BIOL 18500 - Human Machine

Regardless of one’s athletic ability, everyone can benefit from a better understanding of their bodies and how that translates into improved health, happiness and performance. Using the lens of training for individual sporting events, we will learn about topics relating to health and fitness such as human anatomy, energetics, training, nutrition, fatigue, and life-long health. By completing the course you will have an excellent understanding of the physiological and anatomical bases for human locomotion and health. You will also know how to increase human performance, whether your own, or others.

While you may be taking this course to learn about your body and how to improve your health or performance, it will also fulfill your Science general education requirement. With respect to scientific ways of knowing, students should “understand the role of observation and inference in investigations; how natural science theories are formed, tested, and validated; the limitations inherent to natural scientific inquiry; and the impact of science and mathematics upon intellectual history. Courses in this way of knowing foster scientific thinking; knowledge of the physical and natural world; and relativize humanity’s position within the universe.”

Cr. 3.
Student Learning Outcomes
1.  Explain how scientific explanations are formulated, tested, and modified or validated. Using performance data, we will formulate and test scientific hypotheses, then modify accordingly.
2.  Distinguish between scientific and non-scientific evidence and explanations. We will compare and contrast methods for improving health that are scientifically evaluated as opposed to fads and other untested approaches.
3.  Apply foundational knowledge and discipline-specific concepts to address issues or solve problems. We will develop foundational knowledge about human anatomy and the physiology of performance to identify our limits and potential avenues to increase them.
4.  Apply basic observational, quantitative, or technological methods to gather data and generate evidence-based conclusions. We will explore and utilize technological approaches to monitoring health and improving performance.
5.  Use current models and theories to describe, explain, or predict natural phenomena. You will deepen your understanding of the fundamentals of human performance and health and then apply that understanding to predict health outcomes.
6.  Locate reliable sources of scientific evidence to construct arguments related to real-world issues. For your term paper, you will find and use peer-reviewed scientific literature to explore a fitness or wellness challenge and how to address that challenge for improved performance or health.