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Popular science? College of Lake County course tackles myths

The description of a new course being offered this fall at the College of Lake County pretty much sells itself to students who think science is stuffy.

Piggybacking on the myth-busting bent of popular culture, CLC is trying to soften the hard edges of the traditional science curriculum with "Great Mysteries of the Earth."

"Is Atlantis real? Will the Yellowstone super volcano erupt? Would California ever fall into the ocean? What is really going on with climate change?" reads the website teaser.

Though the high-octane topics may be a lure, the intent is to teach critical thinking and the difference between science and pseudoscience.

Mike Mieszala, a geology instructor at CLC and Warren Township High School, wrote the pilot course that was offered last spring to a handful of students, and will be teaching one of the sections this fall.

"If that's what people are looking at, why not introduce them into the earth sciences?" he asked.

"I think it's come out more from the realization that people aren't as interested or students aren't taking as much earth sciences as they used to and we're looking for a way to rekindle that interest."

Meant for the nonscience major or those with an interest in the geosciences, such as geology or meteorology, the course will examine popular mysteries and myths in five content areas: earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, land forms and creatures.

The course, which fulfills a general science requirement, will be offered in two sections and carries three hours of transferable credit. Language proficiency and basic algebra readiness are prerequisites.

"They don't need to study rocks to receive credit," said Xiaoming Zhai, a geology instructor and chair of the department of earth sciences. He also is teaching one of the sections.

"Many students, at least in my classes, the first thing they tell me is, 'I'm not good at science and I'm scared of science,'" he added. "We want to change this situation."

Zhai said he decided to give the class concept a try at CLC after meeting Amanda Colosimo, an instructor in the chemistry and geosciences department at Monroe Community College in Rochester, N.Y.

A similar class, typically filled or overflowing, has been offered there since the early to mid-1990s and has grown to 22 sections taught each calendar year. Having the staff and space to teach the course has been the only limiting factor in its growth, Colosimo explained in an e-mail.

She said the course starts where student thinking typically begins: Is there a sea monster in Loch Ness? Where is the lost continent of Atlantis?

Problems are then approached rationally, evidence gathered and research done. What data exists, for example, to cause people to question whether humans are influencing the global climate?

"Finally, we analyze this research and come to a conclusion based upon critical thinking, inductive reasoning and common sense," she wrote.

While some of the topics may titillating, the meat of the course is learning the science to develop answers, she added.

"So while we are, in a sense, catering to the interest of the "Google it!" generation, we are also teaching them college-level geology and related sciences in the process."

Mieszala maintains there is a "growing disconnect" between science and the public, who are unsure what or who to believe when science-related issues such as climate change surface in the media.

The course is an attempt to close the gap by providing a better understanding of what science is and how it works, he added.

And while students may be entertained, they also will learn how scientists do their work, Zhai said. CLC is one of few community colleges to offer the course, he added.

"Not very many as far as I know but I think it's a direction for science education," he said. "It's time to think of a new way."