Science

Science plays a major role in human lives, and it is vital that students understand its importance. Science courses make students aware of the vast amount of information being discovered daily about our world. Students gain enough background to be able to read with interest and understanding current literature that deals with scientific and technological topics as well as to continue science study at advanced levels with confidence.

The science program offers courses in both the biological and the physical sciences and aims to stimulate critical thinking and to teach students how to understand and interpret data and to apply the scientific method.  Laboratory experiences form a major part of science study.  Through them, students explore the world via the microscope, experimentation and observation, and field work, which helps them relate the more abstract concepts considered in lecture periods to their immediate experience.  Opportunities for individual research programs are available for students who wish to go beyond the required courses.

The Science Department subscribes to the statement that the National Science Teaching Association recognizes the inherent and strong connection of many 21st-century skills with science education.  “The nature of science adopted by science education focuses on fostering deep content knowledge through active intellectual engagement and emulating disciplinary practices and thinking, and 21st-century skills focus on developing broadly applicable capacities, habits of mind, and preparing knowledge workers for a new economy (Windschitl 2009).”