Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Recommended: CASAS Reading placement 239 or higher.

Total contact hours: 40-48

Upon completion of the course students will be able to:

• Use reading and writing strategies to analyze scientific passages and construct short answer responses related to life, physical, earth, and space science.  

• Use mathematical strategies to solve science-related equations.

• Apply a range of strategies, including activating prior knowledge and cultural understanding to monitor and enhance comprehension of basic science topics.

• Apply the understanding of these topics on the GED Ready and GED Exams.

• Use the scientific method to collect measurable, empirical evidence in experiments related to a hypothesis in order to support or contradict a theory.

• Exhibit persistence, self-motivation, self-advocacy, and personal responsibility

• Reflect upon, assess, identify, and celebrate one’s own learning gains

• Explore, develop, and monitor appropriate academic and professional goals

• Advance knowledge and skills to make independent choices as a citizen, family member, worker, and life-long learner

•    Complete CASAS reading test

●      Pass GED Practice test in Science

●      Take college placement test (if college bound)

●      Create portfolios, including reflections, drafts and final writing pieces about basic science topics

●      Develop projects, presentations, and debate

●      Assess comprehension with quizzes, multiple choice questions, written response, and discussion questions

●      Complete a computer-based assignment

Themes: Human Health and Living Systems and Energy and Related Systems

Concepts: goal setting, critical thinking, decision making, confidence building, collaborative team-work, media literacy, cultural literacy, student success skills

Issues: barriers to student success, access to resources, communication skills, learning differences, test and school anxiety, and behavior appropriate to academic and professional settings

Skills:

• Comprehend scientific presentations

• Understand investigation design (experimental and observational)

• Analyze reasoning from data

• Evaluate conclusions with evidence

• Reconcile multiple findings, conclusions, or theories

• Express scientific information

• Understand and apply scientific models, theories, and processes

• Describe a data set statistically

• Determine the probability of events

Life Science:

• Identify body systems and how they work together to perform a function

• Describe the relationship between life functions and energy intake

• Understand energy flows in ecologic networks (ecosystems)

• Understand the organization (structure and function) of life

• Understand the molecular basis for heredity

• Describe evolution and the concepts of common ancestry and cladograms

Physical Science:

• Describe conservation, transformation, and flow of energy

• Understand work, motion, and forces

• Analyze chemical properties and reactions related to living systems

Earth and Space Science:

• Describe interactions between Earth’s systems and living things

• Understand the Earth and its system components and interactions

• Describe the structures and organization of the cosmos