November 2013

In Fall 2013, I taught two calculus courses.  One of them is linked with Physics (a learning community) and another one is in the traditional format.  In the traditional format, calculus is a prerequisite for PHY121.  With the learning community, students are able to take both MAT220 and PHY121 in the same semester.  The learning community students have the advantage of seeing the applications of calculus in the same semester while the traditional students will see the applications a semester later.      

It was noted that one thing many scientists (and others) have in common is a love of puzzles.  They require critical thinking skills and many require a scientific inquiry type approach to solve.  We decided to see if encouraging our students to attempt a number of puzzles throughout the semester, for extra credit, would enhance their critical thinking skills or at least encourage them to start attempting more puzzles which may be have beneficial in the long run.

Sociology 130, Human Sexuality, focuses on the social, cultural, and institutional contributions to human sexuality. Throughout the semester, students address how society constructs expectations and limitations on sexuality. The last assignment is to create a sexual rights document and to discuss the document with your classmates. The sexual rights document will be assessed through a rubric which focuses on research, sociological imagination, and critical thinking. The SOC 130 online course will be piloted in Spring 2014.