The school of Natural Science at Hampshire College supposedly only changes its policies based on principals, and this was my (the student) document of principles about Div 1s that I presented when NS was considering whether to have 2-course option in NS. I presented it at a meeting in spring of 1995.

proposal spring 1995 by Chris Kawecki, student

For the division 1 in Natural Science each student should:

• 1)increase their competence in science. Depending on the experiences of the student, this means different things. For some, discovering that there is a way of thinking called science, and that they personally are capable of it; for others, to see that there is no objective science and that scientists (them!) must develop their own legitimate approach, not just blindly follow rules laid down by authorities. Other students might discover that science is not objective and is really part of a broad social, historical context.
• 2) develop problems-solving skills by dealing with problems and experimenting in self-designed ways. Often, this includes contact with data. It must be noted that the instructor generally does not need experience in problem-solving and experiment design, so that instructor should not dominate it. The student should. Obviously transmitting information is not the goal. But also remember, developing problem-solving skills is the goal, not making sure students have gotten to the same experiments/solutions a professor would propose.
• 3)get individual attention and enthusiasm from a prof or other students. They should be taken seriously, and their ideas should be taken seriously. Every student can think like a scientist, and we must be careful to encourage them, not intimidate them.
• 4)improve their communication by practicing it. First, this means the opportunity to see how communication can be helpful in learning (through conversations, the internet, and the library). Second, it means communicating ideas or discoveries of the student to other people (through a discussion, paper, letter, presentation, poster, or ... ) -- whatever the student believes is the appropriate way to share what the student has to share.
• 5) be encouraged to reflect on their education. This includes thinking about and discussing the kind of learning that happens in a project or class (what the advantages and disadvantes of the two (?) models are, and how they will pursue the rest of their education. Specifically, it is the students learning that is important, and that should be forefront in their mind in getting an education, and not completion of syllabi!!

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  ckawecki@hampshire.edu
  Last modified: Tue Jan 9 22:00:06 1996