In Association with other scientific groups and organizations, the Virginia Academy of Science strongly supports the concept of equity of teaching credit and teaching loads for faculty teaching laboratory courses. The laboratory experience is an integral and critical component of science courses. Teaching labs and credit afforded to faculty teaching laboratory courses should reflect equity relative to that of faculty in other disciplines. After extensive discussion, the resolution was unanimously approved by the Academy membership present at the Conference. Unanimously adopted by the Council of The Virginia Academy of Science, May21, 1993.
Science is three-fold.
It consists of a body of information, a theoretical structure for organizing that information, and a method for generating new information and testing new theories. An acceptable scientific theory must be consistent with the available data and be subject to experimental verification. Any theory that cannot be tested lies outside the domain of science. The central organizing principle of biology is the theory of evolution. It has been tested by the methods of population genetics and experimental breeding.