SMT Faculty

At the behest of the Ad Hoc General Education committee that each division meet and review its entire curriculum in the light of specific guidelines, a representative committee was established by the Science/Mathematics/Technologies Division. The following represents, formulated with much care and deliberation, the subcommittee's evaluation, general philosophy and recommendations regarding that specific element of general education termed "Natural Science."

The common feature of all scientific endeavor is the organization and expansion of knowledge by systematic investigative means, and that this feature is characteristic of true science regardless of subject area of nature.

Upon considering science more as an intellectual process rather than merely a comprehensive subject area of data, it is the committee's collective judgement that artificial distinctions of specific discipline areas, such as physical science, life science, or earth science, is neither necessary nor desirable. Indeed, to draw such strict distinctions would be to negate the possibility of valid cross-disciplinary courses which could not conveniently fall within the realm of a single category.

In order to come to some operational conclusion about the meaning of science as a part of General Education, more defined criteria and objectives are required. A "Science Experience", especially in terms of a one-time educational opportunity for a non-science major, requires that a student at least be able to understand if not indeed use the underlying investigative methods of science. To best accomplish the overall desired objectives of such a "Science Experience", the following criteria were developed to define what is the best and most valid science experience offerable in the overall concept of general education.

1. The subject material should be of sufficiently broad nature as to provide the student with a scope of information which will help develop within the student the ability to objectively deal with the events and responsibilities of daily life

2. "SCIENCE" should be taught as an intellectual process of problem solving - and the development of the common elements of logic used to solve problems scientifically. The student should be required to participate in scientific endeavor rather than function merely as the passive recipient of information gained by past scientific discoveries.

3. The student should be provided with a realistic picture of science as a process whereby man explores his environment and should be acquainted with the role of science as a powerful social and intellectual force in society.

Utilizing the broad criteria of the Ad Hoc Committee as well as the aforementioned refined criteria of "Science" in particular, an evaluation of each class offering within the SMT Division has been undertaken. Such analysis has been painstakingly undertaken, utilizing course outlines, stated course objectives, course descriptions, textbooks, and any other information available to the subcommittee. Based upon this careful and lengthy evaluation, the following courses are considered to meet G.E. requirements:

Biology 101, 110, 111, 130, 140, 145, 150, 215, 230, 240, 250, 260, 365

Chemistry 112, 210, 220, 234 & 237, 235 & 238, 410

Geology 100, 105, 210, 220

Oceanography 100

Physics 210, 220, 250, 260, 270