Biology

Fetal Pig Dissection Manual
by Daniel J. Yakubov
Edited by Dr. Nathalia G. Holtzman

This book is a guide to the basic fetal pig dissection conducted as a part of the Queens College, CUNY Biology Department Bio105 General Biology: Physiology and Cell Biology course. This course is the first half our two-part series for biology majors. The actives are designed to be conducted over a three- 3-hour lab periods which focus on the relationship of form and function of the pig anatomy and physiology. Step by step instructions for the dissection are provided along with some microscopy tasks to look at the histology of key organs. In addition to the full text of the book, we also provide a form with just the assessment portions of the book. This allows students to limit the printed material to just those pages.

Histology Atlas: Basic Mammalian Tissue Types (Lab Manual for BIOL 105)
by Joshua S. Barnes with Daniel J. Yakubov, edited by Dr. Nathalia G. Holtzman and Dr. Corinna Singleman

This book is a guide to the basic histology lab conducted as a part of the Queens College, CUNY Biology Department Bio105 General Biology: Physiology and Cell Biology course. This course is the first half our two-part series for biology majors. The actives are designed to be conducted over a single 3-hour lab periods which focus on the relationship of form and function of the cellular and organ level anatomy and physiology. Step by step instructions for each slide set are provided for all the key organs. In addition to the full text of the book, we also provide a checklist form with just the assessment portions of the book. This is to help summarize all the information the student should get from the activity.

BIO 013: Writing in the Sciences – Human Origins (Syllabus)
by Esther Muehlbauer

Bio. 013: Writing in the Sciences – Human Origins is an OER syllabus for a College Writing 2 course that develops student writing for different audiences, following the trajectory of how scientists work: Scientists Writing for themselves (a field journal); Scientists writing for other scientists (a review article); Scientists writing for society (an essay for Natural History Magazine).

Computer Science

Lecture Notes on Cloud Computing
by Jun Li

This collection of lecture notes provides a comprehensive technical foundation for modern cloud computing, spanning from physical infrastructure to high-level application patterns. The text explores how warehouse-scale computers and virtualization transformed traditional data centers into flexible, on-demand resource pools characterized by elasticity and a pay-as-you-go economic model. Detailed chapters examine core architectural components, including Kubernetes orchestration, serverless computing (FaaS), and distributed key-value stores like Dynamo. The sources also emphasize the critical nature of fault tolerance, utilizing techniques like erasure coding and replication to manage the statistical inevitability of hardware failure. Security and management are addressed through frameworks like the Shared Responsibility Model, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), and Zero Trust Architecture. Moreover, MLOps and microservices are discussed, highlighting the trade-offs between system agility and the inherent complexities of network-based communication.

Family, Nutrition & Exercise Sciences

FNES 166: First Aid and Safety
by Gregory Klimaytis

This course is designed to teach the student what to do in a medical or traumatic emergency prior to the arrival of First
Responders. Participants will learn Adult, Child and Infant Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) with and without an
Automated External Defibrillator (AED) as well as basic First Aid and Bleeding Control. Additional training in Oxygen
Administration, Rescue Inhaler assistance, Epinephrine auto injector administration, and tourniquet use for bleeding control will be presented.

FNES 203: Meal Planning and Therapeutic Diets (Syllabus)
by Patrick J. Moran, Jr.

Application of principles of meal planning to evidence-based therapeutic diets. Lecture and laboratory include menu planning, food cost analysis, therapeutic modifications to recipes, preparation, and service of food in accordance with food safety principles, and effective time management, collaboration, and teamwork in the food production facilities.

FNES 722: Exercise, Energy Balance, and Body Composition (Syllabus)
by Bridget McFadden

This course focuses on the interrelationships between exercise energetics, energy balance, and body composition. There are four major goals for students in this course. Each student will be expected to acquire and demonstrate knowledge in the following areas: macro- and micro- nutrient requirements and the role they play in physiological function; energy expenditure and body composition assessments; nutrition and exercise considerations for physique and sport; ability to evaluate the scientific evidence on nutritional ergogenic aids and diets.

Geology

Introduction to Planetary Geology
by Dara Laczniak

This open “textbook” was designed for GEOL 64: Planetary Geology, an introductory science course at Queens College CUNY that explores our cosmic neighborhood, and its creation was funded in part by the CUNY OER Initiative. While some text in this resource is original, most chapters are adapted from other open-source textbooks including An Introduction to Geology from Salt Lake Community College, Physical Geology – 2nd Edition from BCcampus, Introduction to Earth Science, Second Edition from University Libraries at Virginia Tech, Physical Geology, First University of Saskatchewan Edition from SaskOER, and Astronomy2e by OpenStax.

GEOL 12: Natural Disasters (Syllabus)
by Anestoria Shalkowski

Hazards are events which have the capabilities to damage property and or life. Understanding natural hazards and how these can become disasters are important in reducing the impacts of such events. This syllabus provides a description of the material to be examined and the expected student outcomes upon completion of the course.

GEOL 64: Planetary Geology (Syllabus)
by Dara Laczniak

An introduction to the surface features, composition,
geological activity, and probable history of the planets, moons, and comets of the solar
system, based on the results of space exploration.

GEOL 746: Groundwater Hydrology (Syllabus)
by Tim Eaton

This is an upper-level graduate course in quantitative hydrology. We will cover physical principles of groundwater flow, Darcy’s law, flow equations, flow nets, pumping tests, methods of groundwater investigation, groundwater geology. Numerical calculations and problems will be emphasized. Case histories are presented that describe different types of groundwater systems. You are expected to have some background in geology and quantitative methods, notably physics, and ideally calculus principles.

Math

Seth Teaches Math: Video Playlists for Math 115 (College Algebra) and Math 122 (Precalculus)
by Seth Lehman

Math videos created by Seth Lehman, a lecturer at CUNY Queens College.

Math 115: College Algebra Instructor Guide
by Seth Lehman

OER instructor guide for Math 115, College Algebra, Queens College.

Math 122: Precalculus Instructor Guide
by Seth Lehman

OER Instructor guide for Math 122: Precalculus at Queens College.

Math 122: Precalculus Course Shell
by Seth Lehman

Course shell and homework assignments with links to readings and explanatory videos organized by topic.

Math 220P: Foundations of Mathematics
by Nicholas Vlamis

The goal of the course is to provide an introduction to higher-level mathematics and bridge the gap between the skills used in calculus and those in higher-level courses (for instance, algebra, analysis, topology). Mathematicians have a specialized language and method for communicating mathematical ideas and theory. In this course, you will learn to think, communicate, and write as mathematicians! In particular, you will learn how to write mathematical proofs. The proof writing techniques to be discussed include: conditional, biconditional, contradiction, induction, set-theoretic, and existence and uniqueness proofs. Topics of mathematical content include: mathematical logic, sets, relations, functions, number systems, and countability.

MATH 301: Abstract Algebra I
by Nicholas Vlamis

This is standard first course in abstract algebra. We will begin with the basics of elementary number
theory (that is, the structure of the integres) and then move on to the study of groups. We will end
with a brief introduction to the basic structure of rings.

MATH 342W: Data Science: R and Prediction Modeling (self-contained course using Rmd)
by Adam Kapelner

This is a self-contained course in data science and machine learning using R. It covers philosophy of modeling with data, prediction via linear models, machine learning including support vector machines and random forests, probability estimation and asymmetric costs using logistic regression and probit regression, underfitting vs. overfitting, model validation, handling missingness and much more. There is formal instruction of data manipulation using dplyr and data.table, visualization using ggplot2 and statistical computing.

Physics

General Physic II Lab Manual
by David Goldberg and Peter Glass

Physics is the science of measuring and understanding the basic principles of our universe. Typically, experiments done in the lab pave the way for developing theories as to how things work. However: each lab or lecture in an introductory course studies a single effect; it is important for beginning students not to lose sight of the “big picture” — where this effect fits into the overall structure. The mission of this text to give students the opportunity to experimentally verify the physical concepts covered in lecture. The approach of this text is not inquiry based, but rather offers detailed exercises to be carried out by the learner. Be careful: it is sometimes possible to simply follow instructions without learning anything. This would make the exercise meaningless, and worse, be a lost learning opportunity. Therefore, we urge all students to be mindful of what they are doing in the lab and keep an open mind.

ASTR 1: General Astronomy (Syllabus)
by David Goldberg

Astronomy 1 provides a broad and up-to-date survey of an extraordinary subject area, one that makes contact with many other science and engineering disciplines. Great discoveries in astronomy have been made in just the past few years and will be described in this course. We will examine the history of astronomy beginning in ancient times, how theories have been developed, and how evidence has been collected. Topics will include the night sky, observational tools, the Sun and stars, the Milky Way and distant galaxies, cosmology, and the potential for space travel and for alien life. By studying astronomy, we will acquire a better understanding of our place in the universe, and our responsibilities and opportunities to contribute to the health of the planet and its inhabitants.

PHYS 275: Intro to Scientific Computing (Syllabus)
by David Goldberg

A course in numerical methods of analysis and modeling of physical phenomena with a focus on problems arising in various areas of physics. The topics include classical dynamics and electromagnetism using finite difference and finite element methods, stochastic/Monte-Carlo methods, and matrix eigenvalue problems. Students are not required to have previous programming knowledge and will be introduced to scientific and engineering computing based on MATLAB. Students can use CUNY’s MATLAB license to access the software.

Psychology

Advanced Experimental Learning and Behavior Analysis Lab Manual
by Holly R. Weisberg and Sally Izquierdo

Classroom and online lab exercises for a learning and applied behavior analysis course.

 

PSYCH 2813: Cross Cultural Psychology (Syllabus)
by Desiree Byrd

This course is designed to cover developmental, social and cognitive psychological processes through the lens of various international and domestic cultural orientations. Process learning will focus on self-exploration of students’ individual cultural identity and developing an understanding and self-awareness of how oppression, prejudice, and bias (explicit and implicit) impact the practice of psychology from personal, professional, and socio- political perspectives.

PSYCH 347: Introduction to Clinical Psychology (Syllabus)
by Valentina Nikulina

This course is intended to present the central concepts and techniques of clinical psychology. Students will learn about the historical foundations of clinical psychology as well as gain familiarity with the scope of modern clinical psychology practice. The course is divided into 4 broad themes: Introduction and History, Assessment, Interventions, and Clinical Specializations. By the end of this course students will be able to exhibit knowledge of the various types of clinical assessments and clinical interventions utilized in modern clinical practice, as well as gain exposure to the variety of clinical specializations. We will also consider issues of diversity and culture as they relate to the history and practice of clinical psychology.

PSYCH 375: Close Relationships
by Claudia Brumbaugh

This course will familiarize you with relationship theories and research. Topics will pertain to the initiation of relationships (e.g., attraction, first impressions), the development and maintenance of relationships (e.g., love, intimacy, attachment, interdependence), the deterioration of relationships (e.g., conflict, violence), and the impact of relationships on health and well-being, among others.