1. SC300 Unit One Instructor: Olga Gubanova, MS Email: OGubanova@kaplan.edu AIM: ogubanova

2. Welcome to our first seminar! 1.Course Information 2.Our flexible seminars and our classroom 3.Our academic weeks 4.General course policies 5.Communicating with your instructor 6.Available resources – KU Science and Writing Centers, KU Academic Support Center, KU Library 7.Unit One assignments 8.Scientific Questions: Inquiry and Methods 9.Q&A

3. Flexible seminars Two seminars will be offered weekly and you will have the opportunity to select which day/time best meets your schedule. My planned seminar day/time will always be on Monday from 10:00 to 11:00 PM EST. The other flex seminar is scheduled for: Wednesday from 8:00 to 9:00 PM EST (Michael Atkins).

4. Our academic weeks Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Image credit: Microsoft Clip Art The course is presented in weekly Units. Academic weeks being on Wednesday, at 12:00 AM EST and end on Tuesday, at 11:59 PM EST. All unit assignments are due Tuesday by 11:59 PM EST. Please see Course Calendar on pages 3 and 4 of your Syllabus for all unit assignments and assessments.

5. Please be sure to read all course announcements This is where I post weekly unit information and review, up-do-date information, any changes, helpful hints, etc. Image credit: Microsoft Clip Art

6. Our classroom Please be sure to click on the Navigation icon to learn how to get around and find things in our classroom. There are no project links on the left-hand side menu!

7. Use the drop-down menu at the top of your screen or click on the Project icon below the unit overview to go to the assignment page. Our new classroom, cont’d.

8. Grading Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Image credit: Microsoft Clip Art Grades (discussions and projects) will be posted within 5 days of their due date (the Sunday of the following unit). Seminars are not graded in this course. For example, Unit 1 grades will be available by Sunday, October 2, 11:59 PM. Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

9. Gradebook and dropbox Distribution of Points: Discussions 315 points (9 units @ 35 points each), Projects (Units 2, 4, 6) @ 85-150 points, Virtual Lab/Quiz (Unit 5) @ 90 points, Final Project (Unit 9) 250 points. All course projects are APA-formatted papers submitted as MS Word file via Dropbox for the corresponding unit. Unit 2 Project is due Tuesday, October 4, by 11:59 pm ET.

10. Grading, cont’d. Image credit: Microsoft Clip Art Remember … I do NOT give grades. You EARN your grades. A student earns points by meeting the key criteria listed in the grading rubrics found in your course syllabus. It is a good idea to review the grading rubrics before you begin each assignment so that you know exactly what I will be looking for. Please also be sure to read each assignment description carefully.

11. Late policies All unit assignments are due Tuesday by 11:59 PM EST of the unit assigned. Late assignments will be marked down one letter grade for each unit the assignment is late. Assignments submitted more than three units late will not be accepted. Please let me know as soon as possible if you think you may not be able to complete your assignments on time – the sooner you contact me, the better. You do not have to describe any personal issues in detail but please at least let me know what the problem is. Active communication is the key to overcoming any hurdles you may encounter during the term. It is your responsibility to inform your instructor (ahead of time, whenever possible) of extenuating circumstances that might prevent you from completing work by the assigned deadline. Please note that evaluation of extenuating circumstances is at the discretion of the instructor and documentation may be required for verification of the extenuating circumstance. Examples of extenuating circumstances may include but are not limited to: personal/family member hospitalization, death in the family, weather/environmental evacuation due to fire/hurricane, or active military assignment. General computer-related or internet connectivity issues are not considered extenuating circumstances.

12. Communicating with your instructor 1.Ogubanova@kaplan.eduOgubanova@kaplan.edu All emails will be answered within 24 hours on weekdays or 48 hours on weekends and holidays. Please resend your email if you do not hear from me within this timeframe. 2.AIM – ogubanova, at any time that you see me on. If you would like to set up an office hour (on AIM), please let me know so that we can make arrangements. 3. In Seminar, you can send me a private message by clicking on my name in the list on the left-hand side of the seminar screen. Student-to-student private messaging will be disabled, as seminars are not chat rooms. If you want to talk to another student about something, please email him or her later.

13. KU Science Center, Writing Center and Library My Studies -> Academic Support Center -> Math Center, Writing Center, Science Center, Technology Center, Disability Services The Science Center currently offers the following services: Interactive tutoring sessions; Submit a question to a tutor; Video lessons, worksheets, and weblinks on key topics available at any time; Information for students interested in the sciences; Science Seminars.

14. Unit 1 Assignments Introduce Yourself Please take this opportunity to introduce yourself to you professor and an classmates in this unit and to learn a little about each other. Reading Chapter 1. Science: A Way of Knowing. Please click on Chapter 1 link in Unit 1 to make sure that you have access to WileyPlus. If you cannot access WileyPlus, please let me know ASAP. Discussion – What’s in the mystery can? In this assignment, you need to ask at least two questions of your own (of course, please feel free to ask as many as you like!) but you can also use any information found in the answers to all the other questions your classmates have asked by the time you formulate your hypothesis about what might be in the can. As more research is done and more evidence becomes available later in the week, you will be able to draw a conclusion about the accuracy of your hypothesis and you may also revise your hypothesis if necessary. Please remember that you will be evaluated on your investigation of the mysterious can and your use of scientific inquiry, not on the accuracy of your guesses.

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16. What is Science? Scientific Questions: Inquiry and Methods

17. The fundamental steps of the Scientific Method: 1.The scientific method begins with asking a question and making observations. An observation is a visible or provable fact. Observations may be qualitative (without involving a number) or quantitative (involve both a number and a unit). Scientific Questions: Inquiry and Methods

18. 2. Form a possible explanation (hypothesis) for an observation and make predictions based upon the hypothesis. In other words, predict a possible answer to the problem or question. Your hypothesis is what you think the answer is based upon your gathered information. A scientific hypothesis is testable! Scientific Questions: Inquiry and Methods

19. 3. Test your hypothesis by doing an experiment or study (with proper controls). These experiments test whether your hypothesis is true or false. They involve gathering new information that enables you to decide whether the hypothesis is valid - whether it is supported by the new information learned from the experiment. Once your experiment is complete, you collect your data and analyze them. Scientists often find that a hypothesis was false, and in such cases they will construct a new hypothesis starting the entire process of the scientific method over again. Even if they find that their hypothesis was true, they may want to test it again in a new way. Scientific Questions: Inquiry and Methods

20. 4. Analyze results and draw conclusion. Accept or reject hypothesis. 5. Report your results and state if the hypothesis was supported or negated. If negated, form a new hypothesis. The Scientific Method is an iterative process! Scientific Questions: Inquiry and Methods

21. - is not just for scientists It can be used by anyone, regardless of field of expertise. - can be used for any task The scientific method is used unconsciously by many people on a daily basis, for tasks as simple as cooking or driving to work. - is an iterative (cyclic) process Negative results lead to modification or rejection of hypothesis and formulation of new hypothesis. Experiments produce new observations, and this brings the process to the beginning again. The same elements present in traditional scientific inquiry are present in everyday life. Scientific Questions: Inquiry and Methods

22. You’re getting ready to log in to your favorite KU Course (SC300 – Big Ideas in Science!) and your computer won’t turn on. Now what?! Scientific Questions: Inquiry and Methods

23. Image credit: Microsoft Clip Art