Giere, Ronald N., Bickle, John and Mauldin, Robert F., Understanding Scientific Reasoning, 5th edition
Thomson Wadsworth, 2006, ISBN: 015506326x.
Mayewski, Paul A., and White, Frank, The Ice Chronicles: The Quest to Understand Global Climate
Change, University Press of New England, 2002, ISBN: 1584650621.
Crichton, Michael, State of Fear, Mass Market Paperback, 2005 ISBN: 0061015733.
Course Description
This course is designed to expose first year students with a wide range of academic interests to the
human activity of science. In this course we will take the broad view that includes the natural, behavioral,
and social sciences as material for our discussion. We will use the texts to explore the modes of thought
and activity that are common to all of these disciplines, including their mathematical tools and empirical
methods. We will also consider the social, cultural and political contexts in which science occurs. By the
end of the course, you should be familiar with scientists’ intellectual and practical tools. You should also
be able to contrast the distinctive features of the sciences with academic areas such as the humanities.
We will approach the course content in two ways. First, the texts introduce the practice of science from
both theoretical and practical perspectives. Discussion of these texts will allow us to examine science as
an intellectual and social enterprise and to identify areas that we will need to explore further. Second, we
will use case studies to examine these ideas in a more practical way and to gain experience in the
application of science in a variety of settings. Some case studies will consist of short classroom exercises,
while others will be more extensive and will require independent work outside of class. My own
experience makes me believe that these problems and applications are the best way to develop an
understanding of the material.
One of the themes of the course will be that science, by its very nature, requires social interaction and
cooperation. For that reason, you will be asked to work with your colleagues towards an understanding of
the text through discussion; to solve problems in a collaborative fashion; and to gather and present
resource materials for the class as a whole. Learning to work successfully in this setting is an important
course objective. Here, as in science in the real world, your rewards are partly determined by the success
of your collaboration. However, you need to know when collaboration is appropriate, and when it is
cheating and a violation of the Honor Code. I will try to make instructions explicit, but where you find them
ambiguous I encourage you to ask for clarification. Rather than make a mistake, it is better to be cautious
and ask.
Course Objectives
1. To gain practice in the methodology of science, including an understanding of:
 hypotheses, theories, metaphors, laws
 empirical and mathematical analysis
 experimental and analytical design
 observation, objectivity and perception
 peer review, criticism and consensus building
2. To improve critical thinking skills, including:
 deduction, induction, intuition
 causality and association
 probability
3. To explore how science and scientific methods are used in everyday public and private decisionmaking.
4. To examine the limits of science as a tool for understanding the world.
http://www.drroyspencer.com/