
include tabulated numerical
data, graphing, scientific
drawings, and descriptive
experimental results.
Based on results from graded
laboratory reports, the
majority of students are
successful in effective
scientific communication.
Lab exercises emphasize data
collection and analysis with
quantifiable parameters that
are then summarized and
analyzed with graph, table
and/or statistical analysis.
Laboratory measurements are
done strictly using the metric
system.
Students are expected to
collect and express the data
from experiments in
quantifiable terms, including
tabular forms, and linear
graphs relating two values or
showing change over time.
In this course, students gain
particularly strong experience
in mathematical probability.
Competency in college-level
English grammar and writing
seems to be an issue with
some students.
While the majority of
students succeed in
quantitative analysis (based
on results from graded
laboratory reports), there is a
significant proportion of
students who enroll in this
course possessing belowaverage quantitative skills.
Some students seem to
struggle with fairly basic
mathematical and
quantitative skills, including
graphing, the multiplication
of fractions, and
understanding proportions
and probabilities.
Many assignments in this
course foster the
development of English
writing skills, but increasing
competency in English
continues to be a broader
issue that is largely outside
the scope and objectives of
this course.
Most laboratory exercises
foster the development of
quantitative skills, but
increasing competency in
basic quantitative and
mathematical skills continues
to be a broader issue that is
largely outside the scope and
objectives of this course.
5. Students will apply scientific
thinking to real world problems.
Students should:
a. Critically evaluate scientific
reports or accounts presented in the
popular media.
b. Understand the basic scientific
facts related to important
contemporary issues (e.g., global
warming, stem cell research,
cosmology), and ask informed
questions about those issues.
Current topics in science are
presented regularly in class,
and course examinations
often ask students to interpret
data related to current topics
The majority of students
show interest in current
scientific topics, and can
speak and write about them
critically.
End – Laboratory Science
Area III Assessment completed by
Signature
Phone number
575 538-6227__
Manda Clair Jost
Printed Name
23 Sept. 2008
Date