COURSE TITLE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
COMPUTER TITLE ENVIRON SCI
COMPUTER CODE SCZ401
GRADE LEVEL 10-12
LENGTH OF COURSE 18-36 weeks
Laboratory Requirement: Students who take this course spend a minimum of 30% of their time engaged in laboratory exercises.
Major Concepts/Content: Environmental Science is designed to be an elective course for students with a special interest and high motivation for an in-depth study of environmental science. Information is presented in an integrated approach with science as inquiry, science & technology, science & social perspectives, and the history & nature of science. The course integrates unifying science concepts and processes of systems, order & organization, evidence, models & explanation, change, consistency & equilibrium, and form & function.
Scientific inquiry and understanding about inquiry are emphasized through practical implications and meaningful applications. Topics students study include, but are not limited to, the laws of matter and energy, ecosystem analysis, population dynamics, renewable and nonrenewable resources, human impact on the environment, and the relationships among economics, politics, ethics, and the environment.
Major Instructional Activities: Based on the philosophy that scientific knowledge is best acquired through inquiry, the course uses a variety of techniques to introduce, stimulate, explore, and reinforce major scientific concepts, theories, principles, and skills.
Instructional activities are staged in appropriate settings. They include laboratories, classrooms, forms of technology, and field studies. Teaching strategies include investigations, demonstrations, discussions, and hands-on/minds-on experiences.
Major Evaluation Techniques: All aspects (e.g., ability to inquire, scientific understanding of the natural world, and understanding of the nature and utility of science) of progress in science are measured using multiple methods such as individual and group performances, projects, interviews, reports, student-generated works, and/or conventional testing.
Essential Objectives: Upon completion of Environmental Science, students should be able to: