PROGRAM MODIFICATION PROPOSAL

College: [ Science and Mathematics ] Department: [Geological Sciences]

1. Program: (e.g. B.S. in …., Option in …..) [ BS degree]

2. Nature of Request: (Check all that apply)

[ ] Delete Program

[ ] Change Program Requirements with No Change in Total Units in Program

[ ] Increase Total Units in Program ( From: [ ] To: [ ])

[x] Decrease Total Units in Program Option I Geology ( From: [75-76] To: [69-74])

[x] Decrease Total Units in Program Option II Geophysics ( From: [84] To: [73-75])

[ ] Change Total Units to Degree ( From: [ ] To: [ ])

[ ] Change in GE Requirements (Describe Below)

[ ]

[x] Other: (Describe below)

[Delete options Environmental Geology and Secondary Teaching ]

3. Date of Proposed Implementation: (Semester/Year): [ Fall 2015] Choose an

item. ] Comments

4. Brief Summary of the Proposed Program Modification: (Insert below)

[Eliminate Environmental Geology and Secondary Teaching options and restructure the

remaining Geology and Geophysics options and re-number Geophysics from Option IV to

Option II.]

5. Catalog Entry: (Attach current and proposed catalog copy)

6. Justification for Request: (Attach)

7. Estimate of Impact of Resources within Department, for other Departments and the

University: (Attach)

(See Resource List)

8. Goals and Measurable Student Learning Outcomes for Program: (Attach )

9. Methods of Assessment for Measurable Student Learning Outcomes: (Attach)

A. Assessment Tools

B. Describe the procedure the dept/program will use to ensure the faculty will be

involved in the assessment process. (Refer to the University’s policy on assessment.)

10. Record of Consultation: (Normally all consultation should be with a department chair or program

coordinator. If more space is needed attach statement and supporting memoranda.)

Date: Dept/College:

Department Chair/Program

Coordinator

Concur

(Y/N)

[5-X-14] [Chemistry & Biochemistry] [ Eric Kelson] [IP]

[5-3-14] [Physics and Astronomy] [ Say-Peng Lim] [Y]

[5-7-14] [Biology ] [Larry Allen] [Y]

[5-5-14] [Mathematics] [Werner Horn] [Y]

[5-16-14] [ Geography] [Shawna Dark ] [Y]

[5-15-14] [ Envir and Occup Health ] [Tom Hatfield] [Y]

[5-9-14 [English] [Jackie Stallcup [Y]

[5-15-14] Communication Studies] [Bernardo Attias] [Y]

[5-3-14] [ WRAD] [Sharon Klein ] [Y]

11. Approvals:

Department Chair/Program Coordinator: Date: [ ]

College (Dean or Associate Dean): Date: [ ]

Educational Policies Committee: Date: [ ]

Graduate Studies Committee: Date: [ ]

Provost: Date: [ ]

5. Current and Proposed Catalog Copy

Current BS Option I: Geology 1. Lower-Division Required Courses (38-39 Units) GEOL 101/102 Geol of Planet Earth & Lab (3/1) GEOL 110/112 Earth & Life through Time & Lab (3/1) GEOL 207/L Mineralogy and Lab (3/1) GEOL 235 Introduction to Field Methods (2) CHEM 101/L General Chemistry I and Lab (4/1) CHEM 102/L General Chemistry II and Lab (4/1) MATH 255A* Calculus for the Life Sciences I (3) MATH 255B* Calculus for the Life Sciences II (3) Or MATH 140 Introductory Statistics (4) PHYS 100A/L** General Physics I and Lab (3/1) PHYS 100B/L** General Physics II and Lab (3/1)

________

* or MATH 150A and MATH 150B **or PHYS 225, 220A/L; 226, 220BL

2. Upper-Division Required Courses (28 Units) GEOL 307/L Petrology and Lab (3/1) GEOL 310/L Structural Geology and Lab (3/1) GEOL 341/L Sedimentary Geology and Lab (3/1) GEOL 351/L Fundamentals of Paleontology &

Lab (3/1) GEOL 430A, B Summer Field Geology (2, 2) GEOL 443/L Principles of Stratigraphy & Lab (3/1) GEOL 464/L Applied Geophysics and Lab (3/1) 3. Upper-Division Electives (9 Units)

These should be selected from any upper-division geology courses exclusive of 300, 301. Other electives might qualify, but require approval of the departmental undergraduate advisor. Note: Students in the Honors Program must take GEOL 497 (1 unit) and 498 (3 units) and 5 units of elective.

Total Units in the Major, Option I 75-76

General Education. Basic Skills

Mathematics and the entire section of

Natural Sciences are met by required

courses in the major

36

Additional Units 8-9

Total Units Required for the B.S. Degree, Option I

120

Proposed BS Option I: Geology

Tier 1: 4 units

ANY 100-level GEOL course and ANY 100-level GEOL lab

(3/1) Tier M&S: 18 to 19 units

CHEM 101/L General Chemistry I & Lab (4/1) MATH 150A Calculus I (5) MATH 150B Calculus II (5) or MATH 140 Introductory Statistics (4) PHYS 220A*/L Mechanics and Lab (3/1) **Or PHYS 225

Tier 2: 16 units

GEOL 303 Communicating Geoscience (2) GEOL 306/L Earth Materials and Lab (3/1) GEOL 309/L Earth Tectonics & Structure (3/1) GEOL 235 Introduction to Field Geology (2) GEOL 314/L Earth Systems and Lab (3/1)

Tier 3: 24 to 28 units

GEOL 307/L Petrology and Lab (3/1) GEOL 310/L Advanced Structural Geology

and Lab (3/1) GEOL 341/L Sedimentology and Stratigraphy

and Lab (3/1) Four additional UD GEOL courses, exclusive of GEOL 300 & 301, including required labs if applicable (12-16 units).

Students in the Honors Program must take GEOL 497 (1) and 498 (3) and three additional UD GEOL courses exclusive of GEOL 300 & 301, including required labs if applicable.

Tier 4: 7 units

GEOL 430A,B Summer Field Geology (2, 2) GEOL 490 Senior Capstone (3)

Total Units in the Major, Option I

Geology

69-74

General Education. Basic Skills

Mathematics and the entire section of

Natural Sciences are met by required

courses in the major

36

Additional Units 10-15

Total Units Required for the B.S. Degree, Option I: 120

120

OPTION II ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY 1. Lower-Division Required Courses (42-43 Units)

GEOL 101/102 Geology of Planet Earth and Lab (3/1) GEOL 110/112 Earth and Life through Time and Lab (3/1) GEOL 207/L Mineralogy and Lab (3/1) GEOL 235 Introduction to Field Methods (2) CHEM 101/L General Chemistry I and Lab 4/1) CHEM 102/L General Chemistry II and Lab (4/1) CHEM 235/L Introductory Organic Chemistry and Lab (3/1) MATH 255A* Calculus for the Life Sciences I (3) MATH 255B* Calculus for the Life Sciences II (3) Or MATH 140 Introductory Statistics PHYS 100A/L** General Physics I and Lab (3/1) PHYS 100B/L** General Physics II and Lab (3/1) * or MATH 150A and MATH 150B **or PHYS 225, 220AL; 226, 220BL

2. Upper-Division Required Courses (38 Units)

GEOL 307/L Petrology and Lab (3/1) GEOL 310/L Structural Geology and Lab (3/1) GEOL 341/L Sedimentary Geology and Lab (3/1) GEOL 351/L Fundamentals of Paleontology and Lab (3/1) GEOL 430A, B Summer Field Geology (2, 2) GEOL 443/L Principles of Stratigraphy and Lab (3/1) GEOL 464/L Applied Geophysics and Lab (3/1) GEOL 500 Environmental Geology Seminar (3) GEOL 575/L Hydrogeology and Lab (3/1) EOH 454 Environmental Health Law (3) Or EOH 457 Water Supply and Sewage Disposal (3) Or EOH 459 Hazardous Materials and Waste Management (3) Or EOH 469 Environmental Risk Analysis (3)

3. Upper-Division Electives (3 Units)

These should be selected from any upper-division geology courses exclusive of 300, 301. Other electives might qualify, but require approval of the departmental undergraduate advisor. Note: Students in the Honors Program must take GEOL 497 (1 unit) and 498 (3 units) instead of elective units.

Total Units in the Major, Option II 83-84

General Education. Basic Skills Mathematics and the entire section of Natural Sciences are met by required courses in the major

36

Additional Units 0-1

Total Units Required for the B.S. Degree, Option II

120

OPTION III: SECONDARY TEACHING LOWER-DIVISION REQUIRED COURSES (47 UNITS) ASTR 152 Elementary Astronomy (3) ASTR 154L Observational Astronomy (1) BIOL 106/L Biological Principles I and Lab (3/1) BIOL 107/L Biological Principles II and Lab (3/1) GEOL 101/102 Geology of Planet Earth and Lab (3/1) GEOL 110/112 Earth and Life through Time and Lab (3/1) GEOL 207/L Mineralogy and Lab (3/1) GEOL 235 Introduction to Field Methods (2) CHEM 101/L General Chemistry I and Lab 4/1) CHEM 102/L General Chemistry II and Lab (4/1) MATH 255A* Calculus for the Life Sciences I (3) PHYS 100A/L** General Physics I and Lab (3/1) PHYS 100B/L** General Physics II and Lab (3/1) ___________ * or MATH 150A **or PHYS 225, 220AL; 226, 220BL UPPER-DIVISION REQUIRED COURSES (34 UNITS) GEOL 307/L Petrology and Lab (3/1) GEOL 310/L Structural Geology and Lab (3/1) GEOL 322/L Introductory Oceanography and Lab (3/1) GEOL 341/L Sedimentary Geology and Lab (3/1) GEOL 443/L Principles of Stratigraphy and Lab (3/1) GEOL 351/L Fundamentals of Paleontology and Lab (3/1)) GEOL 505 The Evolution of Global Systems (3) GEOL 595Y Geological Sciences Teacher Enhancement (3) GEOG 311/L Atmosphere and Lab (3/1) ELECTIVES (3 UNITS) These should be selected from any upper-division geology courses exclusive of 300, 301. Other electives

might qualify, but require approval of the departmental undergraduate advisor. Note: Students in the

Honors Program must take GEOL 497 (1 unit) and 498 (3 units) instead of elective units.

Total Units in the Major, Option III 84

General Education. Basic Skills Mathematics and the entire section

of Natural Sciences are met by required courses in the major

36

Additional Units 0

Total Units Required for the B.S. Degree, Option III

120

OPTION IV: GEOPHYSICS

LOWER-DIVISION REQUIRED COURSES (55 UNITS) ................... GEOL 101/102 Geology of Planet Earth and Lab (3/1) or GEOL 110/112 Earth and Life through Time and Lab (3/1) GEOL 207/L Mineralogy and Lab (3/1) GEOL 235 Introduction to Field Methods (2) COMP 110/L Introduction to Algorithms and Programming and Lab (3/1) MATH 150A Calculus I (5) MATH 150B Calculus II (5) MATH 250 Calculus III (3) MATH 280 Applied Differential Equations (3) CHEM 101/L General Chemistry I and Lab (4/1) CHEM 102/L General Chemistry II and Lab (4/1) PHYS 225/220AL Physics I and Mechanics Lab (4/1) PHYS 226/220BL Physics II and Electricity and Magnetism Lab (4/1) PHYS 227/L Physics III and Lab (4/1) UPPER-DIVISION REQUIRED COURSES (19 UNITS) GEOL 307/L Petrology and Lab (3/1) GEOL 310/L Structural Geology and Lab (3/1) GEOL 443/L Principles of Stratigraphy and Lab (3/1) GEOL 460 Theoretical Geophysics (3) GEOL 464/L Applied Geophysics and Lab (3/1) ELECTIVES (10 UNITS) These should be selected from any upper-division geology courses exclusive of 300, 301. Other electives might qualify, but require approval of the departmental undergraduate advisor. Note: Students in the Honors Program must take GEOL 497 (1 unit) and 498 (3 units) and 6 units of elective.

Total Units in the Major, Option IV 84

General Education. Basic Skills Mathematics, the entire section of Natural Sciences, and Lifelong Learning are met by required courses in the major.

33

Additional Units 3

Total Units Required for the B.S. Degree, Option IV

120

BS Option II: Geophysics

Tier 1: 4 units ANY 100-level GEOL course and ANY 100-level GEOL lab (3+1) Tier M&S: 40 units CHEM 101/L General Chemistry I and Lab (4+1) COMP 110/L Introduction to Algorithms and Programming and Lab (3+1) MATH 150A Calculus I (5) MATH 150B Calculus II (5) MATH 250 Calculus III (3) MATH 280 Applied Differential Equations (3) PHYS 225/220AL Physics I and Mechanics Lab (4+1) PHYS 226/220BL Physics II and Electricity and Magnetism Lab (4+1) PHYS 227/L Physics III and Lab (4+1) Tier 2: 16 units GEOL 303 Communicating Geoscience (2) GEOL 306/L Earth Materials and Lab (3+1) GEOL 309/L Earth Tectonics and Structure (3+1) GEOL 235 Introduction to Field Methods (2) GEOL 314/L Earth Systems and Lab (3+1) Tier 3: 10 to 12 units GEOL 464/L Applied Geophysics (3+1) Two additional UD GEOL courses related to Geophysics or UD courses in MATH or PHYS with approval of academic advisor. GEOL 300 and GEOL 301 cannot be used for major credit. (6-8 units) Students in the Honors Program must take GEOL 497 (1) and 498 (3) and three additional UD GEOL courses, including required labs if applicable, exclusive of GEOL 300 & 301. Tier 4: 3 units GEOL 490 Senior Capstone (3)

Total Units in the Major, Option II Geophysics

73-75

General Education. Basic Skills Mathematics and the entire section of Natural Sciences are met by required courses in the major

36

Additional Units 9-11

Total Units Required for the B.S. Degree, Option II: 120

120

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6. Justification for the Request. Redesigned Geology and Geophysics Options

Our understanding of effective science pedagogy and the breadth of the science of geology itself has changed dramatically since the mid-late 20th century when it was originally laid out. Many geoscientists now describe the disciplines of our science using a framework called “Earth Systems” which emphasizes the importance of the interactions between different parts of the Earth (e.g., Finley et al., 2011 and references therein). Our previous course sequence promoted division between the disciplines rather than the integration between them that best describes the state of our science today. The geoscience community has engaged in substantive discussions over how to structure programs that effectively serve the needs of the 21st century geoscience workforce (Leggett et al., 2004; Bralower, 2008; AGI, 2009; NSF Advisory Committee for Geosciences, 2009; Richardson and Ormand, 2011). A number of model programs have emerged, and we have studied their successes in designing the modifications to our program through both the published literature (e.g., Buchwald, 1997; Lee et al., 2001; SERC, 2009; Iverson et al., 2011) and our professional connections to colleagues at other institutions.

Alongside structural changes come pedagogical changes that reflect the latest research on effective geoscience instruction. Researchers recognize the importance problem-based research activities, student-centered learning, and the ideal sequencing and scaffolding of field experiences in geoscience (see overview by Macdonald et al., 2005). Many of the non-structural pedagogical changes are done at the course level, but they are best accomplished through a systematic and integrated effort by the entire faculty. Each of the newly designed/redesigned courses in our revised program is designed with these pedagogical changes in mind. Together, these changes will not only meet the needs of the 21st century workforce, but such curricular reforms have been shown to have a positive impact on increasing diversity in geology programs (Buchwald, 1997). The proposed new B.S. program is aligned with six competencies key to successful careers in geosciences in the 21st century: 1) foundational knowledge in geosciences and awareness of current geoscience research that impacts

the discipline and society in general, both of which employ the “geoscience habits of mind”: temporal reasoning, spatial thinking, systems thinking, and field- and laboratory-based learning (https://serc.carleton.edu/research_on_learning/synthesis/index.html)

2) mastery of each component of scientific problem solving: hypothesis generation, planning investigations, analyzing data, evaluation and conclusions, and reflection on conclusions and formulation of next steps.

3) engagement in research 4) integrative understanding of earth systems and applications to societal issues 5) strong communication skills (written, verbal, graphical) 6) cooperative and collaborative learning. We accomplish integration and interconnections across the program using a tiered structure of courses that comprehensively and intentionally develops, integrates, and strengthens the key competencies throughout the program. In Tier 2, students gain a basic knowledge of foundational concepts and apply this knowledge in simple problem solving. In Tier 3, they build greater knowledge and comprehension and apply and synthesize their skill sets in complex problem solving. In Tier 4, they demonstrate mastery of the key competencies through synthesis and evaluation of complex problems in the field and in the capstone case study. This approach promotes development of integrative thinking and deeper learning fostered by repeated exposure. It also allows faculty to make longitudinal assessments of students’ gains in the key competencies over the course of the program.

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References and Bibliography of works guiding this course redesign AGI. (2009). Status of the Geoscience Workforce. Alexandria, VA: American Geosciences Institute. AGI. (2013). Status of Recent Geoscience Graduates, 2013. Alexandria, VA: American Geosciences Institute. Anderson, W. L., Mitchell, S. M., & Osgood, M. P. (2008). Gauging the Gaps in Student Problem-Solving Skills: Assessment of

Individual and Group Use of Problem-Solving Strategies Using Online Discussions. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 7(2), 254–262. doi:10.1187/cbe.07-06-0037

Anderson, W. L., Sensibaugh, C. A., Osgood, M. P., & Mitchell, S. M. (2011). What Really Matters: Assessing Individual Problem-Solving Performance in the Context of Biological Sciences. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning, 5(1), 1–20.

Auit, C. R., Jr. (1994). Research on problem solving: Earth Science. In D. L. Gabel (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Science Teaching and Learning. New York: Macmillan.

Bralower, T. J., Feiss, P. G., & Manduca, C. A. (2008). Preparing a New Generation of Citizens and Scientists to Face Earth’s Future. Liberal Education, 94(2), 20–23.

Buchwald, C. E. (1997). Undergraduate geology education-The Carleton College experience. Journal of College Science Teaching, 26, 325–328.

Chang, C.-Y., & Taipei, Y.-H. W. (2002). An exploratory study on students’ problem-solving ability in earth science. International Journal of Science Education, 24(5), 441–451. doi:10.1080/09500690110066502

Chin, C., & Brown, D. E. (2000). Learning in Science: A Comparison of Deep and Surface Approaches. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 37(2), 109–138. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1098-2736(200002)37:2<109::AID-TEA3>3.0.CO;2-7

Eagan, M. K., Hurtado, S., Chang, M. J., Garcia, G. A., Herrera, F. A., & Garibay, J. C. (2013). Making a Difference in Science Education The Impact of Undergraduate Research Programs. American Educational Research Journal, 50(4), 683–713. doi:10.3102/0002831213482038

Finley, F. N., Nam, Y., & Oughton, J. (2011). Earth Systems Science: An Analytic Framework. Science Education, 95(6), 1066–1085.

Freeman, M., & McKenzie, J. (2002). SPARK, a confidential web–based template for self and peer assessment of student teamwork: benefits of evaluating across different subjects. British Journal of Educational Technology, 33(5), 551–569. doi:10.1111/1467-8535.00291

Harbor, J. M. (2000). A Capstone Course in Environmental Geosciences. Journal of Geoscience Education, 48(5), 617–23. Hodgson, H. E. (1978). Technical Report Writing in the Geosciences in American Colleges and Universities: An Evaluation and

Recommendations. Journal of Geological Education, 26(5), 189–93. Iverson, E. A., Lee, S., Ormand, C. J., Feiss, P. G., Macdonald, H., Manduca, C. A., & Richardson, R. M. (2011). Building Strong

Geoscience Departments: Case Studies and Findings from Six Years of Programming. AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, -1, 0616.

Lee, J. K. W., Hanes, J. A., & Remenda, V. H. (2001). New Curriculum Reforms in a Geological Engineering Program. Journal of Engineering Education, 90(4), 721–728. doi:10.1002/j.2168-9830.2001.tb00664.x

Leggett, M., Kinnear, A., Boyce, M., & Bennett, I. (2004). Student and staff perceptions of the importance of generic skills in science. Higher Education Research & Development, 23(3), 295–312. doi:10.1080/0729436042000235418

Libarkin, J. C., & Anderson, S. W. (2005). Assessment of learning in entry-level geoscience courses: Results from the Geoscience Concept Inventory. Journal of Geoscience Education, 53(4), 394–401.

Macdonald, R. H., Manduca, C. A., Mogk, D. W., & Tewksbury, B. J. (2005). Teaching methods in undergraduate geoscience courses: Results of the 2004 On the Cutting Edge survey of US faculty. Journal of Geoscience Education, 53(3), 237.

Michaelsen, L. K., Knight, A. B., & Fink, L. D. (2002). Team-based Learning: A Transformative Use of Small Groups. Greenwood Publishing Group.

NSF Advisory Committee for Geosciences. (2009). GEOVISION Report (p. 33). Washington, D.C.: National Science Foundation. Richardson, R. M., & Ormand, C. J. (2008). Survey of Geoscience Departments Finds Shared Goals and Challenges. Eos,

Transactions American Geophysical Union, 89(27), 242–243. doi:10.1029/2008EO270002 Russell, S. H., Hancock, M. P., & McCullough, J. (2007). Benefits of Undergraduate Research Experiences. Science, 316(5824),

548–549. doi:10.1126/science.1140384 SERC. (2009). Curriculum Profiles. Curriculum profiles. Retrieved April 24, 2014, from

http://serc.carleton.edu/departments/programs/curriculum_profiles.html Smith, D. L., Hoersch, A. L., & Gordon, P. R. (1995). Problem-based learning in the undergraduate geology classroom. Journal of

Geological Education, 43, 385–385.

Assessment-driven Changes The proposed changes to the B.S. program are guided by our own assessment and that of educators worldwide. For the past two years, Geology has conducted “Geologic Problem Solving Night” in which students participate in a progressively revealed problem that independently tests each component of scientific problem solving. Our results show that our students are weakest in data analysis and

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evaluation and conclusions. The redesigned B.S. program will address this with incorporation of small-scale research experiences in each of the Tier 2 courses and more extensive research experiences in Tier 3 courses. Tier 4 Capstone is a student-driven research experience in which B.S. students with different discipline foci and B.A. students with different interdisciplinary skills work in collaborative teams to develop a solution of a complex real-world geoscience problem of importance to southern California. Engagement of undergraduates in research significantly improves student’s probability of entering STEM graduate programs and success in professional careers, especially underrepresented students (Eagan et al., 2013; Russell et al., 2007). These experiences in the core curriculum will have the added benefit of helping students to determine whether they are interested in pursuing faculty-mentored research and/or graduate school. Geology also uses the Geoscience Concept Inventory, a national test designed to assess conceptual understanding of many “big picture” ideas in Earth Science. This assessment tool is administered in our earliest major’s-only course and in one of the last required core classes. Our results show that our students do poorly in items related to Earth’s climate. We will introduce a new course named Earth Systems in Tier 2 that will include interaction between Earth’s climate and other planetary systems. Both Earth Systems and Earth Materials will provide topics that introduce students to the application of geosciences to societal issues. These concepts will be reinforced in Tier 3 and be fully engaged in Tier 4 Capstone. Many regional employers of entry-level petroleum, environmental, and engineering geologists are CSUN graduates. Skills that they tell are most important are writing, field geology, and working in a team. The redesigned program retains our two field courses (intro and capstone) and introduces a new Tier 2 course, Communicating Geoscience, which provide basic instruction and practice in technical writing, oral presentation of scientific data, and graphical literacy. The integrative learning of the tiered course system will allow us to promote increasing complex team-based problem solving through the incorporation of increasing complex research experiences from Tier 2 to Tier 4. Deletion of Environmental Geology and Secondary Teaching Options There are currently 63 majors in the Geology Option, 11 in the Geophysics option, 1 in the Environmental Geology option, and 0 in the Secondary Teaching option. The Environmental Geology option is not significantly different from the Geology Option. With the exception of the lower-division CHEM 235/L Introductory Organic Chemistry and Lab, Geology Option majors can choose as electives the UD required courses in Environmental Geology option. More importantly, the faculty members with expertise in environmental and hydrogeology have retired or are in FERP. Should new faculty be hired in these fields, they will be able to offer Tier 3 electives in their specialties. The proposed B.S. Geology will continue to prepare students for careers in environmental geology, as evidence by the fact that many Option I CSUN graduates are employed in this field. The 1 major in the Environmental Geology option will finish before the option is deleted. The department remains committed to providing a pathway for students interested in teaching geoscience at the middle- and high-school level to earn a degree to help them achieve their goal. To receive a single-subject credential in Foundational Level General Science or Earth Science, candidates are expected to have a broad knowledge of a wide range of scientific disciplines. Additionally, these students should have additional experience with education-related coursework at the undergraduate level to be fully prepared for becoming teachers. It is not reasonable for a student to complete the depth required by our B.S. and this additional breadth. Therefore, we have created an attractive pathway in our proposed B.A. Degree Program for students interested in middle-school and high-school teaching careers.

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Changes in Courses and Units in Mathematics, Chemistry, and Physics The requirements of mathematics and associated sciences (biology, chemistry, and physics) are quite diverse across geology programs in the US and across the CSU. Traditionally, CSUN has required two semesters each of mathematics, chemistry and physics. During discussion of our re-envisioned curriculum, the faculty discussed at length the essential contributions of math and associated sciences to the BS options. We concluded that the first semester of chemistry (CHEM 101/L) provides the essential background needed for both the geology and geophysics options, and that the second semester was not essential in and imposed an obstacle to graduation because it is a high-demand “bottleneck” course. The Geology faculty includes several geochemists, and these faculty members provide UD electives that deepen students’ knowledge of geoscience applications of chemistry. Similarly for physics, the faculty determined that content of first-semester Physics (another high-demand course) was adequate for understanding geological concepts in the Geology Option, and that additional semesters of physics were only essential for students majoring in the Geophysics Option. These changes provide a smoother pathway to graduation by eliminating “bottleneck” classes while as the same time maintaining adequate rigor for competitiveness of our students in the job market and graduate school. In addition, the faculty also decided to require more rigorous courses in Mathematics and Physics. Our current Geology option allows either the 3-unit Calculus classes (Math 255A and 255B) or the 5-unit Calculus classes (Math 150A and 150B). Almost all other Geology programs in the CSU require the 5-unit Calculus, and most community colleges only offer the 5-unit Calculus so that SB 1440 students will likely have these courses. Our proposed Geology Option requires the 5-unit Math 150A. We will accept 3-unit Calculus from any transfer student who enters with these courses. Likewise, most CSU Geology programs require Calculus-based Physics, whereas CSUN Geology currently allows algebra-based Physics. The proposed change to require Calculus-based physics (PHYS 220A) brings our program into alignment with other programs and sends a consistent message with the requirement of more rigorous math requirements. These changes also facilitate B.S. majors changing between the Geology and Geophysics options because the requirements are now the same (PHYS 220A is an allowed substitution for PHYS 225). Numbering of Courses Pedagogically, the 300-level numbering system for most Tier II classes is entirely appropriate. Although skill levels and knowledge bases at the start of each Tier 2 class will be at lower division, these qualities will pass into upper division before the mid-point of the courses. Hence, the most appropriate course numbers for Tier 2 are at the 300-level. The exception is GEOL 235 Introduction to Field Methods. This course remains essentially as currently taught at the introductory level. Furthermore, CSUN has an unusually high number of required UD courses for bachelor’s degrees: 40 for B.A. and 36 for B.S. Numbering the new Tier 2 courses at the 300-level allows the B.S. Geophysics majors to meet the minimum required UD units without having to take more than 120 units for the degree. The number of UD units in the Geophysics major plus the 9 units of UD GE totals exactly 36. The numbering system will also ensure that B.A. majors (see New Program proposal) and minors (see Program Modification for the minor) are able to meet their UD requirements. Introduction of the New Program and Phase-Out of the Current Program Table 1 shows how the current program will be phased out and the new program phased in. Faculty will be able to use this to provide clear advisement to students in the major and to those poised to enter it. All students in the current B.S. programs will be able to finish the program with no additional requirements by either switching to new program or receiving substitutions for phased-out courses.

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Table 1. Timeline for Implementation

last "old" cohort

first new cohort

second new cohort

third new cohort

Fall 14 Spring 15

GEOL 207/L Mineralogy GEOL 307/L Petrology

GEOL 235 Intro Field

Fall 15 Spring 16

GEOL 341/L Sed GEOL 433/L Strat

GEOL 351/L Paleo GEOL 310/L Structure

GEOL 464/L Geophysics elective

elective elective

elective elective

Tier II Earth Materials Tier II Earth Tectonics

Tier II Earth Systems Tier II Intro to Field

M&S Chem 101/L Tier II Communicating

M&S Math 150A

Fall 16 Spring 17

GEOL 464/L Geophysics

Tier II Earth Materials Tier II Earth Tectonics

Tier II Earth Systems Tier II Intro to Field

M&S Chem 101/L Tier II Communicating

M&S Math 150A

Tier III Sed and Strat Tier III Petrology

Tier III Structural Geo elective M&S Phys

elective M&S Math elective elective

Fall 17 Spring 18

Tier II Earth Materials Tier II Earth Tectonics

Tier II Earth Systems Tier II Intro to Field

M&S Chem 101/L Tier II Communicating

M&S Math 150A

GEOL 490 Capstone elective

elective elective

Tier III Sed and Strat Tier III Petrology

Tier III Structural Geo M&S Phys 220A/L

M&S Math elective

Integration with SB 1440 Students that entry with the SB 1440 transfer curriculum in Geology must have completed: All lower-division GE Physical Geology/Lab

Historical Geology/Lab General Chemistry I and II

Calculus I and II

Students with this coursework will be able to complete the re-designed B.S. Geology Option I in 60 units and four semesters, plus a special summer session. The summer session is a Field Geology class, which meets 4 weeks in the field and 1 week in the laboratory to complete maps and a written report. Some students will have a few more units than 60 if the electives they select have required laboratories. The Geophysics Option cannot be completed in 60 units. However, students entering with SB 1440 transfer curriculum who want to major in Geophysics will not be too disadvantaged. They can complete the Geophysics option in 63-65 units and in four semesters, although they will need to take 17-19 units in their 4th semester.

Transfer Year 1: First Semester

Course Units

GEOL 306/L Earth Materials (Fall ONLY) GEOL 314/L Earth Systems (Fall ONLY) GE Upper division* GE Upper Division*

3+1 3+1 3 3

Total 14

Transfer Year 1: Second Semester

Course Units

GEOL 303 Communicating Geoscience (Spring ONLY) GEOL 309/L Earth Tectonics and Structure (Spring ONLY) GEOL 235 Introduction to Field Methods (Spring ONLY) PHYS 220A/L GE Upper Division*

2 3+1 2 3/1 3

Total 15

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Transfer Year 2: First Semester

Course Units

GEOL 310/L Advanced Structural Geology (Fall ONLY) GEOL 341/L Sedimentary Geology and Stratigraphy (Fall ONLY) GEOL 490 Capstone (Fall ONLY) UD GEOL elective

3+1 3+1 3 3 or 4

Total 14-15

Transfer Year 2: Second Semester

Course Units

GEOL 307/L Petrology (Spring ONLY) Upper Division GEOL Electives (Not GEOL 300 or 301)

3+1 9-12

Total 13-16

Transfer Year 2: Summer Session (Summer Field Geology)

Course Units

GEOL 430A and B 4

Total 4

Total units after transfer 60-64

*If needed, select one course to meet Information Competence (IC) requirement.

7. Estimate of Impact of Resources within Department, for other Departments & the University

Facilities: Currently, our BS class lectures and labs are taught in our lab rooms (max capacity of ~30). We

anticipate that the combined BS/BA Tier 2 lecture classes will become too large to fit in the lab rooms

within 3-5 years of the implementation of the program. We will need to schedule lectures in larger

University classrooms (max capacity ~55-60). This will require two additional time slots in University

classrooms in fall semesters and three in spring semesters. We will need to schedule two sections of lab

in our own lab rooms (see GA/TA support below).

Equipment/Software: We do not anticipate having to purchase any additional equipment or software,

beyond what would normally be purchased for instructional purposes during a given year.

Low Enrollment during Implementation: We do not anticipate low enrollment during implementation.

BS majors will be transitioned smoothly into the new program, and the new program should be even

more attractive to students because of its broader entry gate, tiered structure that integrates course

content, smaller number of required units, and fewer bottleneck courses. As the B.A. Program grows,

Tier 2 and Tier 4 classes will get larger.

Administrative/Staff Support: No additional administrative or staff support is needed.

GA/TA Support: Once Tier 2 classes grow larger than ~30, we will need to have two lab sections in GEOL

306L, 309L and 314L and two sections of GEOL 235. A faculty member and a Graduate Assistant share

the teaching of both sections. This will ensure that both labs are taught evenly and that faculty expertise

is available to all students. In each section of GEOL 235, a GA will be hired to assist on field trips to

ensure learning and safety goals are met. Estimated cost for these hires is $9210.

Faculty Costs: The department has adequate FT faculty to teach all the GEOL lecture courses in this

program. Currently, most FT faculty teach both majors’ and GE courses during the course of an academic

year. We anticipate new hires to replace current faculty as they retire, and these new faculty will

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become part of the rotation of required core and elective courses. The new program will might require

one more PT faculty to teach a few GE classes, probably about 3 sections per academic year. The

enrollment FTES in these classes will provide the cost of hiring this person. The estimated cost per

academic year is ~$13,000.

Reduction of Other Sections to Accommodate New Program: not applicable

Course Duplication in the Program: Minor amounts of material in GEOL 306 and 309 are taught in GEOL

101 (GE); minor amounts of material in GEOL 314 are taught in GEOL 110 (GE) and 123 (GE).

Publications: We have no hardcopy publications of the program. There are no costs associated with

updating our web materials. We are now be able to edit our entries in the University Catalog, which will

decrease work of the University staff.

Oviatt Library Collections and Services: We anticipate that students will interact more with existing

library resources and electronic databases in order to pursue the greater amount of student-driven

research projects in the core classes. The existing library materials are quite adequate to meet the

requirements of the courses, and we do not anticipate the need to request the purchase of significant

amounts of new materials.

Advisement: Our majors receive advisement from FT faculty, all of who are deeply involved the program

re-design and so will be able to advise students in the new program.

Impact on Other Departments: Changes to the Geology Option impact three departments: Chemistry

and Biochemistry, Mathematics, and Physics and Astronomy. B.S. Geology majors will take one less

chemistry course (CHEM 102/L) and one less physics course (PHYS 100B/BL). Both of these courses are

high-demand, multi-section courses taken by different majors in Colleges of Engineering and Computer

Science, Health and Human Development, and Science and Mathematics. Changes to the Geophysics

Option will impact Chemistry and Biochemistry (majors will take one less chemistry course, CHEM

102/L). Loss of the relatively small number of geology and geophysics majors (≤15 in each course) in

these high-demand courses each semester will not significantly impact their enrollments. The

Department of Physics and Astronomy has concurred with the proposed program modification, and The

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry is still considering the proposed changes.

The deletion of the Environmental Geology option and the Secondary Geology option will not impact

other departments because the number of majors in these options has been small (0-3) over the past 10

years. Starting in Fall 13, no new majors have been advised into these options. Currently, there are no

majors in the Secondary Teaching option and 1 in the Environmental Option. This major will finish

before the option is deleted. Because these options included courses taught in Biology, Environmental

and Occupational Health, Geography, and Physics and Astronomy, we have obtained the concurrence of

these departments. The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry is still considering the proposed

changes.

8. Goals and Measurable Student Learning Outcomes for Program: Our existing four SLOs at the program needed little change because these outcomes are what we have

always desired our students to achieve. However, our existing curriculum is not well aligned with the

program SLOs. The proposed new curriculum is well aligned with these SLOs. We slightly revised the

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wording of our current outcomes to more fully align with the competencies listed in the Justification

section of this proposal. SLO 1 is aligned with Competency 1; SLO 2 with Competencies 2, 3, 4 and 6; SLO

3 with Competencies 2 and 3; and SLO 4 with Competencies 4 and 5. The four SLOs are applicable to

both options in the B.S. Degree program. Tables 2 and 3 show the alignment of program-level SLOs with

the GEOL courses in B.S. Options I and II.

Proposed B.S. Student Learning Outcomes Undergraduate majors will receive instruction of sufficient breadth, depth and currency to prepare them for successful appointment to entry-level professional work or graduate school. At the time of graduation, they will be able to: 1) Demonstrate conceptual understanding of different earth materials and systems and the processes

that shape them throughout their history; 2) Identify geologic problems, use scientific problem solving to aid in their solution, and reflect on the

findings, both independently and in collaboration with others; 3) Demonstrate skills in standard data-collection and data-analysis methods in both lab and field

settings; and 4) Communicate geoscience discoveries to scientific and public audiences with precision, clarity, and

conviction.

Table 2. Option I Geology alignment of GEOL courses with SLOs.

SLO introduced developed mastered

1) Demonstrate conceptual understanding of different earth materials and systems and the processes that shape them throughout their history

GEOL 306/L GEOL 309/L GEOL 235 GEOL 314/L

GEOL 307/L GEOL 310/L GEOL 341/L

GEOL 430A, B GEOL 490

2) Identify geologic problems, use scientific problem solving to aid in their solution, and reflect on the findings, both independently and in collaboration with others

GEOL 306/L GEOL 309/L GEOL 235 GEOL 314/L

GEOL 307/L GEOL 310/L GEOL 341/L

GEOL 430A, B GEOL 490

3) Demonstrate skills in standard data-collection and data-analysis methods in both lab and field settings

GEOL 306/L GEOL 309/L GEOL 235 GEOL 314L

GEOL 307/L GEOL 310/L GEOL 341/L

GEOL 430A, B GEOL 490

4) Communicate geoscience discoveries to scientific and public audiences with precision, clarity, and conviction

GEOL 303 GEOL 307/L GEOL 310/L GEOL 341/L

GEOL 490

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Table 3. Option II Geophysics alignment of GEOL courses with SLOs.

SLO introduced developed mastered

1) Demonstrate conceptual understanding of different earth materials and systems and the processes that shape them throughout their history

GEOL 306/L GEOL 309/L GEOL 235 GEOL 314/L

GEOL 464/L GEOL geophysics electives

GEOL 490

2) Identify geologic problems, use scientific problem solving to aid in their solution, and reflect on the findings, both independently and in collaboration with others

GEOL 306/L GEOL 309/L GEOL 235 GEOL 314/L

GEOL 464/L GEOL geophysics electives

GEOL 490

3) Demonstrate skills in standard data-collection and data-analysis methods in both lab and field settings

GEOL 306L GEOL 309L GEOL 235 GEOL 314L

GEOL 464/L GEOL geophysics electives

GEOL 490

4) Communicate geoscience discoveries to scientific and public audiences with precision, clarity, and conviction

GEOL 303 GEOL 464/L GEOL geophysics electives

GEOL 490

9. Methods of Assessment for Measurable Student Learning Outcomes: A. Assessment Tools

Assessment of the B.S. Program relies on longitudinal assessment of the program at three points: Tier 2, Tier 3 and Tier 4. This provides a measure of performance gain of the majors as a whole over the entire program. We will use five assessment tools: signature assignments, oral presentation rubrics, progressively revealed case studies, the Geoscience Concept Inventory, and online peer-assessments. Signature assignments. These are the team research reports from one Fall Tier 2 and one Fall Tier 3 class each year (specific courses assessed will vary each year), as well as the Tier 4 Capstone Reports and, for Geology Option majors, GEOL 430A/B final reports. Students will upload these reports into a Geology Assessment Moodle site. In the spring semester, after completing norming exercises, two geology faculty will read and score each report using appropriate rubrics. Where scores differ by more than an acceptable margin, a third reader will score the report. All four SLOs will be assessed in the signature assignments. Oral presentation rubrics. Oral presentations in Tier 2 GEOL 303 and in one Tier 3 class will be assessed by rubric by the individual course instructors. Oral presentations in Tier 4 GEOL 490 will be presented in department-wide public talks and evaluated by a panel of at least three faculty. These assessments are part of the overall assessment of SLO 4. Progressively revealed case studies. This tool assesses SLO 2 and also the data analysis component of SLO 3. Students explore an online scenario and answer questions that independently assess their skills at key components of the scientific process (hypothesis generation, planning an investigation, analyzing data, evaluating conclusions, and reflecting on next steps; Anderson et al., 2008, 2011). For the last two years, we presented the case studies in our Annual Geologic Problem Solving Night format, but we may integrate the case studies directly into Tier 2 and 4 classes. Geoscience Concept Inventory. In addition to the signature assignments, SLO 1 will be evaluated in a Tier 2 class and Tier 4 GEOL 490 using the Geoscience Concept Inventory. This is a national test designed to assess conceptual understanding of many “big picture” ideas in Earth Science (Libarkin & Anderson, 2005). It is well validated and provides quantitative longitudinal comparison within our program and also allows benchmarking and comparison to other

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university populations around the country. Our department has used the GCI for the last 3 years. Our results helped us identify deficiencies in our program offerings that we documented in our annual assessment reports. Elements of this new program address those deficiencies. Online Peer-Assessments. At the end of team research modules in Tier 2 and in the Tier 4 Senior Capstone, students will complete online peer-assessments that use a well-tested and robust method to assess how well a team functioned and what areas were strongest and weakness in collaborative work (Michaelsen et al., 2002; Freeman and Mackenzie, 2002). These data address the collaborative component of SLO 2.

B. Describe the procedure the dept/program will use to ensure the faculty will be involved in the assessment process. (Refer to the University’s policy on assessment.).

First and foremost, we have created a culture where we are constantly willing to re-assess our instruction to improve student outcomes. The fact that we have undertaken this complete program redesign with major contributions from every faculty member in the department is a testament to that culture. In order to continue to cultivate faculty buy-in to the assessment process, we developed a procedure to perform a complete cycle of assessment on items from our Geologic Problem Solving night within the space of a single faculty meeting. The entire faculty participates in rubric norming, scoring, data compilation and analysis, and preliminary discussion of the findings all within a 1.5 hour time block. The discussion created here is incredibly powerful for motivating additional data-gathering by faculty members. Our assessment process is well organized and efficient, reducing the time burden on individual faculty. The department’s assessment liaison coordinates all data collection activities and is given 3 units of reassigned time annually from the college to enable this activity. The liaison also receives an additional 3 units from the department whenever major new assessment tasks are to be developed or implemented. Technology facilitates efficient data collection and analysis. We use a department assessment Moodle site to collect assessment artifacts, which allows for longitudinal tracking of student performance. All students in the department are students in the Moodle site and all faculty are given grading access. As part of our program redesign, we will develop a common set of criteria for ‘signature assignments’ that will inform our rubric design. Because the signature assignment format will be consistent across all classes at all tiers, we can streamline the norming process and therefore reduce faculty anxiety about getting started with assessment analysis.

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Appendix: Proposed Catalog Copy (Solely to Help SOLAR Input) The following is exactly the same catalog copy given in the proposal. This non-column format is provided

to help the staff doing the SOLAR input to be able to more clearly read the new catalog copy.

BS Option I: Geology

Tier 1: 4 units

ANY 100-level GEOL course and ANY 100-level GEOL lab (3/1)

Tier M&S: 18 to 19 units

CHEM 101/L General Chemistry I & Lab 4+1

MATH 150A Calculus I 5

MATH 150B Calculus II 5

or MATH 140 Introductory Statistics 4

PHYS 220A*/L Mechanics and Lab 3+1

*Or PHYS 225

Tier 2: 16 units

GEOL 303 Communicating Geoscience 2

GEOL 306/L Earth Materials and Lab 3+1

GEOL 309/L Earth Tectonics & Structure 3+1

GEOL 235 Introduction to Field Methods 2

GEOL 314/L Earth Systems and Lab 3+1

Tier 3: 24 to 28 units

GEOL 307/L Petrology and Lab 3+1

GEOL 310/L Advanced Structural Geology and Lab 3+1

GEOL 341/L Sedimentology and Stratigraphy and Lab 3+1

Four additional UD GEOL courses, exclusive of GEOL 300 & 301, 12-16

including required labs if applicable.

Students in the Honors Program must take GEOL 497 (1) and 498 (3) and three additional UD GEOL

courses exclusive of GEOL 300 & 301, including required labs if applicable (9-12 units).

Tier 4: 7 units

GEOL 430A, B Summer Field Geology 2+2

GEOL 490 Senior Capstone 3

Total Units in the Major, Option I Geology 69-74

General Education. Basic Skills Mathematics and the entire

section of Natural Sciences are met by required courses in the

major

36

Additional Units 10-15

Total Units Required for the B.S. Degree, Option I: 120 120

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BS Option II: Geophysics

Tier 1: 4 units

ANY 100-level GEOL course and ANY 100-level GEOL lab 3+1

Tier M&S: 40 units

CHEM 101/L General Chemistry I and Lab 4+1

COMP 110/L Introduction to Algorithms & Programming & Lab 3+1

MATH 150A Calculus I 5

MATH 150B Calculus II 5

MATH 250 Calculus III 3

MATH 280 Applied Differential Equations 3

PHYS 226/220AL Physics I and Mechanics Lab 4+1

PHYS 227/220BL Physics II and Electricity and Magnetism Lab 4+1

PHYS 227/L Physics III and Lab 4+1

Tier 2: 16 units

GEOL 303 Communicating Geoscience 2

GEOL 306/L Earth Materials and Lab 3/1

GEOL 309/L Earth Tectonics & Structure 3/1

GEOL 313 Introduction to Field Methods 2

GEOL 314/L Earth Systems and Lab 3/1

Tier 3: 10 to 12 units

GEOL 464/L Applied Geophysics 3+1

Two additional UD GEOL courses related to Geophysics or 6-8

UD courses in MATH or PHYS with approval of academic advisor.

GEOL 300and GEOL 301 cannot be used for major credit.

Students in the Honors Program must take GEOL 497 (1) and 498 (3) and two additional UD GEOL courses, including required labs if applicable, exclusive of GEOL 300 & 301.

Tier 4: 3 units

GEOL 490 Senior Capstone 3

Total Units in the Major, Option II Geophysics 73-75

General Education. Basic Skills Mathematics and the entire section of

Natural Sciences are met by required courses in the major

36

Additional Units 9-11

Total Units Required for the B.S. Degree, Option II: 120 120