Scientific Inquiry is taught utilizing the following themes:
Astronomy: Gregory Falabella
This class first examines how ancient civilizations viewed the
heavens and why the mistaken notion that the Earth was the center
of the Universe persisted until the 16th century. The tools
and methods of modern astronomy are then discussed and used to
explore our solar system and beyond. Emphasis is on the
scientific method and how theories develop and are refined as more
data becomes available.
Chemistry - Atomic Theory and Water: Alison
Hyslop
Water is essential to life on earth. From space, earth looks
like a blue ball due to the water of the oceans. In this
course, we will investigate water from the perspective of a
chemist. We will start with the atomic and molecular views of
water and then move on to how water is a part of our
lives.
Chemistry: Olga Binyaminov
This course will focus on chemistry and how it impacts our
everyday life. The ordinary things in our lives are explainable
through extraordinary chemistry. The goal is to show you
how. We will learn how chemistry is used to examine things
such as the age of earth, the air we breathe, the food we eat, the
water we drink and even the medications we take.
Energy: Robin Appel
This course will focus on global energy concerns through lectures
and mini-experiments. We will also, through classroom
experimentation, learn about electricity and relate our
understanding to the production of electricity. This is not
primarily a mathematical course, but the ability to solve very
simple algebraic equations is expected. You will be working with a
group of 2-3 students as you learn together.
Energy: Jennifer Chabra
Modern atomic theory evolved from various theories
developed by scientists on the basis of the scientific
method. The critical thinking process of the scientific
method involves creating and testing new ideas for the explanation
of problems. The thought process may be applied in various
career fields based on its investigative nature. This course
investigates the origins of science and the scientific method, how
thinking critically led to various atomic theories, how science
affects society and religion, and how this thought process is
important in every field. Students will understand how
to formulate ideas, test them with experiments, and analyze data to
draw a conclusion. Furthermore, the importance of ethics, values,
and guidelines in the field of science, as well as to other job
fields, will be discussed.
Energy: Thomas DeCanio
Using, as a touchstone, the development of the scientific
method and how scientific inquiry proceeds, this course will
present the major concepts that revolutionized our understanding of
the physical world. After a look at science in the ancient
world, we will examine the great ideas that overturned conventional
thought, including the Copernican model of the solar system, the
Galilean/Newtonian view of the universe, the energy concept,
entropy and the probabilistic nature of matter, and finally
relativity and quantum theories. Emphasis will be not only on
the ideas themselves, but on the context of the times and cultures
in which they were formulated, and how they relate to the progress
and place of science today.
Energy: Qi Lu
The objective of this course is to introduce students to
inquiry-based scientific thinking through the investigation of
topics related to energy. Infused with active learning pedagogies,
this course aims to introduce the basic physics principles
concerning the nature of energy, examine the features of different
energy sources, explore the environmental and economical
consequences of energy use, and integrate the societal issues of
energy policy and national energy strategies. Combined forms of
lecture, class discussion, literature review, activities, essay
writing and student presentations will be utilized through the
course.
Evolution: Timothy Carter
The historical development of the theory of evolution by natural
selection from the synthetic arguments of Darwin and Wallace to
current hypothesis-driven experiments on speciation and molecular
evolution. We use a textbook that examines the lives,
motivations, adventures and ideas of key figures in this
chronology, together with a series of PBS films on Evolution and
readings from Darwin's Origin of Species. Writing is an
important part of the course. Students submit written work
each week, including answers to questions posed by the textbook and
"translations" of the Darwin text into contemporary
English.
Evolution: Anne Dranginis
The theory of evolution by natural selection is the foundation of
the modern biological sciences. We approach the story of life on
earth from a scientific point of view, drawing from many fields of
study. We begin with the historical context in which the theory of
evolution evolved and we analyze the conflicting interpretations of
the evidence available at the time. The history of the earth is
studied, from the experiments with radioactivity that helped
determine its age, to the dramatic changes in its contours and
continents over time. Mechanisms of biological change are studied
in Genetics and Molecular Biology. We look into the fossil record
for the story of the procession of life and its great extinctions
and radiations. Evolutionary relationships among species past and
present are studied. The impact of these discoveries on areas such
as medicine and sociology are covered. In addition to the text a
variety of current science readings and films are used. The goals
of the course are to achieve an understanding of scientific
methods, to learn to think critically about problems and to arrive
at an appreciation of the history of life on earth.
Evolution: Deborah Gelman
This class has a focus on evolution. Our study includes the
history, theory, and controversy surrounding evolution. As we
examine different types of living organisms, evidence regarding the
evolutionary links between different kingdoms and phyla are
analyzed. Special attention is focused on the evolution of the
brain, heart, eye, and human beings.
Evolution of Plants: Jonathan Fowler
This course will examine the many ways that humans make use of
plants and have guided their evolution through artificial
selection. From food, to medicine and drugs human have
utilized plant products for a wide array of materials throughout
history. The agricultural origins, nutrition and uses of the
major food crops will be examined. How humans use secondary plant
compounds including in marijuana, chocolate and coffee will also be
covered. Traditional uses of plants will be examined as well as
modern uses including biofuels, organic farming practices, and
genetically modified crops.
Evolution: Roberta Hayes
This class has a focus on Molecular Biology and
covers the Evolution of Mankind as an example to illustrate
“Scientific Inquiry.” Each person has a biological record of
their family’s history written within their DNA. For females
it is found in their mitochondrial DNA, for males it is contained
on their Y-chromosome. The genetic journey of our species is often
even more reliable than the fossil record.
Many of the archeological sites of our ancestors have
disappeared through generations of Earth’s geologic and climatic
changes. But the DNA record can be traced from the indigenous
populations that still inhabit the Earth back to our ancient
beginnings as a species in Africa. This class will look
at human evolution as seen through the unique analysis of Man’s
Y-chromosomal DNA and determined by molecular biological
analyses.
Evolution - Biodiversity: Brook Lauro
A wonderful and spectacular aspect of life on earth is
biodiversity: from genes, to species, to ecosystems. There
are millions of species alive today and it has taken billions of
years for them to evolve their current level of complexity.
Through the lens of scientific inquiry this course examines the
evolutionary path of biological diversity from how the first cells
developed some 3.8 billion years ago, through historic mass
extinctions, to the evolution of present day diversity.
Students learn about fascinating organisms, past to present,
dinosaurs to birds. A focus of the course is on what
scientists now consider the sixth mass extinction event due to the
activities of man. Factors contributing to current day
species extinctions are studied including: habitat loss, the
introduction of invasive species and global warming.
Throughout the semester we discuss conservation and environmental
ethics including, why species have value.
Evolution - Our Changing Environment: Brook
Lauro
This course helps students appreciate nature through the lens of
scientific inquiry by exploring the evolutionary implications of a
changing environment, both natural and manmade. The
scientific areas examined are ecology, which focuses on plant and
animal studies, and environmental science, which focuses on
pollution problems. The first unit of the course
introduces students to the scientific method and the history of
evolutionary thought while the next three sections are based on
levels of biological organization: the population, community, and
ecosystem/biosphere. The path of human evolution is followed
through current exponential population growth studying its impact
on the environment including: habitat degradation, species losses,
pollution, especially global warming. We profile unique
ecosystems, such as tropical rainforests, examining fascinating
co-evolutionary relationships for communities. Throughout the
course we discuss environmental ethics and “going green”.
Evolution and Biological Design: Maura Flannery
This course is linked to Dr. J. Upton’s Discover New York
course, which focuses on the city’s architecture and the idea of
design. This is a topic that has many implications in biology
as well, from the controversy surrounding intelligent design to the
fundamental issue of the relationship between form and
function. Also, many of nature’s designs have been the basis
of very successful human designs—from airplanes to Velcro.
Design is a visually exciting topic for both DNY and Scientific
Inquiry.
Evolution, Plants and People: Jennifer
Seron
In this biology section of Scientific Inquiry, students explore the
scientific process and different ways of knowing the world, expand
their inquiry skills, and apply their own experiences to the topic
of evolution as it relates to plants and the impact of people.
Evolution - Discoveries in Genetics that Helped Shape
Society: George Sirrakos This course introduces
students to scientific inquiry through the linking of scientific
methods to topics in genetics, including classical genetics,
molecular genetics, biotechnology, and genetic
diseases. Emphasis will not only be on the concepts
themselves, but on the context of the times and cultures in which
they were formulated, how they relate to the progress of science
today and the importance of ethics and values in the field of
science. We will also discuss how our knowledge of genetics impacts
society, medicine, agriculture, and religion. Combined forms
of lecture, class discussion, literature review, activities, film
review, essay writing and student presentation will be utilized
through the course.
Geoscience - Plate Tectonics Related to Geologic Time:
Edith Chasen-Cerreta
This class is an integrated study of the scientific
method in relation to the theories and principles which define the
Earth's formation as a planet and the formation of the Earth's
surface through the historical development of plate tectonics
theory.
Students will understand the geologic time scale in its relation
to the rock and fossil records and the sequence of life on Earth
and the role of the geoscientist in today's
society.
Geoscience: William Nieter
After activity-based discussions about the nature of scientific
inquiry and thinking and how science is different from other fields
of knowledge, the theme of this course focuses on the ‘modern
geosciences’. Our understanding of the Earth has been
revolutionized in the late 20th century by several key
advances. Now, at the beginning of the 21st century, we look
at these advances and show how the science itself has changed as
new evidence has become available; the advent of space
science and the study of planets within and outside the solar
system has allowed us to understand the origin of the Earth and how
the Earth is related to the larger Universe; the revolution of
plate tectonic theory allows us to understand the Earth as a
dynamic body that is still evolving and gives us insight into
geological hazards and resources; and the concept of deep
geological time allows us to understand the planetary history
including the history of life and evolutionary changes that have
taken place over billions of years. These are exciting times
in the geosciences and these new ways of understanding the Earth
are important if we are to address pressing problems like climate
change, human impacts to the environment and natural hazards.