Math and Science Pathway

The study of mathematics and computer science develops both logical reasoning and creative problem-solving. Mathematics provides a foundation of rigor, precision, and clarity, while computer science applies these principles to design and innovation in the digital world. Together, they cultivate persistence, adaptability, and analytical thinking—skills that extend far beyond the classroom.

For dual credit students, engaging in these subjects through college-level coursework while in high school offers a unique opportunity to experience the depth and challenge of higher education early on. Dual credit study encourages students to take ownership of their learning, strengthen critical thinking, and build confidence in their ability to succeed at the college level.

Courses taught by the Mathematics/Computer Science department at Columbia Gorge Community College teach four out of the five institutional learning outcomes: Communication, Critical thinking and Problem-Solving, Quantitative Literacy, and Community and Environmental Responsibility. One example of this for mathematics is: students will research the population of a community at two points in time, one hundred years apart. They will investigate the historical, social, and economic factors influencing the community during each period, for example, migration, industry, cultural shifts, or major events—and consider how these shaped population changes. Using this information, students will analyze the population data by creating and interpreting growth curves, then compare the two-time frames. This process encourages students to connect numerical analysis with historical context, showing how mathematics can be used to better understand real-world communities and their development over time.

An example for computer science is students are presented with a business problem to which they must apply computational thinking and the software development lifecycle to submit an analysis on a given business problem. The deliverable of this project is to produce a system specification that contains a requirements definition, activity diagram, use case descriptions and diagram, CRC cards, and finally a class diagram.

Instruction and assessment in both mathematics and computer science must reflect the rigor of college-level standards.

Student evaluation shall include, but is not limited to, closed-book examinations, assessments designed to address the higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy (analysis, synthesis, and evaluation), and comprehensive coverage of all material specified in the Course Content and Outcomes Guide.

A basic understanding of science and the scientific method is a requirement for living in a voting society. Those who lack an understanding of science lack the ability to advocate for themselves and others in the marketplace and the healthcare system. This nation’s founders made compulsory education the keystone of our elections. They knew its citizens, in order to grasp the issues of the day, would need to be able to read and make informed decisions based on facts. Science courses teach a person to think critically, to evaluate sources of information for validity, allowing a person to vote for a candidate willing to work for this society.

The courses taught by the science department at Columbia Gorge Community College directly teach four of the five Institutional Learning Outcomes: Communication, Critical thinking and Problem-Solving, Quantitative Literacy, and Community and Environmental Responsibility. Examples: writing reproducible laboratory reports, analyzing observations made in a laboratory or field setting, evaluating sources of scientific information for validity, and judging the impacts humans have on the environment in which we all live.

Specifics of teaching are rigorous. Students must be assessed at a college level. This includes but is not limited to; closed book exams, assessments that reach into the higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy, evaluation, synthesis, and analysis, absolute coverage of all content laid out in the Course Content and Outcomes Guide.

Science is a fundamentally nondogmatic and self-correcting investigatory process. Theories (such as biological evolution and geologic time scale) are developed through scientific investigation and are not decided in advance. As such, scientific theories can be and often are modified and revised through observation and experimentation. “Creation science," “Intelligent design” or similar beliefs are not considered legitimate science but a form of religious advocacy. This position is established by legal precedence (Webster v. New Lenox School District #122, 917 F. 2d 1004).

The Science Department at Columbia Gorge Community College therefore stands with organizations such as the National Association of Biology Teachers in opposing the inclusion of pseudo-sciences in our science curricula except to reference and/or clarify its invalidity.