Trying Science: Undergraduate Science Curriculum Reform will create new opportunities for undergraduate students to experience scientific investigation in real-world problem contexts. The Grand River, a local resource, will serve as an important connecting theme and an outdoor laboratory. The proposed plan involves a three-year curriculum reform at Lake Erie College that will impact 75% of our 700 students. Faculty from arts, sciences and education will create new or modified science courses specifically designed for the General Education requirement. These courses will attract non-science students and education majors to the excitement of scientific inquiry. Students will collaborate in active learning experiences that will encourage cross-disciplinary connections and the practice of scientific problem-solving skills. These skills are of particular importance to future teachers who will act as disseminating agents for our curricular reform. Summer learning experiences will utilize the rich local resources of science practitioners and our local natural resources to establish connections between the campus, the community and the local environment. In keeping with our institutional mission, new courses will address science-based and intercultural issues in an international context. Students and faculty will develop multimedia presentations reflecting the learning outcomes of the new science courses. Local case studies will serve as a vehicle for student data collection and evaluation. Students will create databases and will share them with community agencies.
