FOREWORD

HEC is happy to share the Natural Sciences (NS) resource package to facilitate in fulfilment of the
Gen Ed requirement of the Undergraduate Education Policy 2020 (UEP). This package includes
the following resources:
1. Course Outlines of Two (2) Model Natural Sciences Courses
2. Teacher’s Manual of Course

GEN ED:
Regarding the Gen Ed requirement, the UEP states that:

“The academic program will ensure that every student is acquainted with the broad variety
of fields of inquiry and approaches to knowledge in the 21st century”.

The purpose of Gen Ed courses is to provide Breadth in in the three broad domains of knowledge
of Arts and Humanities, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences; Foundational Skills in Expository
Writing and Quantitative Reasoning; and Civilizational Knowledge through Pakistan Studies and
Islamic or Religious Studies. However, the Gen Ed courses constitute a minimal education and
represent the least that an educated person should seek to know.
Each University has the freedom to design, develop, and decide the courses to meet the Gen Ed
requirement. Initially, however, to assist universities, HEC has developed model courses that meet
the Gen Ed requirements.

NATURAL SCIENCES COURSES:

The two model NS courses were developed, under HEC guidance, by a team of experienced and
knowledgeable experts in different areas of natural sciences.

NOTE:
a) Universities have the freedom to either adopt the courses as they are, or modify them,
or design and develop entirely new NS courses.

b) In case of modifications or development of new courses it must be ensured that they

meet the standards and objectives of the model courses.

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COURSE DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT:

Following are the framework and principles that were followed in developing the NS courses,
which can also serve as guides to universities that want to modify or develop new NS courses.

Overall:
Regarding NS, the team used the following UEP excerpt as the overall guiding statement:

“Natural sciences enable an understanding and appreciation of the physical and the
natural world through observation and experimentation. The program of studies
introduces students to theoretical analyses, experimental methods, and problem solving.
They provide insight into what we know as well as what we may learn in the future. The
study of physics, chemistry, geology, biology, and ecology helps develop critical faculties
for evaluating natural phenomena and expert opinion. It teaches students to appreciate
the beauty of the natural and physical worlds often hidden from casual observation but
which, once revealed, lends richness to everyday life.”.

Framework:
The team used the following framework for development of NS courses:

1. There will be 2 Natural Sciences courses of 3 credits each.

2. The courses will be survey in nature and not subject-focused, and with a historical
perspective with inclusion of non-western thinkers as well.
3. The first course will be developed keeping in mind the diverse academic backgrounds of
incoming students (FA, FSc pre-engineering, FSc pre-medical, A levels, and other
credentials equivalent to grade 12).
4. There will be a build-up from the first to the second course.
5. As far as possible, the course content will be locally contextualized, and as well linked to
everyday life.

Courses:
The following are guidelines under which the NS courses were developed:

1. Each course will be developed per international best practices.

2. At least the following key issues will be addressed in course design and development:
Course Description; Course Objectives; Student Learning Outcomes; Teacher Activities;
Student Individual Activities; Student Group Activities; Use of Technology; and
Learning/Reading Materials.
3. The courses should foster the development of skills (ICT-related skills, scientific inquiry,
quantitative analysis, analytical and problem-solving skills, critical and creative thinking,
and learning to learn) and application.

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Assessment:
Formative Assessment should be embedded in each course and should not be more than 25% of
the total assessment.
Summative Assessments (2 to 4) should be designed, and the weightages specified for each
(summative assessment), with maximum weightage to the end of semester/final assessment.
All assessments should be linked with student learning outcomes.

S. Zulfiqar Gilani, PhD

Higher Education Commission

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 Higher Education
Commission

What is Science?
(Model Course)

Copyright © 2021 @ Higher Education Commission.

All Right Reserved.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Science and Technology have completely transformed the way we live. The development we have
seen in the past few decades is unprecedented but very few understand the principles through
which the scientific progress is achieved. This course, especially designed for first year students
introduces various fields of natural science, how scientists operate within these fields, what
methods they deploy to make new discoveries, and how they communicate the advances in their
fields to the world.

The course starts with an introduction to the development of the scientific approach. It discusses
the modern use of the scientific method and the tools and resources that scientists deploy to ensure
that they produce authentic and reliable bodies of knowledge. Students are then introduced to three
main branches of science (Physics, Chemistry and Biology), their core underlying principles,
major developments in these fields and their applications in modern life. Students will work on
case studies and lab experiments to understand how scientists discover various workings of nature
and the missteps that they can take while conducting any scientific inquiry. The final part of the
course focusses on the skills to separate valid science from fringe science. Students are also
exposed to the fundamentals of scientific communication and strategies to identify reliable bodies
of knowledge.

COURSE OUTCOMES:
Through successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Clearly articulate the development of scientific thought through various parts of human
history and compare it to the modern scientific method.
2. Describe various branches of Science, their underlying core ideas, and compare their
applications.
3. Using case studies and demonstrations, practice application of the Scientific Method in
the natural sciences.
4. Determine whether a given claim or belief is scientifically valid or not and provide a
clear rationale for doing so.

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COURSE OUTLINE/WEEKLY BREAKDOWN
Time
Module Name Goal Topics
(weeks)
What is science?
What qualifies as science?
Overview of Introduce students to the
Why does it matter?
Science and the course and develop a basic
1 Who practices it?
Scientific understanding of science
Method and the scientific process.
Introduction to important terminology:
Fact, hypothesis, theory, law
Expose students to the Prehistory, Mesopotamia & Egypt,
evolving understanding of Greeks, China, South Asia,
science across time in Arab/Islamic, European
Evolution of different civilizations. This
the Scientific module emphasizes to Examples of scientific contributions
Method across 3 students that modern from different regions are used to show
Civilizations science is a result of different forms of reasoning that were
contributions of different used to determine the nature of reality
people from different and develop science as a process, e.g.
civilizations all over the inductive, deductive, abductive,
world hypothetico-deductive, falsification.
What does modern science look like
Establish what the current today?
practice of science looks
The Modern like. Discuss the role of What are the advantages of using this
Scientific 1 science in today’s society method? What are the limitations?
Method and understand limitations
of the modern scientific How did science become the dominant
method. method of understanding the natural
world?
1 week (Intro to areas/branches of
science)
2 weeks (Physics) = Major themes in
Develop student interest
Physics, Applications, Experiments
and passion for natural
2 weeks (Chemistry) = Major themes
sciences. Help students in
in Chemistry, Applications,
Introduction to choice of major based on
Experiments
Areas/Branches their interest in the different
7 2 weeks (Biology) = Major themes in
of Science sciences. Provide an
Biology, Applications, Experiments
opportunity for students to
practice the scientific
For each of the branches:
method using various lab
• Introduction to core ideas and
settings.
important theories (e.g.
Physics: Gravity, Chemistry:
Atomic theory, Biology:

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 Evolution by Natural
Selection).
• Introduction to possible
majors: How do they relate to
various professions/fields.
• Practical applications of ideas
from each field
Equip students to identify
Practices leading to pseudoscience
flawed and fraudulent
How to spot
approaches to science, and
FAKE 2 Case-studies from popular discourse
what to avoid when doing
SCIENCE!? (e.g. Cold Fusion, Telepathy, N-rays
scientific research.
etc.)
Students learn how science
is conducted and
Introduction to the Peer Review
communicated in modern
(advantages and misuse)
times, how to differentiate
Scientific
1 between good and poor-
communication Importance of controls and replication
quality scientific research,
(link with the replication crisis in
and best practices for
science)
conducting scientific
research

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 Higher Education
Commission

The Science of Global Challenges

(Model Course)

Copyright © 2021 @ Higher Education Commission.

All Right Reserved.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Our world has seen a massive transformation in the past 200 years. The progress that we see
around ourselves is largely owed to the advancement in Scientific knowledge that has enabled
us to harness Nature’s resources in a multitude of ways. This progress however has come at a
great cost, including a threat to our own existence. Through this course, we will discuss some
of the core challenges mankind is facing, the scientific reasoning behind all these challenges
and the actions that must be taken to create a future free of these problems. The three main
areas we will focus on include Climate Change, The Energy Crisis and the survival of humanity
in the wake of deadly viruses and infectious diseases.

Towards the end the students will get to see the complex relationship between Science,
Technology and our Society and some future directions that promise a safer future for all of us.

COURSE OUTCOMES:
Through successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Explain the scientific principles that help understand the key challenges we are facing
today
2. Describe natural systems modulating the Earth's climate, articulate causes and
consequences of anthropogenic climate change, and discuss measures to curb global
greenhouse gas emissions.
3. Differentiate between renewable and nonrenewable systems
4. Explain the working principles of various renewable systems and devices including
solar photovoltaics, wind mills, hydro power, geo thermal and bio energy
5. Explain the working principle of key biological ideas including viruses and diseases,
evolution by natural and artificial selection
6. Demonstrate an understanding of the deep connection between science, technology and
society

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COURSE OUTLINE/WEEKLY BREAKDOWN
Time
Module Name Goal Topics
(weeks)
Introduction to some key
advancements we have made in the
last 200 years and the associated
Overview and Overview of the course challenges that are manifesting
Framing of the 1 and the key challenges themselves in the form of Climate
course that will be tackled. Crisis, the over reliance on fossil
fuels and mass extinction of
various species.

The goal of this module • Intro and Framing

is for students to • What’s the greenhouse effect?
understand how several • Challenges and risks of climate
different natural change
processes interact to • Geologic History and Planetary
produce the dynamic Processes
system that is the Earth’s • Oceans: How do ocean currents
climate. It will discuss regulate global climate
how human actions have • Atmosphere: How do large
Challenge 1:
disturbed these natural scale wind patterns affect
Climate Change 4
systems which is global climate
resulting in rapid • Ecosystems: Climate constrain
climatic change globally. ecosystems and ecosystems
The module ends with a impact global climate
focus on how we build • Projections of future climate
and use models to predict • Measuring anthropogenic
future changes in climate climate change
at various spatial and • What are GCMs? Carbon
temporal scales emission scenarios
• Sustainability
This module will
introduce various
methods of harnessing • Science of Energy: Forms of
energy through Energy, Energy Conversion
renewable systems. • Sustainability of Energy
Working of various Systems
renewable systems • Working of renewable devices.
including Solar How do solar cells operate?
Photovoltaics, Wind Photoelectric effect, intro to
Challenge 2:
3 Mills, Hydro Power, semiconductors and band gaps,
Energy
Bio Energy, Geo Wind energy, Wind mills,
Thermal Energy and Physics of a generator
Tidal and Wave Energy • Energy quantification - Energy
will be introduced. needs, available resources,
A contextual study of renewable vs nonrenewable,
renewables for Pakistan challenges of current practices.
will also be studies to see • Future of Energy
the future of Energy in
this region

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 • What are infectious diseases.
• Types of infectious diseases
• History of Germs, Vaccines
Understanding how and Diseases
Challenge 3: infection originate and • Evolution by Natural and
Human survival how human body Artificial Selection
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and infectious responds to them, what • Why are viruses crossing
disease happens if the body fails species barrier?
to fight them • Anti-biotic resistance
• Human physiological limits
• Changing interactions and new
diseases
• Complex web of science,
politics and social systems
• Development of Science in
Science, An introduction to how
certain areas, Role of Wars
Technology, 2 Science, Technology and
• Scientific Funding
and Society Society intersect
• Technological Progress and
Ethical Constraints
• Human experiences as Data
• Nanotechnology and its future
applications in Medicine,
Food, Computational Systems,
A discussion of some Energy
The Future of emerging technologies • Biotechnology
Science: which are seen as a • Future of foods: Agricultural
Nanotechnology 1 revolution in the field of production, consumption and
& science including nano- nutrition
Biotechnology technology and bio- • Genetic Modification:
technology CRISPR, Gene Therapy
• Exobiology – Life and humans
outside of Earth