• Project Overview
• Project Team
• Project Reports and Assessment
• Project Calendar

Project Overview

This project involves developing OER in gateway and Pathways courses to replace the textbooks and publishers’ online platforms that currently are used. These courses are Program Core or Pathways Required core courses for all three majors at Natural Sciences (NS) department including Biology, Environment Science and the new major, Physical Sciences, as well as Liberal Arts Math and Science major. Offering these courses by the NS department is the initial step towards building complete OER/ZTC Achieve the Dream degrees in future. Faculty coordinators in each discipline will adopt, develop, and customize textbooks and lab manuals for these courses and develop new interactive assignments.

During 2021, piloting new OER materials will continue. The assessment on the effectiveness, students and faculty satisfaction will be collected and used to make appropriate recommendations and modifications.

This project is funded through a grant for OER from the Office of Academic Affairs.

Project Team

The Principal Investigator is Maria Entezari. The 2020-21 Project Coordinator is Marta Kowalczyk. The chair and faculty from three disciplines (Physics, Chemistry, and Biology) are developing open textbooks, laboratory manuals, homework and assignments. They are supported by the Library Department. Project members and contact information.

Project Reports and Assessment

Outcomes and impact will be reported at the end of the grant. For information on other CUNY OER grants, read the New York Open Educational Resources Funds CUNY Year One Report and CUNY Year Two Report.

Project outcomes:

1. This Natural Sciences Department Open Educational Resources Portal
2. Zero-Textbook-Cost (ZTC) Courses (listed below)
3. Use and creation of open-licensed course contents
   Browse the ZTC and OER courses:

• Biology
  • SCB 101 – Topics in Biological Sciences
  • SCB 103 – Human Biology in Health and Disease
  • SCB 115 – Principles of Biology
  • SCB 201 – General Biology I
  • SCB 203 – Human Anatomy and Physiology I
  • SCB 204 – Human Anatomy and Physiology II
  • SCB 260 – General Microbiology
• Chemistry
  • SCC 101 – Topics in Chemistry
  • SCC 110 – Foundations of Chemistry
  • SCC 201 – General Chemistry I
  • SCC 202 – General Chemistry II
  • SCC 251 – Organic Chemistry I
• 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
  • SCP 231 General Physics I Honors
  • SCP 232 General Physics II Honors

Project Calendar

Fall II, from January-February 2021

• SCC 201 – General Chemistry I conintues to pilot MyOpenMath assignments and writing lab manuals.
• SCC 110 – Foundations of Chemistry and SCC 202 – General Chemistry II are piloting lab manuals and the open textbook.
• SCB 201 – General Biology I is developing additional lab manuals.
• SCP 101 – Topics in Physics, 201 – Fundamentals of Physics I, and SCP 202 – Fundamentals of Physics II are developing MyOpenMath assignments and writing lab manuals.
• SCP 105 – Life in the Universe is authoring an astrobiology textbook and is continuing to pilot them.
• MyOpenMath modules student feedback forms are being developed and piloted.
• OER presentation for faculty on January 29.

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