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, identification of earth materials such as rock/minerals/soils, 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.). Fieldwork requirements may be adaptable to meet student needs.

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 ESR Subject Area Curriculum Committee at Portland Community College, therefore stand with such organizations as the National Association of Biology Teachers, and the Geological Society of America in opposing the inclusion of pseudoscience in our science curricula.

Upon completion of the course students should be able to:

• Express graphically, orally or in writing, basic elements of environmental geoscience.

• Identify and express geological interactions of humans and the environment.

• Utilize field and laboratory methods and technologies to measure and describe environmental factors.

• Use the geologic timescale to provide context for the rates of Earth processes and environmental change.

• Interpret geological and environmental data presented in maps or geospatial software.  

Assessment tasks may include:

• Written assessments
• Essay, short answer, and multiple choice exams
• Write-ups of field and laboratory experiences
• Research paper on environmental topic
• Journal: self-assessment and exploration of topics
• Oral presentations with accompanying visual/graphical representations
• Concept maps
• Graphs
• Maps

Concepts and Themes:

Geologic processes (rock cycle, plate tectonics, fluvial processes, and soil development)

Geologic hazards (earthquakes, tsunamis, mass moments, volcanoes, flooding)

Geologic resources (mineral, soil, water, and energy)

Climate change

Skills:

• Relate scientific concepts to local and regional geologic resources and hazards.
• Identify the sources of scientific uncertainty.
• Locate and access information from a variety of sources.
• Think critically and evaluate sources.
• Collaborate with peers.
• Practice communicating results of scientific work.