| Learning Goals |
Learning Objectives |
| Students will know/understand |
Students will be able to... |
| Science as a process for understanding environmental phenomena and issues |
- Conduct an experiment following standard protocols
- Recognize the importance of safety protocols
- Collect data via quantitative and qualitative observations and measurements
- Interpret the results of an experiment
- Apply basic statistics and interpret data for significance |
| How science is communicated |
- Evaluate primary literature
- Interpret visual representations of data
- Summarize the discoveries of scientific research |
| How to communicate scientific findings |
- Orally present findings to others in formal and informal settings
- Construct a written document in a scientific style, including proper citation of sources
- Prepare visual representations of data
- Access and utilize scientific databases
|
| How to work collaboratively |
- Conduct an experiment or gather data as part of a group
- Participate in group discussions
- Record protocols and observations
- Provide constructive feedback to group members
- Accept feedback from group members |
| How decisions about the environment are made |
- Describe the historical context of environmental decisions
- Describe the societal and cultural context of environmental decisions
- Describe the political context of environmental decisions
- Describe the ethical context of decisions about the environment
- Demonstrate an understanding of the process of establishing environmental regulations in the US and globally
- Analyze how poverty, social injustice, and inequity impact environmental decision making |
| The physical and chemical characteristics of the natural environment |
- Identify the chemical structures and physical characteristics of the molecules of biotic and abiotic components of the environment
- Write and use material balances
- Apply a systems approach to the analysis of urban, suburban, and rural areas
- Identify the major environmental impacts of human activity
- Understand and describe technical solutions to environmental problems |
| That energy can be changed from one form to another, and the need for, and impacts of, human energy use |
- Compare and contrast relevant forms of energy (e.g. kinetic energy vs. potential energy, energy stored in bonds vs. potential energy of concentration gradients)
- Write and use an energy balance
- Identify solar and non-solar energy sources and their environmental impacts
- Identify social justice issues in provision of energy to global population |
| How to apply systems thinking to environmental problems |
- Use GIS mapping software to analyze an environmental issue or problem
- Evaluate an environmental problem from multiple disciplines
- Identify the global environmental systems, including the sources and sinks for environmentally important elements and compounds
- Distinguish between natural and human-generated environmental phenomenon and understand their interactions
- Provide the societal, cultural, and regulatory context for an environmental issue or problem
- Identify multiple stakeholders in an environmental issue and how they impact policy and reform |
| How to pursue a career in environmentally-related fields |
- Effectively search for and locate pertinent internships and jobs
- Assess personal qualifications in relation to an internship and/or job description
- Prepare job application materials including a resume and cover letter |