Pre-Nursing

Program Goals:

Biology Program Goals

• Possess knowledge of general biological principles. (Introduced)
• Students will be able to apply biological principles to specific biological phenomena

Environmental Studies Program Goals

• Possess fundamental understanding of disciplines that are necessary to understand environmental issues. A single course need only address a single discipline, and need not specifically address environmental issues. (Introduced)

Biology Program Goals

• Possess knowledge of general biological principles. (Introduced)
• Students will be able to explain biological concepts, relationships, interactions, structures and processes.

Pre-Medical Program Goals

• Have a level of knowledge and understanding of the subject matter of General Biology that will permit them to respond competently to questions on these materials on the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) and furthermore to support the student's success in medical school. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will be able to explain their laboratory observations in terms of knowledge of general chemistry and its principles.
• Students will be able to employ knowledge of general biology and its principles to respond to exam (and quiz) questions and to solve biological problems appropriate to this course.

Biology Program Goals

• Have the ability to carry out standard laboratory and field techniques, including analysis of results. (Introduced)
• Students will be able to analyze experimental results using qualitative and quantitative methods.
• Students will be able to carry out basic techniques including gel electrophoresis, PCR, bioinformatics, microscopy, dissection, and identification of organisms from all major taxonomic groups.
• Have the ability to communicate findings in both oral and written modes. (Introduced)
• Students will be able to write using a standard scientific writing style, with proper English, scientific terminology, and concise, logical expression of ideas.
• Understand and practice the process of scientific inquiry, including the logic of experimentation. (Introduced)
• Students will formulate hypotheses, then perform real and/or virtual experiments using qualitative and quantitative methodology to evaluate their predictions.
• Students will be able to discuss the implications of experimental data to initial hypothesis and formulate appropriate conclusions.

Program Goals:

Biology Program Goals

• Possess knowledge of general biological principles. (Introduced)
• Students will be able to apply biological principles to specific biological phenomena

Environmental Studies Program Goals

• Possess fundamental understanding of disciplines that are necessary to understand environmental issues. A single course need only address a single discipline, and need not specifically address environmental issues. (Introduced)

Biology Program Goals

• Possess knowledge of general biological principles. (Introduced)
• Students will be able to explain biological concepts, relationships, interactions, structures and processes.

Pre-Medical Program Goals

• Have a level of knowledge and understanding of the subject matter of General Biology that will permit them to respond competently to questions on these materials on the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) and furthermore to support the student's success in medical school. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will be able to explain their laboratory observations in terms of knowledge of general chemistry and its principles.
• Students will be able to employ knowledge of general biology and its principles to respond to exam (and quiz) questions and to solve biological problems appropriate to this course.

Biology Program Goals

• Have the ability to carry out standard laboratory and field techniques, including analysis of results. (Introduced)
• Students will be able to analyze experimental results using qualitative and quantitative methods.
• Students will be able to carry out basic techniques including gel electrophoresis, PCR, bioinformatics, microscopy, dissection, and identification of organisms from all major taxonomic groups.
• Have the ability to communicate findings in both oral and written modes. (Introduced)
• Students will be able to write using a standard scientific writing style, with proper English, scientific terminology, and concise, logical expression of ideas.
• Understand and practice the process of scientific inquiry, including the logic of experimentation. (Introduced)
• Students will formulate hypotheses, then perform real and/or virtual experiments using qualitative and quantitative methodology to evaluate their predictions.
• Students will be able to discuss the implications of experimental data to initial hypothesis and formulate appropriate conclusions.

General Education Goals:

Natural Sciences

• Demonstrate knowledge of at least one area of the natural sciences and the major principles that underlie it (Introduced)
• Explain how evolutionary processes produce biological diversity.
• Describe the differences between morphology, anatomy, physiology, and ecology as fields of organismal biology.
• Use a scientific theory to formulate a testable hypothesis (Introduced)
• Use evolutionary theory to interpret and to construct a phylogeny.
• Demonstrate familiarity with the strategies of scientific investigation: i. the use of the controlled experiment to test hypotheses by quantifying observations and using mathematical relationships; ii. the value of reductionism to simplify discovery; iii. the role of studies in building the body of scientific knowledge (Introduced)
• Describe how observation is used to collect diagnostic character data on a diverse array of organisms.
• Identify discoveries in examples drawn from texts, the scientific literature, or practical experience (Introduced)
• Describe examples of the benefits of biological diversity to planetary and human well-being.
• Evaluate evidence relating to evolutionary processes.
• Describe and critique standards of scientific proof (Introduced)
• Demonstrate an ability to evaluate the evidence of evolution.
• Describe the value of instrumentation in the collection of data in the laboratory or field experience (Introduced)
• Demonstrate ability to use both compound and dissecting microscopes and associated tools.
• Be able to conduct careful dissections of organisms for structural, functional and evolutionary understanding.

Program Goals:

Pre-Nursing Program Goals

• To understand how the principles of chemistry and biology relate to the functioning of the human body. (Introduced)
• Students will apply knowledge of basic chemical and physical properties of organic molecules to the structure and function of biomolecules
• To understand the tools and experimental methods of chemistry and biology as they relate to the study of science. (Introduced)
• Students will be able to perform basic laboratory techniques of investigating organic and biochemical molecules.
• To understand how microorganisms are related to the pathology of human disease. (Introduced)
• Students will understand the physiology and life-cycle of microbiological organisms and be able to rationalize how to control micriobial growth and replication.

Program Goals:

Pre-Nursing Program Goals

• To be able to relate the structure and function of the human body at both the macroscopic and microscopic level. (Introduced)
• Classify body parts regarding system and integrate the parts into a functioning whole
• Using anatomical terms, students will relate body parts to each other in their spatial orientation
• To understand the tools and experimental methods of chemistry and biology as they relate to the study of science. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will be able to perform basic laboratory techniques of investigating organic and biochemical molecules.
• Students will apply experimental approaches and techniques of anatomical dissection to the study of the human body.
• Students will be able to determine the appropriate statistical methods to use with various kinds of data sets

Core Goals:

Critical Analysis

• Students will critically analyze information and ideas. (Introduced)
• Assess, research, and critique for scientific accuracy, an article found in the popular press.
• Students will examine issues from multiple perspectives. (Introduced)
• Ethical question discussion that students analyze and consider multiple perspectives that may touch on community, science, politics, legislation, religion and culture.
• Students will engage in an exploration of the relationship between past systems of knowledge and present scholarly and creative approaches within and across disciplines. (Introduced)
• Ethical question discussion that students analyze and consider multiple perspectives that may touch on community, science, politics, legislation, religion and culture.
• Students will consider how our understanding of significant questions and ideas is informed by the critical, scholarly, and creative approaches through which we approach those questions and ideas. (Introduced)
• Ethical question discussion that students analyze and consider multiple perspectives that may touch on community, science, politics, legislation, religion and culture.
• Students will develop discernment, facility and ethical responsibility in using information. (Introduced)
• Ethical question discussion that students analyze and consider multiple perspectives that may touch on community, science, politics, legislation, religion and culture.
• Students will engage as active participants in the College's intellectual community. (Introduced)
• Ethical question discussion that students analyze and consider multiple perspectives that may touch on community, science, politics, legislation, religion and culture.

Scientific Inquiry

• Students will demonstrate basic knowledge of at least one area of the natural sciences and the major principles that underlie it. (Introduced)
• Be able to discuss the fundamental concepts of human genetics.
• Students will apply scientific modes of inquiry in multiple contexts, such as the ways that humans influence or study natural systems. (Introduced)
• Interactive, practical group sessions where students solve genetic problems and answer questions about the field
• Students will be able to distinguish between science and non-science. (Introduced)
• Analyze a popular press article and discuss its rationale and scientific accurateness.
• Students will develop skills to work as part of a team to solve problems, develop hypotheses or otherwise inquire about the natural world in a collaborative manner. (Introduced)
• Work in a team to propose an ethical issue related to genetics, and present both sides of the issue.

General Education Goals:

Natural Sciences

• Demonstrate knowledge of at least one area of the natural sciences and the major principles that underlie it (Introduced)
• Explain the structure of genes and DNA and how this allows the molecule to replicate.
• Understand the functional significance of mitosis and meiosis.
• Explain how genes interact with one another and the environment to produce human traits.
• Identify discoveries in examples drawn from texts, the scientific literature, or practical experience (Introduced)
• Investigate a recent discovery reported in the popular press and discuss the accuracy of the science.

Program Goals:

Pre-Nursing Program Goals

• To be able to relate the structure and function of the human body at both the macroscopic and microscopic level. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Using anatomical terms, students will relate body parts to each other in their spatial orientation
• Students will understand the molecular basis for movement, neural processing, and metabolism
• Students will correlate the function of organ systems to manifestations of good health versus disease
• Classify body parts regarding system and integrate the parts into a functioning whole
• To understand how the principles of chemistry and biology relate to the functioning of the human body. (Practiced)
• Students will apply chemical principles in the understanding of human physiological processes
• Students will apply knowledge of basic chemical and physical properties of organic molecules to the structure and function of biomolecules
• To understand the tools and experimental methods of chemistry and biology as they relate to the study of science. (Practiced)
• Students will be able to perform basic laboratory techniques of investigating organic and biochemical molecules.
• Students will practice collecting experimental data, analyzing the data, and interpreting the results in an objective and critical manner
• Students will be able to determine the appropriate statistical methods to use with various kinds of data sets

Program Goals:

Pre-Nursing Program Goals

• To understand the tools and experimental methods of chemistry and biology as they relate to the study of science. (Practiced)
• Students will practice collecting experimental data, analyzing the data, and interpreting the results in an objective and critical manner
• Students will be able to perform basic laboratory techniques of investigating organic and biochemical molecules.
• To understand how microorganisms are related to the pathology of human disease. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will understand the physiology and life-cycle of microbiological organisms and be able to rationalize how to control micriobial growth and replication.
• Students will demonstrate knowledge of the infection process of microbial agents and the development of an immune response by the human body
• Students will understand the signs and symptoms of microbiological disease processes.

Program Goals:

Pre-Nursing Program Goals

• To understand the tools and experimental methods of chemistry and biology as they relate to the study of science. (Practiced)
• Students will be able to determine the appropriate statistical methods to use with various kinds of data sets.

Program Goals:

Biology Program Goals

• Possess knowledge of general biological principles. (Practiced, Mastered)
• This is a previous learning goal and no longer applicable.
• Have the ability to carry out standard laboratory and field techniques, including analysis of results. (Practiced, Mastered)
• This is a previous learning goal and no longer applicable.
• Understand and practice the process of scientific inquiry, including the logic of experimentation. (Practiced)
• This is a previous learning goal and no longer applicable.
• Have the ability to evaluate a new area of research using knowledge of biological principles and the process of scientific inquiry, as well as the current biological literature. (Practiced, Mastered)
• This is a previous learning goal and no longer applicable.

Core Goals:

Scientific Inquiry

• Students will demonstrate basic knowledge of at least one area of the natural sciences and the major principles that underlie it. (Introduced)
• Discussion/participation of weekly reading questions is evaluated.
• Students will be able to think critically by evaluating quantitative evidence or otherwise examine and interpret existing data or patterns from natural systems. (Introduced)
• Discussion/participation of weekly reading questions is evaluated.
• Students will apply scientific modes of inquiry in multiple contexts, such as the ways that humans influence or study natural systems. (Introduced)
• Students are assessed on an activity where they determine, in groups, the molecular basis of sickle cell disease.
• Students will be able to distinguish between science and non-science. (Introduced)
• Students present a mini-project on current news/topics in evolution. Their choice of topic reflects their understanding of science and non-science.
• Students will develop skills to work as part of a team to solve problems, develop hypotheses or otherwise inquire about the natural world in a collaborative manner. (Introduced)
• Students are assessed on an activity where they determine, in groups, the molecular basis of sickle cell disease.
• Students will describe explorations and discoveries of natural historians and scientists from texts, literature and experiences. (Introduced)
• Discussion/participation of weekly reading questions is evaluated.

General Education Goals:

Natural Sciences

• Demonstrate knowledge of at least one area of the natural sciences and the major principles that underlie it (Introduced)
• Explain the theory of evolution as expressed in Darwin's On the Origin of Species and how it accounts for the unity and diversity of living things, including the concepts of natural selection and adaptation. Analyze the text in light of the historical and scientific context in which it was published.
• Demonstrate familiarity with the strategies of scientific investigation: i. the use of the controlled experiment to test hypotheses by quantifying observations and using mathematical relationships; ii. the value of reductionism to simplify discovery; iii. the role of studies in building the body of scientific knowledge (Introduced)
• Express the scientific logic of the argument Darwin uses to support his theory, and describe how biological and other scientific findings before and after the book's publication support the theory.
• Identify discoveries in examples drawn from texts, the scientific literature, or practical experience (Introduced)
• Describe the explorations of natural historians and evolutionary scientists over the past 200 years, and how their discoveries provide supporting evidence for the theory of evolution.

Program Goals:

Biology Program Goals

• Possess knowledge of general biological principles. (Practiced, Mastered)
• Students will be able to apply biological principles to specific biological phenomena.
• Students will be able to explain biological concepts, relationships, interactions, structures and processes.
• Have the ability to carry out standard laboratory and field techniques, including analysis of results. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will be able to carry out additional specialized techniques from sub-fields of biology.
• Students will be able to analyze experimental results using qualitative and quantitative methods.
• Students will be able to carry out basic experiments in the field and the greenhouse to answer hypotheses. Students will properly design their own experiences and interpret the results appropriately.
• Have the ability to communicate findings in both oral and written modes. (Practiced)
• Students will be able to write using a standard scientific writing style, with proper English, scientific terminology, and concise, logical expression of ideas.
• Students will be able to communicate orally in a style appropriate for a scientific audience, clearly interpreting data and figures and utilizing, where appropriate, presentation software.
• Understand and practice the process of scientific inquiry, including the logic of experimentation. (Practiced)
• Students will formulate hypotheses, then perform real and/or virtual experiments using qualitative and quantitative methodology to evaluate their predictions.
• Students will be able to discuss the implications of experimental data to initial hypothesis and formulate appropriate conclusions.
• Students will be able to critique the available literature, understanding the role of appropriate controls, testable hypotheses, and the biological phenomena under consideration.
• Have the ability to evaluate a new area of research using knowledge of biological principles and the process of scientific inquiry, as well as the current biological literature. (Practiced)
• Students will utilize published scientific literature to focus on specific scientific mechanisms or fields of interest, synthesizing the literature, and may identify and evaluate competing hypotheses.
• Students will be able to critique and evaluate published scientific literature and identify theories, methodologies, results and conclusions.

Core Goals:

Critical Analysis

• Students will critically analyze information and ideas. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will be introduced to published work and discuss/critique the design of the experiments and the interpretation of the results. Students will workshop their own proposed projects and offer feedback that will improve their peers' proposals.
• Students will examine issues from multiple perspectives. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will practice offering alternative explanations and how to disagree in a manner that is productive.
• Students will engage in an exploration of the relationship between past systems of knowledge and present scholarly and creative approaches within and across disciplines. (Introduced)
• We will read papers published between the current year and 1902 as a means of discussing how the systems/approaches to understanding the natural world have changed.
• Students will consider how our understanding of significant questions and ideas is informed by the critical, scholarly, and creative approaches through which we approach those questions and ideas. (Introduced)
• We will follow the evolution of a particular idea (how diversity affects invasibility) from Darwin (1880s) to Elton (1958) to Levine et. al (2000-present) as a means of exploring how our understanding is shaped by intellectual collaboration and sometimes competition, an accumulation of knowledge and changes in the tools available for exploring them.
• Students will develop discernment, facility and ethical responsibility in using information. (Introduced, Practiced)
• In discussing proper experimental design and appropriate interpretation of data, students will learn about and practice the ethical and responsible use of information. For example, I use a series of studies on habitat fragmentation that students find intuitively very appealing and then we examine the problems with the experimental design and how this leads us to accept findings that ultimately do not help solve the problem that originally motivated our concern/interest in the topic.
• Students will engage as active participants in the College's intellectual community. (Introduced)
• Students will be heavily involved in the development of the Urban Farm, which will connect what we do in the classroom with the larger intellectual community as Mills.

Scientific Inquiry

• Students will demonstrate basic knowledge of at least one area of the natural sciences and the major principles that underlie it. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will demonstrate their understanding of the principles of Plant Ecology through exams/quizzes and written answers to questions on the readings, they will demonstrate a greater depth of understanding by designing their own research projects to be carried out at the Urban Farm that apply the principles of Plant Ecology to inform farming practices and by presenting their projects to the class (oral and digital presentations), finally they will demonstrate their knowledge by reading and offering suggestions for improvement of one other student's written research proposal.
• Students will be able to think critically by evaluating quantitative evidence or otherwise examine and interpret existing data or patterns from natural systems. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will read original literature and discuss as a group. Students will also be asked to design alternative ways of testing hypotheses. Students will engage in exercises in which they read the Intro and Methods of a paper and are then asked to predict the what the results should look like the if authors' hypotheses are correct, and then evaluate how well the predictions match the outcome. For this, I use two papers - one in which the match between expectation and outcome are excellent and the data are appropriately interpreted and another in which the match between the predictions and the results are poor and the data are there is at least one highly plausible alternative interpretation of the data.
• Students will apply scientific modes of inquiry in multiple contexts, such as the ways that humans influence or study natural systems. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will carry out several experiments, collect data from an observational study, and summarize our state of knowledge on a particular topic as means of applying and contrasting experiential and observational work and literature reviews as distinct modes of inquiry.
• Students will be able to distinguish between science and non-science. (Introduced)
• The extensive discussion of proper experimental design and appropriate interpretation of data will in itself help students to learn the difference between science and non-science. Additionally, we will conduct an exercise in which students are given three scenarios and must identify the problem(s) with each that disqualifies them as science.
• Students will develop skills to work as part of a team to solve problems, develop hypotheses or otherwise inquire about the natural world in a collaborative manner. (Introduced)
• Several lab and lecture exercises will be conducted in collaboration. For example, for one assignment, students work in teams of three to design an experiment to answer a specific question (of their choosing), students then exchange proposal with another group and give each other feedback to how to improve their design.
• Students will describe explorations and discoveries of natural historians and scientists from texts, literature and experiences. (Introduced)
• This is inherent in the background literature research they will have to do for their research papers.
• Students will gain an understanding of the importance of women in the sciences. (Introduced)
• Numerous studies led by women will be featured papers. I almost always include photos of these women conducting research when we discuss their work.

Written & Oral Comm II

• Students will develop skills in writing, digital presentation, and oral communication, as complementary and equal parts of college-level communication and literacy. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will produce weekly written answers to questions about the readings and will be given careful feedback on both content and written communication. Students will turn in two draft of each lab report and the research paper (topic of their choosing). The first draft will receive careful feedback and the second is expected to reflect that feedback so that students have the opportunity to practice writing and improving a single document through the iterative process of feedback and revision. Students will also critique each other's final products and give a final oral and digital presentation of their research project.
• Students will be able to move easily and fluently between different rhetorical expectations and formal registers. (Introduced)
• Through numerous writing exercises, students will practice writing using standard scientific format and style.
• Students will develop and refine their own voice and sense of style. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Through numerous writing exercises, students will continue to develop their own voice and sense of style.
• Students will practice and refine different forms of communication that are appropriate for the multiple contexts and disciplines that they engage with. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will produce lab reports in standard scientific format, write a research paper using the literature review format, give an oral presentation (with powerpoint or other visual aids) of their research project, and teach one short exercise in the lab.
• Students will understand thoroughly the relationship between form and content, (Introduced, Practiced)
• Through several written assignments and careful feedback and revision based on the feedback, as well as by evaluating another student's research project, students will develop a strong sense of the connection between form and content.
• Students will understand the role of drafting, revising, presenting, and receiving, processing and using feedback as important parts of the writing process. (Introduced, Practiced)
• In addition to the process of turning in a first draft of a paper and revising it and then presenting it to the class (oral and digital), students will also give feedback to classmates by reading each other's papers. They will be evaluated on how thoughtful their feedback is.

General Education Goals:

Natural Sciences

• Demonstrate knowledge of at least one area of the natural sciences and the major principles that underlie it (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will compose one major research paper and several shorter written assignments (including 2 lab reports) over the course of the semester that explore the pillars of Plant Ecology (e.g., ecophysiology, plant-pollinator co-evolution) that will require them to clearly articulate their understanding of the concepts, principles and literature.
• Demonstrate familiarity with the strategies of scientific investigation: i. the use of the controlled experiment to test hypotheses by quantifying observations and using mathematical relationships; ii. the value of reductionism to simplify discovery; iii. the role of studies in building the body of scientific knowledge (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will conduct 5 experiments and participate in 2 long-term observational studies in Plant Ecology and produce lab reports demonstrating their ability to construct a hypothesis, implement the scientific method, interpret their results, and discuss their findings in the context of the current literature.
• Identify discoveries in examples drawn from texts, the scientific literature, or practical experience (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will read several papers from the peer-reviewed literature and discuss it with the rest of the class. Students will be evaluated on their participation in discussions.
• Describe the value of instrumentation in the collection of data in the laboratory or field experience (Introduced)
• Students will discuss the advantages and limitations of all instrumentation used in their lab reports.

Quan. & Comp. Reasoning

• Translate problems into the language of mathematics and computer science, and solve them by using mathematical and computational methods and tools (Introduced, Practiced)
• As a class, we will discuss the statistical analyses used in the papers we read and/or cover in lecture and students will address the advantages and limitations (if any) of the analyses in their lab reports. We will also conduct statistical analyses of our own data (from the lab experiments). Non-majors will be paired with majors as mentors for this step. An hour will be set aside for each of these sessions during lab time to explain the statistics to students who have not yet had a stats class.
• Understand the structure and development of logical arguments (Introduced, Practiced)
• We will discuss peer-reviewed papers with special attention paid to whether the experiment was properly designed to test the hypothesis and whether results were properly interpreted. Students will address this in their lab reports in which they have to discuss their findings in light of other work on the same topic (published) as well as in their research paper.
• Understand the algebraic and graphical properties of important mathematical functions and use these functions in concrete applications (Introduced)
• Students will be introduced to stats and their ability to properly interpret them will be assessed on exams/quizzes, in discussion, and in their written work (lab reports and research paper).
• Understand and apply the fundamental ideas of probability and statistics (Introduced)
• Students will be introduced to stats and their ability to properly interpret them will be assessed on exams/quizzes, in discussion, and in their written work (lab reports and research paper).

Written Communication II

• A. Demonstrate familiarity with a variety of rhetorical forms and how these forms are used in specific academic disciplines, cultural contexts, and institutions outside the academy (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will write several lab reports (sometimes in teams and sometimes independently) and a research paper. This will provide an opportunity to practice the art of scientific writing. We will also read papers from several branches of plant sciences, e.g., basic ecological research, the applied fields such agro-ecology, and resource management. The goal of this is to expose them to different rhetorical forms and discipline-specific writing styles.
• B. Write clearly organized essays with the following characteristics: effective paragraphing, thesis development, transitions, use and interpretation of evidence, evidence of larger structure and organization (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will write several lab reports (sometimes in pairs, sometimes independently), and a research project, the topic if which is their choice. Drafts will be submitted and returned with specific guidance for improvement. Individual meetings will be held to discuss writing in greater depth. Final drafts will be graded based on the amount of improvement between the first and final draft.
• C. Write essays that incorporate examples from other writers, demonstrate critical thinking and interpretation about the ideas of other writers, and use correct documentation for these examples (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will choose their own topic for the research paper, and will review at least 10 peer-reviewed papers for this assignment. This will require them to critically evaluate these papers and properly interpret the published in the context of the student's research question. Lab reports will require students to search the literature for 3 peer-reviewed papers relevant to the experiment and properly interpret their findings in light of the findings of the published work.
• D. Use draft and revision processes, demonstrate understanding of different stages of the writing process, and engage in editing and revision of peer essays (Introduced, Practiced)
• The first draft of the research paper is expected to be the student's best effort to that point. This draft will be evaluated (written comments and individual meetings) and the second draft will be evaluated on its quality as a scientific review. This draft will also receive written comments. The final draft will be evaluated on the amount of improvement between the second and third/final draft. Students will receive a separate grade for each draft.
• E. Write in a style that is both personally expressive and compatible with the specific discipline or context of the project (Introduced)
• Students will write several lab reports (sometimes in teams and sometimes independently) and a research paper. This will provide an opportunity to practice the art of scientific writing.
• Produce essays and other forms of writing free from sentence level error and identify where to get further information about such errors (e.g., how to use a handbook) (Introduced, Practiced)
• Papers will receive separate scores for the mechanics of writing (grammar, punctuation) and content (logical arguments, etc).
• Be familiar with and able to use the tools and resources of an academic library in addition to Internet resources (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will search the literature for papers relevant to their research topic.
• Be competent in the use of the citation style appropriate to a discipline (Introduced, Practiced)
• Proper citation style is required on all written work.

Program Goals:

Biology Program Goals

• Possess knowledge of general biological principles. (Practiced, Mastered)
• Students will be able to explain biological concepts, relationships, interactions, structures and processes.
• Students will be able to apply biological principles to specific biological phenomena.
• Have the ability to carry out standard laboratory and field techniques, including analysis of results. (Introduced, Practiced, Mastered)
• Students will be able to carry out additional specialized techniques from subfields of biology.
• Students will be able to analyze experimental results using qualitative and quantitative methods.
• Students will be able to carry out basic techniques including gel electrophoresis, PCR, bioinformatics, microscopy, dissection, and identification of organisms from all major taxonomic groups.
• Have the ability to communicate findings in both oral and written modes. (Practiced, Mastered)
• Students will be able to write using a standard scientific writing style, with proper English, scientific terminology, and concise, logical expression of ideas.
• Students will be able to communicate orally in a style appropriate for a scientific audience, clearly interpreting data and figures and utilizing, where appropriate, presentation software.
• Understand and practice the process of scientific inquiry, including the logic of experimentation. (Introduced, Practiced, Mastered)
• Students will formulate hypotheses, then perform real and/or virtual experiments using qualitative and quantitative methodology to evaluate their predictions.
• Students will be able to discuss the implications of experimental data to initial hypothesis and formulate appropriate conclusions.
• Students will be able to critique the available literature, understanding the role of appropriate controls, testable hypotheses, and the biological phenomena under consideration.
• Have the ability to evaluate a new area of research using knowledge of biological principles and the process of scientific inquiry, as well as the current biological literature. (Practiced)
• Students will utilize published scientific literature to focus on specific scientific mechanisms or fields of interest, synthesizing the literature, and may identify and evaluate competing hypotheses.
• Students will be able to critique and evaluate published scientific literature and identify theories, methodologies, results and conclusions.

Core Goals:

Critical Analysis

• Students will critically analyze information and ideas. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will examine historical epidemics in which they explore and compare new and dated information, and apply this to a current day scenario.
• Students will examine issues from multiple perspectives. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will discuss a model epidemic, paying close attention to the social, economic, ethical, scientific, legal and political aspects.
• Students will present a poster based on a historical epidemic, and consider the implications of that disease from multiple perspectives.
• Students will engage in an exploration of the relationship between past systems of knowledge and present scholarly and creative approaches within and across disciplines. (Introduced)
• In poster presentations, students will analyze historical epidemics, and apply this information to a modern day scenario taking into consideration the social, economic, ethical, scientific, legal and political aspects.
• Students will consider how our understanding of significant questions and ideas is informed by the critical, scholarly, and creative approaches through which we approach those questions and ideas. (Introduced)
• Students will analyze, critique and report on historical epidemics in a poster presentation where they will consider policy and cultural implications that might be employed against that same disease in a present day scenario.
• Students will develop discernment, facility and ethical responsibility in using information. (Introduced)
• Students will consider how different presentation forms (oral presentations, poster presentations, or written journal articles) use information differently.
• Students will engage as active participants in the College's intellectual community. (Introduced)
• The poster presentations will be displayed in the NSB foyer and open to the Mills College Community.

Written & Oral Comm II

• Students will develop skills in writing, digital presentation, and oral communication, as complementary and equal parts of college-level communication and literacy. (Introduced, Practiced, Mastered)
• Demonstrate the ability to write a full scientific laboratory report.
• Students will be able to move easily and fluently between different rhetorical expectations and formal registers. (Introduced, Practiced, Mastered)
• Demonstrate the ability to write a full scientific laboratory report.
• Students will develop and refine their own voice and sense of style. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Demonstrate the ability to write a full scientific laboratory report.
• Students will practice and refine different forms of communication that are appropriate for the multiple contexts and disciplines that they engage with. (Introduced, Practiced, Mastered)
• Demonstrate an ability to write a series of research papers that explore different aspects of a prokaryote, then present that material orally.
• Students will understand thoroughly the relationship between form and content, (Introduced, Practiced, Mastered)
• Demonstrate the ability to write a full scientific laboratory report.
• Students will understand the role of drafting, revising, presenting, and receiving, processing and using feedback as important parts of the writing process. (Introduced, Practiced, Mastered)
• Demonstrate the ability to write a full scientific laboratory report.

General Education Goals:

Written Communication II

• B. Write clearly organized essays with the following characteristics: effective paragraphing, thesis development, transitions, use and interpretation of evidence, evidence of larger structure and organization (Introduced, Practiced)
• Demonstrate an ability to write a series of research papers that supports paragraph structure and transitions. Students explore different aspects of a bacterium (prokaryote report) over the semester, developing a thesis in stages, exploring evidence and critically thinking around given topics such as nutrition and growth.
• Demonstrate the ability to write a full scientific laboratory report. Students will practice this early in the semester and receive feedback, then demonstrate their understanding in a full report on their unknown bacterium.
• C. Write essays that incorporate examples from other writers, demonstrate critical thinking and interpretation about the ideas of other writers, and use correct documentation for these examples (Introduced, Practiced)
• Demonstrate an ability to incorporate examples to explain a scientific process. This will be required in both prokaryote disease reports and laboratory reports.
• Produce essays and other forms of writing free from sentence level error and identify where to get further information about such errors (e.g., how to use a handbook) (Introduced, Practiced)
• Demonstrate through written reports work that is free of sentence level error. This will be required in both prokaryote disease reports and laboratory reports.
• Be familiar with and able to use the tools and resources of an academic library in addition to Internet resources (Introduced, Practiced)
• Demonstrate an ability to utilize internet and library resources to research scientific literature. This will be required in both prokaryote disease reports and laboratory reports.
• Be competent in the use of the citation style appropriate to a discipline (Introduced, Practiced)
• Demonstrate an ability to correctly citate work. This will be required in both prokaryote disease reports and laboratory reports.

Program Goals:

Biology Program Goals

• Possess knowledge of general biological principles. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will be able to explain biological concepts, relationships, interactions, structures and processes.
• Students will be able to apply biological principles to specific biological phenomena.
• Have the ability to carry out standard laboratory and field techniques, including analysis of results. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will be able to carry out additional specialized techniques from subfields of biology.
• Students will be able to analyze experimental results using qualitative and quantitative methods.
• Students will be able to carry out basic techniques including gel electrophoresis, PCR, bioinformatics, microscopy, dissection, and identification of organisms from all major taxonomic groups.
• Have the ability to communicate findings in both oral and written modes. (Practiced)
• Students will be able to write using a standard scientific writing style, with proper English, scientific terminology, and concise, logical expression of ideas.
• Students will be able to communicate orally in a style appropriate for a scientific audience, clearly interpreting data and figures and utilizing, where appropriate, presentation software.
• Understand and practice the process of scientific inquiry, including the logic of experimentation. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will formulate hypotheses, then perform real and/or virtual experiments using qualitative and quantitative methodology to evaluate their predictions.
• Students will be able to discuss the implications of experimental data to initial hypothesis and formulate appropriate conclusions.
• Students will be able to critique the available literature, understanding the role of appropriate controls, testable hypotheses, and the biological phenomena under consideration.
• Have the ability to evaluate a new area of research using knowledge of biological principles and the process of scientific inquiry, as well as the current biological literature. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will utilize published scientific literature to focus on specific scientific mechanisms or fields of interest, synthesizing the literature, and may identify and evaluate competing hypotheses.
• Students will be able to critique and evaluate published scientific literature and identify theories, methodologies, results and conclusions.

Core Goals:

Create, Innovate & Experiment

• Students will extend their creative strengths and skills. (Introduced)
• Students to explore how new ideas are created. They will be introduced to the ways of thinking necessary to understand patterns observed in the natural world and encouraged to think creatively about ways to understand nature. Specifically, students will design and implement an ecological research project in the natural sciences.
• Students will design or produce work that demonstrates independent thinking, originality, and inventiveness. (Introduced)
• Students will creatively design and implement a semester long project to reveal new ideas about real-world problems they observe in nature. Students will be introduced the ecological literature and then be mentored during weekly lab sessions to tackle an ecological pattern they observe in a creative way to produce new knowledge. They will design an experimental or descriptive study to generate new, original data to address a question to which they don't yet know the answer to produce new solutions in an attempt to resolve an ecological question.
• Students will produce innovative solutions to real-world problems. (Introduced)
• By testing multiple hypotheses, students will engage in collaborative group projects to produce an enhanced understanding, and potentially surprising or innovative understanding, of problems or phenomena observed in the natural world.

Quantitative Literacy

• Interpretation: Students will have the ability to explain information presented in mathematical and computational forms. (Introduced)
• Students will be introduced to a the basic set of quantitative tools used by ecologist to understand the natural world in these problem sets and simulations used throughout the course. Students will also interpret and explain the meaning of the results they produce as part of their semester long group projects. They will do this both in written, oral and digital form through written projects and group presentations.
• Representation: Students will be able to convert information into mathematical and computational forms analytically and/or using computational tools. (Introduced)
• Students will convert data they've collected or been given into mathematical and computational forms. First, they will use mathematical calculations to quantify ecological measures and to represent data collected using measures of central tendency. Second, they will represent patterns generated during computer simulations to assess ecological conditions not possible to measure in real-time in the classroom or labs, such as predator-prey dynamics and responses to shift in climate occurring over multiple decades.
• Analysis: Students will be able to draw appropriate conclusions using mathematical or computational reasoning and understand the limits of such conclusions and the assumptions on which they are based. (Practiced)
• Students will analyze data collected in lab or from existing studies to draw conclusions about its ecological meanings. Data will be analyzed using to calculate measures in life tables, using functions in Excel to analyze patterns from data collected in labs, and using computer simulations to understand ecological dynamics. Students will be introduced the assumptions of life history trait measures, statistical tests used to analyze data and will manipulate the assumptions of the computer simulations performed to understand how crucial assumptions are in generating patterns.
• Communication: Students will be able to communicate quantitative ideas in the languages of mathematics, computer science, or quantitative social sciences and will be able to utilize quantitative information in support of an argument. (Introduced)
• Students will also interpret and explain the meaning of the results they produce as part of their semester long group projects. In doing so, they must not only think critically about the data they've collected and analyzed, but also effectively communicate in both written and oral modes. Additionally, students will engage in a series of debates about the interpretation of data and the management implications of these data within various conservation contexts.

Written & Oral Comm II

• Students will develop skills in writing, digital presentation, and oral communication, as complementary and equal parts of college-level communication and literacy. (Practiced)
• Students will engage in a semester-long ecological research project that will train students to communicate effectively in speaking, writing, and digital presentation.
• Students will be able to move easily and fluently between different rhetorical expectations and formal registers. (Introduced)
• Students will learn how to present themselves using professional discourses within the sciences. They will learn the disciplinary norms and expectations by practicing to write and present their ideas orally in ways characteristic of the writing done by and the presentations given by professional ecologists.
• Students will develop and refine their own voice and sense of style. (Introduced)
• Students will develop careful ways of expressing their scientific ideas by presenting their own ideas in a style that is effective and clear to the others.
• Students will practice and refine different forms of communication that are appropriate for the multiple contexts and disciplines that they engage with. (Practiced)
• Students will engage in testing hypotheses of their own design and this project will be disseminated through a series of written responses to be revised and rewritten throughout the semester. The results of the project will be presented orally throughout the semester as updates to the class and the final presentation will involve digital presentation to the class.
• Students will understand thoroughly the relationship between form and content, (Introduced)
• Students will learn to use citation styles and to reference the primary literature in their written and oral presentations.
• Students will understand the role of drafting, revising, presenting, and receiving, processing and using feedback as important parts of the writing process. (Practiced)
• Students draft, revise, and present the results of the semester-long projects in written and oral forms. They will provide feedback to classmates and integrate this feedback into their projects through revisions of early drafts to improve upon their writing process, and in doing so, generate an improved written product this this course.

Program Goals:

Biochem/Molecular Biol Program Goals

• Be able to apply the fundamental principles of chemistry to the understanding of how biological systems function at the molecular level. (Practiced, Mastered)
• Students will identify how molecular identity dictates cellular and physiological function using multiple paradigmatic examples.

Biology Program Goals

• Possess knowledge of general biological principles. (Practiced, Mastered)
• Students will be able to apply biological principles to specific biological phenomena.
• Students will be able to explain biological concepts, relationships, interactions, structures and processes.
• Have the ability to carry out standard laboratory and field techniques, including analysis of results. (Practiced, Mastered)
• Students will be able to carry out additional specialized techniques from subfields of biology.

Biochem/Molecular Biol Program Goals

• Be able to relate the structures of biological molecules (DNA, RNA, proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids) to their biochemical activities and biological functions. (Practiced, Mastered)
• Students will discuss and analyze how DNA, protein, and lipid structure relates to protein sorting, membrane trafficking, cell signaling, the cytoskeleton, and cell cycle control.

Biology Program Goals

• Have the ability to carry out standard laboratory and field techniques, including analysis of results. (Practiced, Mastered)
• Students will be able to carry out basic laboratory techniques with an emphasis on light microscopy.
• Have the ability to communicate findings in both oral and written modes. (Practiced)
• Students will be able to communicate orally in a style appropriate for a scientific audience, clearly interpreting data and figures and utilizing, where appropriate, presentation software.

Biochem/Molecular Biol Program Goals

• Be able to apply arguments relating to the molecular unity of biological systems as it relates to molecular evolution. (Practiced, Mastered)
• Students will analyze how the related protein families drive disparate cellular functions.

Biology Program Goals

• Have the ability to communicate findings in both oral and written modes. (Practiced)
• Students will be able to write using a standard scientific writing style, with proper English, scientific terminology, and concise, logical expression of ideas.
• Understand and practice the process of scientific inquiry, including the logic of experimentation. (Practiced, Mastered)
• Students will develop an original research proposal.

Biochem/Molecular Biol Program Goals

• Understand the principles behind the tools and techniques used in the "in vitro" study of molecular biological systems. (Practiced)
• Students will present the molecular logic and value of selected laboratory tools and techniques.
• Students will utilize current cell and molecular biology tools and techniques to carry out experiments in the laboratory section.

Biology Program Goals

• Understand and practice the process of scientific inquiry, including the logic of experimentation. (Practiced, Mastered)
• Students will formulate hypotheses, then perform real and/or virtual experiments using qualitative and quantitative methodology to evaluate their predictions.
• Students will be able to critique the available literature, understanding the role of appropriate controls, testable hypotheses, and the biological phenomena under consideration.

Biochem/Molecular Biol Program Goals

• Be able to interpret the data obtained using the tools and techniques used in the "in vitro" study of molecular biological systems. (Practiced)
• Students will read, interpret, and critique data published in the primary research literature.

Biology Program Goals

• Have the ability to evaluate a new area of research using knowledge of biological principles and the process of scientific inquiry, as well as the current biological literature. (Practiced, Mastered)
• Students will be able to critique and evaluate published scientific literature and identify theories, methodologies, results and conclusions.
• Students will utilize published scientific literature to focus on specific scientific mechanisms or fields of interest, synthesizing the literature, and may identify and evaluate competing hypotheses.

Biochem/Molecular Biol Program Goals

• Be able to interpret the data obtained using the tools and techniques used in the "in vitro" study of molecular biological systems. (Practiced)
• Students will collect and interpret data they generate in the laboratory section.
• Be able to access the primary literature of the discipline and to use its findings. (Practiced)
• Students will read, interpret, and critique data and concepts published in the primary research literature.

Program Goals:

Biology Program Goals

• Possess knowledge of general biological principles. (Practiced)
• Students will be able to apply biological principles to specific biological phenomena.

Biopsychology Program Goals

• Possess knowledge of general biological and psychological principles to understand interactions between mind/body, environment, and human behavior. (Practiced)
• Demonstrate knowledge of principles of genetics on homework and exams.

Biology Program Goals

• Possess knowledge of general biological principles. (Practiced)
• Students will be able to explain biological concepts, relationships, interactions, structures and processes.
• Have the ability to carry out standard laboratory and field techniques, including analysis of results. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will be able to carry out additional specialized techniques from subfields of biology.
• Students will be able to carry out basic techniques including gel electrophoresis, PCR, bioinformatics, microscopy, dissection, and identification of organisms from all major taxonomic groups.
• Students will be able to analyze experimental results using qualitative and quantitative methods.
• Have the ability to communicate findings in both oral and written modes. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will be able to write using a standard scientific writing style, with proper English, scientific terminology, and concise, logical expression of ideas.
• Students will be able to communicate orally in a style appropriate for a scientific audience, clearly interpreting data and figures and utilizing, where appropriate, presentation software.
• Understand and practice the process of scientific inquiry, including the logic of experimentation. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will formulate hypotheses, then perform real and/or virtual experiments using qualitative and quantitative methodology to evaluate their predictions.
• Students will be able to discuss the implications of experimental data to initial hypothesis and formulate appropriate conclusions.
• Students will be able to critique the available literature, understanding the role of appropriate controls, testable hypotheses, and the biological phenomena under consideration.
• Have the ability to evaluate a new area of research using knowledge of biological principles and the process of scientific inquiry, as well as the current biological literature. (Introduced)
• Students will be able to critique and evaluate published scientific literature and identify theories, methodologies, results and conclusions.
• Students will utilize published scientific literature to focus on specific scientific mechanisms or fields of interest, synthesizing the literature, and may identify and evaluate competing hypotheses.

Program Goals:

Biology Program Goals

• Possess knowledge of general biological principles. (Practiced)
• Students will be able to explain biological concepts, relationships, interactions, structures and processes.
• Students will be able to apply biological principles to specific biological phenomena.
• Have the ability to carry out standard laboratory and field techniques, including analysis of results. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will be able to carry out additional specialized techniques from subfields of biology.
• Students will be able to carry out basic techniques including gel electrophoresis, PCR, bioinformatics, microscopy, dissection, and identification of organisms from all major taxonomic groups.
• Have the ability to communicate findings in both oral and written modes. (Practiced)
• Students will be able to write using a standard scientific writing style, with proper English, scientific terminology, and concise, logical expression of ideas.
• Students will be able to communicate orally in a style appropriate for a scientific audience, clearly interpreting data and figures and utilizing, where appropriate, presentation software.
• Understand and practice the process of scientific inquiry, including the logic of experimentation. (Practiced)
• Students will formulate hypotheses, then perform real and/or virtual experiments using qualitative and quantitative methodology to evaluate their predictions.
• Students will be able to discuss the implications of experimental data to initial hypothesis and formulate appropriate conclusions.
• Students will be able to critique the available literature, understanding the role of appropriate controls, testable hypotheses, and the biological phenomena under consideration.
• Have the ability to evaluate a new area of research using knowledge of biological principles and the process of scientific inquiry, as well as the current biological literature. (Practiced)
• Students will utilize published scientific literature to focus on specific scientific mechanisms or fields of interest, synthesizing the literature, and may identify and evaluate competing hypotheses.
• Students will be able to critique and evaluate published scientific literature and identify theories, methodologies, results and conclusions.

Program Goals:

Biology Program Goals

• Possess knowledge of general biological principles. (Practiced, Mastered)
• Students will be able to explain biological concepts, relationships, interactions, structures and processes.
• Students will be able to apply biological principles to specific biological phenomena.
• Have the ability to carry out standard laboratory and field techniques, including analysis of results. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will be able to carry out additional specialized techniques from subfields of biology.
• Students will be able to analyze experimental results using qualitative and quantitative methods.
• Students will be able to carry out basic techniques including gel electrophoresis, PCR, bioinformatics, microscopy, dissection, and identification of organisms from all major taxonomic groups.
• Have the ability to communicate findings in both oral and written modes. (Practiced)
• Students will be able to write using a standard scientific writing style, with proper English, scientific terminology, and concise, logical expression of ideas.
• Students will be able to communicate orally in a style appropriate for a scientific audience, clearly interpreting data and figures and utilizing, where appropriate, presentation software.
• Understand and practice the process of scientific inquiry, including the logic of experimentation. (Practiced, Mastered)
• Students will formulate hypotheses, then perform real and/or virtual experiments using qualitative and quantitative methodology to evaluate their predictions.
• Students will be able to discuss the implications of experimental data to initial hypothesis and formulate appropriate conclusions.
• Students will be able to critique the available literature, understanding the role of appropriate controls, testable hypotheses, and the biological phenomena under consideration.
• Have the ability to evaluate a new area of research using knowledge of biological principles and the process of scientific inquiry, as well as the current biological literature. (Practiced, Mastered)
• Students will utilize published scientific literature to focus on specific scientific mechanisms or fields of interest, synthesizing the literature, and may identify and evaluate competing hypotheses.
• Students will be able to critique and evaluate published scientific literature and identify theories, methodologies, results and conclusions.

Core Goals:

Critical Analysis

• Students will critically analyze information and ideas. (Practiced)
• Students will collect and analyze their own data to test current ideas (hypotheses/theories) of animal behavior to assess these theories and provide support for or refute them based on their own group projects.
• Students will examine issues from multiple perspectives. (Practiced)
• Students will study animal behavior from multiple view points using the great "nature vs. nurture debate" as a context in which to explain the biological basis for observed behavioral phenomena from seemingly contradictory perspectives.
• Students will engage in an exploration of the relationship between past systems of knowledge and present scholarly and creative approaches within and across disciplines. (Introduced)
• Students will integrate perspectives from comparative psychology and behavioral ecology to understand the ways that knowledge from both fields inform our understanding of the degree to which behaviors are learned across development and mediated by genetic and physiological mechanisms favored by natural selection.
• Students will consider how our understanding of significant questions and ideas is informed by the critical, scholarly, and creative approaches through which we approach those questions and ideas. (Practiced)
• Students will engage in weekly oral discussions and written response papers based on their reading of the primary (peer-reviewed) literature from the journal of Animal Behaviour. They will analyze the value of current hypotheses as well as creative approaches to testing these ways of knowing using a combination of observational and experimental approaches.
• Students will develop discernment, facility and ethical responsibility in using information. (Practiced)
• Each week, we will discuss a new article published in the journal of Animal Behaviour. The journal requires authors to publish an ethical note for their research involving animals. Students will consider the ethical responsibilities of scientists in this domain, as well as the implications for the new knowledge generated from this original research.
• Students will engage as active participants in the College's intellectual community. (Introduced)
• Students will interact with community members in this course as part of their dog cognition testing. They will actively seek participants from the broader intellectual community (beyond students in biology) to participate in this project and by doing so explain the value of understanding biological phenomena to community members outside of biology. Within the classroom, our weekly discussion will also engage a diverse intellectual community of learners because this course attracts students from multiple disciplines across campus (environmental science, environmental studies, biopsychology, biology, psychology, etc).

Written & Oral Comm II

• Students will develop skills in writing, digital presentation, and oral communication, as complementary and equal parts of college-level communication and literacy. (Introduced)
• Students will develop writing, digital presentation and oral communication through written responses to weekly readings, review concepts using digital media, and orally present on current news topics in animal behavior.
• Students will be able to move easily and fluently between different rhetorical expectations and formal registers. (Introduced)
• Students will master ways of communicating using professional discourse in the sciences. They will read formal publications and discuss the implications of these papers during weekly discussions. This will allow them to move from rhetorical expectations from lectures to more formalized discussions.
• Students will develop and refine their own voice and sense of style. (Introduced)
• During our weekly discussions, students will develop ways of discussing and communicating complex scientific concepts. They will find their own voice and style by creating activities that use multiple modes of communication to support our discussions.
• Students will practice and refine different forms of communication that are appropriate for the multiple contexts and disciplines that they engage with. (Introduced)
• Students will practice communication in forms across various contexts, including those occurring independent activities, group-work, and discussions involving the entire class.
• Students will understand thoroughly the relationship between form and content, (Introduced)
• Students will practice referencing the primary literature by writing various scholarly papers across the course of the semester (e.g., dog cognition report, news and reviews article).
• Students will understand the role of drafting, revising, presenting, and receiving, processing and using feedback as important parts of the writing process. (Practiced)
• We will discuss the role of peer-review as we read the articles from the peer-reviewed literature. In addition, students will peer-review each other's papers and integrate this feedback directly into their revisions of their news and reviews paper. As a result, they will recognize the value of receiving feedback as part of their writing process.

General Education Goals:

Written Communication II

• B. Write clearly organized essays with the following characteristics: effective paragraphing, thesis development, transitions, use and interpretation of evidence, evidence of larger structure and organization (Introduced, Practiced)
• Demonstrate an ability to write a report that supports paragraph structure, development and interpretation of hypotheses being tested and transitions for the sciences.
• Write a clearly organized essay in which the student evaluates evidence and logic used in the scientific literature on animal behavior.
• C. Write essays that incorporate examples from other writers, demonstrate critical thinking and interpretation about the ideas of other writers, and use correct documentation for these examples (Introduced, Practiced)
• Write report in which multiple competing ideas from the literature are introduced and correctly cited in the reference list using a citation style consistent with that used in the study of animal behavior.
• Critically interpret empirical results in light of ideas proposed by other writers cited from the current literature.
• D. Use draft and revision processes, demonstrate understanding of different stages of the writing process, and engage in editing and revision of peer essays (Introduced, Practiced)
• Submit multiple drafts of "News & Views" paper. Respond to comments from peers on their first "near perfect" draft of the paper.
• Students use rubric produced by instructor to provide thoughtful feedback to peers about an early version of that help that person edit and revise her essay.
• E. Write in a style that is both personally expressive and compatible with the specific discipline or context of the project (Introduced)
• Students are expected to write a "News & Views" style essay that is both exciting and convinces the readers about the novelty of the work, but also clearly explains the scientific content of the original article on which they are reporting.
• Produce essays and other forms of writing free from sentence level error and identify where to get further information about such errors (e.g., how to use a handbook) (Introduced)
• Use a guide to grammar to peer-review their own work and that of their peers to identify grammatical errors in their writing and to get feedback on how to correct such errors.
• Be familiar with and able to use the tools and resources of an academic library in addition to Internet resources (Introduced)
• Students are introduced to ways to search for articles at Mills using PubMed and Google Scholar.
• Students are provided with instructions about how to use the "Web of Science" and are encouraged to seek access to this database at neighboring institutions such as UC-Berkeley.
• Students are taught how to track connections among articles by looking at which articles cite a particular target article and the reference list included in that reference list.
• Encourage students to use Inter-library Loan (ILL) to access resources unavailable at Mills to take full advantage of opportunities for research at other academic libraries.
• Be competent in the use of the citation style appropriate to a discipline (Practiced)
• All papers written in this course must follow the produce an error-free reference list following citation style indicated by the instructor.
• Both in-text citations and end of the paper references are required to match such that only paper cited in the text are included in the reference list and all items of the reference list are also cited in the text.

Program Goals:

Biology Program Goals

• Possess knowledge of general biological principles. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will be able to explain biological concepts, relationships, interactions, structures and processes.
• Students will be able to apply biological principles to specific biological phenomena.
• Have the ability to carry out standard laboratory and field techniques, including analysis of results. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will be able to carry out additional specialized techniques from subfields of biology.
• Have the ability to communicate findings in both oral and written modes. (Practiced)
• Students will be able to write using a standard scientific writing style, with proper English, scientific terminology, and concise, logical expression of ideas.
• Students will be able to communicate orally in a style appropriate for a scientific audience, clearly interpreting data and figures and utilizing, where appropriate, presentation software.
• Understand and practice the process of scientific inquiry, including the logic of experimentation. (Practiced)
• Students will be able to discuss the implications of experimental data to initial hypothesis and formulate appropriate conclusions.
• Students will formulate hypotheses, then perform real and/or virtual experiments using qualitative and quantitative methodology to evaluate their predictions.
• Have the ability to evaluate a new area of research using knowledge of biological principles and the process of scientific inquiry, as well as the current biological literature. (Practiced)
• Students will be able to critique and evaluate published scientific literature and identify theories, methodologies, results and conclusions.
• Students will utilize published scientific literature to focus on specific scientific mechanisms or fields of interest, synthesizing the literature, and may identify and evaluate competing hypotheses.

Program Goals:

Biology Program Goals

• Possess knowledge of general biological principles. (Practiced, Mastered)
• Students will be able to apply biological principles to specific biological phenomena.
• Students will be able to explain biological concepts, relationships, interactions, structures and processes.
• Have the ability to carry out standard laboratory and field techniques, including analysis of results. (Practiced, Mastered)
• Students will be able to carry out additional specialized techniques from subfields of biology.
• Students will be able to carry out basic techniques including gel electrophoresis, PCR, bioinformatics, microscopy, dissection, and identification of organisms from all major taxonomic groups.
• Students will be able to analyze experimental results using qualitative and quantitative methods.
• Understand and practice the process of scientific inquiry, including the logic of experimentation. (Practiced)
• Students will formulate hypotheses, then perform real and/or virtual experiments using qualitative and quantitative methodology to evaluate their predictions.
• Students will be able to discuss the implications of experimental data to initial hypothesis and formulate appropriate conclusions.
• Students will be able to critique the available literature, understanding the role of appropriate controls, testable hypotheses, and the biological phenomena under consideration.
• Have the ability to evaluate a new area of research using knowledge of biological principles and the process of scientific inquiry, as well as the current biological literature. (Practiced, Mastered)
• Students will utilize published scientific literature to focus on specific scientific mechanisms or fields of interest, synthesizing the literature, and may identify and evaluate competing hypotheses.
• Students will be able to critique and evaluate published scientific literature and identify theories, methodologies, results and conclusions.

Core Goals:

Critical Analysis

• Students will critically analyze information and ideas. (Practiced)
• Students will read exclusively from the peer-reviewed literature and discuss/critique the design of the experiments and the interpretation of the results both in group conversations and in weekly writing summaries. Students will workshop their own proposed projects and offer feedback that will improve their peers' proposals.
• Students will examine issues from multiple perspectives. (Practiced)
• We will read papers with opposing conclusions as a means of discussing the appropriate interpretation of data and how to disagree in a manner that is productive. In some cases, we will even read papers that use the same data set and yet come to different conclusions. Students will practice offering alternative explanations. This will be done in small and large group discussions and in weekly writing assignments. Students will also take turns leading the class discussion and will be evaluated on the degree tow which they promote careful consideration of mutliple interpretations of the information.
• Students will engage in an exploration of the relationship between past systems of knowledge and present scholarly and creative approaches within and across disciplines. (Introduced)
• We will read some papers that were published more than a century ago as a means of exploring how past research shapes our current understanding, the collaborative nature of scientific knowledge, the contributions of other disciplines to conservation biology (particularly economics and sociology), and how past work shapes, guides and may even limit our current research. There is no explicit, graded measure for this criteria but the ideas are deeply woven into our discussions (written and in-class discussions) of how scientific knowledge evolves.
• Students will consider how our understanding of significant questions and ideas is informed by the critical, scholarly, and creative approaches through which we approach those questions and ideas. (Practiced)
• Students will produce several short papers (topics assigned) and one longer term paper (topic of each student's choosing). One of the criteria by which these papers will be evaluated is how well students are able to assess how the experimental design and previous scholarly work by others might influence the results. They will also be specifically tasked with thinking creatively about other approaches and/or alternative hypotheses.
• Students will develop discernment, facility and ethical responsibility in using information. (Practiced)
• Students will relieve a score after each discussion (weekly) which is based in part on their ability to accurately interpret information (from assigned reading and case studies covered in lecture) and what implications those findings may/may not have for other situations. For one of these discussions we will read a paper that is an excellent example of irresponsible use of information and a gross over-interpretation of the results. After discussion this paper as a group, students will write a rebuttal paper as if it were for a peer-reviewed publication.
• Students will engage as active participants in the College's intellectual community. (Practiced)
• Students will engage in discussions and writing assignments that challenge them to explore conservation issues and the moral implications of action/inaction from multiple perspectives (moral/ethical, scientific/evidence, historical, social, cross-cultural, legislation/policy, and spiritual/religious).

Quantitative Literacy

• Interpretation: Students will have the ability to explain information presented in mathematical and computational forms. (Practiced)
• Students will read exclusively from the peer-reviewed literature and properly interpreting the data and results will be the primary test of their comprehension. Students will be introduced to experimental design, statistics, and data interpretation and expected to develop these skills throughout the semester as demonstrated in writing work, exams and discussions. Several lab exercises will introduced students to a range of quantitative tools and modeling techniques used by ecologist to understand the natural world (and in particular, the behavior of small populations). Students will be given data sets and associated problem sets throughout the semester. Students will interpret and explain the meaning of the results from these labs in written, digital and oral format.
• Representation: Students will be able to convert information into mathematical and computational forms analytically and/or using computational tools. (Practiced)
• Students will convert information they've been given (from real data sets donated by other ecologists) into mathematical and computational forms by (1) determining the appropriate statistical test, (2) conducting the analysis, (3) interpreting the results, and (4) submitting a written report of this work.
• Analysis: Students will be able to draw appropriate conclusions using mathematical or computational reasoning and understand the limits of such conclusions and the assumptions on which they are based. (Practiced)
• Students will analyze data given to them (real data from myself and other ecologists) and be expected to appropriately interpret the results in their written reports as well as oral/digital reports to the class. They will also be expected to discuss the limits of their data and how the experimental design limited/changed the questions they can answer with the data they have in both formats (written reports and oral presentation).
• Communication: Students will be able to communicate quantitative ideas in the languages of mathematics, computer science, or quantitative social sciences and will be able to utilize quantitative information in support of an argument. (Practiced)
• Students will interpret and explain the meaning of the results they produce in their lab reports and oral/digital reports to the class. Work will be evaluated for its appropriate critical interpretation, as well as on how effectively they communicate the results/interpretation in both writing and oral presentation. Students will also engage in several large and small group discussion about the interpretation of data and the implications for conservation.

Written & Oral Comm II

• Students will develop skills in writing, digital presentation, and oral communication, as complementary and equal parts of college-level communication and literacy. (Practiced)
• Students will produce several written assignments: a total of six lab reports, each of which will be given careful feedback, after which they will turn in revised versions of each. Students will also turn in two drafts of their research paper (topic of their choosing). The first draft will receive careful feedback and the second is expected to reflect that feedback so that students have the opportunity to practice writing and improving a single document through the iterative process of feedback and revision. Students will also critique each other's final products and give a final oral and digital presentation of their research project.
• Students will be able to move easily and fluently between different rhetorical expectations and formal registers. (Practiced)
• Through numerous writing exercises, students will practice writing using standard scientific format and style as well as opinion pieces and summary (review) papers, relying on different formal registers and styles.
• Students will develop and refine their own voice and sense of style. (Practiced)
• Through numerous writing exercises, students will continue to develop their own voice and sense of style, expand their vocabularies, and express their ideas in a voice that is both their own but also clear to others.
• Students will practice and refine different forms of communication that are appropriate for the multiple contexts and disciplines that they engage with. (Practiced)
• Students will produce lab reports in standard scientific format, write a research paper using the literature review format, give an oral presentation (with powerpoint or other visual aids) of their research project, and teach one short exercise in the lab as a way of further refining their oral communication skills.
• Students will understand thoroughly the relationship between form and content, (Practiced)
• Through several written assignments and careful feedback and revision based on the feedback, as well as by evaluating another student's research project, students will develop a strong sense of the connection between form and content.
• Students will understand the role of drafting, revising, presenting, and receiving, processing and using feedback as important parts of the writing process. (Practiced)
• Students will turn in a first draft of their research paper and their lab reports and revise them based on the feedback, students will also presenting their research project to the class (oral and digital), and finally, students will give feedback to classmates by reading each other's papers. They will be evaluated on how thoughtful their feedback is.

General Education Goals:

Written Communication II

• A. Demonstrate familiarity with a variety of rhetorical forms and how these forms are used in specific academic disciplines, cultural contexts, and institutions outside the academy (Practiced)
• Students will become familiar with the standard scientific format of written communication, and how it varies with the type of data (observation studies, experiments, review papers, meta-analyses, natural history notes, and opinion pieces, management guidelines) through reading and producing their own papers.
• B. Write clearly organized essays with the following characteristics: effective paragraphing, thesis development, transitions, use and interpretation of evidence, evidence of larger structure and organization (Practiced, Mastered)
• Students write two major papers (>10 pages) in addition to the shorter weekly writing assignments. The first of these two is a well reasoned and defended opinion piece on the topic of Pleistocene Rewilding based on a series of papers that we read as a group, a field trip to the condor reintroduction HQ in Bug Sur, and a classroom discussion. I provide specific guideline for how to reason through and support an opinion piece to which there is no one right answer. We discuss the importance of and strategies for addressing the shortcomings of one's position. The second paper is a 15 page research paper. This is set up to mimic the format for Senior Seminar (Bio 191), our capstone class. It differs from it only in the length of the final document. Students choose their own topic, conduct at literature review and then write a review papers; Many students in the past have used this assignment as the basis for their senior thesis. Students turn in a solid first draft (as polished as they can make it on their own), on which I offer careful feedback on logical thought, content, flow, format, writing/language, etc. We meet individually to discuss my comments and their questions. They then turn in a final draft which I evaluate primarily for how well they incorporated feedback, we able to address issues on their own (these are primarily writing and language issues) and made improvements.
• C. Write essays that incorporate examples from other writers, demonstrate critical thinking and interpretation about the ideas of other writers, and use correct documentation for these examples (Practiced, Mastered)
• Both of the longer papers discussed above require students to search the literature on their own, analyse and critically evaluate the findings of those papers on their own, and properly cite all work.
• D. Use draft and revision processes, demonstrate understanding of different stages of the writing process, and engage in editing and revision of peer essays (Practiced, Mastered)
• The draft, revision and editing steps of the writing process are an inherent part of the research assignment. Both a polished first draft and a revised final draft are required and both receive separate grades. Very rough first drafts are not accepted and students must still turn in a first draft. The opinion piece (discussed previously) may be revised and resubmitted for a higher grade. The purpose of this is to give them practice developing a logical argument when there is no single correct answer and revising their written work. In the past 3 years, almost all students opt to revise this paper.
• E. Write in a style that is both personally expressive and compatible with the specific discipline or context of the project (Practiced, Mastered)
• In both of the longer writing assignments, students develop their personal style while producing a document compatible with the scientific style. The opinion paper gives them more latitude for experimenting with personal style, the research paper gives them less. We discuss the expressive style typical of biology - and its benefits and how to avoid some of the common problems (e.g., impenetrable language). .
• Produce essays and other forms of writing free from sentence level error and identify where to get further information about such errors (e.g., how to use a handbook) (Practiced, Mastered)
• Students are given a great book (as a pdf) on writing in the biological sciences meant to help address this. On drafts of papers, I comment extensively for the first 2 paragraphs or so on each section of the paper on their writing (noting their successes as well as what needs improving), carefully explaining what worked or didn't and offering suggestions. They are then expected to apply this feedback to the rest of the paper. This requires not just understanding how to improve a sentence but also to identify ones that need improvement,
• Be familiar with and able to use the tools and resources of an academic library in addition to Internet resources (Practiced, Mastered)
• students will be required to use academic libraries (Mills and Cal) and online search engines to access the literature for their longer papers (opinion piece and research paper) as well as the weekly readings. Each week, the whole class reads a paper on a particular topic (linked to the lecture topics of the week); two people volunteer/are assigned to lead the discussion and to find another paper that complements the assigned one on their own and send it to the rest of the class to read and discuss. They must search the literature to do this.
• Be competent in the use of the citation style appropriate to a discipline (Practiced, Mastered)
• Proper citation format required for the research paper and the opinion piece. Weekly summaries of the assigned reading require a proper citation at the top (for the assigned reading) and if they cite other papers in these summaries (happens occasionally when they refer back to earlier readings to which they are trying to make a connection or comparison).

Program Goals:

Biology Program Goals

• Possess knowledge of general biological principles. (Practiced)
• Students will be able to explain biological concepts, relationships, interactions, structures and processes.
• Students will be able to apply biological principles to specific biological phenomena.
• Have the ability to communicate findings in both oral and written modes. (Practiced)
• Students will be able to write using a standard scientific writing style, with proper English, scientific terminology, and concise, logical expression of ideas.
• Students will be able to communicate orally in a style appropriate for a scientific audience, clearly interpreting data and figures and utilizing, where appropriate, presentation software.
• Have the ability to evaluate a new area of research using knowledge of biological principles and the process of scientific inquiry, as well as the current biological literature. (Practiced)
• Students will be able to critique and evaluate published scientific literature and identify theories, methodologies, results and conclusions.

Program Goals:

Biology Program Goals

• Possess knowledge of general biological principles. (Practiced, Mastered)
• Students will be able to apply biological principles to specific biological phenomena.
• Students will be able to explain biological concepts, relationships, interactions, structures and processes.
• Have the ability to carry out standard laboratory and field techniques, including analysis of results. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will be able to carry out additional specialized techniques from sub-fields of biology.
• Students will be able to analyze experimental results using qualitative and quantitative methods.
• Students will be able to carry out basic techniques including gel electrophoresis, PCR, bioinformatics, microscopy, dissection, and identification of organisms from all major taxonomic groups.
• Have the ability to communicate findings in both oral and written modes. (Practiced)
• Students will be able to write using a standard scientific writing style, with proper English, scientific terminology, and concise, logical expression of ideas.
• Students will be able to communicate orally in a style appropriate for a scientific audience, clearly interpreting data and figures and utilizing, where appropriate, presentation software.
• Understand and practice the process of scientific inquiry, including the logic of experimentation. (Practiced)
• Students will formulate hypotheses, then perform real and/or virtual experiments using qualitative and quantitative methodology to evaluate their predictions.
• Students will be able to discuss the implications of experimental data to initial hypothesis and formulate appropriate conclusions.
• Students will be able to critique the available literature, understanding the role of appropriate controls, testable hypotheses, and the biological phenomena under consideration.
• Have the ability to evaluate a new area of research using knowledge of biological principles and the process of scientific inquiry, as well as the current biological literature. (Practiced)
• Students will utilize published scientific literature to focus on specific scientific mechanisms or fields of interest, synthesizing the literature, and may identify and evaluate competing hypotheses.
• Students will be able to critique and evaluate published scientific literature and identify theories, methodologies, results and conclusions.

Core Goals:

Create, Innovate & Experiment

• Students will extend their creative strengths and skills. (Practiced, Mastered)
• Students will explore how scientific research is conducted and understanding is advanced through the process of observation, hypothesis proposal, experimental design and testing, proper interpretation of results, and arriving at a conclusion which most often a refinement of the original hypothesis rather than a hard answer. We will emphasize the importance of approaching questions from new perspectives and the creative side of hypothesis proposal. In addition to conducting experiments I have designed for them, students will also implement a experiments of their own design and choosing based on reading the literature to identify gaps in our knowledge and their own attempt to fill that gap.
• Students will design or produce work that demonstrates independent thinking, originality, and inventiveness. (Practiced, Mastered)
• Students will implement a experiment of their own design and choosing based on reading the literature to identify gaps in our knowledge and their own attempt to fill that gap. Students will be guided in this endeavor by weekly meetings with the professor and TA. This work will produce an original data set which they will analyze and interpret themselves. They will then interpret their results in light of the published literature and discuss how their data fill a gap in our collective understanding of the particular topic.
• Students will produce innovative solutions to real-world problems. (Practiced, Mastered)
• By focusing on specific questions we do not yet have a complete answer(s), students will be providing solutions to some real world gaps in our knowledge, thereby advancing our understanding of basic ecology. Often students choose a topic with conservation implications, giving their results significance in an applied arena as well.

Quantitative Literacy

• Interpretation: Students will have the ability to explain information presented in mathematical and computational forms. (Practiced)
• Students will read extensively from the peer-reviewed literature and properly interpreting the data and results will be the primary test of their comprehension. Students will be introduced and will practice the proper design of experiments, statistics, and data interpretation and expected to develop these skills throughout the semester as demonstrated in writing work, exams and discussions. Several lab exercises will introduced students to a range of quantitative tools and modeling techniques used by ecologist to understand the natural world (and in particular, the behavior of small populations). Students will be given data sets and associated problem sets throughout the semester. Students will interpret and explain the meaning of the results from these labs in written, digital and oral format.
• Representation: Students will be able to convert information into mathematical and computational forms analytically and/or using computational tools. (Practiced)
• Students will conduct several experiments, most of which are designed for them and one which they design themselves. Students will convert the information they've collected from these experiments and convert the information into mathematical and computational forms by (1) determining the appropriate statistical test, (2) conducting the analysis, (3) interpreting the results, and (4) submitting a written report of this work.
• Analysis: Students will be able to draw appropriate conclusions using mathematical or computational reasoning and understand the limits of such conclusions and the assumptions on which they are based. (Practiced)
• Students will analyze data generated from the experiments they conduct and be expected to appropriately interpret the results in their written reports as well as oral/digital reports to the class. They will also be expected to discuss the limits of their data and how the experimental design limited/changed the questions they can answer with the data they have in both formats (written reports and oral presentation).
• Communication: Students will be able to communicate quantitative ideas in the languages of mathematics, computer science, or quantitative social sciences and will be able to utilize quantitative information in support of an argument. (Practiced)
• Students will interpret and explain the meaning of the results they produce in both written and oral formats. Students will produce lab reports and give oral/digital reports to the class. Work will be evaluated for its appropriate critical interpretation, as well as on how effectively they communicate the results/interpretation in both writing and oral presentation. Students will also engage in several large and small group discussions about the interpretation of data and the implications for conservation.

Written & Oral Comm II

• Students will develop skills in writing, digital presentation, and oral communication, as complementary and equal parts of college-level communication and literacy. (Practiced)
• Students will produce several written assignments: a total of five lab reports, each of which will be given careful feedback, after which they will turn in revised versions of each. Students will also turn in two drafts of their research paper (topic of their choosing). The first draft will receive careful feedback and the second is expected to reflect that feedback so that students have the opportunity to practice writing and improving a single document through the iterative process of feedback and revision. Students will also critique each other's final products and give a final oral and digital presentation of their research project. This is a split-level class with both majors and non-majors in the same class. The majors will conduct three more experiments than the non-majors. For the 3 experiments that the majors did but the non-majors did not, the class will be divided into small groups in which there will be one major and several non-majors. The major student in each group will explain the intellectual motivation behind each experiment, provide the background knowledge, introduce the hypothesis and experimental design, explain the statistical test(s) and results, interpret the data for the non-majors and answer questions.
• Students will be able to move easily and fluently between different rhetorical expectations and formal registers. (Practiced)
• Through numerous writing exercises, students will practice writing using standard scientific format and style as well as opinion pieces and summary (review) papers, relying on different formal registers and styles. Majors will also explain experiments and results to non-majors in a discussion format.
• Students will develop and refine their own voice and sense of style. (Practiced)
• Through numerous writing exercises, students will continue to develop their own voice and sense of style, expand their vocabularies, and express their ideas in a voice that is both their own but also clear to others.
• Students will practice and refine different forms of communication that are appropriate for the multiple contexts and disciplines that they engage with. (Practiced)
• Students will produce lab reports in standard scientific format, write a research paper using the literature review format, give an oral presentation (with powerpoint or other visual aids) of their research project, and teach three experiences/lead discussion for the non-majors in the class as a way of further refining their oral communication skills.
• Students will understand thoroughly the relationship between form and content, (Practiced)
• Through several written assignments and careful feedback and revision based on the feedback, as well as by evaluating another student's research project, students will develop a strong sense of the connection between form and content.
• Students will understand the role of drafting, revising, presenting, and receiving, processing and using feedback as important parts of the writing process. (Practiced)
• Students will turn in a first draft of their research paper and their lab reports and revise them based on feedback, students will also present their research project to the class (oral and digital), and finally, students will give feedback to classmates by reading each other's papers. They will be evaluated on how thoughtful their feedback is.

Program Goals:

Biology Program Goals

• Possess knowledge of general biological principles. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will be able to explain biological concepts, relationships, interactions, structures and processes.
• Students will be able to apply biological principles to specific biological phenomena.
• Have the ability to carry out standard laboratory and field techniques, including analysis of results. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will be able to carry out additional specialized techniques from subfields of biology.
• Students will be able to analyze experimental results using qualitative and quantitative methods.
• Students will be able to carry out basic techniques including gel electrophoresis, PCR, bioinformatics, microscopy, dissection, and identification of organisms from all major taxonomic groups.
• Have the ability to communicate findings in both oral and written modes. (Introduced)
• Students will be able to write using a standard scientific writing style, with proper English, scientific terminology, and concise, logical expression of ideas.
• Students will be able to communicate orally in a style appropriate for a scientific audience, clearly interpreting data and figures and utilizing, where appropriate, presentation software.
• Understand and practice the process of scientific inquiry, including the logic of experimentation. (Practiced)
• Students will formulate hypotheses, then perform real and/or virtual experiments using qualitative and quantitative methodology to evaluate their predictions.
• Students will be able to discuss the implications of experimental data to initial hypothesis and formulate appropriate conclusions.
• Students will be able to critique the available literature, understanding the role of appropriate controls, testable hypotheses, and the biological phenomena under consideration.
• Have the ability to evaluate a new area of research using knowledge of biological principles and the process of scientific inquiry, as well as the current biological literature. (Practiced)
• Students will utilize published scientific literature to focus on specific scientific mechanisms or fields of interest, synthesizing the literature, and may identify and evaluate competing hypotheses.
• Students will be able to critique and evaluate published scientific literature and identify theories, methodologies, results and conclusions.

Program Goals:

Biology Program Goals

• Possess knowledge of general biological principles. (Practiced)
• Students will be able to apply biological principles to specific biological phenomena.
• Students will be able to explain biological concepts, relationships, interactions, structures and processes.
• Have the ability to carry out standard laboratory and field techniques, including analysis of results. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will be able to carry out additional specialized techniques from subfields of biology.
• Students will be able to carry out basic techniques including gel electrophoresis, PCR, bioinformatics, microscopy, dissection, and identification of organisms from all major taxonomic groups.
• Have the ability to communicate findings in both oral and written modes. (Practiced)
• Students will be able to write using a standard scientific writing style, with proper English, scientific terminology, and concise, logical expression of ideas.
• Students will be able to communicate orally in a style appropriate for a scientific audience, clearly interpreting data and figures and utilizing, where appropriate, presentation software.
• Have the ability to evaluate a new area of research using knowledge of biological principles and the process of scientific inquiry, as well as the current biological literature. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will utilize published scientific literature to focus on specific scientific mechanisms or fields of interest, synthesizing the literature, and may identify and evaluate competing hypotheses.
• Students will be able to critique and evaluate published scientific literature and identify theories, methodologies, results and conclusions.

Program Goals:

Biology Program Goals

• Possess knowledge of general biological principles. (Practiced)
• Students will be able to apply biological principles to specific biological phenomena.

Biopsychology Program Goals

• Possess knowledge of general biological and psychological principles to understand interactions between mind/body, environment, and human behavior. (Practiced, Mastered)
• Describe relationships between psychological (behavioral) and physiological concepts, incorporating theory, both correctly and comprehensively
• Use physiology and behavior terminology correctly and comprehensively in exam questions.

Biology Program Goals

• Possess knowledge of general biological principles. (Practiced)
• Students will be able to explain biological concepts, relationships, interactions, structures and processes.
• Have the ability to carry out standard laboratory and field techniques, including analysis of results. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will be able to carry out additional specialized techniques from subfields of biology.
• Students will be able to carry out basic techniques including gel electrophoresis, PCR, bioinformatics, microscopy, dissection, and identification of organisms from all major taxonomic groups.
• Have the ability to communicate findings in both oral and written modes. (Practiced)
• Students will be able to write using a standard scientific writing style, with proper English, scientific terminology, and concise, logical expression of ideas.
• Understand and practice the process of scientific inquiry, including the logic of experimentation. (Practiced)
• Students will formulate hypotheses, then perform real and/or virtual experiments using qualitative and quantitative methodology to evaluate their predictions.
• Students will be able to discuss the implications of experimental data to initial hypothesis and formulate appropriate conclusions.
• Students will be able to critique the available literature, understanding the role of appropriate controls, testable hypotheses, and the biological phenomena under consideration.
• Have the ability to evaluate a new area of research using knowledge of biological principles and the process of scientific inquiry, as well as the current biological literature. (Practiced)
• Students will utilize published scientific literature to focus on specific scientific mechanisms or fields of interest, synthesizing the literature, and may identify and evaluate competing hypotheses.
• Students will be able to critique and evaluate published scientific literature and identify theories, methodologies, results and conclusions.

Core Goals:

Critical Analysis

• Students will critically analyze information and ideas. (Practiced)
• Students will read peer-reviewed literature and examine some of the complexities of real data collected from the reserves we will visit.
• Students will examine issues from multiple perspectives. (Practiced)
• Students will examine issues of conservation from ecological, economic and ethical perspectives and discuss how to measure success given different metrics of success and priorities.
• Students will engage in an exploration of the relationship between past systems of knowledge and present scholarly and creative approaches within and across disciplines. (Introduced)
• Students will reflect on how theories of reserve design have changed as we move from species-based designs to designs that aim to protect ecological processes.
• Students will consider how our understanding of significant questions and ideas is informed by the critical, scholarly, and creative approaches through which we approach those questions and ideas. (Practiced)
• Students will reflect on how conservation aligns or conflicts with its practicality or competing priorities.
• Students will develop discernment, facility and ethical responsibility in using information. (Practiced)
• Students will examine data, consider how to appropriately (re)interpret it, and the ethical implications of action vs. inaction on pressing conservation issues.
• Students will engage as active participants in the College's intellectual community. (Practiced)
• Students will give a presentation to the Mills community upon their return in which they will reflect on what they learned and lead a conversation about this complex topic.

Community Engagement

• Students will apply concepts and skills explored in their Mills education (or specific service learning class if relevant) in a practical community based context. (Practiced)
• Students will examine how the particular characteristics of each ecological community affects conservation efforts and vice versa. Students will explore the extraordinary wildlife of Ecuador and participate in conservation efforts at three reserves. We will have daily discussions and written assignments on how theory and practice align (or not); students will give a presentation to Mills community.
• Student​s​ will demonstrate the ability to engage with community organizations on projects that are meaningful to both the organizations and students. (Introduced)
• Students will explore the wildlife on the reserves with local naturalists and work alongside them on restoration/conservation projects that support the mission of the reserve.
• Students will develop the ability to engage in thoughtful, self-reflective and ethical collaboration in a community setting. (Practiced)
• Students will engage in reflection and discussion with each other and with local members of the conservation consortium with whom we will work every day. Students will address ecological, economic and ethical considerations in their final written work.

Scientific Inquiry

• Students will demonstrate basic knowledge of at least one area of the natural sciences and the major principles that underlie it. (Practiced)
• Students will get a rigorous introduction to tropical ecology, including soil chemistry and community ecology. They will demonstrate this knowledge by how well they can address specific concerns in reserve design.
• Students will be able to think critically by evaluating quantitative evidence or otherwise examine and interpret existing data or patterns from natural systems. (Practiced)
• Students will examine published studies that will often draw different conclusions about a topic. We will analyze and interpret these findings together and students will articulate their thinking in written responses.
• Students will apply scientific modes of inquiry in multiple contexts, such as the ways that humans influence or study natural systems. (Practiced)
• Students will take an evidence-based approach to understanding both the papers we read as well as the conservation programs we work on. They will be asked to independently assess the merits of the reserves from multiple perspectives.
• Students will be able to distinguish between science and non-science. (Practiced)
• Students will discuss the measurable evidence and its ecological benefits for each approach to conservation. They will then also discuss and incorporate ethic considerations as a means of distinguishing between and valuing scientific and non-scientific perspectives.
• Students will develop skills to work as part of a team to solve problems, develop hypotheses or otherwise inquire about the natural world in a collaborative manner. (Practiced)
• Students will work on three small group projects (each associated with a specific topic and reserve) to address complex issues about ecology and conservation.
• Students will describe explorations and discoveries of natural historians and scientists from texts, literature and experiences. (Practiced)
• Students will read some of the seminal work by ecologists and conservation biologists.
• Students will gain an understanding of the importance of women in the sciences. (Introduced)
• Nearly half of the readings I have assigned are written by women or people of color to emphasize their contributions to the advancement of the discipline.

Program Goals:

Biology Program Goals

• Possess knowledge of general biological principles. (Practiced, Mastered)
• Students will be able to explain biological concepts, relationships, interactions, structures and processes.
• Students will be able to apply biological principles to specific biological phenomena.
• Have the ability to carry out standard laboratory and field techniques, including analysis of results. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will be able to carry out additional specialized techniques from subfields of biology.
• Students will be able to analyze experimental results using qualitative and quantitative methods.
• Students will be able to carry out basic techniques including gel electrophoresis, PCR, bioinformatics, microscopy, dissection, and identification of organisms from all major taxonomic groups.
• Have the ability to communicate findings in both oral and written modes. (Practiced, Mastered)
• Students will be able to write using a standard scientific writing style, with proper English, scientific terminology, and concise, logical expression of ideas.
• Students will be able to communicate orally in a style appropriate for a scientific audience, clearly interpreting data and figures and utilizing, where appropriate, presentation software.
• Understand and practice the process of scientific inquiry, including the logic of experimentation. (Practiced)
• Students will formulate hypotheses, then perform real and/or virtual experiments using qualitative and quantitative methodology to evaluate their predictions.
• Students will be able to discuss the implications of experimental data to initial hypothesis and formulate appropriate conclusions.
• Students will be able to critique the available literature, understanding the role of appropriate controls, testable hypotheses, and the biological phenomena under consideration.
• Have the ability to evaluate a new area of research using knowledge of biological principles and the process of scientific inquiry, as well as the current biological literature. (Practiced)
• Students will utilize published scientific literature to focus on specific scientific mechanisms or fields of interest, synthesizing the literature, and may identify and evaluate competing hypotheses.
• Students will be able to critique and evaluate published scientific literature and identify theories, methodologies, results and conclusions.

Core Goals:

Critical Analysis

• Students will critically analyze information and ideas. (Introduced, Practiced)
• Students will examine the development of a vaccine in which they explore and compare new and dated information.
• Students will examine issues from multiple perspectives. (Introduced)
• Students will research and write a paper on a vaccine, paying close attention to the social, economic, ethical, scientific, legal and political aspects.
• Students will engage in an exploration of the relationship between past systems of knowledge and present scholarly and creative approaches within and across disciplines. (Introduced)
• In presentations, students will develop vaccines, using historical and current information, and consider the social, economic, ethical, scientific, legal and political aspects.
• Students will consider how our understanding of significant questions and ideas is informed by the critical, scholarly, and creative approaches through which we approach those questions and ideas. (Introduced)
• Students will analyze, critique and develop their vaccines in a presentation where they will consider policy and cultural implications that might be employed to deliver that vaccine.
• Students will develop discernment, facility and ethical responsibility in using information. (Introduced)
• Students will consider how different presentation forms (oral presentations, poster presentations, or written journal articles) use information differently.
• Students will engage as active participants in the College's intellectual community. (Introduced)
• The presentations will be open to the Mills College Community.

Program Goals:

Biology Program Goals

• Possess knowledge of general biological principles. (Mastered)
• Students will be able to explain biological concepts, relationships, interactions, structures and processes.
• Students will be able to apply biological principles to specific biological phenomena.
• Have the ability to communicate findings in both oral and written modes. (Mastered)
• Students will be able to write using a standard scientific writing style, with proper English, scientific terminology, and concise, logical expression of ideas.
• Students will be able to communicate orally in a style appropriate for a scientific audience, clearly interpreting data and figures and utilizing, where appropriate, presentation software.
• Understand and practice the process of scientific inquiry, including the logic of experimentation. (Mastered)
• Students will be able to discuss the implications of experimental data to initial hypothesis and formulate appropriate conclusions.
• Students will formulate hypotheses, then perform real and/or virtual experiments using qualitative and quantitative methodology to evaluate their predictions.
• Students will be able to critique the available literature, understanding the role of appropriate controls, testable hypotheses, and the biological phenomena under consideration.
• Have the ability to evaluate a new area of research using knowledge of biological principles and the process of scientific inquiry, as well as the current biological literature. (Mastered)
• Students will utilize published scientific literature to focus on specific scientific mechanisms or fields of interest, synthesizing the literature, and may identify and evaluate competing hypotheses.
• Students will be able to critique and evaluate published scientific literature and identify theories, methodologies, results and conclusions.

Biochem/Molecular Biol Program Goals

• Be able to access the primary literature of the discipline and to use its findings. (Practiced, Mastered)
• Students will be able to employ knowledge of chemistry and biology gained in meeting the five goals (above) to read, interpret, and write about material published in the primary scientific literature
• Students will be able to employ knowledge of chemistry and biology gained in meeting the five goals (above) to read and orally present material published in the primary scientific literature
• Students will be able to read, analyze and write clearly about scientific topics related to biochemistry and molecular biology.