SYLLABUS FORM
WESTCHESTER COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Valhalla, NY l0595
l. Course #:PHYSC 134H 2. NAME OF ORIGINATOR /REVISOR: PAUL ROBINSON, LAUREL SENFT
NAME OF COURSE: SCIENCE, PSEUDOSCIENCE, AND CRITICAL THINKING - HONORS
3. CURRENT DATE: October 8, 2012. Please indicate whether this is a NEW COURSE or a REVISION: NEW
COURSE
DATE OF PRIOR REVISION
4. NUMBER OF CREDITS 3
5. NUMBER OF CONTACT HOURS PER WEEK 3
6. APPROXIMATE FREQUENCY OF OFFERING THIS COURSE
EVERY SPRING SEMESTER,
7. PREREQUISITES OR ENTRY LEVEL SKILLS COMP & LIT I
8. COREQUISITES NONE
9. PLACE OF THIS COURSE IN CURRICULUM:
___ Required for Curriculum (name) ___________
___ College Core X Elective
___ Part of Required/Recommended Sequence with (Number of Course) __________________
10. IS THIS COURSE DESIGNED FOR TRANSFER TOWARD A SPECIFIC MAJOR? X Yes ___ No
MAJOR(S): GENERAL LIBERAL ARTS, NON-SCIENCE MAJORS
11. COURSE OUTCOMES:
List the course’s learning outcomes and describe how each outcome will be measured.
Outcome - Upon successful completion, the student will
be able to:
Demonstrate an understanding of the scientific method
and the “hallmarks of science”.
Distinguish between real science and pseudoscience. Use
the methods of critical thinking to evaluate arguments.
Describe how scientists develop and evaluate their ideas,
including the peer review process and experimental
methods. Distinguish between a “hypothesis” and a
scientific “theory”.
Discuss the societal impact of science, including public
opinion, education and public policy, especially as it
pertains to current events (e.g. global climate change).
This outcome will be measured by one or more of the
following:
Group activities, reading journal responses, final written
exam, presentations, final portfolio
Group activities, reading journal responses, final written
exam, presentations, final portfolio
Group activities, reading journal responses, final written
exam, presentations, final portfolio
Group activities, reading journal responses, final written
exam, presentations, final portfolio.
12. COURSE GRADE
Based on the above measures, how will the final course grade be calculated?
Assignment/Activity
Weekly Reading Responses
SEARCH Presentation
Course portfolio
Final written exam
Percentage of Final Grade
50%
10%
20%
20%
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13. INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS: List the different instructional methods you might use, in the course of the
semester. List supplementary learning options, if any
Guest speakers (when available)
Seminar-style discussions based on required readings.
Interactive Lecture
In-class active learning strategies such as peer instruction.
In-class demonstrations.
Selected reserve readings beyond the assigned book.
Selected film and video clips
14. CROSS-CURRICULAR OPPORTUNITIES:
A. General Education Enrichment:
Does this course provide opportunities to draw upon examples or concepts from outside the main objectives of this area
of study? If yes, please briefly describe the content, activities or assignments.
B. Information Management:
Does this course provide opportunities to teach and/or require the students to apply information management skills? If
yes, please briefly describe the content, activities or assignments.
C. Critical Thinking:
Are there components of this course which teach and/or require students to demonstrate Critical Thinking? If yes,
please briefly describe the content, activities or assignments.
D. Student Engagement:
Does this course provide opportunities for students to participate in individual or group presentations or interactions? If
yes, please briefly describe the content, activities or assignments.
Opportunities
General Education
Information Management
Activities or Assignments
Beyond the topics of processes of science, this course touches on issues in
philosophy and theology (Evolution and Creationism, postmodernism),
ethics (peer review), political science (public policy in science), psychology
(human perception), and critical thinking (building and analyzing logical
arguments).
Students will be required to use the library to obtain some reserve
readings, and to research their SEARCH project presentation.
Additionally, students will not be successful unless they can use online tools,
such as Blackboard, to complete homework assignments.
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Critical Thinking
Student Engagement
This course could be described as “a class in critical thinking.” A large
part of the semester will be given to examining the various ways in which
humans perceive the world and how those perceptions can be mislead and
fooled. The ability to distinguish between pseudoscience and real science
requires skills in critical thinking that students in this course will work to
develop. Activities will include building logical arguments, inventing ways
to test various hypotheses and claims, and examining the evidence behind
many scientifically-based current events (e.g. global warming).
Active learning is the primary teaching method of this course. Students are
expected to read before class and discuss with groups in class. Films and
videos will be sparingly used in class as a catalyst for discussion and also as
a way to visualize scientific concepts. Students will often have seminar-style
discussions as an entire class, but also will form groups to develop and
implement experiments and discuss results.
15. TOPIC OUTLINE
SEE ATTACHED TOPIC OUTLINE
16. UNIQUE ASPECTS OF COURSE (such as equipment, specified software, space requirements, etc.)
The course currently uses a wide-range of multimedia, so a Smart Room, or classroom with a projector is preferred. A
classroom with seats/chairs that are not fixed to the floor is preferred, so that round-table seminar discussions can
occur.
APPENDIX I: REQUIRED TEXTS AND/OR MATERIALS REQUIRED BY THE STUDENT (Include
Supplementary Readings)
REQUIRED BOOKS:
Schick, Theodore and Lewis Vaughn. How To Think About Weird Things: Critical Thinking for a New Age. McGrawHill. 2004.
Radford, Benjamin. Scientific Paranormal Investigation: How to Solve Unexplained Mysteries. Rhombus Publishing.
2010.
Additionally, students must access the internet to view online films and video on a weekly basis. Most viewings come
from:
PBS NOVA Science NOW
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL:
Articles from Scientific American, National Geographic, Science News and The New York Times Science section.
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APPENDIX II: - CATALOG DESCRIPTION:
(Approximately 65 words or less)
Science, Pseudoscience, and Critical Thinking - Honors
A reading and discussion intensive course that provides the non-science major with the framework
to explore how modern scientists develop and examine their ideas. The course will focus on nonmathematical explorations of critical thinking techniques, scientific methods, pseudoscience and
extraordinary claims, peer review, hypothesis testing, the media portrayal of science, and why a
scientific theory is not “just a theory”. Class hrs. 3. No lab. Offered in the Spring semester.
APPENDIX III: The SEARCH method
1. State the claim.
2. Examine the Evidence for the claim.
3. Consider Alternative hypotheses.
4. Rate, according to the Criteria of adequacy, each Hypothesis.
Students will complete a research paper based on the SEARCH formula from Schick & Vaughn’s
“How to Think About Weird Things”. The SEARCH formula is explained on pages 230-235 in
chapter seven ‘Weird Things’. Students can choose to examine one of the many “weird” or
“borderland” topics that are discussed in the course, or choose one that they have heard of. The
topic must be one that has a specific claim or hypothesis that can be tested and examined. Students
CANNOT write a paper on a topic that is examined in chapter seven (homeopathy, ghosts, 911
“truth”, etc).
The paper must be typed and must be at least 3 pages in length (not including cover sheets or
reference lists). Your bibliography must contain at least five references beyond the course books.
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Appendix IV: Course Outline
Week #
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Topic/Assignment
Intro to course
What is science?
Why do we need to understand it?
Who does science?
Basic scientific methods
Hallmarks of science
Scientific Ethics
Peer review
Scientific theories: What makes a theory?
Newton vs. Einstein
Creationism & Intelligent Design
What is pseudoscience?
Identifying the hallmarks of pseudoscience
Astrology
Putting science (and pseudoscience) to the test
Controlled experiments
Making good arguments
Logical and rhetorical fallacies
Human perception
Cognitive biases
Statistics
Randomness
Large numbers
The SEARCH method for analyzing claims
Extraordinary Claims: Aliens/UFOs/Conspiracies
Extraordinary Claims: so-called alternative medicines
Relativism, Reality & post-Modernism
Science in the media
Public perception and attitudes about science
SEARCH presentations
Portfolio review
Final written exam
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