University of Nebraska Kearney

Biology Assessment Mission

Mission  

All graduates of UNK should be prepared to be effective citizens and responsible voters. Scientific literacy aids this goal. Students who successfully complete degrees in the Department of Biology will:

• display an understanding of and facility with the content of the discipline of Biology.
• have facility and manipulative ability with biological skills and conceptual processes
• demonstrate possession of a select set of competencies reflective of, but not limited to, the content and thought processes in the life sciences
• display an appreciation of those values central to the discipline of Biology

Learner Objectives 

1. The Learner and the Content of Biology
   Students are expected to display understanding and facility with the content of the discipline of Biology. This includes the following standards:
   1. Students will be able to recognize the structure and describe the function of cells and key cell components. This includes consideration of the structure and function of the nucleus, cytoplasmic constituents, and similarities and differences in plant and animal cells.
   2. Students will be able to explain the interrelationships among tissues, organs and systems: e.g. cells make up tissues; tissues make up organs, and organs make up systems.
   3. Students will be able to categorize organisms according to the similarities and differences in the structure and function of the individual organisms.
   4. Students will be able to identify the roles of animals, plants, and protests in the web of life.
   5. Students will understand specific behaviors inherent to humans.
   6. Students will understand the structure, function, and maintenance of the major human body systems as well as their component parts and interrelationships.
   7. Students will be able to describe the growth and development of humans from conception through old age. This discussion should consider the diversity and variation within humans and the associated variation in growth and development.
   8. Students will be able to explain the significance of the complexity of animal and plant development and differentiation.
   9. Students will be able to list and justify the factors necessary to sustain plant life. Students will investigate the complexity and variety in plant life from both a theoretical and an applied perspective; for example, the inclusion of agricultural examples.
   10. Students will be able to explain the importance of the process of photosynthesis for all living systems on earth. This discussion should be include consideration of the synthesis of sugars, the evolution of oxygen and the implications for animals as well as plants.
   11. Students will be able to chronicle the biochemistry and physiology of mitosis, meiosis, and the roles of DNA and RNA in cell replication and protein synthesis.
   12. Students will understand the structure and function of the reproductive systems of plants and animals, including hormonal regulation.
   13. Students will understand the principles of genetics and heredity; the tenets of natural selection which drive the success (or failure) of a population of organisms.
   14. Students will understand thmutation, and the changes that presently take place in life on earth.
        
    
2. The Learner Processes in Biology
   Students are expected to have facility and manipulative ability with several biological skills and conceptual processes. The following are skill set expectations for students:
   1. Students will recognize and identify similarities in parameters (constants) and variables in observed phenomena.
   2. Students will learn to organize observed information; e.g. independently collect and categorize data.
   3. Student willlearn to display information so that it may be examined for relationships; e.g. graphical and statistical presentation of data for purposes of analysis.
   4. Students willinterpret graphical information and relate figures to functional or mathematical forms. In turn, students will be able to visualize a graphical form from the algebraic function.
   5. Students willlearn the systematic approach of science in quantitatively solving problems in the life sciences.
   6. Students willunderstand how to make simplified yet effective assumptions in the process of estimation.
   7. Students willlearn how to transfer spatial information into other forms.
   8. Students willlearn to pose scientific questions and will display the ability to distinguish those questions which can be answered. 
       
    
3. Learner Competencies
   Students who complete a degree in the Department of Biology are expected to possess a select set of competencies reflective of, but not limited to, the content and thought processes in the life sciences. These include the following:
   1. Students willdevelop the ability to see factual information in terms of answers to questions about how the world works rather than as data to be memorized for its own sake.
   2. Students willdevelop the ability to distinguish information pertinent to answering a given question from information which is not pertinent.
   3. Students willdevelop familiarity with laboratory and field procedures and equipment (to the extent permissible by available resources).
   4. Students willdevelop the ability to organize and display data from laboratory and field exercises in ways that facilitate interpretation (e.g. preparation of tables and figures).
   5. Students willdevelop the ability to interpret data presented in tables and figures.
   6. Students willdevelop the ability to ask questions and to design ways of independently finding answers to them. 
       
    
4. The Learner and Values in Biology Students are expected to display a professional attitude toward the discipline. The following are expectations for students:
   1. Students willappreciate the commonality and diversity of animal behavior and be able to distinguish between genetically determined and environmentally acquired or regulated properties of organism.
   2. Students willappreciate the importance of technological advances in the various subdisciplines of biology; notably agriculture and medicine.
   3. Students willappreciate the wide variety of Nebraska's natural areas; the landforms, climates, and conditions that support life.