TO: From: TA SUBJECT:

O.H. NOTES

Sci 120- 17 students Dr. Perihan Tawfik M. Mariam Sarhan, mariamsarhan@aucegypt.edu, 01111112288 Syllabus Scientific Thinking course Spring 2013
(MR 1-1:50) sse 1501, Classroom: Hatem C208 You earn the 5% attendance if you only miss 0-2 classes You earn the 4% 3 3% 4 2% 5 1% 6 0% 7 You gain an additional 2 % if you have 0 absence. If you miss 9 or more classes, you will fail the course (unless you drop). General lecture attendance is included. Tuesdays attendance is part of the course, either as GL or in the classroom Each 3 late make 1 absence Attendance is crucial as class activities are invaluable There is no make-up policy, hence organize yourself & prepare for exams in due time. This is not a memorization course You get bonuses for class participation (will improve your grade) You get partial credit to partial answers in exams. You gain 1 point if you submit your h/w early. No late Assignments will be accepted. Deadline for dropping courses 5/02, for withdrawal 27/4. Final exam T,25/5/11:30 1:30 A > 94%, B>80%, C>70%, D>60%, F<60% (also Curve) 5% GL + Class Attendance, 5% participation, 25% Assignment/ Class Activities 20% Project, 45% 2 Exams (20,25)

GRADES: EVALUATION

MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of the Scientific Thinking course is to provide a strong foundation of scientific literacy in order to prepare students to be lifelong learners and to function as intelligent, articulate, and active citizens and decision makers.

Scientific Thinking Objectives

Scientific Thinking (Sci 120) engages students in scientific inquiry; enhances their enthusiasm for science and develops scientific habits of mind enabling them to apply scientific knowledge and reasoning to personal, professional and public decision-making Upon completion of the course, a student will be able to: 1. Recognize how scientific inquiry is based on the investigation of evidence from the natural world 2. Recognize that scientific knowledge and understanding: Evolves based on new evidence Differs from personal and cultural beliefs

3. Evaluate and assess the credibility and validity of scientific information related through popular science topics in the media 4. Recognize the scope and limits of science 5. Recognize and articulate the relationship between the natural sciences and society and the application of science to societal challenges 6. Participate in and evaluate scientific inquiry, by applying the method of science and by communicating the elements of the scientific process. This would include: Making careful and systematic observations Asking pertinent questions Developing and testing a hypothesis Analyzing evidence Interpreting results 7. Identify, summarize and explain some of the key concepts and principles of selected scientific theories Integrated critical thinking learning skills addressed in this course include the ability to: Identify important questions/problems/issues Analyze, interpret and make judgments about the relevance and quality of information Identify assumptions and consider alternative perspectives/solutions Draw conclusions and make judgments based on evidence gathered Integrate ideas into a coherent argument/solution/presentation, etc.
UNIT 1: What is Science? Key Concepts - Weeks 1-6 Week 1: Cycle of sci method observation, organization, explanation, prediction, test, repeat. Week 2: Scientific Thinking checklist: observable, measurable, quantitative, testable, repeatable, without bias, proximate reliable truth, empiricism. Week 3: Rationalism: induction/deduction, logical arguments, premises/conclusions, logical paradoxes. Tools of Skeptical thinking: tentative knowledge Week 4: Sci method, pseudo sci & bad sci,Science as a process. Research methods, experimental design: independent/dependent variables, controlled variables, experimental groups, control groups Week 5: Falsification, research methods (cont.), Experimental design (cont.), Questions to ask. Analysis of case studies. Science and society - bioethics Week 6: Wrap up Week 7: Exam 1 UNIT 2: Our Place in the Universe Key Concepts Weeks 8-12 Week 8: Scale, Lightyear Week 10: Scale, lightyear, Origins of matter, Elements, Atoms, earth and solar system Week 11: Big Bang, origin of galaxies red shift, gravity, relativity, predictions, tests, and evidence Week 12: Birth, evolution and death of stars. Edges of Current Science UNIT 3: Who are we? (and where did we come from?) Key Concepts Weeks 13-15 Week 13: Science, Society and Ethics, Science and Technology, Bioethics. Origins of life. Evolution of life Week 14: Sci Theory, Theory of Evolution: selection, fitness, mutation, Genetic Variation, DNA and more. Week 15: Induction/Deduction revisited: organizing our knowledge and observations, Living matter/Non-living matter, Limits of Science and Scientific Theories. Whats next?

PROPOSED GENERAL LECTURE SCHEDULE Spring 2013 Tuesdays, 11:30am-12:45pm; Bassily Hall Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Date 05/02 12/02 19/02 26/02 05/03 12/03 19/03 26/03 02/04 09/04 16/04 23/04 30/04 07/05 14/05 GL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Speaker Hoda Mostafa John Swanson Aziza El Lozy Ned Douglass Karl Galle TBA Hoda Mostafa Proposed Content No GL Introduction, Scientific thinking & Process Nature of Science, 2012 or other TBD meeting in classroom meeting in classroom No GL Exam 1 Introductory lecture to part 2 of the course meeting in classroom Big Bang, Our Universe, and our place in the Cosmos meeting in classroom Origins of life Evolution No GL - Spring Break Final GL No GL Last Week of Classes

Academic Integrity: All faculty members and students should adhere to rules and regulations of the University outline on the University Website: http://www.aucegypt.edu/academics/integrity/pages/default.aspx Etiquette* for General Lectures General Lecture series provide content and information essential to the course. For this reason, attendance by all students is mandatory. It is important that certain norms of behavior be observed throughout the entire audience: 1. General Lectures begin at 11:30am on Tuesdays. You must arrive at 11:20 am, collect question sheets from your instructor or TA, and be seated with your section before that time. Entrance doors will be closed and locked at 11:30 am. If you arrive after that time, you will not be allowed entry,and it will be your responsibility to view the video capture of the lecture after it is posted on blackboard, you can watch from the balcony too. 2. Do not to leave your seat while the speaker is presenting the lecture. In the event that you must leave the lecture for any reason, you will not be allowed reentry. It will be your responsibility to view the video capture of the remainder of the lecture after it is posted on blackboard. 3. Do not to talk or visit with the people around you once the lecture has begun. 4. Take an interest in the presentation, or at least as a matter of common courtesy to our invited speakers, you should behave in a manner that indicates you are paying attention. 5. Adhere to the principles of Academic Integrity in completing the questions that accompany every General Lecture. 6. Use of mobile phones during the General Lecture is strictly forbidden. Phones should be set to silent or off before the lecture begins. If instructors observe mobile phones used for any reason (talking, texting, time management,etc.), the phone in question will be collected from the student and the followingactions will be taken: 1st offense phone returned to student with a verbal warning after the lecture, 2nd offense phone returned to the student the following day, 3rd offense student reported to the Council on Academic Integrity for disruption * Etiquette The body of rules governing correct or socially polite, behavior among people, in a profession etc: court etiquette, military etiquette.[French, prescribed routine] The American Heritage Desk Dictionary, Houghton Mifflin Company. Boston