New Mexico General Education Curriculum Course Certification Form Cover Pages

Course Information

Department Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Ecology NMSU Course Prefix, Number, and Title FWCE 110G, Introduction to Natural Resources

Management, 4cr CCN Prefix, Number, and Title* FWCE 1110, Introduction to Natural Resources

Management, 4cr * See this state webpage for information on Common Course Numbering

Campus Representative (CR) Team

Campus (check all that apply) Representative Name and Email ☒ NMSU-LC (Las Cruces, Main) Martha Desmond <mdesmond@ad.nmsu.edu> ☒ NMSU-A (Alamogordo) Jennifer Smith <jsmith77@nmsu.edu> ☐ NMSU-C (Carlsbad) ☐ NMSU-DA (Dona Ana) ☐ NMSU-G (Grants)

Signatures: A signature indicates approval of the state certification form and sample assignment/assessment.

Academic Department Head: ___________________________________________________________________________________ Printed Name Signature Date Academic Dean: ___________________________________________________________________________________ Printed Name Signature Date

CR Team process (omit if course is taught on only a single campus)

Describe briefly the process the CR Team used to create and achieve consensus on the certification documents being submitted to the GECCC.

Submission Instructions: Submit the following documents to the GECCC Chair (davsmith@nmsu.edu) at least one week prior to any GECCC meeting for consideration at that meeting: 1. This completed document including:

• (Cover Page) Department Head and Academic Dean(s) signatures on the cover page • (Cover Page) A description of the CR Team process (only for courses taught on multiple campuses) • All required information on the State Certification Form, completed in accordance with the Guidelines and

Instructions document available on the GECCC webpage.

2. At least one sample assessment / assignment (required) and an associated grading rubric (recommended). For system courses, each campus is invited to submit their own sample assessment / assignment. However, if multiple assignments are submitted, the team must recommend one assignment to be forwarded to the state.

Assignment recommended for submission to the state: __________________________________.

Other assignments will be placed an assignment library as a reference for future instructors. Note: Inclusion of an assignment in the certification proposal does not require a campus or course to use that specific assignment; these are meant as examples.

For GECCC Use Only Presented to GECCC on: Sent to Community College VPAAs on: ☐ Catalog editor review completed ☐ Approved, submitted to NMCAC on: ☐ Approved pending the following revisions: ☐ Denied. Please resubmit a new application including signatures after revising as follows:

NEW MEXICO HIGHER EDUCATION DEPARTMENT MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM DR. KATE O’NEILL GOVERNOR CABINET SECRETARY

New Mexico General Education Curriculum Course Certification Form

A. Institution and Course Information Name of Institution New Mexico State University Department Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Ecology Course Number, Title, Credits FWCE 110G, Introduction to Natural Resources Management, 4cr Co-requisite Course Number and Title, if any Is this application for your system (ENMU, NMSU, & UNM)?

Yes

Name and Title of Contact Person Martha Desmond, Regents Professor Email and Phone Number of Contact Person mdesmond@nmsu.edu

Was this course previously part of the general education curriculum? ☒ Yes ☐ No This course will fulfill general education requirements for (check all that apply): ☒ AA/AS/BA/BS ☒ AAS

B. Content Area and Essential Skills To which content area should this course be added? Indicate “Other” if the course is not associated with one of the six NM General Education content areas.

☐ Communications ☐ Mathematics ☒ Science ☐ Social & Behavioral Sciences ☐ Humanities ☐ Creative & Fine Arts ☐ Other

Which essential skills will be addressed?

☐ Communication ☒ Critical Thinking ☐ Information & Digital Literacy ☒ Quantitative Reasoning ☒ Personal & Social Responsibility

C. Learning Outcomes

This course follows the CCNS SLOs for FWCE 1110, Introduction to Natural Resources Management

List all learning outcomes that are shared between course sections at your institution.

Common Course Student Learning Outcomes (find Common Course SLOs at: http://www.hed.state.nm.us/programs/request-a-change-to-the-nmccns.aspx) None Published

Institution-specific Student Learning Outcomes 1. Students should be able to recall, describe and explain the laws, treaties and acts that have led to our current

management of natural resources in the United States. 2. Students should recognize or explain what ecological processes are, the importance of ecological processes in

maintaining ecosystem function and how human activities change ecological processes and the ecosystems dependent on those processes.

3. In each of the six course and lab modules (water quality, soils, forestry, rangelands, wildlife and fisheries) students should be able to recall, describe and explain basic terminology, fundamental ecological principles and management techniques and challenges.

4. Students should be able to interpret data presented graphically and in tables from class exercises and lectures.

5. Students should be able to solve problems scientifically through field data collection, laboratory analyses and the use of quantitative methods (basic statistics, tables and graphs).

6. Students should be able to communicate results from laboratory exercises (6 lab modules) orally and in writing.

7. Students will learn to apply scientific thinking to real world problems through in class discussion and short essays based on material from case studies presented in class and guest speakers.

D. Narrative Explain what students are going to do to develop the critical skills (selected above) and how you will assess their learning?

Communication. Genre and Medium Awareness, Application and Versatility; Strategies for Understanding and Evaluating Messages; and Evaluation and Production of Arguments. In this box, provide a narrative that explains how the proposed course addresses the outcomes of the first essential skill. 200 – 300 words.

Critical Thinking. Problem Setting; Evidence Acquisition; Evidence Evaluation; and Reasoning/Conclusion Students research laboratory topics to ask a question and develop testable hypotheses and predictions. They will gather background information on the topics from authoritative sources including scientific literature. They will then conduct experiments designed to test their hypotheses and predictions, making sure the scientific design avoids bias, is relative to the question being asked and will produce valid or truthful results. Students will gather and organize the information, then analyze those data using quantitative reasoning to critically evaluate their hypotheses and predictions based on the results, then critically evaluate their actual findings against their original hypotheses and predictions.

Quantitative Reasoning. Communication/Representation of Quantitative Information; Analysis of Quantitative Arguments; and Application of Quantitative Models Students complete six lab modules (water quality, soils, forestry, rangeland ecology, wildlife, and fisheries) for this class. For each lab module, students conduct background research where students interpret, analyze and critique this information. Then student form a hypothesis, go into the field to conduct the experiment, and collect data. Students then apply appropriate quantitative models to analyze those data. The analyses involve expressing quantitative information symbolically and graphically. Examples are calculating means, standard deviations and other appropriate field-specific models such as population counts conducted by wildlife biologists. The information is written up in the form of a lab report following scientific method and is discussed orally or in writing, comparing results with their peers, receiving and giving feedback and critically evaluating similar or differing results.

Personal & Social Responsibility. Intercultural reasoning and intercultural competence; Sustainability and the natural and human worlds; Ethical reasoning; Collaboration skills, teamwork and value systems; and Civic discourse, civic knowledge and engagement – local and global Students apply scientific thinking to real world problems through in class discussions and short essays based on material from case studies presented in class and guest speakers. Almost weekly, half a class period is devoted to a discussion on a current natural resource topic that is relevant to current topics in class. Either students research the topic and come to class prepared to discuss the topic or we have a guest speaker. Students will express their perspectives on controversial topics and will respectfully consider peers with differing points of view. Global issues will be examined and intercultural influences considered when discussing these issues. Recent topics have included: 1) global water issues including shortages, loss of fish and pollution, 2) Climate change and sustainability, 3) Flint Michigan water crisis, 4) desertification in the southwest/grazing, 5) endangered species act and Mexican wolf reintroduction, and 6) global issues with invasive species. In lab, students collect data as members of a team, they learn to work collaboratively and to share information. For some of the in-class quizzes, students take the quiz individually and then take it a second time as part of a group and both grades are averaged. These topics enhance students’ civic knowledge and encourage students to engage in civic discourse regarding both local and global issues.

Information & Digital Literacy. Authority and Value of Information; Digital Literacy; Information Structure; and Research as Inquiry In this box, provide a narrative that explains how the proposed course addresses the outcomes of the third essential skill. 200 – 300 words.

E. Supporting Documents ☒ Sample Course Rubric Attached (recommended) ☒ Sample Assessment Attached (required) F. Assessment Plan (Must be on file with HED by August 1, 2019)

Link to Institution’s General Education Assessment Plan https://gened.nmsu.edu/assessment-and-recertification/

This course meets institutional standards for general education.

_____________________________________________ _____________________________ Signature of Chief Academic Officer Date

HED Internal Use Only

Presented to NMCC on ______________________________ Date

☐Approved ☐Denied

If denied, rationale:

Institution Notified on _________________________________ Date

SupportingDocumentforFWCE110

Preparationforlaboratorypracticalfieldexperienceandcalculations

Module6

PopulationEstimateusingMarkandRecaptureTechniques

Wewillbecalculatingapopulationcountfortheturtlesoverourspringbreaktrip.Evenifyouarenotgoing,youneedtoknowhowtodothis.ItiscalledaMarkandRecapturesurvey.Completethefollowingusinganyresourcesavailabletoyou(theInternet,apartner).

Thissiteshowsyouanexample:MarkandRecaptureexample(Linkstoanexternalsite.)

Weareusingthisexampleforpupfish,foundonLakeLuceroonWhiteSandsMissileforpractice.Thisisanendangeredspeciesoffish:backgroundonwhitesandspupfish(Linkstoanexternalsite.)

Thisassignmentisworth30points.

1. Youareinterestedincomparingpupfishabundanceinlakeswithhighsaltconcentrationsversuslakeswithlowsalinities.Youidentify5lakeswithsalinitiesaround40pptand5lakeswithsalinitiesbetween0-5ppt.Alllakesareapproximatelythesamesize,depthetc.Youconductmark-recapturestudiesinalllakes:Youcaptureabunchofpupfishinminnow-trapsovernight,countthem,cliptheircaudalfinandreleasethem.Thenextnight,yousetminnow-trapsout

again,andcountallfishanddistinguishthemas‘marked’and‘unmarked’.Hereareyourresultsforthelakeswithlowsalinities:

Lake Fishcaughtandmarkedonday1

Fishcaughtonday2

Unmarkedfishcaughtonday2

Markedfishcaughtonday2

Populationestimate

1 61 45 40 5

2 55 77 26 51

3 79 50 28 22

4 82 69 52 17

5 70 81 55 26

Whatareyourpopulationestimatesforlakes1-5?

Lookcarefullyatthepopulationestimatesforlake1and2.Whyistheestimateforlake1somuchhigherthanlake2?

1.Herearethepopulationestimatesforlakes6-10(highsalinities):578;596;540;579;588

Whatarethemeansandstandarddeviationsofpupfishpopulationforthelakeswithlowsalinity(lake1-5)andforthelakeswithhighsalinity(lake6-10)?

2.Createagraph.ItiseasiestonExcelandhereisatutorialonhowtocreateagraphinExcel.(Linkstoanexternalsite.)

Herearethevariablesforyourcalculations:

N=(M*C)/R

N=estimatedNumberofindividualsinthepopulationM=numberofindividualscapturedandMarkedC=totalnumberCapturedthesecondtime(withandwithoutamark)R=numberofindividualsRecaptured(thosewithamark)

Rubric: