Weber State University   

Botany

Student Learning Outcomes

revised 09/11/01

1. Upon graduation, Botany majors should have a thorough knowledge and comprehension of the core concepts in the discipline of Plant Biology. These include the fact that:

1. Plants are like other organisms in regard to: basic metabolism, sexual reproduction, clonal reproduction, hormonally regulated development, ability to respond to the environment, diversity and evolution.

2. Plants are unique organisms in: their varied life histories - especially a sporic one with alternation of generations; their role as primary producers in food webs, serving as the interface organisms between the organic and inorganic worlds via mineral assimilation and photosynthesis; and the oxygenation of the atmosphere.

3. Plants serve as an important source of products: food, fiber, flavorings, feed, fuel, pharmaceuticals, etc.

2. Upon graduation, Botany majors should have mastered a set of fundamental skills which would be useful to function effectively as professionals and to their continued development and learning within the field of Plant Biology. These skills include the following:

1. Field and Laboratory Research Skills: Botany majors should be competent observers and experimentalists, whether such research takes place in the field or in the laboratory. They should be able to design and execute experiments, systematically collect and analyze data, identify sources of error, and interpret the results and reach logical conclusions. They should also have a basic understanding of laboratory and field safety issues.

2. Critical Thinking Skills: Botany majors should be able to engage in the following aspects of critical thinking: (i) differentiate between fact and opinion, (ii) recognize and evaluate author bias and rhetoric, (iii) develop inferential skills, (iv) recognize logical fallacies and faulty reasoning, and (v) make decisions and judgments by drawing logical conclusions using sound quantitative or statistically-based reasoning. Critical thinking does not exclude imaginative and speculative thinking as it applies to science in general and botany specifically. To the extent that critical thinking skills are discipline- specific, students should understand that science and its methodology is a way of knowing.

3. Problem-Solving Skills: Botany majors should be competent problem-solvers. They should be able to assess the elements of a problem and develop and test a solution based on logic and the best possible information.

4. Communications Skills: Botany graduates will be required to demonstrate competence in communication, both written and oral, and present the results of their research in senior theses, senior capstone courses, and in all upper-division courses where such communication is expected and evaluated by both their peers and the instructor.

5. Computer Skills: Botany graduates should be competent users of computer software including, but not limited to, word processing, spreadsheet, graphing, and web-search programs. Such skills are also imperative for organizing their required portfolios.

6. Information-Seeking Skills:  For success in college and for lifelong learning, graduates must be able to:  recognize when information is needed; to identify appropriate types of information; and to locate, evaluate, and use information effectively, ethically, and legally.

7. Cooperation/Social Responsibility Skills: Graduates ought to understand and appreciate the value of cooperating and working effectively with peers and be able to demonstrate a commitment to the process of developing such skills. Included here also is valuing: democracy, equal opportunity, work ethic and ongoing personal growth and renewal.

8. Self-Assessment Skills: Graduates should be able to demonstrate progress in the development of  their ability to make a realistic appraisal of growth in all three domains of learning (cognitive, conative, and affective). They should be able to identify, evaluate and explain major, if not pivotal, influences in their development as a botanist.

3. Upon graduation, Botany majors should demonstrate significant value-added progress in developing the following values:

1. Appreciation of the diversity of cultures and intellectual points of view.

2. Understanding of ethical issues and responsibilities such as the environmental costs of excessive consumerism, impacts of technology upon society, etc.

3. Commitment to the development of cultural perspectives that do not disparage others solely on the basis of an individual's or group's ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, marital status, age or disability.

4. Appreciation that Botany follows the Liberal Arts tradition which is based upon the notion that, in a world of ideas, a person is not free or liberated from the bonds of ignorance if s/he makes decisions based upon closed-minded habits, prejudices, or unconscious emotions that preclude critical thinking. Additionally, graduates will need to demonstrate growth in their social obligation to communicate with the public on scientific and technical issues.

5. Appreciation of the aesthetic attributes of nature, whether their studies are primarily in the field where entire ecosystems or biomes are investigated or in the laboratory where the microscope and biochemical techniques are used as tools for observing nature.

4.  All students who are exposed to Botany courses (majors, minors, support, and General Education students) should understand and appreciate, in addition to the core knowledge of Plant Biology, the nature of science, how science is applied to everyday problems, and significant botanical achievements. Teaching majors and minors should become aware of teaching strategies that accommodate multiple learning styles of their prospective students.

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