This project addresses the problem of science education reform for non-science majors, as part of larger general education and pedagogical reforms already underway at Youngstown State University. The current general education requirements at YSU specify only a certain number of hours in science, with no attention to the connection between the objectives of general science education and the choices of content and methods of the courses available to satisfy the science requirement. The objectives of this institution-wide reform are to ensure that all graduates of Youngstown State have an understanding of the scientific method, the ability to formulate and test hypotheses, an awareness of the relationships between science, technology and society, and an understanding of the natural environment and the processes that shape it. General science education should provide students with critical thinking and analysis tools, basic knowledge, and investigative skills needed for career preparation as well as to make informed decisions about scientific and technological issues that affect their personal lives and their communities. To achieve these objectives, the science departments are filling a gap in their current general education offerings by creating new investigative laboratory courses for non-science majors in each of the disciplines, and by reforming existing non-laboratory science and mathematics courses. Each of the new collaborative laboratory courses shares the common goals of providing students with experience in formulating and testing hypotheses, collecting and analyzing data, critical thinking, and working in cooperative groups to solve problems through their active participation in a scientific investigation. The other non-laboratory courses are being restructured to provide meaningful choices for general education that complement the laboratory courses with relevant and appropriate content, and additional training in critical thinking and problem solving.
