Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Fieldwork Statement:

Fieldwork is a professional competence in many areas of Environmental Studies. Standard field practices include measurements of abiotic and biotic components in a variety of environmental conditions and habitat types. Fieldwork includes use of all the senses to make observations in natural and built environments. Field training may include developing skills in site characterization, application of key terms and concepts, species identification, and measurement and data collection using appropriate equipment. Fieldwork may include inherent risks (uneven terrain, off-trail work with map & compass, variable weather, insects, environmental irritants, travel, stress, etc.).

Evolution Statement:

To clarify the teaching of evolution and its place in the classroom, the Portland Community College Science Departments stand by the following statements about what is science and how the theory of evolution is the major organizing theory in the discipline of the biological sciences. Science is a fundamentally nondogmatic and self-correcting investigatory process. In science, a theory is neither a guess, dogma, nor myth. The theories developed through scientific investigation are not decided in advance, but can be and often are modified and revised through observation and experimentation.

The theory of evolution meets the criteria of a scientific theory. In contrast, creation "science" is neither self-examining nor investigatory. Creation "science" is not considered a legitimate science, but a form of religious advocacy. This position is established by legal precedence (Webster v. New Lenox School District #122, 917 F. 2d 1004).

Science (ESR) instructors of Portland Community College will teach the theory of evolution not as absolute truth but as the most widely accepted scientific theory on the diversity of life. We, the Environmental Studies Subject Area Curriculum Committee at Portland Community College, therefore stand with such organizations as the National Association of Biology Teachers in opposing the inclusion of pseudo-sciences in our science curricula.

Upon completion of the course students should be able to:

• Describe fundamental components and functions of populations, communities, and ecosystems graphically, orally, and/or in writing.
• Evaluate human interactions with and impacts on species, communities, and ecosystems.
• Make informed decisions about how to promote sustainable use of natural capital and to support biodiversity using resources such as scientific data, research, and/or case studies.
• Utilize basic field and laboratory methods and technologies to measure and describe ecosystems.

Course activities may include:

1. Lectures
2. Field trips
3. Active learning approaches such as relevant case studies
4. Laboratory sections may include fieldwork and laboratory skills such as: proper use of equipment, sampling techniques, data collection in the field and data analysis
5. Written lab reports
6. Written papers
7. Oral presentations

Assessment tasks may include:

• Essay, short answer, and multiple choice questions in quizzes, exams, and/or homework

• Field and/or laboratory reports or journals

• Research papers

• Self-assessment and reflection assignments

• Oral presentations 

• Poster presentations 

• Concept maps

• Creation and/or interpretation of graphs

• Analysis and/or creation of maps

Concepts and Themes:

• Ecosystem functions

• Biodiversity and conservation practices

• Environmental justice and ethics 

• Human population issues

• Agricultural practices

• Biogeochemical cycles

• Human impacts on biological systems

Skills:                   

• Relate scientific concepts to local and regional biological resources.

• Identify sources of scientific uncertainty.

• Locate and access reliable information from a variety of sources.

• Represent and interpret quantitative data.

• Draw conclusions based on evidence and discuss impacts on the community and/or environment.

• Collaborate with peers.

• Practice communicating results of scientific work.