Scientific Inquiry is part of the Common Core of studies required of all students in the College of Liberal Arts. It is a non-laboratory course providing an introduction to the human activity known as science in its broadest terms, including its general qualities as well as examples drawn from the physical, biological, and behavioral & social sciences. Topics we will address include the ways of thinking that are involved in doing science; the types of knowledge it can yield; the social, ethical, and political contexts in which it is practiced; and the ways scientists communicate with each other and with the wider population. Our goal is for the students to become scientifically literate: able to assess the validity of supposedly scientific statements. To do this, they must learn to analyze statements, assess and incorporate empirical evidence, and make sound logical deductions, i.e. judgments about the statements. The students will achieve this is by reading and discussing topics from the source materials provided, researching and writing about those and other topics, and working in groups to analyze and evaluate ‘scientific’ claims from the modern era and ages past.

Discussion: During class sessions, some of the time will be given over to lectures by the instructor about the course material. Students will also spend some time in class on individual work. However, most of the time there will be some kind of discussion taking place, either amongst the entire class, or within small groups. These groups will be formed by the instructor at the beginning of the course, and will be permanent. The primary role for the texts and other materials you will receive will be to stimulate your thinking, and give you something to talk about in class.

Attendance: This will be worth 10% of the total grade. For lively and intellectually stimulating discussions to occur, all students must take part, and they must come to class prepared. There are 30 class sessions in the semester; attendance at every class session is required. Each student is allowed three unexcused absences without penalty; if they do not have more than three unexcused absences during the course, they will receive the full 10% towards their final grade. However, every further unexcused absence will result in a 1% deduction from their final grade. Ten unexcused absences beyond the first three will result in the maximum penalty, and that student would receive 0 for attendance. Such a student would have missed almost half the course meetings...

Class participation:  In order for class and group discussions to work well, every student needs to come to class prepared and participate fully. The instructor will keep track of each student's participation, awarding marks for significant contributions during class. These will be tallied up at the end of the course and will become the basis for awarding up to 5% bonus points. Some students will receive no bonus, while others will receive 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, or 5%.

Individual work: Altogether, this will be worth 70% of the total grade.

Quizzes and Homework: Quizzes will not be announced, but will be frequent and will always be based on a reading assignment. They may each contain True/False, Multiple Choice or Short Answer questions. They will be worked individually without use of the text or notes. On some days, students will be assigned brief individual homework assignments to be handed in at the beginning of the next class, or to be sent in by email. Altogether, quizzes and homework will be worth 25% of the individual grade. 

Weekly paper: About once a week (normally on Tuesday) each student will turn in a brief paper about a topic that has very recently been addressed in the course. This should be at least 100 words, and anyway must fit entirely on one side of a standard sheet of paper. It should serve to demonstrate that the student has been attending class, reading the assigned material, and thinking about the topics discussed in class. Altogether these will be worth 15% of the individual grade.

Essays: There will be three of these. The first one (1000 words) will be based on our readings in The Book of the Cosmos. The second (2000 words) will also be based on one or more articles from The Book of the Cosmos, but these must be some that we did not cover in the class. The third (3000 words) will be either on a topic suggested by Why People Believe Weird Things, or on another topic chosen with the instructor's approval. Altogether, the essays will be worth 30% of the individual grade.

Exams: There will be two of these, a mid-term and a final (R 12/14, 7-10pm). Each will be worth 15% of the individual grade. The exams may contain True/False, Short Answer, and Short Essay parts, as well as other analytical tasks. Students may use the text and personal notes during an exam.

Group work: Altogether, this will be worth 20% of the total grade.

Group quizzes: After taking a quiz individually, students will sometimes form groups and work the quiz together, but now aided by use of the text. Finally, the entire class will consider the quiz and the reading assignment as a whole, in open discussion.

Other group work: There will also be other group work, instead of or in addition to the group quizzes. This will involve work during class, and also work outside of class. For example, twice during the course, each group will be asked to research a topic and make a class presentation.

Group work evaluation: Each student will receive a modifier to their group grade, which may raise it or lower it by no more than twenty percent, barring extraordinary circumstances. This modifier will be based on the student’s contribution to the group efforts. This will be judged by the instructor, with the help of evaluation sheets that will be filled out by the other group members at the end of the course. There will also be a preliminary evaluation earlier in the course, so that corrective action may be taken before it’s too late...

Exams: During the exams, there will also be a group work component.

Grading: All points earned in the course will not be worth the same, when final grades are calculated. Instead, for each category, points will be re-scaled so that a perfect grade counts for the maximum percentage points shown in the tables below left and center. To convert percentages to letter grades, use the table below right.

Miscellaneous policies:  
If changes to this syllabus are necessary, they will be implemented after discussion and negotiation with the students. Note that the accompanying course schedule is not a part of the syllabus: it is tentative and subject to revision, except for the final exam date.

Missed exams for which no alternate arrangements were made beforehand may be made up only if the student has an official excuse: e.g., a note from a Dean's office, or a doctor’s note. This also applies to quizzes, except that they will be pro-rated instead of made up. Weekly papers will not be accepted if they are late. Essays must be handed in on time: For every day (excluding weekends and holidays) that an essay is late, its grade will decrease by 5%, except in extraordinary circumstances. A late group presentation will receive no credit, except under extraordinary circumstances. 

There will be no dropped grades. All work done in the course will be counted. There will be no extra-credit work.

The College of Liberal Arts' academic misconduct policy will be followed. In addition, all students are bound by the Mercer University Honor Code.

Students are strongly encouraged to discuss with the instructors all their work during the course, regardless of their grades. Questions about point awards should be brought up as soon as possible, as all grades will be final one week after the materials are graded and returned to the students.

Students with a documented disability should inform the instructor at the close of the first class meeting or as soon as possible. If you are not registered with Disability Services, the instructor will refer you to the Student Support Services office for consultation regarding documentation of your disability and eligibility for accommodations under the ADA/504. In order to receive accommodations, eligible students must provide each instructor with a Faculty Accommodation Form from Disability Services. Students must return the completed and signed form to the Disability Services office on the 3rd floor of the Connell Student Center. Students with a documented disability who do not wish to use accommodations are strongly encouraged to register with Disability Services and complete a Faculty Accommodation Form each semester. For further information please contact Disability Services at 478-301-2778 or visit the website at http://www.mercer.edu/stu_support/swd.htm.

All requests for reasonable accommodation are welcome also in regard to absence from class for school representation (i.e., athletic or other events) or personal/family problems. Let's talk about it...

SCI 105.004 Scientific Inquiry -- Fall 2006 -- Dr. Balduz

PROJECTED COURSE PLAN: The course meets over 15 weeks, for 30 class sessions plus the final exam day. The outline below is highly subject to revision...

PART One. Knowledge and Science (2 weeks)

Case Study #1: Life on Mars (1 session)
Case Study #2: Black Box (1 session)
Case Study #3: What Do We Know? (2 sessions) Individually and as groups, you will be asked to review a set of statements, and rank them according to your own certainty about the correctness of the statements. 

PART Two. Cosmology (6 weeks)

Text: The Book of the Cosmos, edited by D. R. Danielson, Perseus Publishing, 2000 (ISBN 0-7382-0247).
Ch. 6 The Potency of Place, Aristotle
Ch. 7 He Supposes the Earth to Revolve, Aristarchus and Archimedes
Ch. 8 A Geometrical Argument, Eratosthenes
Ch. 11 The Peculiar Nature of the Universe, Claudius Ptolemy
Ch. 16 If a Man Were in the Sky and Could See the Earth Clearly, Nicole Oresme
Ch. 24 Neither Known Nor Observed by Anyone Before, Galileo Galilei
Ch. 52 Unraveled Starlight, William Huggins
...and other selected chapters.

Text: Sidereus Nuncius or the Sidereal Messenger, by Galileo Galilei, translated by Albert van Helden, University of Chicago Press, 1989 (ISBN 0-226-27903-0).
Preface and Introduction
Sidereus Nuncius
Conclusion: The Reception of Sidereus Nuncius

Case Study #4: How Cosmology Became a Science. (8 sessions) We will read and discuss sections from the texts and perhaps other materials. This case study considers the history of cosmology as an example of a human endeavor that, over thousands of years, evolved into a scientific discipline. It grew from roots that lie deep in the common human experience, the need to understand our surroundings, and to predict how these will change over time. It started as the telling of stories about the origin of the earth, sky, waters, and all forms of life. Although at first it was closely allied with religion and traditional culture, it became more philosophical and abstract over the centuries. The need to explain more extensive and accurate information about our world forced cosmology to become more mathematical and dispassionate. Finally, as more advanced measuring tools were developed, and the activity of cosmology became more removed from everyday experience, it was able to distance itself from spiritual and philosophical considerations altogether, becoming one of the first true sciences.

Group Presentations A: Ancient Cultures and Their Cosmologies (1 session)

Case Study #5: Why Do We Think the Universe Is Expanding? (2 sessions) Scientists are often faced with the challenge of comparing data (collected from selected observations, or experiments) against a set of competing models. Edwin Hubble faced that challenge, and his resolution was not as cut-and-dry as we might have imagined from an overly simplistic notion of “scientific method.” This case should require students to identify the major structural points of three cosmological models, and then to reconcile themselves with Hubble’s interpretation of data based, in part, on aesthetic criteria. The following materials will be provided to students: Norriss S. Hetherington, “Hubble’s Cosmology,” American Scientist 1990, 78, pp. 142-151.

Midterm Exam: Parts One and Two, R 10/12

PART Three. Philosophy of Science (3 weeks)

Text: Scientific Literacy and the Myth of the Scientific Method, by Henry H. Bauer, University of Illinois Press, 1994, (ISBN 0-252-06436-4).
Preface
Ch. 1 Scientific Literacy
Ch. 2 The So-called Scientific Method
Ch. 3 How Science Really Works
Ch. 4 Other Fables about Science
Ch. 5 Imperfections of the Filter
Ch. 6 Consequences of Misconception
Ch. 7 In Praise of Science

PART Four. Science or Pseudoscience? (4 weeks)

Text: Why people Believe Weird Things, by Michael Shermer, Owl Books, revised and expanded 2002 (0-8050-7089-3).
We will read and discuss parts of Shermer's book: (4 sessions)
Foreword, Introduction and Prologue
Part 1: Science and Skepticism
Ch.1 I Am Therefore I Think
Ch. 2 The Most Precious Thing We Have
Ch. 3 How Thinking Goes Wrong
Part 2: Pseudoscience and Superstition
Ch. 4 Deviations
Ch. 5 Through the Invisible
Ch. 6 Abducted!
Ch. 7 Epidemics and Accusations
Ch. 8 The Unlikeliest Cult
Part 3: Evolution and Creationism
Ch. 9 In the Beginning
Ch. 10 Confronting Creationists
Ch. 11 Science Defended, Science Defined
Part 4: History and Pseudohistory
Ch. 12 Doing Dopnahue
Ch. 13 Who Says the Holocaust Never Happened, and Why Do They Say It?
Ch. 14 How We Know the Holocaust Happened
Ch. 15 Pigeonholes and Continuums
Part 5: Hope Springs Eternal
Ch. 16 Dr. Tipler meets Dr. pangloss
Ch. 17 Why Do People Believe Weird Things?
Ch. 18 Why Smart People Believe Weird Things

Case Study #6: Evolution and Creationism (3 sessions) This case study is based on a debate involving science education, based on Part 3 of Shermer's book and supplementary materials...

Group Presentations B: Science or Pseudoscience? (1 session)

Final Exam: Parts Three and Four, R 12/14, 7-10pm