Isci Posters

iSci Honours Integrated Science Program McMaster Integrated Science (iSci) – the only 4 year, Honours Integrated Science program in Canada •  Modern-thinking, interdisciplinary approach to science curriculum •  Research-based, hands-on pedagogy •  Small, interactive class sizes •  Access to state-of-the-art facilities •  Taught by award-winning faculty

•  The core content of iSci will provide each student with a strong science foundation and will develop the skills and abilities required to understand and converse in inter-disciplinary science •  With the choice of electives and research project topics, students will be able to tailor their iSci experience to specialize in an area of their interest •  Specialization examples:

Program structure 1st year

iSci 1A24 24 units (8 course equivalents)

2 Electives (1 per term)

2nd year

iSci 2A18 18 units (6 course equivalents)

4 Discipline Electives (2 per term)

iSci 3A12 12 units (4 course equivalents)

6 Discipline Electives (3 per term)

iSci 4A12 12 units (4 course equivalents)

6 Discipline Electives (3 per term)

3rd year

Specialization

Physics

Chemistry / Biochemistry

Earth / Environmental Science

Applied Math

Neuroscience

Biology

Post-grad preparation •  iSci is designed to open doors, not close them •  With an H. B.Sc. in Integrated Science, students will be prepared for almost any postgraduate path in science •  A few post graduate options: Graduate School Professional chool (medicine, law)

4th year

Teacher’s College Industry or Consulting

iSci

Content Traditional 1st Year Template

Term 1 - 12 weeks

Term 2 - 12 weeks

Math 1

Math 2

Physics 1

Chem 2

Bio 1

Physics 1 again

Chem 1

Bio 2

Elective 1

Elective 2

iSci 1A24 Template

vs.

Research Projects & Teaching Support •  iSci course content is organized around 6 week, themes (ex. Size & scale or Populations) and project topics (ex. Mission to Mars or a Cure for Cancer) •  Each module challenges students with hands-on research problems, supported by interactive concept seminars (IConS), labs and field trips

Term 1 - 12 weeks

Term 2 - 12 weeks

ed rat t g n e Int onte C

ed rat t g n e Int onte C

Elective 1

Elective 2

Term 1 Foundation Concepts

Term 2

Size & Scale 1

2

Energy

Populations

3

4

•  As the program progresses, research content increases and teaching support adapts to balance curriculum requirements with student inquiry Content of iSci 1A24 Term 1A Term 1B Term 1B Term 2A Term 2B

– Foundation Concepts – Research Project 1 Mission to mars – Research Project 2 Drugs, doses & diffusion dynamics – Research Project 3 The sustainable energy problem – Research Project 4 The pursuit of a cancer cure

Problem-based research projects

Interactive teaching support

iSci iConS: Integrated Concept Seminars are at the heart of the iSci week. iConS are where key concepts and links are introduced, where research project material is shared, and faculty members interact with the iSci group.

A typical week Outside the classroom students will be involved in individual and group research activities and will complete assignments focussing on the development of both core knowledge and professional skills.

Field trips will punctuate the schedule, challenging students to think about field work, the local environment, and data collection outside the lab.

Labs begin by introducing students to essential scientific skills and techniques, and progress to include experiments based on research project objectives. Students will learn how to design experiments, analyse data, and present results in a variety of formats. Students will be expected to take increasing responsibility for decision making in experimentation as the course progresses.

Guest Lectures will be presented by researchers, policy makers, and industry leaders. Students will have the opportunity to learn from the wider population of practising scientists both within and outside McMaster.

Scientific Literacy Sessions are integrated with research project requirements for information management, written and oral communication skills, and the use of scientific literature. McMaster’s award-winning library resources are an integral part of the iSci program.

The iSci Environment is located on the third floor of the Thode Science Library. It consists of a state-of-theart interactive classroom (the ThInK Space), a dedicated study area for iSci students (iStudy), and faculty offices.

iSci

Assessment

Exams Mid-term and final exams will ensure that students meet knowledge levels of comparable traditional or single-discipline courses. Core knowledge: Discipline-specific papers with questions equivalent to other level one exams. Synthetic, interdisciplinary, problems: An “Integrated Exam” with more involved problems which cross discipline boundaries and/or require application of concepts in novel contexts and/or contain some element of open-endedness.

ISCI 1A24 is equivalent to taking four full (two term) other level one courses concurrently, so the total course equivalence diagram below has been scaled to 400% to allow direct comparison of grading with other courses. For example, the total contribution of math-related activities during the first year will be equivalent to 80% of the activities in a standard level one math course.

ACTIVITY

Continuous

Mars

Drugs

Renewable Energy

Cancer

Projects

TOTAL

Project components (example weightings)

Exams

DISCIPLINE

Continuous Assessment Discipline-specific coursework, including lab work will allow students to practice techniques, develop skills, and prepare for exams. Activities will be varied and may include group work.

Research Projects Assignments for project work will be varied but will usually include writing, presentation, or creation of materials for a specified audience. This will give students the opportunity to gain experience with the professional processes of writing research papers, research proposals, creating funding bids, and communicating scientific information to non-specialists.

iSci Assessment is designed to be aligned with the research-based, innovative learning methods developed for the program. Assessed activities will be varied and challenging, and will allow students to demonstrate the full range of competencies gained during the course.

Math

32

20

3

3

10

12

28

80

Physics

32

20

3

2

11

12

28

80

Chemistry

32

20

2

3

11

12

28

80

Life Sciences

32

20

2

3

11

12

28

80

Earth Sciences

12

0

3

2

9

4

18

30

Scientific Literacy

0

20

3

3

12

12

30

50

140

100

160

400

TOTAL

Transcripts will contain one mark for the whole first year course. However, a grid like this will also be included so that students (and future educators or employers) can see the discipline content covered and the corresponding student grades.