Two of the core competencies designated for The First Year Seminar Liberal Arts Math and Science (LMF 101) course are Integrative Learning and Global Learning along with oral communication. These abilities are exercised by students in the Career/Interview Presentation project. The main goal of the assignment is to promote student networking within the scientific community through interviews with an expert in the field. Also the FYS students will conduct background research about their career choices and use their findings to determine if they can be realized when interviewing a professional. The assignment is scaffolded whereby students will learn to use on-line resources to search for information about the profession and use on-line tools to material in preparation for the interview. Students will learn how to write professional emails, network and create PowerPoint slides. After the class presentation, students are asked to write a reflection in their ePortfolio on their career choice and interview experiences. The time dedicated for this project is on the order of weeks and counts for 20% (15% oral presentation and 5 % reflection) of the final grade.

Software Carpentry lesson that teaches how to use databases and SQL In the late 1920s and early 1930s, William Dyer, Frank Pabodie, and Valentina Roerich led expeditions to the Pole of Inaccessibility in the South Pacific, and then onward to Antarctica. Two years ago, their expeditions were found in a storage locker at Miskatonic University. We have scanned and OCR the data they contain, and we now want to store that information in a way that will make search and analysis easy. Three common options for storage are text files, spreadsheets, and databases. Text files are easiest to create, and work well with version control, but then we would have to build search and analysis tools ourselves. Spreadsheets are good for doing simple analyses, but they don’t handle large or complex data sets well. Databases, however, include powerful tools for search and analysis, and can handle large, complex data sets. These lessons will show how to use a database to explore the expeditions’ data.

Software Carpentry lección para control de versiones con Git Para ilustrar el poder de Git y GitHub, usaremos la siguiente historia como un ejemplo motivador a través de esta lección. El Hombre Lobo y Drácula han sido contratados por Universal Missions para investigar si es posible enviar su próximo explorador planetario a Marte. Ellos quieren poder trabajar al mismo tiempo en los planes, pero ya han experimentado ciertos problemas anteriormente al hacer algo similar. Si se rotan por turnos entonces cada uno gastará mucho tiempo esperando a que el otro termine, pero si trabajan en sus propias copias e intercambian los cambios por email, las cosas se perderán, se sobreescribirán o se duplicarán. Un colega sugiere utilizar control de versiones para lidiar con el trabajo. El control de versiones es mejor que el intercambio de ficheros por email: Nada se pierde una vez que se incluye bajo control de versiones, a no ser que se haga un esfuerzo sustancial. Como se van guardando todas las versiones precedentes de los ficheros, siempre es posible volver atrás en el tiempo y ver exactamente quién escribió qué en un día en particular, o qué versión de un programa fue utilizada para generar un conjunto de resultados en particular. Como se tienen estos registros de quién hizo qué y en qué momento, es posible saber a quién preguntar si se tiene una pregunta en un momento posterior y, si es necesario, revertir el contenido a una versión anterior, de forma similar a como funciona el comando “deshacer” de los editores de texto. Cuando varias personas colaboran en el mismo proyecto, es posible pasar por alto o sobreescribir de manera accidental los cambios hechos por otra persona. El sistema de control de versiones notifica automáticamente a los usuarios cada vez que hay un conflicto entre el trabajo de una persona y la otra. Los equipos no son los únicos que se benefician del control de versiones: los investigadores independientes se pueden beneficiar en gran medida. Mantener un registro de qué ha cambiado, cuándo y por qué es extremadamente útil para todos los investigadores si alguna vez necesitan retomar el proyecto en un momento posterior (e.g. un año después, cuando se ha desvanecido el recuerdo de los detalles).

Objectives
Part 1: An Introduction to Data Analysis Using Excel To interpret, summarize and present numerical data using the digital tool Microsoft program Excel. To plot numerical data as a graph and determine an equation of a line. In addition, using the appropriate formatting functions to label your graph and creating a best fit line.
Part 2: Lab Report Writing Using LaGCC Institutional Data To communicate your interpretations of research data. This is done writing discussions and conclusions (using scientific language) and is often accompanied by data tables and graphs. To use your Microsoft Excel graphing skills to interpret, inquire and extrapolate meaning data to support your lab report conclusions To structure your written lab report in the format of: Abstract, Introduction, Material, Methods,Results, Discussion/Conclusion and References

The courses on this portal are or will be Zero-Textbook-Cost courses. Course faculty are creating and adopting teaching, learning and research materials that permit no-cost access, use, adaptation and redistribution by others with no or limited restrictions.

The following course pages provide links to the syllabus and open course content, websites and learning tools:

Biology
SCB 201 – General Biology I
Chemistry
SCC 110 – Foundations of Chemistry
SCC 201 – General Chemistry I
SCC 202 – General Chemistry II
Physics and Astronomy
SCP 101 – Topics in Physics
SCP 105 – Life in the Universe
SCP 140 – Topics in Astronomy
SCP 201 – Fundamentals of Physics I
SCP 202 – Fundamentals of Physics II

This lesson in part of Software Carpentry workshop and teach novice programmers to write modular code and best practices for using R for data analysis. an introduction to R for non-programmers using gapminder data The goal of this lesson is to teach novice programmers to write modular code and best practices for using R for data analysis. R is commonly used in many scientific disciplines for statistical analysis and its array of third-party packages. We find that many scientists who come to Software Carpentry workshops use R and want to learn more. The emphasis of these materials is to give attendees a strong foundation in the fundamentals of R, and to teach best practices for scientific computing: breaking down analyses into modular units, task automation, and encapsulation. Note that this workshop will focus on teaching the fundamentals of the programming language R, and will not teach statistical analysis. The lesson contains more material than can be taught in a day. The instructor notes page has some suggested lesson plans suitable for a one or half day workshop. A variety of third party packages are used throughout this workshop. These are not necessarily the best, nor are they comprehensive, but they are packages we find useful, and have been chosen primarily for their usability.

The General Chemistry 1 (SCC 201) course has been designated for the core competency of Inquiry and Problem Solving along with the Written Communication Ability. These abilities are best observed in the laboratory section of the course where SCC 201 students are asked to submit weekly written lab reports that range in chemistry topics from chemical structures to the chemical analysis of polluted environments. SCC 201 will be implementing a new experiment in the laboratory portion of the course entitled, "Thermochemistry: Heat of Neutralization and Hess's Law. The design of the experiment incorporates many elements of LaGCC's Core Competencies and Communication Abilities, as well as programmatic and course learning objectives both on the departmental and college levels. Natural Sciences major STEM students who successfully complete the thermochemistry lab and write a corresponding satisfactory lab report, will have engaged in two of the program goals, four of the student learning objectives and seven of the course objectives (Please refer to the assignment). The SCC 201 course lies in the midpoint Core Competency program curriculum map for both the Biology and Environmental Science programs and accounts for 3.5% of the final SCC 201 grade. Students will spend 3 hours completing the experiment in lab and in addition spend an estimated 3-4 hours completing the lab write-up. This lab was developed in the Natural Sciences programmatic integration CTL mini-grant seminar. The creation of the lab involved an initial discussion with members of the chemistry programmatic team to outline a common theme between SCC 201, SCC 202 and SCC 251. It was agreed upon that the central topic of thermodynamics would be implemented throughout the designated labs.
LaGuardia's Core Competencies and Communication Abilities

Main Course Learning Objectives:
The General Chemistry 1 (SCC 201) course has multiple course learning objectives, which articulate key introductory chemistry concepts that all STEM students should possess. In particular, the Newtown Creek titration experiment aligns with SCC 201 learning objectives of: Demonstrate an appreciation of the role of chemistry in various aspects of life Perform basic laboratory skills such as the proper execution of titration techniques Describe and explain the fundamental chemistry concept of solution concentration Analyze and represent experimental data in tables and graphs, interpret experimental results and write laboratory reports
In the SCC 201 laboratory, students are asked to complete the experiment and then use the data to write a formal written lab report, which consists of an introduction, materials, methods, results, discussion and conclusion. The student work serves as an excellent artifact under the Written Communication Ability, which is designated for the SCC 201 course. In addition, the Global Learning Core Competency is incorporated in the Newtown Creek titration experiment, where students are asked to measure the chloride concentrations from the Superfund site. After calculating and determining the chloride amounts, students are prompted to discuss the impact of the findings on the Newtown Creek site and furthermore the surrounding environment on both a microscopic and macroscopic level. For example, students are asked to compare the chloride concentration values to the standards set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency and to address the implications of the pollutant on existing plant life and people who reside near Newtown Creek. The responses from students show the success in meeting the dimensions of the Global Learning Core Competency. The SCC 201 course lies in the midpoint of the program curriculum map for both the Biology and Environmental Science programs and this laboratory assignment accounts for 3.5% of the final SCC 201 grade. LaGCC STEM major students will spend 3 hours completing the experiment in lab and as well spend an estimated 3-4 hours completing the lab write-up. The Titration of a Newtown Creek Environmental Water Sample to Determine the Amount of Chloride Ions experiment was developed as part of the Community College Undergraduate Research Initiative (CCURI). Additionally, this work was workshopped in an assignment development charrette during the 2018-2019 CTL Mini-Grant Global Learning Sub-seminar.
LaGuardia‰Ûªs Core Competencies and Communication Abilities

University Physics is a three-volume collection that meets the scope and sequence requirements for two- and three-semester calculus-based physics courses. Volume 1 covers mechanics, sound, oscillations, and waves. Volume 2 covers thermodynamics, electricity and magnetism, and Volume 3 covers optics and modern physics. This textbook emphasizes connections between between theory and application, making physics concepts interesting and accessible to students while maintaining the mathematical rigor inherent in the subject. Frequent, strong examples focus on how to approach a problem, how to work with the equations, and how to check and generalize the result.

Software Carpentry lesson on how to use the shell to navigate the filesystem and write simple loops and scripts. The Unix shell has been around longer than most of its users have been alive. It has survived so long because it’s a power tool that allows people to do complex things with just a few keystrokes. More importantly, it helps them combine existing programs in new ways and automate repetitive tasks so they aren’t typing the same things over and over again. Use of the shell is fundamental to using a wide range of other powerful tools and computing resources (including “high-performance computing” supercomputers). These lessons will start you on a path towards using these resources effectively.