STEM Education - Science

Units: 3

The course aims to develop: familiarity with research related to the teaching and learning of STEM content within technological learning environments, advanced knowledge of the ways technology can support teaching and learning in STEM, and ability to design technology-enabled learning experiences. Course activities are designed to enhance understandings and applications of technological tools within and across STEM disciplines.

Offered in Fall and Spring

Units: 3

Contemporary learning theories and current research will guide students to create effective science learning environments for all students. Students will engage in critical analysis of current trends, issues and problems in science education in terms of multiple perspectives. Students will also have opportunities to contemplate what it means to teach science, what it means to teach a diverse population of students and how to develop, interpret, and implement alternative assessment.

Offered in Fall Only

YEAR: Offered Alternate Odd Years

Units: 3

Examines science instruction through analysis of curriculu, instructional practices, current research on science learning and teaching. Five areas of interest: curriculum, instruction, assessment, diversity, learning environments and technology in science education.

Offered in Fall Only

YEAR: Offered Alternate Even Years

Units: 3

Introduction to science education research, within two focal areas. One focus is to learn to read, understand, evaluate, and apply published educational research in your own practice, with scaffolding to support your understanding of techniques and designs specific to and/or in the context of science education research. Another focus is to learn to conduct research in order to improve your effectiveness as an educator or solve educational problems. You will learn about ethics connected with research and will perform and interpret quantitative and/or qualitative analyses commonly used in science education research while carrying out a research project that you designed. You will learn about how research papers are structured and organized, and communicate your research findings in both oral and written form.

Offered in Spring Only

YEAR: Offered Alternate Odd Years

Units: 3

Study and analysis of philosophical, historical, sociological, political and economic factors affecting science education in schools of the U.S. Implications for science education of various learning theories along with models for curriculum development and program planning.

Offered in Spring Only

YEAR: Offered Alternate Years

Units: 1 - 3

Organized, formal lectures and discussion of a special topic.

Offered in Fall Spring Summer

Units: 3

Structure and function of nucleic acids and proteins. Synthesis of DNA, RNA, and proteins. Gene expression and Regulation. Methodologies of recombinant DNA research. Credit is not allowed for both BCH 453 and BCH 553.

Offered in Fall Spring Summer

Units: 3

Introduces students to how organisms are affected by and respond to changes or stressors - both natural and human-induced - in the environment. With a focus on the concepts most significant to the field of environmental assessment, the course emphasizes the fundamental processes and effects of pollutants and naturally-occurring substances in the environment, including emerging issues and historically significant cases.

Offered in Fall Only

Units: 3

Provides students with an appreciation and understanding of the principles of environmental exposure assessment including the sources, transport and fate of chemicals in the environment. Emphasis is on contemporary problems in human health and the environment, covering topics such as: transformation and degradation processes, classes of contaminants a well as predicting environmental fate and exposure. Enrollment in the course requires graduate standing or consent of the instructor. Two semester sequence of college biology & college chemistry.

Offered in Fall Only

Units: 4

Identification and elementary silvics of woody plants of eastern North America with studies of their classification, characteristics, and habitats. Consideration of important trees and forest types across North America. Field identification emphasis with trips to forest communities.

Offered in Fall Only

Units: 1 - 6

Individual students or groups of students, under direction of a faculty member, may explore topics of special interest not covered by existing courses. Format may consist of readings and independent study, problems or research not related to thesis.Also used to develop and test new 500-level courses.

Offered in Fall Spring Summer

Units: 3

Overview of plant breeding methods for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students. Covers principles and concepts of inheritance, germplasm resources, pollen control, measurement of genetic variances, and heterosis. Special topics include heritability, genotype-environment interaction, disease resistance, and polyploidy. In-depth coverage on methods for breeding cross-pollinated and self-pollinated crops. Prepares students for advanced plant breeding courses.

Offered in Fall Only

Units: 3

This course will present the basic science of climate change, including chemical and physical systems and processes. The students will be introduced to how the climate system works and the role of greenhouse gases in the climate system. Students will learn about climatological data, climate models and how predictions/projections are made. Emphasis will be placed upon relating predicted/projected changes to manifestations such as sea level rise and changes in the distribution and character of precipitation. Topics include the primary climate components, ocean-atmospheric teleconnections, decadal and multi-decadal climate indices, natural and anthropogenic climate variability, and climate model projections.

Offered in Fall Only

Units: 3

The course provides foundations in methods for GIS-based surface analysis and modeling. The topics include proximity analysis with cost surfaces and least cost paths, multivariate spatial interpolation and 3D surface visualization. Special focus is on terrain modeling, geomorphometry, solar irradiation, visibility, and watershed analysis. Students are also introduced to the basic concepts of landscape process modeling with GIS and to the principles of open source GIS. Introductory level knowledge of GIS or surveying/ geomatics principles is required.

Offered in Fall and Spring

Units: 3

Principles of nutrition, including the classification of nutrients and the nutrient requirements of and metabolism by different species for health, growth, maintenance and productive functions.

Offered in Fall Spring Summer

Units: 1 - 6

Analysis of current problems in nutrition. Also entails the scientific appraisal and solution of a selected problem designed to provide training and experience in research.

Offered in Fall Spring Summer

Units: 3

Comparative approach to examining aspects of reproductive physiology in selected vertebrate species. Detailed examination of current reproductive biotechnologies and ethical issues associated with the application of reproductive biotechnologies. Credit will not be given for both ANS 452 and ANS [PHY] 552.

Offered in Spring Only

YEAR: Offered Alternate Even Years

Units: 3

Second semester [electricity and magnetism] of a two-semester sequence intended to broaden and deepen the knowledge of high-school physics teachers of introductory-level physics from a contemporary point of view. The course includes an introduction to computational physics. Departmental permission is required: the course is normally restricted to in-service high-school physics teachers. The PY 581 prerequisite may be waived with strong background in physics and mathematics.

Offered in Fall Only