Overview There are three projects for this course. In Project 1, you began your exploration of a natural science topic by selecting a news story and completing a topic exploration graphic organizer. In Project 2, you continued your analysis of the news story and the natural science topic and ultimately developed a question that, as a natural scientist, you would like to study. In Project 3, you will develop a presentation that discusses why your question is important and the value of studying the natural sciences. Project 3 will assess the following course outcomes, which you will focus on throughout Themes 3 and 4:
Investigate major developments in the natural sciences for informing critical questions that drive scientific inquiry
Articulate the value of the natural sciences for their impact on contemporary issues
Prompt Using the question that you posed in Project 2, explain why the answer is important for understanding yourself, other people, and the world around you. In addition, you will discuss how the natural sciences have developed to help us answer these important questions. Your presentation should include speaker notes so that your instructor knows what you would be saying if you were actually giving the presentation. The critical elements of this project will be evaluated by the information in your presentation. Be sure your actual question is apparent in the presentation. Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:
I. Why is the question you identified important to you as a member of society?
II. Explain how finding the answer to your question might impact others around you. For example, who might be most interested in the answer to your question?
III. Explain why studying the natural sciences is valuable. In other words, what is the benefit of studying topics in the natural sciences?
IV. Describe the major developments in the natural sciences related to your topic. Use course resources to back up your discussion.
V. Detail the major developments in scientific thinking that support the study and advancement of the natural sciences as necessary and valuable. Use course resources to back up your discussion.
VI. How do these developments in the natural sciences and scientific thinking inform questions about the topic in your news story? In other words, what is the relationship between major developments in the natural sciences and the questions that natural scientists are interested in? VII. Discuss the obligation that you have as a citizen of your society to understand the science behind issues that impact you every day. For instance, how can being a more scientifically informed member of society benefit you and your community? Review this document to help you create your presentation.