University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

An Analysis Of The Freshman Biological Curriculum In The State Colleges Of California

(USC Thesis Other)

An Analysis Of The Freshman Biological Curriculum In The State Colleges Of California

PDF

Download a page range

Download transcript

Copy asset link

Request this asset

Transcript (if available)

Content 70-19,121
RUNDALL, Richard Aubrey, 1932-
AN ANALYSIS OF THE FRESHMAN BIOLOGICAL
CURRICULUM IN THE STATE COLLEGES OF CALIFORNIA.
University of Southern California, Ph.D., 1970
Education, higher
University Microfilms, A X ER O X Com pany, Ann Arbor, Michigan
THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED
AN ANALYSIS OF THE FRESHMAN BIOLOGICAL CURRICULUM
IN THE STATE COLLEGES OF CALIFORNIA
A D issertatio n
P resented to
the Faculty of the G raduate School
T he U niversity of Southern C alifornia
In P artial F ulfillm ent
of the R equirem ents fo r the D egree
D octor of Philosophy
(Education)
by
R ichard A ubrey Rundall
January 1970
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
TH E GRADUATE SC H O O L
U NIVERSITY PARK
L O S ANGELES, C A L IFO R N IA 9 0 0 0 7
This dissertation, written by
R ichard A ubrey Rundall
under the direction of A la.... Dissertation Com
mittee, and approved by all its members, has
been presented to and accepted by The Gradu
ate School, in partial fulfillment of require
ments of the degree of
D O C T O R OF P H IL O S O P H Y
Date J§ffiJAary„.1.97_0.
DISSERTATION COMMITTEE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To the D issertation C om m ittee goes m y gratitude for th e ir
: tim e and contributions. Special recognition goes to D r. L eslie
I W ilbur, C hairm an of the C om m ittee, for his valuable suggestions
| :
I which have contributed so much to the development of the dissertation.;
i i
t !
j A special w ord of thanks goes to D r. E a rl V. Pullias fo r his i
I i
i inspirational and sp iritu a l guidance on this journey through the higher I
I
j
i learning.
| P articu lar acknowledgment m ust be paid to my fellow
! graduate students. No friend has proven him self m o re helpful than
Joe Iantorno and to him goes my deepest gratitude.
t |
i My final and m ost grateful appreciation is rese rv e d fo r m y !
! fam ily who helped m e through the d arkest passages of this journey.
i
i
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOW LEDGMENTS...............................................................
LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................
C hapter
I. THE PRO BLEM .........................................................
Statem ent of the problem
Statem ent of the purpose
Hypotheses
Scope of the study
Basic assum ptions
G eneral procedures
Definitions of te rm s
O rganization of the R em ainder of the Study
II. SURVEY OF THE RELATED LITERATURE .
L ite ra tu re on in c re ase d em phasis on
science teaching
Studies of the undergraduate cu rricu lu m in
the biological sciences
The need for rev isio n s in the biological
sciences fo r the undergraduate
T he ro le of biology in general education
T he use of the lab o rato ry as a teaching
device
L ib ra ry acquisitions fo r biology instruction
Equipm ent and facilities needed for the
biological in stru ctio n program
C rite ria for selection of a college
biology te ach e r
Chapter Page
The teaching load fo r the college biology
teach er
S eparate co u rse s for the m ajo r and non
m ajor in biology?
C hapter Sum m ary
III. METHODS AND PROCEDURES...................................... . 42
Securing an endorsem ent
Review of the lite ra tu re
D elim iting the study
F o rm at of the study
Developing the questionnaire
P resentation of th e questionnaire to a
ju ry of ex p erts
D istribution and re tu rn of the questionnaire
Developing the interview procedure
Conducting the interview s
O rganizing the interview findings
D istribution and re tu rn of the questionnaire
Com pleting the study
C hapter Sum m ary
IV. FINDINGS; PRACTICES RELATED TO CUR
RICULUM ........................................................................ 54
C hapter Sum m ary
V. FINDINGS; PRACTICES RELATED TO ARTICULA
TION AND SEQUENTIAL PLANNING..................... 83
C hapter Sum m ary
VI. FINDINGS; PRACTICES RELATED TO STUDENTS. 101
C hapter Sum m ary
Chapter Page
VII. FINDINGS; GENERAL ATTITUDES ................................ 123
C hapter Sum m ary
VIII. FINDINGS; NATURE OF THE INSTITUTION................. 154
C hapter Sum m ary
IX. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS,
AND RECOMMENDATIONS.......................................... 165
Sum m ary
Review of the lite ra tu re
The procedure
Conclusions
Hypotheses
The questionnaire findings
G eneral inform ation and p ractices
related to curricu lu m
P ractices rela ted to articulation and
sequential planning
P ractices re la te d to students
G eneral attitudes
Im plications
Recom m endations
APPENDIXES.................................................................................................. 189
APPENDIX A .......................... 190
APPENDIX B ...................................................................................... 192
BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................ 194
v
LIST OF TABLES
T ab le Page :
1. Question 1: T h ere is a ce n traliz atio n of authority
and responsibility for in stru c tio n in biological
sciences into a division o r d e p a rtm e n t.................... 57
2. Question 2: Biological scien ces co u rse s a re
grouped together with physical sciences
(chem istry, physics, e t c .) into a departm ent
o r d iv is io n 58 ;
3. Question 3: The biological scien ces division o r
departm ent has established sp ecific objectives !
for the departm ent re la tiv e to tra n s fe r, non- j
tra n s fe r, general education, and rem edial j
functions of the sta te colleges. 59 |
4. Question 4: The biological scien ces division
consists of se p arate units of botany and zoology
and m icrobiology, each with a different
c h a ir m a n .............................................................................. 61
5. Question 5: O rgan ism ally -o rien ted co u rse s, such
as botany and zoology, a r e o ffered to non
science (lib eral a rts ) tra n s fe r s tu d e n ts .................. 63
j
6. Question 6: Botany co u rses fo r non-science ]
m ajo rs (lib eral a rts) a re being phased out of i
your in s titu tio n 64 i
7. Question 7: Zoology co u rses for non-science
(lib eral a rts ) students a r e being phased out of
your in s titu tio n .................................................................. 66
vi
Table Page
8. Q uestion 8 : T he sam e introductory biological
science co u rse if taken by both the m ajo rs
and non-science m a j o r s * • • 68
9. Q uestion 9: M ultiple trac k biological science
co u rse s, e. g ., biology for m ajo rs and biology
for n o n -m ajo rs, a re o f f e r e d ....................................... 69
10. Q uestion 10: Biological co u rses a r e offered
without la b o ra to ry ..................... 71
11. Question 11: Specifically designed biological
science co u rse s a re offered to the student
seeking a baccalaureate in s c ie n c e ........................... 73
12. Q uestion 12: T he biology co u rse offered to non-
science (lib e ra l a rts) tra n sfe r students is
p ro c e ss-c e n te re d around topics such as genetics
o r physiology, o r m etabolism , or en erg etics
with o rganism al illu stratio n s used re g a rd le ss
of w hether they a re plant, anim al, o r v iru s . . . . 75
13. Question 13: An integrated biological scien ce
co u rse for non-m ajors has replaced the
org an ism ally -o rien ted disciplines of botany,
zoology, and m icrobiology............................................. 76
14. Question 14: The biological science co u rse taken
by the non-science (lib eral a rts) tra n sfe r
students re q u ire s a p re re q u is ite ................................. 78
15. Q uestion 15: T he introductory biology co u rse in the
sta te colleges is a p re re q u isite to all co u rses in
the biological s c ie n c e ...................................................... 80
16. Question 16: Phylogenetic considerations have been
em phasized in biological science c o u rs e s............... 82
Table Page
17. Q uestion 17: The biological sciences departm ent
o r division (or as it applies to your institution)
attem pts to duplicate the tra n sfe r co u rses
offered in the low er division of other C alifornia
State colleges and the U niversity of C alifornia. ■ « • 85
18. Q uestion 18: The biological sciences departm ent
o r division, as a m a tte r of policy, engages in
articu latio n conferences with liaison groups
from the other sta te colleges and u n iv e rsitie s. . . . 87
19- Q uestion 19: The biological sciences departm ent
o r division, as a m atter of policy, engages in
articu latio n conferences with ap p ro p riate high
school groups in the c o m m u n ity .................................... 88
20. Q uestion 20: N on-science (lib eral a rts) m ajo rs
receiv e tra n s fe r cred it fo r biology taken at
your institution when they tra n s fe r to other
C alifornia State colleges and with the
U niversity of C alifornia...................................................... 90
21. Q uestion 21: M ethods and m a te ria ls used in teaching
biology a re coordinated with (local) C alifornia
State colleges and with the U niversity of
C alifo rn ia................................................................................ 91
22. Q uestion 22: The biological faculty a re , o r have
been, involved w ith university re s e a rc h scien tists
in a cooperative effort to produce a new biology
curricu lu m for the state c o lle g e s ................................. 93
23. Q uestion 23: Biology co u rse s a r e offered to biology
m ajo rs in a sequential p attern to a rtic u late with
program s in o th er C alifornia State colleges and
the U niversity of C a lifo rn ia ............................................. 95
24. Q uestion 24: In -se rv ic e opportunities a re provided
for biological scien ce fa c u ltie s ....................................... 97
viii
Table
25.
26.
i
! 27.
| 28.
i
| 29.
I
I
30.
j 31.
i
! 32.
i
j
33.
Q uestion 25: T he biological sciences departm ent or
division allows w aiver of courses by exam ina
tion to w ell-p rep ared high school students who
m ay have had, for exam ple, two y ears of high
school b io lo g y ....................................................................
Q uestion 26: N on-science (lib eral a rts ) m ajo rs
have a choice of biology c o u rs e s .................................
Q uestion 27: F resh m en m ajoring in biology a re
discouraged from d eclarin g them selves as
biology, botany, o r zoology m ajo rs in th eir
f ir s t y ear of c o lle g e .........................................................
Q uestion 28: All students seeking a baccalaureate
in scien ce a re re q u ired to take a co u rse in
biology...................................................................................
Q uestion 29: Students can earn a b accalau reate
in scien ce degree at your college . . . . . . . . . . .
Q uestion 30: A sp ecialized departm ent o r division
te s t for placem ent in biology scien ce is given to
all incom ing college f r e s h m e n ....................................
Q uestion 31: T he College E ntrance Board E xam i
nation re s u lts a re used to place students initially.
• in biological science c o u r s e s .......................................
Q uestion 32: As a m a tte r of policy, fo rm er
students a r e encouraged to re tu rn to discuss
th e ir articu latio n experiences with other four-
y e a r institutions. ..........................................................
Q uestion 33: A special counselor is assigned to
m eet with other sta te colleges and university
liaiso n and articu latio n g ro u p s ....................................
ix
Page
i
99
103 ;
104 i
106 |
108 |
i
109
|
111 i
I
113
115 j
Table
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
Q uestion 34: A sp ecial counselor is assigned to
m eet and advise students m ajoring in biology . . .
Q uestion 35: Biology m ajo rs a r e advised to take
a common se t of courses in a fixed sequence
with other fo u r-y ea r colleges and u n iv ersities. . .
Q uestion 36: N on-science m ajo r students take
biology ra th e r than zoology an d /o r b o ta n y .............
Q uestion 37: T h ere is a need fo r devising a unique
type of biological curriculum fo r the state
colleges in C a lifo rn ia ......................................................
Q uestion 38: Is a general biology science co u rse
offered to non-science (lib eral a rts) students
in your in stitu tio n ?............................................................
Q uestion 39: A c o re p rep aratio n for biology m ajo rs
in any specialty (m edicine, v eterin ary , e tc .)
should be extended over a m inim um of two y e a r s .
Q uestion 40: T his co re o r com mon se t of biological
scien ce co u rses should be taken in a fixed
sequence .............................................................................
Q uestion 41: M odern biology co u rses have a g re a te r
em phasis on m o lecu lar, c e llu la r, and population
biology than older trad itio n al biology co u rses . . .
Q uestion 42: M odern biology co u rses for the non
science m ajo r (lib eral a rts ) students should be
a o n e-se m este r, five-unit c o u r s e ..............................
Q uestion 43: T he m odern biology co u rse for the
non-science (lib eral a rts) students should be a
tw o -sem e ster co u rse for th re e units each
s e m e s t e r .............................................................................
Page
117
118
120 i
124 ;
I
125 ;
i
i
i
127
(
i
128
130
j
131
132 I
x
Table Page
44. Q uestion 44: It is possible for C alifornia State
colleges to schedule co re co u rses for biological
science m ajo rs to a rtic u late sequentially with
the p ro g ram s in other C alifornia State colleges . . 134
45. Q uestion 45: It is possible for C alifornia State
colleges to schedule co re courses fo r biological
science m ajo rs to artic u late sequentially with
the pro g ram s in the u n iv ersities of C alifo rn ia. . . 135
46. Question 46: In your opinion the Biological Sciences
C urriculum Study (1958) has influenced change
in the C alifornia State college biological
science cu rricu lu m ............................................................ 137
47. Question 47: T h ere is a need for m o re statew ide
planning to coordinate biological sciences
curriculum among the th re e segm ents of higher
e d u c a tio n .............................................................................. 138
48. Q uestion 48: T h ere is a need for a biological
sciences accreditation com m ission fo r the
C alifornia State c o lle g e s ................................................ 139
49. Question 49: In your opinion, the physical facilities
in your institution a r e adequate for the in stru c
tion of biological s c ie n c e s ? .......................................... 141
50. Q uestion 50: In your opinion, the instructional
personnel a r e adequate fo r the instruction of
biological s c ie n c e s ? ......................................................... 143
51. Question 51: A biological scien ce m ajo r should be
grounded in the basic biological concepts before
beginning the study of the specific subjects of
botany and zoology............................................................ 144
52. Q uestion 52: Do any of the staff m em bers in the
biology div isio n /d ep artm en t have re se a rc h
p ro jects u n d e rw a y ? ......................................................... 146
xi
Table Page
53. Q uestion 53: Have any of th e instructional p erso n
nel in your division/departm ent taken any
science co u rses since 1 9 6 5 ? ....................................... 147
54. Q uestion 54: H as your d ivision/departm ent
received outside financial assistan ce such as
equipm ent g ran ts from NSF, AEC, o r NDEA
sin ce 1960?........................................................................... 149
55. Q uestion 55: Students m ajoring in biology should
have the equivalent of a t le a st one y e a r of
physics and som e background in organic and
inorganic c h e m is try ......................................................... 150
56. Q uestion 56: Students m ajoring in biology should
have a background in biochem istry and
biophysics ra th e r than one in the trad itio n al
one year of physics and two y ears of ch em istry
s e q u e n c e .............................................................................. 151
57. Q uestion 63: Which of the following is s tre s s e d o r
em phasized in your g en eral biology........................... 156
58. Q uestion 64: In your opinion, what is the sp ecial
resp o n sib ility of the C alifornia State college
tow ard biological science e d u c atio n ?........................ 157
CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM
The C alifornia State colleges a re a unique developm ent of
the dem ocratic concept of tax -su p p o rted public higher education
sy stem s. S cattered a c ro ss the sta te from the southern cam pus at
San Diego to a n o rth ern cam pus in Humboldt County, the eighteen
colleges (with another opening in K ern County) re p re se n t one of the
la rg e st sy stem s of public education in the W estern H em isphere and
one of the la rg e st in the w orld. C u rren t enrollm ent exceeds alm ost
200,000 full or p a rt-tim e students. The faculty and adm inistrative
staff num ber approxim ately 10, 0 00.
T he individual colleges, each with a geographic, c u rric u la r,
and academ ic c h a ra c te r of its own, offer a solid basic program in
lib eral a r ts . Beyond th is, each college is noted for its individuality
in academ ic em phasis, which m akes for a diversified sy stem .
C ourse offerings leading to the b ach elo r's and m a s te r's d eg ree are
designed to satisfy existing student in te re sts and to se rv e the
1
: technical and professional m anpower req u irem en ts of the sta te of
C alifornia.
The s ta te colleges of C alifornia a re dedicated to rigorous
academ ic stan d ard s. The p rim ary resp o n sib ility of each faculty
I w ithin the system is the instructional p ro cess on the teach er-stu d en t
i lev el, with ap p ro p riate recognition of th e n ecessary and constructive
i ro le of re s e a rc h in an institution of higher learning.
| R esponsibility fo r the C alifornia State colleges is vested in
i :
; the board of tru s te e s , which is appointed by the G overnor and the
i b o ard 's ad m in istrativ e arm , the C hancellor. The tru s te e s and the |
I l
\ i
i C hancellor se t the broad policy for the colleges w hile delegating j
! i
| considerable independent responsibility for im plem entation at the ;
5 [
| ;
college level. A statew ide academ ic sen ate, m ade up of re p re se n ts- j
: i
i tives elected by the faculty at each college, acts as a consultative |
' ■ \
; body to the C hancellor in the a re a of academ ic affairs. j
! I
| Although the oldest of the sta te colleges, San Jose State I
! !
I C ollege, dates back a century to the old norm al schools, the j
C alifornia State college system was placed under an independent j
|
board of tru ste e s created by the Donahoe Act of 1960. F o rm e rly , the j
i
I i
colleges w ere under the ju risd ictio n of the sta te board of education, j
Today, the C alifornia State colleges a re in a p artic u larly I
i l
; I
1
dynam ic period of th e ir developm ent. P rio r to W orld W ar II, th e re |
j
3 1
w ere seven sta te colleges with a peak enrollm ent of som e 13,000.
Since 1947, eleven new colleges have been established and the site s
have been selected for new colleges in K ern, V entura, San M ateo,
and C ontra C osta counties. E nrollm ent in the sy stem is expected to
reach 225,000 by 1970 (47:8).
The C alifornia State Education Code (section 22606) sta te s ,
i T he p rim ary function of the sta te colleges is the provision of
instruction for undergraduate students and graduate students,
through the m a s te r's d egree, in the lib eral a rts and scien ces,
: in the applied fields, and in the p ro fessio n s, including the
| teaching profession.
! i
| The developm ent of program s at the sta te colleges is consistent with |
: j
| i
this statem ent and is influenced both by the re so u rc e s and needs of ;
| the region and by the views of the faculty and adm inistration, which
: generally support the basic lib eral a rts em phasis.
j
Such a lib e ral education gives attention to fundam ental |
i
I knowledges, concepts, m ethods of study in the hum anities; the natural!
I sc ien c es, including both physical and biological sc ien c es, and j
| j
: m athem atics; and the social scien ces. Based upon foundation studies |
1 j
j in th e se th ree a re a s of learn in g , th e co u rses offered by the sta te j
colleges also provide opportunities for the student to choose m ajor
and m inor studies designed to achieve a level of specialization |
j !
I ap p ro p riate to the broad purposes of the sta te colleges. Students ,
j j
have an opportunity to se lec t co u rses in te rm s of th e ir m ajo r j
4 |
i in te re sts o r in te rm s of th eir individual p referen ce s.
E x tra c u rric u la r ac tiv ities, including student governm ent,
publications, social affairs, ath letics, and other events a re being
| developed in the conviction that these a re in teg ral p a rts of the
|
i collegiate educational experience.
i Statem ent of the problem
The biological sciences as an academ ic discipline have had a
long and honorable history in what is generally known as the lib e ra l
I I
! a rts trad itio n . In the general education p attern adopted by the
[ C alifornia State colleges, the biological scien ces re p re se n t a p a rt of
j the c o re co u rses offered during the academ ic stay of th e ir students.
|
| The sta te colleges have always considered, and rightly so, that these
I
biology courses a re a vital p a rt of the a ll-o v e r cu ltu ral offering. In
j
[ addition to m eeting the general education req u irem en ts, som e students
| I
| develop enough in te re st from the introductory co u rses to choose one
i
j of the biological sciences as a m ajor field fo r advanced study.
i
|
I Both the population and knowledge explosions a re problem s
}
i
being felt at all levels of education. In o rd e r to m eet th ese p roblem s,
!
college biologists a re continually apportioning th e ir tim e among j
j
(1) in c reased loads in teaching and re s e a rc h , (2) review ing the f
lite ra tu re in th e ir fields of in te re st, and (3) planning adequate c u r
ric u la to cover th ese changing tim es. To relie v e som e of the
5 !
problem s, the C alifornia S tate colleges a r e developing an in te rd is
ciplinary program to cope w ith these biology program s among the
eighteen sta te colleges. T his in terd iscip lin ary cooperation encour
ages a train ed biologist to do readings and re se a rc h in a re a s of
professional education.
The p ro g re ss m ade in all fields of science is acceleratin g
rap id ly , and this explosive p ro g re ss of scien ce and its in creasin g
significance to our way of life and ultim ate survival has created the
n ecessity for a new and c ritic a l look at scien ce teaching. j
j
Paul D. Hurd suggested that scien ce co u rse content should ;
1. provide a logical and integrated p ictu re of contem porary
science; the th e o rie s, m odels, and generalizations that
p ictu re the unity of science; and
2. illu stra te the d iv e rse p ro cesses th at are used to produce
the conclusions of scien ce and th at show the lim itations
of science; the ways of inquiry; and the stru c tu re of
scientific knowledge.
H urd also suggested that j
[
science is based on experim ents; and so m ust be the study !
of science. The sc ie n tist uses the lab o ra to ry as a p rim ary
so u rce of learning; a sim ila r function should be serv ed in I
the teaching of science. (26:29) !
i
As the different opinions upon w hat constitutes a suitable j
i
1
biology curricu lu m flow -in, one is apt to ask , "Just what would be a |
re a lly good co u rse for the sta te college in biology. E specially for a j
i
i
I
b asic co u rse and one th at is to be taken by non-biology m ajo rs?" At
6
p re se n t th e re is no c le a r-c u t definition of what does constitute a
sa tisfa c to ry or w orthw hile program in beginning biology. The prob
lem of this study is to su rv ey and re p o rt the biology p ro g ram s,
esp ecially for the non-biology m a jo r, in the C alifornia State colleges
in the academ ic y ear 19 68 - 69 and to m ake recom m endations based on
the data gathered and rep o rted in the study.
Statem ent of the purpose
The purpose of this study is to survey the different freshm an
biology program s as rep o rted by the biology departm ent chairm en at
the s ta te colleges, to review the ap p ro p riate lite ra tu re in the field
under investigation, and to recom m end guidelines and c rite ria fo r the
developm ent of m ore successful biology co u rses for th e non-biology
m ajo r at the C alifornia State colleges.
Q uestions to be answ ered
A nsw ers w ere sought in this study to the following questions:
1. What a re the general p ra c tic e s as re la te d to biology
curriculum at the sta te colleges of C alifornia?
2. What a re the p ractice s as rela ted to articu latio n
and sequential planning in biology curriculum s?
3. What a re the p ractices rela ted to stu d en ts, especially
the biology cu rricu lu m fo r the non-science m ajor?
7 j
j
4. What a re th e general attitudes of the students and
faculty reg ard in g the biology cu rricu lu m ,
especially for the non-science m ajor?
I 5. What a re som e c rite ria o r guidelines for the
organization and presentation of a w orthw hile
program of biology science, esp ecially fo r the
non-science m ajo r at the C alifornia State colleges?
I Hypotheses
|
I T his study was based on the following hypotheses:
; 1. T h ere a re consistent p attern s am ong biology j
ch airm en 's attitudes tow ard the need for specific j
! c u rric u la r p ro g ram s fo r pro fessio n al p rep aratio n j
in the biological scien ces. j
2. T h ere is a relatio n sh ip between the biology c u r-
■ i
riculum and the academ ic background of the j
1
entering biology students. ;
| 3. T h ere is a relatio n sh ip between the biology c u r-
i • s
I I
riculum for the science m ajo r and the non-science j
i
m ajo r. !
i
4. T h ere a r e consistent p attern s in attitude about j
i
i
curriculum for the non-science m ajo rs am ong j
I
faculty m em b ers. j
5. T h ere a re consistent p attern s of curriculum
re s e a rc h in biology for the non-science m ajo r.
It should be noted that th e re was no intent to generalize
about biology curricu lu m other than the eighteen sta te colleges of
C alifornia.
! Scope of the study
The scope of this study was delim ited in the following
| m anner:
1. Only the C alifornia State colleges and th e ir
resp ectiv e biology departm ents w ere included in
i th is study.
2. Only the departm ent head or chairm an from each
biology departm ent (or th e ir cu rricu lu m re p re -
: sentative from the faculty) was interview ed for
this study.
i 3. The tim e elem ent in this study was lim ited to the
academ ic y ear 1968-69.
Basic assum ptions
T his study was undertaken subject to the following basic
assum ptions:
I
|
I 1. The inform ation provided by the biology departm ent
chairm en at each of the C alifornia S tate colleges
is an indication of the re a l c u rric u la r p ractices
followed by th e institutions.
2. That a ce rtain am ount of uniform ity exists among
the biological science co u rses offered to the non
m ajo r (science) and this should alleviate som e of
the problem s associated w ith sequential planning
and articu latio n among the sta te colleges of
C alifornia.
3. In terp retatio n s and understandings concerning the
j natu re of general science for the non-m ajor
|
(science) a re num erous and varied.
| 4. The instructional program s in biological sciences
can be im proved.
i
! 5. C rite ria for general education biology courses
|
can be established.
]
I G eneral pro ced u res
i
1. A review was conducted of the lite ra tu re for
d escrip tio n s, definitions, past stu d ies, c rite ria
| for the biological science program s in other
i
j
institutions of higher learning.
2. Approval was requested fo r this study and
10 i
sponsorship from the m ain office of the state
colleges of C alifornia, W ilshire Boulevard, Los
A ngeles, C alifornia.
A questionnaire was constructed and the instrum ent
w as subm itted to a ju ry of experts (see Appendix B).
T he questionnaire was then ad m in istered to the
biology departm ent chairm en at each of the
C alifornia State colleges.
The questionnaire was subm itted, in p erso n w here
po ssib le, to each individual biology departm ent
chairm an.
The questionnaire covered the following points and
a r e a s :
a. What a r e the biology curriculum concepts at
each college?
b. To w hat extent a re "zoology” and "botany"
co u rse s, p er se , being phased out in state
colleges?
c. How much em phasis is now placed upon the
biology co u rse for the non-science m ajor?
d. How w ell do science co u rses tra n s fe r between
state colleges and other institutions of higher
11 s
I
!
learning?
|
e. How w ell do science co u rses fo r the non
scien ce m ajo r tra n s fe r to other colleges?
f. To what extent a re the biology co u rses for
the non-science m ajo r being individualized
and modified?
g. To w hat extent a re biology co u rses being
offered with o r without lab o rato ries?
h. To what extent a re la rg e le ctu re groups used j
for general education biology co u rses? j
|
i. What instructional m edia a re in c u rre n t use? |
What o th er instructional m edia a re being |
considered? j
j
j. What cred its a re being given fo r th ese courses? j
k. How m any upper division biology students |
I
evolve from som e of th ese non-science courses? j
|
1. What is the num ber of biology faculty now in j
i
the departm ent? j
j
m. How m any hours of in stru ctio n a r e req u ired p er j
unit of c red it given? !
n. What a re the facilities used for the teaching of j
i
I
the basic biology co u rse for the non-science
12
o. When is the co u rse taken by the non-science
m ajors?
7. T he questionnaire w as then subm itted to the c h a ir
m en of the biology departm ents of each of the
eighteen state colleges. Nine of th e se, from the
Los Angeles a re a , w ere p resen ted in p erson on
cam pus.
8 . The questionnaire was also subm itted in p erso n to
D r. John Baird, D irecto r of Biological Studies for
the C alifornia State C olleges, Office of the
C hancellor of the State C olleges, W ilshire Boulevard,
L os A ngeles.
9. The data w ere obtained and a study of the re su lts
determ ined the n atu re of the biology co u rses offered
to the non-science m a jo r. The inform ation was also
used to develop a lis t of common objectives for a
biology course for the non-science m ajo r.
10. W rite findings, conclusions, and recom m endations
concerning:
a. C u rren t cu rricu lu m p ractices in low er division
biology co u rses.
b. Duties and resp o n sib ilities of the chairm en.
13 I
c. A ctual and recom m ended curriculum p ra c tic e s
for the non-science m ajo r.
D efinitions of term s
F o r the purpose of this study, the following definitions w ere
used:
; Biology. - -T hose courses which deal with the n atu re of living
i :
j things; the m echanism s of life of anim als and plants; the continuity ;
I
j and diversification of life; the in te rrelatio n s of organism s w ith one
; another; and the biological foundations of behavior.
| G eneral education. - -T hose phases of learning which should ;
i
! be the com m on experience for all m en and women.
S tate colleges. - -T hose institutions of higher learn in g whose
i m ain objective is the teaching and the granting of b ach elo r's and j
; !
j m a s te r’s deg rees as opposed to re s e a rc h institutions.
I
j
F a c ilitie s. - -T hose fixed lab o rato ry installations w hich a re
!
| essen tial for conducting classe s in the biological scien ces. Such !
i !
! fixed installations include dem onstration ta b les, work co u n ters, sinks;
I I
p rep aratio n room s, sto rag e room s, and th e like. !
|
Equipm ent. - -T h e apparatus fo r conducting co u rse in the j
i i
biological such as anim al cages, collecting devices, g lassw are, j
i
te r r a r ia , m odels and c h a rts, and p rep ared m icroscopic slid e s. As
14 i
in show b u sin ess, anything that can be moved is a "p ro p ," so it is
with "equipm ent" in biology.
T rad itio n al la b o rato ry . --T h e lab o rato ry with a tw o-hour
i scheduled block of tim e under the direction of a lab o rato ry in stru c to r,
also known as the "control lab. "
Program m ed m a te ria l. - -M aterial used in the laboratory
containing program m ed learn in g fram es a t each lab o rato ry statio n .
; L ab o rato ry station. - -D ivisions of a lab o rato ry table w here
| the student is supplied with the equipm ent n ec essary to com plete that
! p a rt of the lab o rato ry ex erc ise. I
Program m ed la b o rato ry . - -T he lab o rato ry using program m ed!
| m a te ria ls, without form al lab o rato ry in stru ctio n , available to students
; at th e ir convenience, also called th e "experim ental lab oratory. "
F aculty. - -T he persons in an educational institution who a re
engaged in in stru ctio n , re se a rc h , se rv ic e , o r re la te d ad m in istrativ e ■
i
: I
: resp o n sib ilities. j
I ;
O rganization of the R em ainder of the Study j
i i
I |
! |
C hapter II contains a review of the lite ra tu re pertaining to
i.
the biological curricu lu m for the fo u r-y ea r sta te colleges of the !
nation. A review of the m a te ria l re la te d to the d esirab ility of, and j
i
i
c rite ria fo r, the establishm ent of a biology c o u rse designed especially
15
for the non-science m a jo r.
C hapter 1 1 1 , the p rocedure followed in conducting this study
and collecting th e data a re described.
C hapter IV through VIII p rese n t the findings th at w ere
developed from the questionnaire-study.
C hapter IX co n sists of a sum m ary, conclusions, im plica
tions, and recom m endations.
CHAPTER II
SURVEY OF THE RELATED LITERATURE
The principal purpose of th is chapter is to review the
j professional lite ra tu re relatin g to the problem encom passed by this
i study.
; The lite ra tu re on the teaching of the general biological
scien ces is vast. The published m a terial geared for the elem entary
; and secondary pro g ram s fa r exceeds the quantity devoted to the four-
j y ear college level, p artic u larly the introductory co u rse s. In this !
i i
I j
; study, the section on related lite ra tu re covers m a te ria l ap p ro p riate |
|
to the following general topics: (1) the h isto ry and n atu re of biology j
1 1
|
I teaching at the college level; (2) the use of lab o rato ry as a teaching j
' device in biology; and (3) the m ethods of teaching biology at the fo u r- |
j y ear (state) institutions and especially the sta te college level. {
I |
! *
I i
; L ite ra tu re on in creased em phasis I
on scien ce teaching !
i i
| An in creased em phasis on science teaching at the college j
! !
j level is due to the im petus provided by the National Science |
i :
16
17
Foundation Act of 1950 has been noted by Brunner (14:543). This act,
which did not o riginally extend to junior co lleg es, had its m ain im pact
upon the fo u r-y ea r institutions.
A m ajor study on the doctorate in education ch arts the past
and anticipates growth of students earning the doctorate in science
education. In 1957 le ss than 1 p er cent of all doctorates in education
w ere aw arded in scien ce education. It is estim ated that in the 1970s
this fig u re will r is e to 3 .2 p er cent (2).
Although the num ber of doctorate degrees in education is
: in creasin g , F au st alluded to th e shortage of doctorates p rep arin g fo r
college teaching. He stated,
C onsidering only the children born and m aking no assum ption
o th er than that th e re will not be a plague, it is c le a r that we
! should req u ire well over 50 p er cent of all the graduates of j
all the fo u r-y ea r colleges of this country to m an our ele- j
I m entary and secondary schools in the next ten y ea rs at the j
j faculty-student ratio s now considered n ecessary . At the !
college level the prospects seem m ore alarm ing. Making j
th e very co nservative assum ption that no g re a te r proportion |
of young people of college age w ill go to college than now,
! we should, by the y ear 1970, need n e a rly 500,000 new j
college te a c h e rs. Our graduate schools a re now producing
! roughly 9,000 Ph.D . 's p er y e a r, of whom about 6,000 go '
into teaching, giving us the p ro sp ect of about 90,000 new ■
college te a c h e rs w ith doctorate degrees in the next fifteen
y e a rs . It is c le a r that the m aintenance of quality in A m erican j
education a t a ll levels during the com ing y ears w ill be J
extrem ely difficult. It w ill be m ost difficult in science, j
w here a la rg e r proportion of Ph.D. fs than in other fields is
lik ely to be draw n out of education to m eet the needs of I
; industry. (21:19)
!
I j
I The g re a te s t em phasis on science teaching in the past has
18 !
been on the production of high school te ach e rs. As m o re junior
colleges and sta te colleges a r e established, many te ach e rs w ill try to
move up the acad em ic-teach er-facu lty ladder to a higher level; i. e . ,
high school to junior college to sta te college, etc. As the level of
; academ ic preparation for the junior college teach er is norm ally a t the
level of the m a s te r's d eg ree, C rall and M ayers w rote,
. . . One of the m ost im portant problem s facing those who
plan graduate c u rric u la for high school teach ers is w hether
program s would be term in al o r designed so that they can
also provide the p rereq u isite s for a doctorate which will
enable the individual to teach in a college or university.
(18:507)
| I
T he p resen t em phasis on science education has brought m ild |
j d issatisfactio n with the p re se n t train in g of teach ers of science. Seely
i pointed out a p art of this dissatisfaction in stating, ' j
i i
. . . We a re convinced from our experiences with National
Science Foundation Sum m er Institutes for High School Science I
T each ers and from the continuing p erso n al contact with
secondary teach ers that the existing c u rric u la n eith er a ttra c t
sufficient num bers of prospective te a c h e rs nor adequately j
p re p a re the few en ro llees for the ta sk s that confront them . j
i G robm an, in com m enting on teach er preparation in biology,
i
I
! stated,
The crux of the teach er train in g problem seem s to be that
! the college biology departm ents a re staffed by professional
: biologists whose b read -an d -b u tter co u rses a r e designed for
p re-m ed ic al students and future biologists. . . . F uture
te ach e rs of biology w ill se rv e society p rim arily as in te r
p re te rs of biological re se a rc h ra th e r than u se rs o r producers
j of biological re se a rc h . The needs of such prospective
19 i
In te rp re te rs m ight conceivably be better m et with a quite
different a rra y of c o u rse s--c o u rse s that could be ju s t as '
dem anding and with ju st as m uch "m eat” as those designed
for potential re se a rc h m en. (25:75)
I Studies of the undergraduate
; cu rricu lu m in the biological
scien ces
On A pril 4, 1957, the C onference on U ndergraduate C urricula
in the Biological Sciences endorsed the recom m endations that fund-
| granting agencies be urged to support w orthy efforts to im prove the
; teaching of college biology by supporting program s for in tern sh ip s, j
teaching experim entation, and curriculum (8:83). The sta te colleges ;
I
should profit im m ensely from such effo rts. j
j ;
| The C om m ittee on Educational Policies of the Biology Council
i has ex p ressed g reat concern about the p rep aratio n and train in g that
i
I m o st, if not all, of the biology te ach ers give th em selv es. The council;
I i
i has called a num ber of m eetings, both general and sp ecial to deal j
| with this problem . A ttendance at th ese m eetings was both reg u la r |
i i
I and sizab le. In te re st from m any segm ents of the teaching profession
; i
I
| w as forthcom ing. E x cerp ts from the proceedings of th ese m eetings |
a re reproduced here.
I
i
T he com m ittee believes that the future statu s and
stren g th of biology re s ts on good teaching at all lev els in the j
field. The ch a ra c te r of the teaching w ill d eterm ine not only i
I the enthusiasm , the siz e , the quality of the re s e rv o ir from j
which the future biologists a re draw n but also public attitudes I
tow ard the science. In partic u la r, it is re c ognized that at_______ j
the low er levels good teaching is not always coordinated with
biological re s e a rc h and th at good teaching d eserv es in d e
pendent recognition from educational ad m in istra to rs and
p rofessional societies.-
N early all correspondents thought th a t graduate w ork
should devote m o re attention to training students for teaching,
since th at w ill be th e ir m ajo r activity. Good efforts a re being
m ade along these lin e s, but few in biology. What appears to
be needed is a program of teaching in tern sh ip s during which
I the teach e r and student p articip ates in planning co u rses,
! choosing tex ts, devising lab o rato ry w ork, w riting exam ina
tions, etc. (4:25)
S everal other authors cam e forth at th is tim e with a rtic le s
and opinions on these m a tte rs of biology c o u rse s. One was an a rtic le j
i
by Jam es H. M athewson in which he d iscu ssed the training of biolo
g ists and sc ien tists in g en eral. He zeroed in on this study w ith j
I ■
I statem ents pertaining to the train in g of sc ie n tists that should be ;
i . j
: concerned with the teaching of those non-science m ajor students who
!
; w ill be req u ired , as a general education re q u irem en t, to take som e !
; I
j co u rse in science before graduation, generally in the firs t two y ears
i
r
; of college. He went even fu rth e r to attack the teaching of the scien ces
; in the elem en tary lev els. He believed that the sciences taught at i
I j
th ese levels a re not taught with the idea of broadening the scope in ;
l
la te r lev els, a type of dead-end teaching. He stated , j
. . . in the end, n eith er the science m a jo r nor the non
science m ajo r gains a tru e understanding of the nature of ;
scien ce, of dynam ism of scientific m ethods o r of the view
that scien ce affords of the universe, of m an, and of his
society. (29:1377)
i
! T he A m erican A ssociation for the Advancem ent of Science I
21
(AAAS) com m ented on a num ber of ways in which public understand-
: ing of science m ight be in creased . T his group felt that the annual
m eeting m ight be b etter used, than it is norm ally, to in c rease public
: understanding of a science. The AAAS noted that th e re w as, o r is ,
always substantial local attendance and a great deal of new spaper
space devoted to the annual m eeting. However, sy stem atic planning
m ight in c re a se m a terially the am ount of local involvem ent and extent
to which the com ing of the annual m eeting to a city could stim ulate
! local activities designed to im prove the public in te re s t and under-
; standing of the science fields (8:14).
H. J. M uller stated ,
j In these days when hum anity is threatened with catastrophic
I m isu ses of science and technology, it is the duty of sc ien tists
j in each field concerned to do all they can to educate the
public and its le ad ers reg ard in g the consequences of policies
I followed o r proposed and to point out ways of achieving
im provem ent in stead of im pairm ent. This situation applies
to biology today as m uch as it does to physics, even if we
close our eyes to the abhorrent p o ssib ilities of biological
w arfare. People m ust th erefo re be taught in schools. (31:27)
T he preceding statem ents suggest consistently that persons
| teaching in the scien tific fields have a m oral obligation to inform the
?
populace, especially the non-science person. T h is is em phasized in
the w ritings of Rene J. Dubos.
Any p ro g re ss aim ed at fo sterin g a general in te re st in
■ science among the population a t la rg e m ust recognize that
j we have no rig h t to expect others to be in te re ste d in the
j _ t r i cks of our sp ecialized tra d e s . We m ust le a rn to pre se n t
22
i
to the public those aspects of activ ities that p o ssess human
values. (3:5)
The need fo r rev isio n s in
the biological sciences
for the undergraduate
Rethinking Science Education w as the 19 60 yearbook title for
j the National Society for the Study of E ducation. This gives the re a d e r
| som e idea of the im portance attached to this subject, the problem s of
science education. This volum e took up the re a sse ssm e n t of science ;
j
education in the light of the in creasin g significance in our culture (9). 1
: H. B. G lass, w riting in School L ife, O ctober, 1962, stated
• 1
j if the high schools teach a so -called m odern biology co u rse, can the
i
! colleges and u n iv ersities p re p a re te a c h e rs and train sc ien tists by an
I antiquated biology? The la rg e -s c a le rev isio n indicated for institutions
of higher learn in g seem s to be even m o re urgently needed in the light
of the re a l p o ssib ility that, in a decade o r two, every p racticin g
: sc ie n tist and every science teach er w ill be expected, o r req u ired , to
■ spend som e tim e interval being re-ed u cated to the c u rre n t m a te ria l !
: j
i and d isco v eries in science (24:9). Again G lass stated the biological j
I i
scien ces a re now advancing so rapidly th at with every ten to fifteen |
| y ea rs th e re is a doubling of our significant knowledge. A re su lt of ]
! the expansion m akes a frequent re a p p ra isa l and w holesale revision of |
i
| existing c u rric u la im p erativ e. The biology actually being taught is |
tw enty y ears behind the tim es and the advancing front of science, and
; in som e instances a full century in a r r e a r s (14:18).
! The ro le of biology in
; general education
The ro le of biology in general education has been pointed out
; by num erous w rite rs including W ashton (34:84), Bullington (15:92),
: and M eier (30:200). The purpose of general education is to provide
I ;
i students with the n ec essary knowledge, sk ills, and attitudes in o rd e r i
t
I that they m ight live effective and useful liv es. M eier pointed out that
I
I because the general education approach in biology w ill influence the
life of the student in many w ays, th e re is a need to know both the
! m ethod of science and the m a terial of biology. The student w ill use
i
^ the knowledge in teaching his future students as w ell as in solving the
I problem s of life. The o rd er inherent in biology, the m anner in which
i
it lends itse lf to the guidance of learn in g , and the d eg ree of difficulty
| it p o ssesses a re only a few of the advances that a co u rse in biology
!
' can contribute to the general education program (32:22). !
; |
In this sam e vein, M uller w rote that biology, even m ore j
than the physical scien ces, is in stru ctiv e to people in general in
illu stratin g the n atu re of scientific inquiry in its broadest sen se. For!
the objects of the study in biology a re usually m ore valuable, m o re j
v ariab le, and the curriculum m o re fluid, com plex, and subject to
24
! seem ing anom alies than is the case in physics o r ch em istry , and so ;
the situations m ore c le a rly rese m b le those encountered in human
affairs (31:27).
I :
i
i The use of the lab o rato ry
; as a teaching device
A la rg e num ber of studies have been rep o rted in the field of
j science education which re la te to the use of the lab o rato ry as a
; teaching device. This device is especially cru cial to this study as the I
i use of a "lab” for the teaching of biology to non-science m ajo rs is in :
i - !
j !
' hot dispute. One of the m ain o r ce n tral questions that this study w ill |
attem pt to se ttle is the use of a le ctu re-o n ly or a la b -le ctu re co u rse
as a b asic instructional p attern fo r the beginning student, especially
: i
| for the non-science m a jo r. j
i j
H. A. Cunningham conducted a review of the lite ra tu re on
this a re a up to 1945 in which he liste d th irty -sev en studies dealing j
with the lab o rato ry . M ost of th ese ea rly studies w ere concerned with s
i ^ ;
the effects of teaching dem onstrations and individual lab o rato ry
I experim ents on the stu d en t's ability to g rasp su b je ct-m a tte r concepts.!
j . !
A ccording to Cunningham, these e a rlie r studies often left much to be j
j
d esired in the way of design and s ta tistic a l treatm en t of the data
(19:70).
j A study conducted by A rnold M. L ahti in M arch of 1956
25
attem pted to determ ine the effects of different approaches to la b o ra
to ry w ork in a college level physical scien ce course. A sam ple of
338 students w ere given all the sam e le c tu re s, which re su lte d in no
significant difference in te rm s of the te s ts given on the le c tu re s. F o r
| the lab o rato ry w ork, four approaches w ere used.
1. The inductive o r problem -solving approach in
which the answ er was not known.
2. A c a se -h isto ry approach in which the answ er
was known.
3. A "them e" approach la te r changed to a discussion-
recitatio n .
i
i
4. A standard traditional approach in which getting
the rig h t answ er was param ount.
L ahti hypothesized that no significant difference would be
!
found in te rm s of individual lab o rato ry experiences leading to the
following:
1. G re ater reso u rcefu ln ess in designing new
experim ents.
2. G reater sk ill in in terp retin g re su lts of experim ents.
| 3. In creased sk ill in solving new problem s.
4. In creased ability in utilizing facts and p rin cip les.
L ahti failed to re je c t the null hypothesis, although the
26 I
|
|
problem -solving group did sc o re highest on the te sts given (13:63).
F u rth e r re s e a rc h was conducted in A pril of 1951 by-
C larence H. Boeck. His study, published in Tournal of E xperim ental :
E ducation, was noteworthy for its design and sta tistic a l an aly sis.
Boeck tested four objectives:
1. Knowledge of facts and p rin cip les.
2. Application of prin cip les to new situations.
3. Knowledge of and ability to use the scientific m ethod
for the lab o rato ry and co u rse w ork in general.
4. Ability to perform in the lab o rato ry . j
|
He com pared the inductive-deductive m ethod to the '
]
deductive-descriptive approach to lab o rato ry instruction in te rm s of
th ese c rite ria . Boeck concluded that the inductive-deductive method
was as good as the control in the acquisition of facts and p rin cip les,
and was significantly b etter in prom oting an ability to use the m ethods
of scien ce. The inductive-deductive m ethod was also b e tte r in i
1
I
j
prom oting an ability to perform in a lab o rato ry with ’’resourcefulness'j
I
(13:42). |
F rin g s and H ichar conducted a study, in the a re a of college
zoology, using th re e approaches.
1. The trad itio n al approach to la b o ra to rie s. j
2. A "draw ing” m ethod (m aking u se of unlabeled
27 i
draw ings).
3. A physiological m ethod, in which living specim en
w ere dominant.
No significant difference in te rm s of su b ject-m atter achieve-
| m ent was found among the th ree groups. The authors concluded th at ;
I te ach ers should use w hatever m ethod is m ost suitable to the in te re sts
: and ability of the individual in stru c to r (23:180).
| W illiam K astrinos conducted a study in 1961, using th re e
i
I biology c la sse s taught by the in stru c to r. A "c ritic a l thinking"
approach w as used in the form of classro o m d iscu ssio n s, hom ework j
( i
I i
! assig n m en ts, and lab o rato ry experim ents of the open-ended v ariety . !
i '
i
! It w as re p o rted that the students showed significant im provem ent on
factual te sts and on all c ritic a l thinking te sts used in the study (28:16).
j |
V irgil Riggs w orked to tr y to unravel the knot of which type ;
!
I of lab o rato ry seem s best. He com pared two m ethods of teaching j
! college level biology la b o ra to rie s, teaching one group by the con-
L I
I
! ventional lab o rato ry m anual approach and the other by the use of j
I j
re s e a rc h -lik e problem s. The students w ere p re -te ste d and p o st- j
i
!
te ste d for achievem ent in su b je ct-m a tte r and problem -solving ability, j
j
No significant difference between the experim ent and control groups I
w as rep o rted (37:998).
| Som e of the w orkers trie d a rotation m ethod in an effort to
28
determ ine which one seem ed to show a significant gain in a ll-o v e r
knowledge. John B lackshear rotated two biology groups between a
trad itio n al content cen tered method and a so -ca lled scientific m ethod
technique. A nalysis of the covariance showed no significant d iffer
ence in the rela tiv e effectiveness of the two m ethods insofar as ability
to use the scientific m ethod was concerned (35:13).
The foregoing citations dem onstrate decidedly contradictory
re s u lts . T he studies cited w ere about evenly divided as to " d iffe r
ence" and "no d iffe re n c e ," with those showing no significant d iffe r
ence in slight excess. Evidently the lab o rato ry produces consistent j
j
re su lts only when the c rite ria involve specific sk ills in handling
lab o rato ry apparatus and m a te ria ls. The p ictu re involving the con
tribution of the lab o rato ry experience to the developm ent of attitu d es,
in te re sts, and an understanding of scien ce methodology is not a t all I
c le a r.
i
It m ay be noted that a num ber of studies listed in th ese pages;
have attem pted to d eterm in e the extent to which certain aspects of j
i
i
scientific m ethods can be taught. T h e re is som e controversy over !
w hether o r not th ere is a scientific m ethod, and especially if it can
be effectively applied to other fields. :
j
B urm ester and Noll conducted a study which attem pted a j
I
synthesis of objectives for a course in college biology and found that j
29 ;
scientific attitudes a re rela te d as being th e m o st im portant outcom es
of science in stru ctio n (15:143).
In another related study, R ussell M einhold analyzed the
sc o re s of scien ce in stru c to rs on a test involving the methodology of
j scien ce, and concluded that scien ce te ach ers do not p o sse ss any
| g re a te r knowledge of science methodology than do secondary teach ers
| in non-science fields (36:1090).
David P. Ausubel d isag reed with the cu rren t em phasis on
| re s e a rc h -lik e situations as a way of learn in g . He m aintained that the j
j scien ce cu rricu lu m m ust p re se n t a sy stem atically organized body of j
| knowledge and points out th at m ajo r difference exists between the |
i \
j objectives of sc ien tists and scien ce students. He fu rth e r suggested j
i l
. i
| th a t many lab o rato ry experim ents m ay be tim e-w astin g (1 2:101). j
Joseph Suchman, on the other hand, in sisted that the "ability |
|
| to inquire" is m o re basic and should take precedence o v er the attain -
i m ent of concepts (33:42). |
i |
| T he preceding su rv ey of this lab o rato ry m ethodology as
| re la te d to the undergraduate science student seem s to indicate a need
i
for fu rth e r experim entation in the area of lab o rato ry instruction.
T he resu lts of m any of the stu d ies that have been done point out a
p a rtic u lar need to utilize c a re fu l planning and co n tro ls, with a m o re |
i !
: ;
! sophisticated approach to s ta tis tic a l an aly sis of the data. The
30
lite ra tu re indicates a concern for the ro le of the lab o rato ry in the
achievem ent of science-teaching objectives, but th e re is d isa g re e
m ent on the best ways in which the lab o rato ry m ay be utilized in
m eeting those objectives (7:47).
L ib ra ry acquisitions for
: biology instruction
T . F . Andrews pointed out that the instruction in biology is
; dependent upon the w ritings and re se a rc h in the field; access to this
i m a te ria l is of param ount im portance. If biology teach ers a re to
i
: teach life science as a dynam ic and engaging s e rie s of integrated
| experiences in which the student le arn s through investigations,
| read in g s, and w ritings, it is im portant that a wide v ariety of adequate
i
! m a te ria ls be m ade available for both the student and the biology
; te ach e r him self. Andrews also indicated that the biology in stru c to r
j |
; and student who develop, as an in teg ral p a rt of the teaching and j
| I
i learn in g situation, the attrib u te of reading c ritic a lly and analytically, j
: i
|
gain insight and perceptiveness that a re attainable in no other way
i
! (11:290).
R ussel D. Lawson felt that periodicals a re the m ost valuable
p a rt of a te a c h e r's lib ra ry , for they a re the lite ra tu re that reflec ts I
i ;
\ i
| c u rre n t re se a rc h (27:289). j
: I
| Edw ard F ran k el w rote in the M arch, 1963, issu e of T he |
31
A m erican Biology T eacher that he believed seven im portant values
accru e from lib ra ry re se a rc h in biology. They a re as follows:
1. Gaining fam iliarity with the g rea t body of scientific
lite ra tu re as so u rce m a te ria l and learn in g the
techniques of "search in g the lite ra tu re ."
2. Becoming aw are of scien tific lib ra ry facilities.
3. Being fam iliar with the recen t scien tific develop
m ents in som e a re a of biology and also knowing
som e of the m ajor unsolved problem s confronting
sc ie n tists in that a re a .
4. Becoming acquainted with science and scientific
re s e a rc h cen ters and th e ir activ ities, through
th e ir publications in sch o larly jo u rn als.
5. A bility to delim it a problem for scientific re s e a rc h
and to plan an experim ent.
6. L earning to p rep are and p re se n t a scientific paper
for a group o r sem in ar.
7. A ppreciating the opportunities and needs for
scientific re s e a rc h as well as the personal
satisfactio n it affords (22:191).
I Equipm ent and facilities needed
for the biological instruction
: program
In o rd e r to estab lish what c rite ria a re needed fo r a su c c ess
ful biology co u rse for the non-science m ajo r, a review of the lite r a
tu re pertaining to what should be a "w ell stocked" biology cla ss or
lab o rato ry is essen tial. A lso, it should be noted that th e g rea t i
j
■ advances m ade by science in the la s t decade have been due, in p art,
; to the advances m ade in the developm ent of new and m o re sophisti-
I !
| cated lab o rato ry equipm ent. With this in m ind, the author feels that j
i j
! sa tisfac to ry equipm ent and facilities a re essen tial to the advancem ent |
; i
of m odern re se a rc h . In m ost in stan ces, with the c u rre n t em phasis j
on re s e a rc h , secu rin g of optim um equipm ent and facilities by the
| re s e a rc h sc ien tist appears to p resen t no se rio u s problem . The
1 re s e a rc h e r m akes it quite c le a r that good equipm ent and good facili-
! tie s a re p re re q u isites to his productivity. In the M ay, 1963, issu e
[
I of the A m erican Biology T each er, Addison E. L ee indicated that
i i
! scien ce teaching, like re s e a rc h , is im portant to the advancem ent of j
| scien ce. Teaching, like re s e a rc h , req u ires sa tisfac to ry equipm ent
j
and facilities and it cannot be successfu l w ithout them . He suggested
th at the science te a c h e r, th e re fo re , m ust m ake it quite c le a r to
I
| ad m in istra to rs that the p rocurem ent, m aintenance, and use of su it- j
I 1
I 1
able equipm ent a re p rereq u isites to effective science teach in g (28:324)1
33
C rite ria for selection of a
college biology te ach e r
The selection of science in stru c to rs to join the faculty at the
| s ta te college level is a difficult task . C rite ria o r p rereq u isites to
!
I th is position should be established, for they have a d irect bearing on
’ the in terp retatio n given to the cu rricu lu m (7:13).
|
! Teaching in the sta te colleges has not receiv ed as m uch
■ attention as has teaching in the junior colleges. Junior college teach
ing re se a rc h seem s to have som e im plications useful for the sta te
i
i college teaching. C rite ria from se v eral publications d irec ted at o r j
I tow ard the ju n io r college biology te ach er m e rit carefu l exam ination. ;
j
Joseph P. Cana van gave five qualifications which he believed
a r e essen tially successful in college teaching. They a re as follows: t
| ;
| 1. He m ust be convinced that the goals of the co m p re
hensive college a re w orthw hile and possible to
I attain. He m ust believe w hole-heartedly in the j
i
im portance of the post-high school education fo r j
i
la rg e num bers of students with average o r low ;
sch o lastic aptitudes if he is to give his best to
th e unselected c la sse s which he m eets each week.
2. The college te ach e r m ust receiv e p le asu re from
w orking with students whose attitudes tow ard
learn in g he m ust modify or change so that they can I
34
accept the academ ic resp o n sib ilities which college
places upon them .
3. The college te ach e r cannot become "too centered
on one academ ic sp e c ia lty ."
4. The college teach er cannot reach only the better
students; he m ust com m unicate as w ell to the
average o r poor students.
5. He m ust receiv e satisfaction from teaching in tro
ductory c o u rse s, fact-giving co u rses, and
rem edial and term inal co u rses that, fo r the m ost
p art, do not offer the stim ulation that the m ore
intellectually challenging upper-division courses
in his field offer (17:515).
F . H. Dolan recom m ended th at a college in stru c to r should
p o sse ss the following:
1. At le ast two y ears of graduate w ork, including the
m a ste r’s d eg ree, larg e ly in the field in which he
expects to teach.
2. Broad background and deep insight; com prehension
of accum ulated knowledge of the ages, and under
standing of the complex life of today and the nature
of the dem ocratic p ro ce ss.
35
3. T he ability to teach m o re broadly than in a single
subject.
4. T he ability to se e his own w ork in its p ro p er
persp ectiv e w ith relatio n to the r e s t of th e in stitu
tion and his colleagues (20:331).
j T he teaching load for the
; college biology teacher
T he teaching load fo r the college teach er has been studied
! by sev eral in v estig ato rs. Among them is S tiv ers, who defined
teaching load as the total sum of all th e hours spent by the in stru cto r j
i in perform ing his duties th at have been assigned to him . T hese
!
' teaching duties a re fu rth er defined by S tivers as follows:
I
| 1. Contact hours in c la ss: A ctual num bers of hours
;
i p e r week in c la s s . ;
i i
i ;
2 . C ourse p reparation: !
a. Hours p er week req u ired to p re p a re fo r the |
! t
i f
firs t sectio n taught in a subject. |
| b. Hours p e r week req u ired for a subsequent
section taught in th e sam e subject,
c. D em onstrations, hours p er week req u ired to j
| set up c la ss dem onstrations in a co u rse such j
| as physiology or general biology. !
36
3. Evaluation: H ours per week req u ired to evaluate
q uizzes, exam inations, w ritten w ork, etc.
4. Counseling:
a. A dvising--H ours p er w eek spent o r req u ired
to guide advisees in co u rse selection,
scheduling, etc.
b. Student help--H ours p er week outside of class
assistin g students with th e ir assignm ents.
5. R elated activities: Hours p er week spent on:
a. D epartm ental adm inistration.
b. C om m ittees. j
c. Sponsoring student functions (32:232).
S ep arate co u rses fo r the m ajor and
non-m ajor in biology? C om m ission
on U ndergraduate Education in the
Biological Sciences (CUEBS) I
5
No review of the lite ra tu re on this study would be com plete j
!
w ithout special re fe re n c e to the w ork, lite ra tu re , and publications of j
th e Com m ission on U ndergraduate Education in the Biological |
Sciences (CUEBS). This com m ission has done much to stim u late
thought in the a re a of undergraduate biology and science. One of
th e ir publications is Biology in the L ib eral Education, CUEBS
Publication No. 15, which is a re p o rt of the Colloquium on Biology in j
a L ib eral Education. E xcerpts from this publication will give the
re a d e r som e idea of the im pact of th is colloquium and the w orkers
that m ade it possible.
Should a se p a ra te co u rse be offered to m ajo rs and non-
m ajo rs? T his question w as d iscu ssed only b riefly at
Stanford. An e a rlie r m eeting of the CUEBS C om m issioners
in W ashington had strongly recom m ended one co u rse for
both m ajo rs and n o n -m ajo rs. In general, this opinion was
sh a re d by the m ajo rity (though not all) of the Stanford
colloquium p articip an ts. It is worthwhile to point out,
how ever, that m ost of this opinion was contingent on the
belief that this one co u rse should not be a "traditional"
phylogenetic approach which s tre s s e s ro te m em orization of
anim al and plant groupings and p a rts.
| Many persons felt the non-science m ajo r should receiv e,
: in his one y e a r's exposure to the subject, an appreciation of
biology's scope, its h isto ry and philosophy, its c u rren t
p roblem s, and probable fu tu re. To som e it alm ost seem ed
to com e as a shocking afterthought that such insights a re
probably even m ore im portant to the biology m ajo r. Many
felt that som e of the specialized knowledge of biology now
taught in introductory co u rse should com e la te r in the j
' education of th e biology m ajo r. Thus, it was not thought that j
I the non-science m ajo r should be exposed to the co u rse j
j trad itio n ally given to the m a jo r, but ra th e r both m ajo r and |
non-m ajor should receiv e a newly designed co u rse. Such a j
co u rse would be designed to im p art an overview of the field
and its vast potential for in tellectual growth and achieve-
| m ent, to the non-m ajor fo r his continuing appreciation of j
the discipline, and to the m a jo r for the enrichm ent of his j
participation in it. (5:19)
|
CUEBS Publication No. 19, dated July, 1967, is devoted
j
en tirely to the concept of biology fo r the non-science m ajo r. In th e ir
C hapter X they re fe r to the concept of se p a ra te (but equal) c o u rse s--
i
| the m ajo r and non-m ajo r. T h eir com m ents ranged as follows in the j
! i
i i
; chapter: j
38 |
Quite n atu rally , se v eral le tte rs d irected th e ir attention
to the problem of w hether th e re should be o r should not be
a sep arate upper level biology co u rse created for the non
m ajo r. T he following excerpts a re indicative of the m ajo rity
view that th e re should be a se p a ra te course.
. . . If I had been asked the sam e question two y ea rs
ago, I would have stated with conviction that th ere should be
only one good introductory biology co u rse that serv es the
needs of both the prospective biology m ajor and the student
in the hum anities. In other w ords, all students take the j
sam e co u rse irre sp e c tiv e of th e ir professional intentions.
At this w riting, I no longer hold th ese strong viewpoints.
. . . O ver tw enty-five y ea rs ago I taught, a t our
university, a co u rse in biology designed p rim arily for non
science m a jo rs . I felt at the tim e, and still do, that the
selection of topics for such a group should not be identical j
with that which we would provide for students who a re lik ely j
to m ajor in the biological o r other sciences h ere. I
. . . T he type of co u rse in biology which is m ost j
useful fo r the purposes of general education of students who
will never take fu rth er co u rses in biology is very different
from that for p rep ro fessio n al education. I
. . . T h ere is a need for a (sep arate) co u rse (for non
m ajo rs) . . . that would convey to the students not m ajoring
in biology an aw areness of the n atu re of scientific inquiry.
. . . F ir s t of all, I certain ly ag ree that a co u rse is
needed fo r m atu re students who a re not biology m ajors and !
not p rep ro fessio n al in fields rela te d to biology. It seem s !
to m e that one of the g re a te st benefits from such a co u rse !
could be to aid in establishing sym pathetic and meaningful j
com m unications between science and the hum anities to be
c a rrie d on through the stu d en t's lifetim e. Surely we need
to e ra se the prejudice against science held by students w hose
only contacts m ay have led them to look upon biology as
unim aginative, technical, dryly factual, and even anti
social. And perhaps equally, we need to c o rre c t the attitudes
of som e biologists tow ard students of the hum anities and
social scien ces.
A m inority, how ever, voiced a d irectly opposing viewpoint, i
i
!
. . . The co u rse best fitted for the persons not j
intending to continue in biology is also the co u rse best fitted I
for those who a re . I
. . . The general biology co u rse taken by the non
m ajo r as p a rt of his lib eral education should be the sam e
introductory co u rse taken by biology m a jo rs. (7:27)
M ost of the le tte rs accept the idea of a se p a ra te co u rse for
; n o n -m ajo rs (though a few recom m ended that scien ce m ajo rs m ight
take such a co u rse as well) and then go on to offer opinions on what
! such a co u rse should o r should not include; the n atu re and direction
|
| of th ese opinions co m p rise the bulk of this re p o rt. As for the
| m in o rity favoring one biology co u rse fo r both m ajo r and non-m ajor,
: all but one outlined a co u rse differing from the one cu rren tly being
i
offered to th eir students. This single exception was the only one to |
[ i
I ex p ress satisfactio n with the g en eral co u rse as his institution |
i !
j cu rren tly offers it. The o th ers, though in favor of the one co u rse |
! j
I concept, m ade it c le a r that what they had in m ind was som ething [
I I
| !
! which w as often rad ic ally different from what was now being offered j
in the introductory co u rses with which they w ere fam iliar. Viewed j
i in context, th e re fo re, the differences of opinion between the m a jo rity :
I !
: and the bulk of the m inority seem fa r le ss significant. T h eir sim il- j
j a ritie s concerning co u rse stru ctu rin g and design, on the other hand, !
i
have considerable significance fo r the biology co u rses of the future.
| i
C hapter Sum m ary j
J i
i As was stated e a rlie r, the principal purpose of this chapter I
40 I
[
was to review the lite ra tu re re la tin g to the problem encom passed
by this study.
T he f irs t section of this chapter dealt with the n atu re of
i biology teaching, p er se, in the fo u r-y ea r level institutions of higher
learning. T he g rea t expanse and explosion of knowledge in the
; science fields has created a reading problem to stag g er the average
! sch o lar. With this la rg e volum e of m a terial com es the problem of
; so rtin g out what is p ertin en t to our problem and what is not. The
; teaching of biology itse lf seem s m o re of an a r t than a scien ce and
■ i
] should be one of the f irs t considerations in selectin g o r establishing j
I a low er division biology co u rse, for eith er m ajor o r non-m ajor. |
* i
! 1
| S everal of the studies review ed for th is d issertatio n sta ted flatly that
th e significant difference attached to one teaching m ethod o r another
i
i w as due en tirely to the ability level of the individual in stru c to r. One
i
i m ight conclude from this section of the chapter that the in stru c to r
i
| chosen to teach a non-m ajor co u rse in biology should be selected
i
with g re a t c a re . He should be a p erson skilled in his tra d e , a person
i
in te re ste d m o re in teaching than re s e a rc h , m o re in te re ste d in people
i
than in se cts.
The second phase of th is chapter dealt w ith the u se of the
! lab o rato ry fo r teaching the non-science m a jo r. CUEBS sum m ed up
i j
| this question by stating, j
j
41
Some indication of the ran g e of opinion on the n ecessity of a
lab o rato ry in the proposed co u rse can be gained from the
following two com m ents:
. . . I do not feel th at biology can be taught without
a lab o rato ry .
. . . I do not feel that a la b o rato ry is n ec essary .
An actual total of those le tte rs which d irected them selves
specifically to this point and which could be classified as
definitely being on one sid e o r the o th er showed eleven in
favor of a lab o rato ry and five opposed. Some sim ply would
not com m it them selves on this su b ject. (6:26) .
T he teaching of biology at a fo u r-y e a r institution of higher
learning has concluded the final section of this chapter. In it the
author trie d to iso late lite ra tu re with c u rre n t opinions on what con
stitu tes an acceptable biology curriculum at the sta te colleges today.
Journals on ju n io r college biology teaching and the CUEBS supplied
the best re s o u rc e on the subject. In g en eral, the lite ra tu re was
fairly co n sisten t. No so u rce seem s to indicate an opposite view on
procedure, philosophy, o r m ethodology, with the possible exception
of the use of a lab o rato ry .
CHAPTER III
METHODS AND PROCEDURES
i
The p rocedure for organizing and conducting this study of
low er division biology for the non-biology m ajo r in the C alifornia
S tate colleges include the following steps: (1) secu rin g an en d o rse-
j m ent, (2) review of the lite ra tu re , (3) developing a delim itation for
|
! the study, (4) form ation of a form at of the study, (5) developing the
i. i
: questionnaire, ( 6) presentation of the questionnaire to a ju ry of j
i e x p e rts, (7) distribution and re tu rn of the questionnaire, (8) organ- I
; ization of the findings, (9) p erso n al interview at selected C alifornia j
; •
: j
S tate colleges, (10) tabulation and treatm en t of retu rn ed question- |
i I
1 n a ire s. In the rem ain d er of this ch ap ter, th ese p rocedures a re
|
! d escrib ed in d etail. j
I I
| i
! I
i i
• . I
| Securing an endorsem ent
i
| On A pril 15, 1969, a personal interview w as obtained with j
John J. Baird, Ph. D ., A ssociate Dean fo r A cadem ic Planning (Biology)
a t th e C alifornia State College Office, W ilshire Boulevard, Los
42
43 j
A ngeles.
In the interview , an explanation of the intentions and goals
for th is study was given and his endorsem ent of the study was
: se cu red . He was also , a t that tim e, kind enough to evaluate the
i proposed questionnaire and by so doing, becam e a m em b er of the jury!
i
| of e x p e rts. His answ ers w ere also incorporated into the data.
Review of the lite ra tu re
An extensive review of the lite ra tu re w as conducted in the
| a re a s of (1) in creased em phasis on science teaching, (2) studies of j
! the undergraduate curriculum in the biological sc ien c es, (3) the need ;
I j
j for rev isio n in the biological sciences for the undergraduate, (4) the j
| (
ro le of biology in general education, (5) the use of the lab o rato ry as j
! a teaching aid, ( 6) lib ra ry acquisitions for biology in stru ctio n , j
| |
! i
i i
I (7) equipm ent and facilities needed fo r the biological instruction j
i |
j p ro g ram , (8) c rite ria for selection of a college biology te ach e r, j
i I
J ( 9 ) th e teaching load for the college biology in stru c to r, (10) se p arate j
h j
| co u rses in biology for the m ajor and non-m ajor in biology (CUEBS), I
| and (11) a sum m ary of these w ritin g s.
;
M ost of th e m aterial found in books, d isse rta tio n s, and
J
I p erio d icals was general in nature. V ery little has been w ritten about
j I
| the ro le of the non-science m ajor in the sta te college biology c u r- j
j j
! ricu lu m s. N evertheless the lite ra tu re was exceedingly helpful in j
I
44 j
se c u rin g the thinking and philosophy of educational le a d e rs. In
g e n e ra l, the following th ree so u rces of inform ation w ere review ed:
; ( 1) p erio d ic als--m an y of the a rtic le s w ere inform ative; how ever,
th e re w ere very few accounts of re s e a rc h in the a re a of s ta te college
: biology curriculum s; (2) books--the books review ed proved to be
I ex trem ely useful, not only for th e ir inform ation, but as a guide to
i o th e r re se a rc h in th e area; and (3) unpublished m a te ria l. D octoral
j d issertatio n s and re s e a rc h studies in the la st fifteen y e a rs w ere v ery |
i
I helpful. M aterials dealing with th e duties and qualifications of sta te I
i co lleg e biology p ersonnel w ere consulted to obtain inform ation p e rti-
: nent to understanding the relationships of these people to the biology
i
I cu rricu lu m s at the sta te college lev el. A rticles, books, and studies
; on biology cu rricu lu m s w ere studied in order to (1) obtain inform a-
I 3
i j
i 1
| tion for in terp retatio n of biology cu rricu lu m s in C alifornia, (2) study J
i
I problem s and resp o n sib ilities connected with various types of biology j
j
: cu rricu lu m , and (3) obtain data w hich could be used to verify c e rta in
I statem en ts and conclusions m ade in th is study. R esults of this !
i
review of the lite ra tu re in the field a r e presented in C hapter II.
D elim iting the study
After a ca refu l review of the activities and functions of th e j
] v ario u s biology departm ents at th e eighteen sta te co lleg es, it w as j
j
decided to lim it th e study to that a sp ect of the biology cu rricu lu m th at |
45
d ea lt with program s for low er division and the n o n -scien ce m ajo rs.
T he lim its , th e re fo re, include (1) only C alifornia S tate colleges and
th e ir resp ectiv e biology departm ents w ere included in this study;
( 2) the departm ent heads or chairm en from each biology departm ent
(o r th e ir curricu lu m rep resen tativ es from the faculty) w ere used as
the so u rce of data; and (3) the tim e elem ent in th is study was lim ited
to the academ ic y e a r 1968-69.
F o rm a t of the study
One of the initial steps in th e solution of th e problem was to
form ulate a com prehensive lis t of curriculum a c tiv ities that could be
used as a definite guide in securing data through interview , either
p erso n al or by questionnaire, with active biology faculty. T hese data
included a duty analysis of the various faculty m e m b ers in re g a rd to
cu rricu lu m rev isio n in the low er division co u rses. Inform ation was
obtained from ( 1) co u rse d escrip tio n s (from the catalogs of the
C alifornia State colleges), (2) lite ra tu re dealing w ith p rereq u isites
and co u rse stan d ard s for the different biology d ep artm en ts,
(3) re su lts of conferences with activ e biology faculty m em bers and
departm ent chairm en, (4) sta te college catalogs, (5) consultation
w ith ad m in istrato rs and authorities in the field.
46
Developing the questionnaire
The questionnaire was developed after a review of the
lite ra tu re and through discussions w ith m em bers of various faculty
groups at the biology departm ents in the C alifornia State colieges
throughout th e Los A ngeles-San Bernardino a re a . A draft of the
proposed questionnaire was developed and p resen ted to the following
th re e educators:
1. D r. L e slie W ilbur, A ssociate P ro fesso r of
E ducation, U niversity of Southern C alifornia.
2. Dr. Howard A. Brown, P ro fesso r of Botany and
C urriculum A dvisor for Biology, C alifornia
S tate Polytechnic C ollege, Pomona.
3. M r. A rthur J. S chechter, Dean of Instruction,
C y p ress Junior C ollege.
A num ber of valuable suggestions w ere m ade by this group,
and th ese suggestions w ere incorporated in the questionnaire.
Special cred it is given to A rthur J. Schechter for the general use of
his questionnaire as a basis fo r the type and content of the questions
used in this study. The questionnaire, when com pleted, consisted
of four sectio n s, and sixty-five individual ite m s. A copy of the
questionnaire is found in Appendix A.
47 I
: P resentation of the questionnaire
! to a ju ry of experts
I , |
A fter form ulation of the questionnaire, the instrum ent was
p resen ted to a ju ry of experts for evaluation. T h is ju ry consisted of
i
biology faculty m em bers and chairm en who w ere in the local
i
■ C alifornia State colleges in the Los A ngeles-San Bernardino a re a and '
; fellow faculty m em bers at C alifornia Baptist C ollege, R iverside. In
! addition, th ese p erso n s, m em bers of the staff a t City of Hope
\ M edical R esearch C en ter, D uarte, w ere given copies to evaluate.
i j
I Two copies w ere also m ailed to faculty m em bers a t the School of
| E ducation, U niversity of Kentucky, Lexington. j
>
1
! , |
| All of the ju ry m em bers m ade com m ents on the questionnaire
; I
i
j and th eir advice was incorporated into the in stru m en t.
i
i i
: I
i D istribution and re tu rn I
of the questionnaire j
! i
i . (
j T he respondents selected fo r th is study w ere biology d ep art- j
j I
I m ent chairm en, resp o n sib le for the biological cu rricu lu m in th e ir j
| resp e ctiv e sta te colleges throughout C alifornia. T h ese perso n s w ere j
i j
j identified from a lis t supplied by D r. John Baird in the W ilshire j
Boulevard Office of the State C olleges of C alifornia.
i
i
E arly in M ay, 1969, phone c a lls w ere placed to all the
|
biology departm ent chairm en at each of the eighteen C alifornia State
colleges. Introductions w ere m ade, followed by an explanation of the
scope and purposes of this study. F o r those departm ents and
colleges located within convenient driving distance of the Los Angeles
a re a , personal interview s and presentation of the questionnaire w ere
I sought. F o r those outlying co lleg es, p erm issio n to m ail the question-
i i
I n a ire was sought via telephone. Colleges visited and m ailed to a re
; liste d below.
V isited M ailed
1. C alifornia State College 8. Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
Pomona, C alifornia
9. Sonoma State College
2. C alifornia S tate College
San B ernardino, C alifornia 10. S acram ento State College
3. San Fernando Valley State 11. San Diego S tate College
College
12. Humboldt State College
4. C alifornia State College,
Long Beach 13. Chico State College
5. C alifornia State College, 14. S tanislaus S tate College
Los Angeles
15. F re sn o State College
6. C alifornia S tate College,
F ullerton 16. San F ra n cisc o S tate College
7. C alifornia S tate College, 17. San Jose State College
Dominguez H ills
18. C alifornia State C ollege,
Hayw ard
C ooperation receiv ed from the various departm ent chairm en
I j
| w as very good. M ost w ere able to answ er the questionnaire im m edi-
i
j ately th em selv es. Some found schedules too p ressin g and so re fe rre d
th e questionnaire to a biology faculty m em ber whose duties included I
the supervision and revision of the biology curricu lu m for the d ep art- ;
m ent.
Developing the interview
p rocedure
A s e rie s of interview questions w as developed. The inten- !
tion w as to gather inform ation aiid im p ressio n s from the perso n s
interview ed, and then to com pare th ese resp o n ses in te rm s of th e ir
an sw ers to sim ila r persons from different institutions. In o rd e r to j
be ce rtain that the persons interview ed would be knowledgeable about j
the problem s of biology cu rricu lu m for th e m a jo r/n o n -m ajo r situ a - j
!
tion, it was decided that the biology departm ent chairm an at each
s ta te college should be the p erso n -d esig n ate to be interview ed. On
this basis the interview s w ere begun.
f
|
I
Conducting the interview s
Interview s w ere conducted with the following nine adm in-
j
is tra to rs during the month of M ay, 1969: j
1. John J. Baird, P h .D ., A sso ciate Dean of A cadem ic
Planning fo r Biology, C alifornia State College
Office, W ilshire Boulevard, Los A ngeles.
2. H o w ard s. Brown, P h .D ., P ro fesso r of Botany, j
!
A ssistan t fo r A cadem ic A ffairs, Cal Poly, Pomona. j
3. R. W. A m es, P h .D ., Acting C hairm an, Biological
Sciences, C alifornia S tate College, Pomona.
4. A. S. E gge, P h .D ., C oordinator of Biology, Cal
State C ollege, San Bernardino,
i 5. G. L efev re, P h .D ., P ro fesso r and C hairm an,
j
. Biology D epartm ent, San Fernando State College,
N orthridge.
6. B. H. C a rp en ter, Ph. D ., A ssociate P ro fesso r and
| C hairm an, Biology D epartm ent, Long Beach State
College, Long Beach.
; 7. S. M. Caplin, Ph. D ., P ro fesso r and C hairm an,
i D epartm ent of Botany, C alifornia S tate College,
Los A ngeles.
i
8 . D. D. Sutton, P h .D ., P ro fesso r of Biology and
t
■ C hairm an, C alifornia State College, F ullerton.
| 9. C arol C onrad, P h .D ., A ssistant P ro fesso r of
Biology, C alifornia State College, Dominguez H ills.
T hese interview s w ere conducted at the office of the resp ec-
| tive interview ees, m ainly on cam pus a t the various sta te colleges in
the Los Angeles a re a .
i
I O rganizing the interview findings
i
i
| In addition to the questions on the interview sheet, an
i
i
! inform al discussion was held with each of the nine departm ent
51 !
chairm en, in which they outlined the m ajor facets of the biology
program as it exists today and as they hope it will develop in the
future.
As the p erso n s interview ed w ere asked to give th e ir
"feelings” on the study and its rela te d p roblem s, th eir answ ers and
opinions w ill be p resen ted , along with the interview 's form al
questions, in the recom m endations of this study.
D istribution and re tu rn
of the questionnaire
A s m entioned e a rlie r, th e questionnaire was d istrib u ted via i
|
two m ethods. F irs t, during the interview s and visits to the resp e c- !
tive college cam puses; and second, by m ail, following the conversa
tion and approval by phone.
Of the eighteen C alifornia State colleges who receiv ed the
questionnaire, all retu rn ed them fully (or partially) answ ered. In
addition to these eighteen, D r. John Baird, W ilshire Boulevard office, j
i
and Dr. Howard Brown, Cal Poly, Pomona, answ ered additional ones--}
giving a total of eighteen out of eighteen o r twenty out of eighteen, j
I
i
depending upon how you wish to look a t it. [
i
T he author feels that this type of resp o n se, from individuals j
I
I
as busy as the various chairm en a re in th e ir departm ents, shows o r i
gives som e indication of the in te re st in th ese problem s. T he in terest:
shown in this study leads one to believe that o th er w ork in this a re a ,
by educational sp e c ia lists, would be welcome and valuable to the
college pro g ram s as a whole and to the education-biology departm ents
in p a rtic u la r.
: Com pleting the study
T he balance of the study was designed to in te rp re t the find-
; ings in te rm s of conclusions, im plications, and recom m endations.
i The study and its pro ced u res w ere review ed and sum m arized, con-
: j
I elusions and im plications reco rd ed , and recom m endations m ade fo r
future re s e a rc h . i
I
C hapter Sum m ary
In sum m ary, the study w as endorsed by the C alifornia State
| College Office, W ilshire Boulevard, Los A ngeles.
: The study consisted of two principal types of investigations !
; i
| as follow s: (1) a fo u r-p a rt questionnaire survey, conducted by a
i i
m ail-telep h o n e-p erso n al delivery system to the eighteen C alifornia
S tate colleges; and (2) a s e rie s of interview s with selected biology
departm ent rep rese n tativ es on the sta te college cam puses. i
i
T he study was undertaken to provide the educators w ith
i
(1) inform ation as to the c u rren t p ractice s in the college biology j
d ep artm en ts, (2 ) what would be te rm e d d esired p ractices in biology
53
d epartm en ts, and (3) recom m endations for fu rth er rev isio n s in the
cu rricu lu m .
CHAPTER IV
FINDINGS; PRACTICES RELATED TO CURRICULUM
T he purpose of this study w as to investigate the biology
cu rricu lu m , especially for the non-science m a jo r, in the eighteen
C alifornia S tate colleges and analyze five a re a s from the question
n aire p resen ted . The five categories include (1) p ractice s re la te d to
cu rricu lu m , (2) p ra c tic e s re la te d to articulation, (3) p ractices
related to students, (4) general attitu d es, and (5) cu rricu lu m . In
o rd er to se cu re the n ec essary data fo r this study, a questionnaire
was developed and p resen ted to the chairm en of the biology d e p a rt
m ents of the eighteen C alifornia S tate colleges. Although all eighteen
chairm en responded, som e of the item s w ere not answ ered and so
the sum of answ ers w ill not be consistent.
The inform ation derived from the retu rn ed questionnaires
serv es as a b asis for much of the rem ain d er of this study. C hapter
IV re p o rts the inform ation from the questionnaire dealing with
p ractices of biology departm ents re la te d to cu rricu lu m . C hapter V
54
55
of this study rep o rts the findings derived from the questionnaire
reg ard in g the p ractices re la ted to articu latio n . C hapter VI outlines
the inform ation regarding the biology, o r p ersp ectiv e biology, student.
C hapter VII inspects the general attitude of the faculty in the various
biology departm ents on the cam puses. C hapter VIII concerns itself
w ith the com m ents from those interview ed and with the n atu re of the
institutions and th e ir cu rricu lu m . C hapter IX provides the sum m ary,
conclusions, im plications, and recom m endations.
T he balance of this chapter is a re p o rt of the re s u lts of the
questionnaire survey reg ard in g the colleges in the study and their
p ractice s re la te d to biology cu rricu lu m . T he data a re rep o rted in an
outline form which p arallels the form at of the questionnaire used to
collect the inform ation. The following data re p re se n t the findings of
the questionnaire survey.
The tables that follow a re estab lish ed to give the re a d e r a
b ird s-ey e view of the resp o n ses. At the bottom of the tab les the p art
concerned with the opinions of "m ajo rity ex p erts" m ay be found.
T h ese include the opinions of D r. John J. Baird, A cadem ic Dean for
the State Colleges; and D r. H o w ard s. Brown, CUEBS rep resen tativ e
and biology curriculum expert from Cal Poly, Pomona.
As som e of the interview ees chose not to answ er certain
item s on the questionnaire, the totals of answ ers in the following
56 |
tab les m ay occasionally be inconsistent.
T h ere is a centralization of authority and resp o n sib ility for
; the in stru ctio n in biological sciences into a division o r departm ent
i w as the firs t answ er sought. The actual p ractices indicated that an
|
overw helm ing m ajo rity of the colleges has a sep aratio n of som e type,
| o r to som e degree, in the scien ces. M ost thought th at this was either!
j essen tial o r d esira b le, with only one individual having som e re s e rv a - ;
| tions about this idea. j
| ;
' The inform ation and b r eakdown by individual opinions is
| given in T able 1. Also the opinion of th e individual experts on this
; i
i |
j question a re condensed for the re a d e r to view. j
I
i
I T able 2 of this study illu stra te s the resp o n se to the second
J
1
! item on the questionnaire. T his item w as stated to ascerta in if the
j
biological sciences a re grouped together w ith physical sciences j
; j
! (ch em istry , physics, etc. ) into a departm ent or a division. T his
j
| item found little support. F ourteen of seventeen said that they w ere !
! incorporated in som e type of loose departm ent of sciences but thought!
i
that they w ere s till sep arate enough to be considered a sep arate
entity. A sked if they thought this should be a u n iv ersal p ra ctice ,
they responded by stating it w as eith er questionable o r undesirable
:
! j
| w ith only two resp o n ses saying that it would be considered d esira b le. |
j T able 3 is concerned with the resp o n ses from the th ird item j
57
TABLE 1
Question 1: T h e re is a centralization of authority and resp o n sib ility
fo r instruction in biological scien ces into a division o r
departm ent.
A ctual p ra c tic e s
Yes 15
P artially 2
No 0
D on't know 0
D esirable p ra c tic e s
E ssen tial 10
D esirab le 5
Q uestionable 1
U ndesirable 0
M ajority ex p e rt opinion
T h ese persons indicated that a sep aratio n of biology into a
sep arate d ep artm en t is essen tial and that th e re should be a c e n tra l
ization of au th o rity in this departm ent.
58 |
TABLE 2
Q uestion 2: Biological sciences co u rses a re grouped tog eth er with
p h y sical sciences (chem istry, physics, e tc .) into a
d ep artm en t o r division.
A ctual p ractices
Yes 3
P artially 14
No 0
D on't know 0
D esirable p ra c tic e s
E ssen tial 0
D esirable 2
Q uestionable 12
U ndesirable 3
M ajority ex p ert opinion
These p erso n s indicated that the departm ent of biology
should be a se p a ra te entity a ll unto itse lf and that com bination with
som e other discipline would brin g adverse re su lts.
59 |
TABLE 3
Q uestion 3: The biological sciences division o r departm ent has
established specific objectives for the departm ent
rela tiv e to tra n sfe r, n o n -tra n sfer, g en eral education,
and rem ed ial functions of the state colleges.
A ctual p ractices
Yes 5
P artially 9
No 2
D on't know 0
D esirab le p ractic e s
E ssen tial 6
D esirable 9
Q uestionable 1
U ndesirable 0
M ajority ex p ert opinion
T hese p erso n s indicated that the need for establishing
sp ecific goals and objectives is essen tial, but believe this is not
alw ays the ca se in the different colleges.
60 t
in our in stru m en t. This item concerned its e lf with w hether the
biological scien ces division or departm ent has established specific
objectives fo r the departm ent re la tiv e to tra n s fe r, n o n -tra n sfer,
i general education, and rem ed ial functions of the state colleges. M ost
; of those interview ed by questionnaire seem ed to feel that in actual
p rac tice th e re was an attem pt to consider th ese students w hile only
I
two felt th at no effort w as being m ade in this direction. As for the
; d esirab le or recom m ended p ra c tic e s, all but one felt that considera-
j ;
! tion of th ese students was a re a l need to be taken into consideration in:
! i
| future cu rricu lu m planning. j
T he question of w hether the biological sciences division !
co n sists of se p a ra te units of botany and zoology and m icrobiology,
; each with a different chairm an is the reflectio n of an e a rlie r system .
: 1
| !
! The old sy stem s had th e ir se p arate divisions of botany, zoology, and j
bacteriology. This se t-u p becam e obsolete with the introduction of !
j f
I virology, genetics, ecology, and other new er science field s. As the j
i I
i i
j old ways hang on and die hard, all of the respondents claim ed th e ir j
i !
I
j departm ents w ere eith er com pletely (4) o r p artially (13) se t up in
th ese fashions of se p a ra te divisions.
T he resp o n ses to this question w ere varied as indicated in
|
I T able 4. The m ajo rity indicated that th is w as eith er questionable o r ;
i
undesirable p ractice to plan for the future. j
6 1 !
i
TABLE 4
Q uestion 4: The biological sciences division consists of se p arate
units of botany and zoology and m icrobiology, each with
a different chairm an.
Actual p ra c tic e s
Yes 4
P artially 13
No 0
Don’t know 0
D esirable p ra ctice s
E ssen tial 1
D esirable 3
Q uestionable 8
U ndesirable 5
M ajority ex p e rt opinion
T h ese perso n s indicated that a single departm ent is far
m ore d e sira b le than se p arate units. They a re concerned that som e
of the sta te colleges (Cal State, L. A .) s till have se p a ra te units.
62 |
O utside ex p ert opinion thought th at the single biology d ep art- 1
: m ent would se rv e b etter than the conglom erate stru c tu re . They
believed that m o re w ork was needed in th is a rea .
The concept of offering o rg an ism ally -o rien ted co u rse s, such ■
■ as botany and zoology, to non-science (lib e ra l a rts) students m et w ith ;
: m ixed resp o n ses. Even distribution of the answ ers between yes and
no with two answ ers for the p artially (se e T able 5). Perhaps the
; question is couched in te rm s that cut a c ro ss the disciplines and steps I
! on a few to es. Each respondent feels th at his field is im portant and
should not be lum ped into a general biology co u rse.
| As for the recom m ended p ra c tic e s, the range of answ ers
|
; w as even m ore v aried than in the actual p ra c tic e s. T he m ajority (10)
i
indicated that enrollm ent in these co u rses should be open to the non-
: m ajo r. F our thought that it w as a questionable o r undesirable |
| p ra c tic e , w hile four abstained from answ ering. j
I T his proved to be a point that could stand som e fu rth er
j
| re s e a rc h w ork. T he author had no indication that this question would
: e
I I
I cause this type of reaction.
As indicated in T able 6, the question was asked if botany
co u rses for the non-science m ajo rs (lib eral a rts) a re being phased j
out of the resp ectiv e institution. The m ajo rity (9) indicated no, while
| seven indicated eith er yes o r p artially . Botany, it se e m s, is believed
63 |
TABLE 5
Q uestion 5: O rganism ally-oriented co u rses, such as botany and
zoology, a re offered to non-science (lib eral a rts )
tra n sfe r students.
A ctual p ractices
Yes 8
P artially 2
No 7
Don't know 0
D esirable p ractices
E ssential 3
D esirable 7
Q uestionable 2
U ndesirable 2
M ajority ex p ert opinion
T hese p erso n s indicated th at any student d esirin g to en ro ll
in any low er division biology co u rse should be allowed the oppor
tunity.
|
64
TABLE 6
Question 6: Botany courses for non-science m ajors (liberal arts)
are being phased out of your institution.
A ctual p ractices
Yes 4
P artially 3
No 9
D on't know 0
D esirable p ra c tic e s
E ssen tial 0
D esirable 3
Q uestionable 4
U ndesirable 8
M ajority ex p ert opinion
T hese p erso n s indicated som e type of botany co u rse should
be retained in the departm ent. They stated th e re a re too many
essen tials that would be lo st by the elim ination of all botany co u rses.
to have a legitim ate excuse for existence. It is believed that this
co u rse could w ell s e rv e as a second se m e ste r lab o rato ry co u rse for ■
| the non-m ajor. Botany is well equipped to handle a non-m ajor as it is!
■ perhaps the m ost elem entary of the labo rato ry oriented co u rse s.
In th e ir indication of the d esirab ility fo r future phasing out
; of botany co u rse s, the interview ees held on to the botany idea as a
! d e sira b le asp ect of the science curriculum .
: i
T he outside experts believe that th e re a re certain concepts j
j covered in botany that a r e valuable and that th e se concepts m ight be j
! !
| lo st in a general co u rse such as biology.
; r
\ I
i The question fo r T able 7 is concerned with zoology co u rses
i
j
for the non-science m ajo r (lib eral a rts) and if they are being phased
i out by different institutions throughout the s ta te colleges. T his
; |
| concept of elim ination, like the botany question in T able 6, proves to j
■ j
be a ra th e r unpopular idea.
| The idea of phasing th ese zoology co u rses out in the future
i I
| also m et with doubtful reception. Again, perhaps as a second i
i i
- se m e ste r co u rse choice, this co u rse would give the non-m ajor an
insight into a full-fledged biology co u rse, com plete with lab o rato ry ,
as it m ight be for the biology m ajo r o r m inor.
T he experts seem ed to believe that th e re is som ething about
learn in g the tw elve (or up to twenty) phyla th at does a person good. j
TABLE 7
: Question 7: Zoology courses for non-science (liberal arts) students ;
; are being phased out of your institution.
A ctual p ractices
Yes 5
P artially 1
Mo 10
D on't know 0
D esirable p ractice s
E ssen tial 0
D esirable 4
Q uestionable 3
U ndesirable 8
M ajority ex p ert opinion
T hese perso n s indicated the above co u rses (sam e as botany)
should be retained, but perhaps phased out as a req u irem en t in the
g en eral education curriculum .
I
67 ;
Something along the lines of L atin, som ething an educated p erso n
should have.
T able 8 illu stra te s the resu lts of question 8, which ask s if
the sam e introductory biological science co u rse is taken by both the
m ajo rs and the non-m ajors (lib eral a rts students) a t the resp ectiv e
colleges. Again, the schools w ere fairly well divided on this
question. Actual p ractices had five y eses, th re e p a rtia l, and nine
no answ ers. T his indicated a lack of consensus among the colleges.
The troubles did not becom e lig h ter when the d esired o r ;
recom m ended p ractice s w ere tabulated on this point. No votes w ere j
c a st for essen tial, w hile d esira b le received four and the questionable-
undesirable had the bulk with a total of th irteen .
j
T his ra ise s one of the m ost cru cial points of this whole
t
study. Should th e re be a se p a ra te co u rse for the non-m ajor. CUEBS
has a hard tim e handling this question and the outside experts believe
th at a se p arate co u rse is the best route to follow. Even these
I
i
persons did not com e out full strength fo r the idea and said it m ight [
be d esirab le. I
F u rth e r m ention w ill be m ade of this point in the final
chapter of th is d issertatio n under the conclusions and recom m enda
tions .
j
T able 9 also indicates that consensus was lacking. T he j
1
1
68
TABLE 8
Q uestion 8 : The sam e introductory biological science co u rse is
taken by both the m ajo rs and non-science m ajo r.
A ctual p ractices
Yes 5
P artially 3
No 9
D on't know 0
D esirable p ractice s
E ssen tial
0
D esirable 4
Q uestionable 6
U ndesirable 7
M ajority ex p ert opinion
T hese perso n s indicated that se p a ra te co u rses should be
offered to the m a jo r and non-m ajor. T hese a r e specifically in tro
ductory co u rses (first year) and m inors should take upper division
with the m ajo rs.
69
TABLE 9
Question 9: M ultiple trac k biological science co u rse s, e . g . , biology
for m ajo rs and biology for non-m ajors, a re offered.
A ctual p ractices
Yes 8
P artially 1
No 9
D on't know 0
D esirable p ractices
E ssential 7
D esirable 7
Q uestionable 1
U ndesirable 0
M ajority ex p ert opinion
T hese p erso n s believe in p ractice this concept is not p e r
form ed, but that p erhaps it would be a good idea to try , esp ecially in
the upper division co u rses.
70 |
question, "M ultiple tra c k biological scien ce co u rses, e. g . , biology
for m ajo rs and biology for n o n -m ajo rs, a r e o ffered ," p arallels
question 8 in m any re s p e c ts . This question trie d to a sc e rta in if a
non-m ajor co u rse was o ffered to the n on-m ajors that had the sam e
m a terial as the course fo r th e m ajor, except that a different grade
curve m ight be set up, as is often the c a se in chem istry, i. e . , for
home econom ics m ajo rs, physical education m a jo rs, etc.
Again the answ ers to this question w ere m ixed and no
consensus could be reached. The experts quizzed believe that this
concept should be tried out and given a chance to m atu re in the state
j
colleges. It seem ed to them as an ap p ro p riate com prom ise to the j
i
se p a ra te co u rse concept. j
j
A nother very touchy a re a in this study is the offering of an \
i
introductory co u rse in biology, eith er fo r a m ajor o r non-m ajor j
i
l
without (o r w ith) a lab o rato ry . The question was asked, "Does your
school offer biology co u rse s without labo rato ry ?" A quick look at j
T able 10 gives the re a d e r som e idea of the sp read of re p lie s to this
question.
T his question is aim ed to include all co u rses, and one such
r
as H istory of Science, fo r instance, would not have a laboratory. j
G eneral education introductory courses generally have labs in th em -- |
if not in the f ir s t se m e ste r, usually in the second. !
71 |
TABLE 10
Question 10: Biological courses are offered without laboratory.
A ctual p ractice s
Yes 5
P artially 2
No 10
D on't know 0
D esirab le p ra ctice s
E ssen tial 0
D esirable 10
Q uestionable 2
U ndesirable 4
M ajo rity ex p ert opinion
T hese p erso n s believe a biology co u rse without a lab o rato ry
is unthinkable. They stated a ll o r m ost schools req u ire them and
that it should stay this way.
T he outside experts believe that som e type of lab o rato ry
should be offered during the firs t y e a r, be the student eith er a m ajo r j
; o r non-m ajor.
Q uestion 11 is another question that tr ie s to pry open a
i
i P andora's box in biology. It asks if specially designed co u rses in
|
| biology a re offered to the student seeking a b accalau reate in science. !
| Again, the answ ers indicate no consensus, and the re a d e r m ust go to i
the table to get som e idea of how m ixed they re a lly a re . O ne-half
| indicated no on the actual and one-half said yes. On the reco m - j
I m ended o r d esirab le p ractices the answ ers w ere s c a tte re d --5 , 2, 4, I
I 1
j j
; and 3 (see T able 11). |
^ f
j T he outside experts found th at this p ra c tic e is probably
! essen tial and d esirab le from the standpoint of the C alifornia State
colleges as a whole. No mention is m ade by th ese people as to the
i
i
: science (biology) m inor taking th ese co u rse s. They indicated at
| another tim e that they believe the sam e treatm en t should be accorded
i
! both the m ajo r and m inor. T here a re re a l difficulties obtaining
1
| agreem ent between p erso n s as different and individual as th ese
departm ent heads. T his opinion w as ex p ressed se v e ra l tim es by
persons interview ed and by the m ajo rity ex p erts. j
Q uestion 12 asked if the biology co u rse offered to non- |
j
scien ce (lib eral a rts ) tra n sfe r students is p ro ce ss centered around j
73
TABLE 11
Question 11: Specifically designed biological science co u rses a re
offered to the student seeking a baccalaureate in
science.
A ctual p ractices
Yes 7
P artially 1
No 8
D on't know 1
D esirable p ra ctice s
E ssential 5
D esirable 2
Q uestionable 4
U ndesirable 3
M ajority ex p ert opinion
T hese p erso n s indicated this p ractice is both essen tial and
d esirab le. They fu rth e r went on to sta te this concept is in full
p ractice a t the C alifornia State colleges and that it should rem ain.
topics such as genetics o r physiology, o r m etaholism , o r energetics
w ith organism al illu stratio n s used re g ard le ss of w hether they a re
plant, anim al, o r v iru s. The m ajo rity cam e together to support this
| concept with eight saying yes; five for p artially m aking up the
m ajo rity of the actual p ractices p a rt (see T able 12).
U nder the d esirab le (recom m ended) section th e re was
I fu rth e r agreem ent with tw elve feeling they a re at le a st d esirab le. No
; votes w ere c a st for the undesirab le p a rt, indicating it had no re a l
! enem ies.
j :
! T he m ajority experts also went along with the m ajo rity and
i
believed that courses taught along th ese lines had a good to b etter than
[
chance of com m unication with the student body.
Q uestion 13 m oves into the a re a of curriculum rev isio n by
i
| asking if an integrated biological science co u rse for non-m ajors has
i i
j j
! rep laced the o rg an ism ally -o rien ted disciplines of botany, zoology, j
• J
; j
: and m icrobiology. Again, the answ ers w ere sp read , but not to the
i
: extent that a trend cannot be established. Eleven answ ers w ere
| affirm ative to five negative for the actual p rac tice s. j
: i
i \
i i
I The recom m ended or d esirab le answ ers form ed w ere a bit j
i !
I i
j m o re sc a tte re d . Nobody seem ed to believe this was esse n tial, w hile j
| |
j the bulk (12) c a st th e ir answ er as d esirab le. Two went for question
able, w hile only one indicated it undesirable (see T able 13).
75
TABLE 12
Q uestion 12: The biology co u rse offered to non-science (lib eral a rts )
tra n s fe r students is p ro c e ss-c e n te re d around topics
such as genetics o r physiology, o r m etabolism , o r
en erg etics with o rganism al illu stratio n s used re g a rd le ss
of w hether they a re plant, anim al, o r virus.
A ctual p ractices
Yes 8
P artially 5
No 1
D on't know 1
D esirab le p ractices
E ssen tial 1
D esirable 12
Q uestionable 2
U ndesirable 0
M ajority ex p ert opinion
T hese p erso n s indicated this p ra c tic e is good, ra th e r
com m on in schools, and should be continued if possible.
76
TABLE 13
Question 13: An integrated biological science co u rse fo r non-m ajors
has replaced the o rg an ism ally -o rien ted disciplines of
botany, zoology, and m icrobiology.
A ctual p ractices
Y es 7
P artially 4
No 5
D on't know 0
D esirable p ractices
E ssen tial 0
D esirable 12
Questionable 2
U ndesirable 1
M ajority ex p ert opinion
T hese persons indicated this p ractice is still d esirab le, but
not p racticed a t the sta te colleges.
77
The m ajo rity experts believe that this p ractice is good in
general but that it has not taken hold in all the C alifornia S tate
; colleges as yet. They ex p ressed a d e sire to se e m ore re s e a rc h done
! along th ese lines and perhaps in corporated into a track sy stem for
; both the non-m ajor and the m a jo r-m in o r.
The subject of p re re q u isites for a biology (or any other)
I co u rse is always su re to sp ark som e reactio n from som eone,
j Q uestion 14 asks if the biological science co u rse taken by th e non-
j scien ce (lib eral a rts) tra n sfe r students re q u ire s p rereq u isite. Most
of the answ ers w ere centered about a negative response on the actual
i
i p ractices (see T ab le 14).
It was rela tiv e to obtain the recom m endation (d esirab le)
i answ ers to this question w here six thought th at som e type of p re
req u isite should be established. It would be relativ e to estab lish
j
; exactly what type of p re re q u isite one could have for a beginning
co u rse in anything. Often for ch em istry , students are req u ired to
r
i m eet a certain stan d ard in alg eb ra before they a re allowed to enroll
in the beginning course.
Our panel of experts believe that the p ractice of p re re q u i
sites is not w idespread and that it would be foolish to try to establish
such a situation as this in the C alifornia S tate colleges.
Again the thought of p re re q u isites is approached in question
78
TABLE 14
Q uestion 14: The biological science co u rse taken by the non-science
(lib eral a rts) tra n sfe r students req u ires a p rere q u isite.
A ctual p ractices
Yes 1
P artially 0
No 16
D on't know 0
D esirable p ractices
E ssen tial 1
D esirable 5
Q uestionable 2
U ndesirable 7
M ajority ex p ert opinion
T hese p erso n s indicated the p ra c tic e of a p rereq u isite is
undesirab le and not widely p racticed in the biology departm ents of
the sta te colleges.
79 ;
15. H ere the biology personnel a re asked if the introductory co u rse
in the sta te college is a p re re q u isite to other o r all courses in biology
a t th e ir colleges. Seven gave affirm ative answ ers to the actual
p ractices section of this point, w hile th re e sa id p artia lly and six said
no. This gives a fairly even sp rea d of an sw ers, im plying divided
p ractices on this point.
T he desirable o r recom m endation p a rt of T able 15 does not :
provide a m eaningful p atte rn eith er. The an sw ers a re even m o re
sp read with one for essen tial, eight for d esira b le, th ree for question-j
able, and four coming out for undesirable. T his point seem s to give j
!
quite a bit of trouble to th e se p erso n s. Evidently many believe that
j
the biology student should build a sound foundation before going on to
higher co u rse work. O thers held the position th at if a student has the
educational background th at perhaps he need not take these low er j
3
division co u rse s. j
A nother question that is su re to sp a rk som e attention in a
biology curriculum discussion is the p ro sp ect of discontinuing the I
j
phylogenetic considerations from an opening co u rse in biology. Then j
question 16 asks if the phylogenetic considerations have been de- |
em phasized in biological science co u rses a t the sta te colleges. As to
actual p ra c tic e s, twelve believe they a re being deem phasized to
som e extent o r other, w hile four thought no deem phasis has taken
80
TABLE 15
Q uestion 15: The intro d u cto ry biology course in the state colleges is
a p re re q u isite to all co u rses in the biological science.
A ctual p ractice s
Yes 7
P artially 3
No 6
D on't know 0
D esirable p ractices
E ssen tial 1
D esirable 8
Q uestionable 3
U ndesirable 4
i M ajority ex p ert opinion
T hese p erso n s believe th ere need not be any p rereq u isites
to any low er division co u rse and that this type of reg u la r was, and
should be, phased out for a ll g en eral education co u rses.
81 !
place.
As for the d esirab le p a rt of T able 16, the answ ers ra n one,
nine, th re e , and two, resp ectiv ely , for a tally th at indicated a d e sire
to tone them down a bit but ce rtain ly not to elim inate them altogether.
The m ajo rity ex p erts believe much the sam e. They stated
they think of th ese phylogenetic considerations as being good founda
tion for any student. T radition plays a big p a rt in the answ ers given
h ere.
I
C hapter Sum m ary \
A questionnaire form was developed and d istrib u ted to the I
i
biology ch airm en of the eighteen C alifornia S tate colleges throughout
the sta te. T he purpose of the questionnaire was to gather inform ation
about the cu rricu lu m functions and goals of th ese biology departments.-
Eighteen colleges responded and the data to the f irs t sectio n , p ra c - j
' j
tices re la te d to curriculum , a re rep o rted in detail in this ch ap ter. j
i
T he data rev eals th at a variety of p ro g ram s and p ro ced u res j
w ere p resen ted by the seventeen colleges studied and that the cu r- j
|
riculum p ro ced u res in the various biology departm ents v arie d widely j
I
in scope and content. j
j
i
j
I
i
f
82 !
TABLE 16
Question 16: Phylogenetic considerations have been em phasized in
biological science co u rses.
A ctual p ractices
Yes 6
P artially 6
No 4
D on't know 0
D esirable p ractices
E ssen tial 1
D esirable 9
Q uestionable 3
U ndesirable 2
M ajority ex p ert opinion
T hese p erso n s showed som e indecision when it cam e to
this point. Phylogenetic considerations a re strongly trad itio n al, and
apparently trad itio n req u ires them to be included to som e extent in
the biology curriculum .
CHAPTER V
FINDINGS; PRACTICES RELATED TO
ARTICULATION AND SEQUENTIAL
PLANNING
T he purpose of section B of the questionnaire and this chapter:
i is to estab lish to what extent and by what m eans, if any, articu latio n ;
| and sequential planning ex ists in the biology departm ents of the ;
; C alifornia State colleges. T hese principles have not receiv ed the
! attention at the sta te college level that they have at the ju n io r college
|
' and secondary level. Interview s with D r. John J. Baird, A cadem ic
Dean for the sta te colleges, have indicated that a m ovem ent for this
! type of planning is alread y under way. With today's fluid and m obile j
; society, this type of planning should occupy a top position of any
planning schedule.
i
Section B of the questionnaire lis ts nine item s th at attem pt j
| I
I to establish the extent of actual curriculum p ractices and what the !
i
chairm en feel m ay be com ing in the future. Some item s deal with the
83
84 |
j
extent to which c e rtain courses a re duplicated and the standardization
of th ese co u rses throughout the s ta te college sy stem . A nother point
; under investigation is the extent to which th e re is d irec t com m uni-
; cations between the different biology departm ents via conferences,
liaiso n groups, etc.
i
i
! Q uestion 17 asks if the biology sciences departm ent o r
; division (as it applies to the resp ectiv e college) attem pts to duplicate :
! the tra n s fe r co u rses offered in the low er divisions of other C alifornia
I i
! State colleges and the U niversity of C alifornia. T h ere seem s to be !
| j
! little effort m ade as yet in this direction so far as actual p rac tic e s ;
i
I
go, and few believe this is an essen tial point for future planning
i
I (see T able 17).
! C urriculum planning between the sta te colleges an d /o r state
!
I i
I u n iv ersities is an idea that is slow ly coming into its own. C ertain j
| !
| colleges a re now settin g up com m ittees for this and com m unications
I a re springing up throughout the sta te . Question 18 asks if the
I i
i biological science departm ent o r division, as a m a tte r of policy, I
! i
engages in articu latio n conferences with liaison groups from the other
sta te colleges o r u n iv ersities.
Although the negative resp o n ses num bered nine, to the
t
th re e for yes and four for p artia lly , they did indicate that som e type I
j |
! of thought in th is direction is forthcom ing. In the recom m ended j
85
TABLE 17
Q uestion 17: The biological sciences departm ent o r division (or as
it applies to your institution) attem pts to duplicate the
tra n sfe r c o u rse s offered in the low er division of o th er
C alifornia State colleges and the U niversity of
C alifornia.
A ctual p ractices
Yes 2
P artially 7
No 7
D on't know 0
D esirable p ractices
E ssen tial 0
D esirable 6
Questionable 5
U ndesirable 3
M ajority ex p ert opinion
T hese persons believe little could be accom plished by
copying other courses, w ord for word. A g en eral plan was thought
to be fine.
86 |
practices for the future, it is encouraging to notice that eleven
thought this an essen tial o r d esira b le p ra ctice , w hile only five indi- j
cated that it m ight be a w aste (see T able 18).
M ost of the outside experts believe th a t this so rt of co
operation and com m unication between biology departm ents is com ing !
in the near fu tu re. It is one of the purposes and hopes of th is study
th at w orkers can s ta rt a tren d in this d irectio n fo r the sta te colleges
and that this w ill lead to a b etter general education plan fo r the
people and students of the s ta te of C alifornia in the very n ea r future.
Q uestion 19 indicates one of the changes taking place in the S
curriculum concepts by the various persons in the biological d ep a rt- j
I
i
m ents of the s ta te colleges. Although the v ast m ajority answ ered i
|
no to the question of "Do the biological scien ce departm ents o r j
divisions, as a m atter of policy, engage in articu latio n conferences
with ap p ro p riate high school groups in the com m unity?”--m o s t believe;
1
j
that there should be a m ovem ent in this d irectio n in the fu tu re (see
T able 19).
O ften a certain am ount of effort spent in visiting high schools
m ay enable th e colleges to lu re som e of the b rig h ter students from
the high schools into the local colleges. T his type of public relatio n s
w orks very w ell and gives th e students a chance to visit with th e
faculty and sta ff of the sta te colleges.
87
TABLE 18
Q uestion 18: The biological scien ces departm ent o r division, a s a
m a tte r of policy, engages in articu latio n conferences
w ith liaison groups from the o th er sta te colleges and
u n iv ersities.
Actual p ractices
Yes 3
P artially 4
No 9
D on't know 0
D esirable p rac tice s
E ssen tial 3
D esirab le 8
Q uestionable 2
U ndesirable 3
M ajority ex p ert opinion
It is believed little has been done by the sta te colleges in
this area . They ex p ressed a belief that artic u latio n w ill be an event
of the n ear future.
88 '
TABLE 19
Question 19: The biological sciences departm ent o r division, as a
m a tte r of policy, engages in articu latio n conferences
with ap p ro p riate high school groups in the com munity.
A ctual p ractices
Yes 1
P artially 7
No 9
Don't know 0
D esirable p ractices
E ssen tial 2
D esirable 11
Q uestionable 2
U ndesirable 1
M ajority ex p ert opinion
T his also is believed to be a function not c a rrie d on too
extensively by the state colleges a t this tim e, but it is hoped this
w ill be a constant p ra ctice for the future in sta te colleges of
C alifornia.
89 |
The m ajo rity experts found that th is was not a reg u la r
p ractic e with the biological departm ents of the colleges, they
certain ly , how ever, ex p ressed a d e sire to see m ore of this in the
future.
T able 20 illu stra te s the rep lie s to question 20, which asked
the chairm en about non-science (liberal a rts ) m ajors receiving
tra n s fe r cred it fo r biology taken at his institution when the student
tra n sfe rs to another C alifornia State college o r to the U niversity of
C alifornia. M ost seem ed to believe that th e re would be little o r no :
I
problem in tra n sfe rrin g units between in stitutions. So fa r, no j
problem has been encountered, and m o st of the chairm en think that |
I
th e re w ill be no tro u b le in the future.
The ex p erts, quizzed on this point of tra n sfe rrin g units,
found that little evidence of any trouble o cc u rred in this p ro ce ss.
They could add little to what the others sa id and ex p ress a d e sire to !
se e th is sm ooth articu latio n continue.
Q uestion 21 brought in m ixed an sw ers on the recom m ended
i
re sp o n se s, w hile those of the actual p ra c tic e s a re la rg e ly negative
(see T ab le 21). T he question asks if the m ethods and m a terials used
in teaching biology a re coordinated with (local) C alifornia State
i
colleges and with the U niversity of C alifornia.
Evidently th e re w as strong feeling that the m ethods and
90
TABLE 20
Question 20: N on-science (lib eral a rts) m a jo rs receive tra n s fe r
c re d it for biology taken a t your institution when they
tra n sfe r to other C alifornia S tate colleges and with the
U niversity of C alifornia.
A ctual p ractice s
Yes 14
P artially 0
No 1
D on't know 2
D esirable p rac tice s
E ssen tial 12
D esirable 2
Q uestionable 0
U ndesirable 1
M ajority ex p e rt opinion
It is believed by these persons th e re is a com plete tra n sfe r
p ro g ram in se rv ic e a t the sta te colleges and th is p ractice is likely
to continue in the future.
TABLE 21
Question 21: Methods and m aterials used in teaching biology a re
coordinated with (local) C alifornia State colleges and
with the U niversity of C alifornia.
A ctual p rac tice s
Yes
P artially
No
D on't know
D esirable p ractice s
E ssen tial
D esirable
Q uestionable
U ndesirable
M ajority ex p ert opinion
T he methods and m aterials a r e not thought to be u niversal j
throughout the state college system , and the experts believe they
will not be fo r som e tim e to come. Individuality am ong in stru c to rs
seem s to forbid too m uch regulation.
0
3
12
I
0 !
i
S
1
5 !
I
i
5 i
i
i
5
92 !
m a terials used to teach the resp ectiv e biology w ere best left up to
the individual in stru c to rs. T here seem s to be a certain am ount of
I in te re s t in standardization of a num ber of courses as to outline,
! tim e, etc. But th e re seem s to be a relu ctan ce to give the stru c tu ra l
: content that one m ight encounter in secondary o r ju n io r colleges.
T he im p ressio n that the sta te college teach ers gave was that they
! would brook little in terferen ce with th e ir teaching techniques.
! The m ajo rity experts went along with the concepts and
: i
! opinions ex p ressed by the departm ent heads. T h ere w as som e incli- |
! nation to question the idea of voluntary standards o r m ethods of j
j !
! teaching, but th is was as fa r as they w ish to see it pushed at this I
i j
| tim e o r in th e n ear future. j
[ |
| T he resp o n se received on question 22 of w hether the biology j
i
I !
j faculty a re o r have been involved w ith the university re se a rc h
|
|
i sc ien tists in a cooperative effort to produce a new biology curricu lu m
i for the sta te colleges was larg ely negative. Few, five to be exact, j
i have been involved with re se a rc h of som e type at th e university,
j Twelve cam e out with flat no’s fo r answ ers (see T able 22).
T he recom m ended procedures w ere m ore v aried , with one
!
| feeling it is essen tial, w hile six voted for d esirab le, five believe it
| |
is questionable, and th re e went so fa r as to say it is an u n desirable i
I !
i future p ra c tic e to consider. !
93
TABLE 22
Q uestion 22: The biological faculty a re , o r have been, involved with
u n iv ersity re s e a rc h scien tists in a cooperative effo rt
to produce a new biology curriculum for the state
colleges.
A ctual p ractices
Yes 1
P artially 4
No 12
D on't know 0
D esirab le p ra c tic e s
E ssen tial 1
D esirab le 6
Q uestionable 5
U ndesirable 3
M ajo rity expert opinion
The ex p e rts believe th is p ractice is not w idespread and
does not show p ro m ise for the future. Evidently the university
in stru c to rs re ly on publication m edium to provide new m a terial for
th e state college co u rse s.
94 |
t
Evidently the em phasis was upon the reading and keeping up
i w ith the g reat conversation to stay ab re a st of new developm ents in
th e field. T h ere a re se v eral p erio d icals in the field of biology that
a re special publications dedicated to keeping a b re a st of all the new
j p ro jec ts that m ay be of use to the college level biology p ro fe sso r,
i T h ese a re used quite a bit, despite th eir ra th e r expensive p rice .
i
| Q uestion 23 asks if biology co u rses a re offered to biology
; m a jo rs in a sequential pattern to artic u late with pro g ram s in other
j |
; C alifornia State colleges and the U niversity of C alifornia. The i
! i
! resp o n ses from this question ran the whole gam ut of an sw ers, j
! ]
; J
] esp ecially fo r the actual p ractice s p a rt. Two responded y es, seven
answ ered p artia lly , six said no, and two claim ed they don't know
j
; w hether th ere is articu latio n o r not.
i
j The d esirab le p ractice s p a rt gave a little m o re unity, but
! not too m uch. None believed it is e ssen tial, w hile twelve believe it
! m ight be d esirab le. Q uestionable and undesirable totaled five
| i
; an sw ers (see T ab le 23). T his seem s to indicate an in te re st in such j
j j
id eas, but nobody w as w illing to com m it him self to it. It seem s to s
be one of the ideas p resen ted in this study that m any would lik e to see
i
trie d by som eone e lse and if it w orked, they would be w illing to adopt
|
it. i
j
The m ajo rity experts seem to believe th at th e re is little o r
95
TABLE 23
Q uestion 23: Biology co u rses a re offered to biology m a jo rs in a
sequential p atte rn to a rtic u la te with p ro g ram s in other
C alifornia State colleges and the U niversity of
C alifornia.
| A ctual p rac tice s
Yes
| P artially
| No
D on't know
| D esirab le p ractic e s
E ssen tial
D esirable
Questionable
U ndesirable
; M ajority ex p ert opinion
j Again th e re seem s to be little o r no com m unication with
!
| the sta te u n iv ersities and o th er state colleges. Some m ovem ent in
[
j th is direction is forthcom ing, however.
0
12
3
2
2
7
6
2
96 !
no liaison with other institutions a t the p re se n t tim e but hope that
such a contact m ight develop. Many seem o ptim istic about the
chances of an idea of this n atu re and said that m o re w ork in this a re a
; should be done.
In question 24 the concept of "in -se rv ic e " training is a new
; one to m ost of the biology ch airm en . When asked if in -se rv ic e
|
| train in g was provided fo r th e ir faculty m em b ers, they seem ed at a
; !
: lo ss for w ords. H ere again is a p ractice that seem s to be not w idely ;
| known o r accepted at the sta te college level.
! M ost of the experts seem ed to believe that a Ph. D. degree j
; is sufficient "in -se rv ic e" train in g to la st a p erso n a lifetim e. A few
i
j responded with som e type of train in g , but they w ere usually the
[
; sum m er re s e a rc h p ro jects som e did at national re se a rc h c e n te rs -- i
i
such as the City of Hope M edical R esearch C enter in D uarte. None
v isited other classro o m s to o b serv e. Many re a d from th e ir re sp e c- j
: tive discipline journals and kept up with th e ir field in th is m anner.
| T he experts believe exactly the sam e about the in -se rv ic e j
i \
| concept and little m ore would be gained by pushing this idea (see
T able 24).
Q uestion 25 asks if the biological scien ces departm ent or
|
j division allow s w aiver of co u rse s by exam ination to w ell-p rep are d j
[ ;
I high school students who m ay had, for exam ple, two y ea rs of high j
97
TABLE 24
Q uestion 24: In -se rv ic e opportunities a re provided for biological
scien ce faculties.
A ctual p ractices
Yes 2
P artially 2
No 11
D on't know 2
D esirable p ractice s
E ssen tial 4
D esirab le 6
Q uestionable 1
U ndesirable 2
M ajo rity expert opinion
L ittle of the " in -se rv ic e ” concept seem s to have m oved up
to the sta te college level. It is believed that if a p erso n finishes a
Ph. D. degree and has read the "g rea t conversation, " this is equiva
lent to what low er level te ach ers receiv e from the in -se rv ic e
training.
98 !
school biology. T hirteen responded with a yes answ er, w hile there
w ere two answ ers each fo r partially and no (see T able 25). The
resp o n se indicated that th e re is a g reat re lia n c e upon entrance exam -
{ inations at these institutions and that they play a g reat p a rt in sorting
! out students.
i
T he answ ers to th is question in rela tio n to d esira b le p rac-
i tices a re that m ost believe it at least e sse n tia l (1) o r d esirab le (12).
] F our went on the reco rd a s saying they believe it is questionable.
i
i
! This indicates that m ost w ent along with the idea at the freshm an
|
j level and for the n o n -scien ce m ajor. A few ex p ressed som e re s e r- |
vations about the concept and practice a s it is now p erform ed in the I
I
sta te colleges around C alifornia.
i
T he m ajority e x p e rts stated th at if the student has the ability
i
i
| to p erfo rm w ell on the en tra n ce b a tteries, no fu rth e r purpose could
|
; be se rv e d by making him s it through a c la s s that is likely to bore
him . It is considered f a r b etter to s ta rt him on a m ore advanced j
field w here his abilities could be challenged. |
i
1
C hapter Sum m ary
!
j
T h is section of th e questionnaire deals with the problem s of j
i
articu latio n and sequential planning as they now a re and as they j
[ j
I |
; m ight be, if the chairm en had their way. M ost seem to feel that j
99
TABLE 25
Question 25: The biological sciences d ep artm en t or division allows
w aiver of c o u rse s by exam ination to w ell-p rep ared
high school students who m ay have had, for exam ple,
two years of high school biology.
Actual p ractice s
Yes 13
P a rtially 2
No 2
D on't know 0
D esirable p ractice s
E sse n tial 1
D esirab le 12
Q uestionable 4
U ndesirable 0
M ajority ex p e rt opinion
M ost believe th e re w ill be no p u rp o se served by m aking a
p rep ared student s it through, co u rses which m ight duplicate work
alread y com pleted at an o th er level.
100
there is im provem ent and innovation in th is p a rtic u la r a re a of the
curriculum . Although they seem to believe th is, they also think that
their p re se n t methods a re not so bad as to re q u ire im m ediate and
vast overhaul p ro ced u res.
T he m ain point conveyed to th ese people is the concept that
perhaps th e re is room fo r som ething new and that th e re a r e persons
who m ight be called upon to ren d er advice if so req u ested . Many
w ere ra th e r taken back by the idea that education sp e c ia lists a re
in tere sted in the college lev el biology problem s and that th e re is
som ething to be learned from them .
M ovement in the d irectio n of in te r-c o lle g e articu latio n and
sequential planning m ay be som ething in the future and it m ay be slow
in com ing, but there w ill be a general m ovem ent in this direction.
Many feel the tim e is c lo se r than m ost faculty m em bers m ay re a liz e .
CHAPTER VI
FINDINGS; PRACTICES RELATED TO STUDENTS
The purpose of this ch ap ter, and section C of the question
n a ire , is to estab lish what p rocedures and regulations biology
students a re subjected to in the C alifornia S tate colleges. T his
chapter provides the b asis for the subsequent developm ent of se v e ra l I
c rite ria and se ts of stan d ard s, each one with different in terp retatio n s :
i
i
fo r various se ts of colleges, reg ard in g the trea tm en t of incom ing |
i
freshm en students at the resp e ctiv e in stitu tio n s.
I
T he m ain them e w ill be the decision of what type of biology
is best, or ap p ro p riate, for the beginning o r non-science m ajo r. The
resp o n ses as to actual o r d e sire d p ractices a r e indeed varied. T h ere
seem s to be no se t p attern of thought as to the basic p rocedures for
the C alifornia State college system a s a whole; no se t p attern as to
i
the advisem ent o r counselor selection; and no p rocedure for a feed- I
i
back m echanism for student evaluation of the biology program .
T his section of the questionnaire begins by asking if non-
101
102 i
science (lib eral a rts ) m ajo rs have a choice of biology co u rse s. In
actual p ra c tic e s, th e colleges responded with the m ajo rity (9) saying
that a selection of co u rses is available; two responded by saying that
a p a rtia l choice [w hatever that is] is available; and two resp o n ses
I indicated that no choice is available.
O ur m ajo rity experts believe th at, generally speaking, a
i
choice should be available to incom ing non-science m a jo rs. They do
i not think th is is an essen tial policy, but believe it is a d esirab le one
; (see T ab le 26).
T able 27 illu sra te s the resp o n ses to question 27, which asks
I
if fresh m en m ajoring in biology a re discouraged from declaring
i i
!
i them selves as biology, botany, o r zoology m ajors in th e ir f irs t year
I
! at the C alifornia State colleges. A v ariety of resp o n ses is reflected i
' I
\ in the an sw ers p resen ted . T he no resp o n se s a re in the m ajo rity , |
i !
! j
; with a total of ten indicating that d eclaratio n of intention a t this ea rly ;
! , I
i stage of the student's academ ic c a re e r is not advisable. F ive :
-
; answ ered that they believe it is eith er wholly o r p artia lly advisable
I ;
to com m it to an academ ic m a jo r, while one individual did not c a re to
take a stand on the issu e. i
i
On the recom m ended o r advisable p ractices p a rt of the
table, eight believe that the p ractice is eith er essen tial o r at le ast
d e sirab le for the freshm an. The other half indicated th at the practices
103
TABLE 26
Q uestion 26: N on-science (lib eral a rts) m a jo rs have a choice of
biology courses.
A ctual practices
Yes 9
P artially 4
No 4
D on't know 0
D esirable p rac tice s
E ssen tial 3
D esirable 11
Q uestionable 2
U ndesirable 0
I M ajority ex p ert opinion
It was g en erally indicated that a selection should be offered
j to the incom ing freshm an, and esp ecially to the non-science m ajor.
j
Just what the selectio n should co n sist of was not m ade too c le a r, but
i
perhaps a g en eral course with an em phasis on botany o r zoology
should be offered.
104
TABLE 27
Q uestion 27: F resh m en m ajoring in biology a re discouraged from
declarin g them selves as biology, botany, o r zoology
m ajo rs in th eir firs t year of college.
A ctual p ractices
Yes 3
P artially 2
No 10
D on't know 1
D esirab le p ractices
E ssen tial 1
D esirable 7
Q uestionable 8
U ndesirable 0
M ajority expert opinion
The consensus seem ed to be that no effort should be m ade
to discourage incom ing students from a d eclaratio n of intention as to
th e ir prospective m ajo r, be it biology o r som e other field. Any type
of discouragem ent, they believe, w ill be a grave e r r o r.
105
is at le a st questionable and that m ore inquiry into the p ro s and cons
of the su b ject is needed.
T he m ajority experts w ere a little m ore positive in th eir
j thinking tow ard the idea of declaration of intent at th is e a rly stage.
! They s tre s s e d that the door should be left open for a possible change
i of plan a n d /o r m ajor as the student se es som ething that he believes
i would b etter suit his sk ills and in te re sts in the future.
T ab le 28 lis ts the answ ers to question 28. It as ks if all
; students seeking a baccalaureate in scien ce a re req u ire d to take a
co u rse in biology. The actual p ractices section of the answ ers
! showed the m ajority answ ered in the affirm ative, with a su rp risin g
i
I th ree an sw ers fo r the negative. The resp o n ses suggest the d iv ersity
i
^ of p ractices to be found w ithin the C alifornia State college system ,
j Under the recom m ended (d esirab le) p rocedures section,
i
; two answ ered essential; tw elve, d esirab le; and one, questionable.
The resp o n ses indicate a decided p referen ce for a p rocedure other
j than the c u rre n t p ractice s. The respondents indicate the consolida
tion tren d in the thinking of the departm ent heads. It m ay be that
se v eral have given m o re thought to this m atter recen tly than was the
custom up to this tim e.
Biology was indicated as a "m u st" by those experts in te r
viewed. They viewed this co u rse (g eneral biology, freshm an) as a
106
TABLE 28
Question 28: A ll students seeking a b accalau reate in science a re
req u ired to take a course in biology.
A ctual p ractice s
Yes
P artially
No
I D on't know
|
D esirable p ra ctice s
E ssen tial
I
i
i
D esirable
| Q uestionable
! U ndesirable
| M ajority ex p ert opinion
The opinions ex p ressed h ere a re very strongly in favor of
a biology co u rse req u irem en t for any science m ajo r. This opinion
i
j
i is c a rrie d o v er in the d e sire d p ractices for the future. Along with
i
i
such courses as physics, m athem atics, e t c . , should be a req u ired
! biology course.
9
1
3
1
2
12
1
0
firm foundation laid for the fu rth e r learning in any scien ce, essen tial
for everyday life and one of the requirem ents for a w ell-educated
i person.
This se t of answ ers is in response to question 29 as to
; w hether a student can earn a baccalaureate in science at the p articu - ;
j la r school in question. A su rp risin g num ber (10) answ ered no to this
| question. Nine of those who answ ered no thought it was a questionable
I o r undesirable p ra ctice to offer the B. S. degree (see T ab le 29). T his i
j ;
| phenomenon seem s inexplicable. Perhaps as som e of the schools j
■ !
j |
i grow in size, th e re will be a d rift tow ard this concept.
I
i
I Question 30 asks if a specialized departm ent o r division te st
| for placem ent in biology science is given to all incom ing college
j
! fresh m en . The answ ers to this one w ere straig h t n o 's, with one
j 7
| exception for p artially .
| The recom m endation section of the answ ers is a bit m ore
I v aried with one answ er for essen tia l, five for d esirab le, eleven fo r j
i I
I questionable, and no answ ers to undesirable (see T able 30). T h ere j
seem s to be a shift from the p ractice to the a re a of tria l. It seem s !
th at m any of the departm ent heads have strong re se rv a tio n s about
such a p ractice , but a re certain ly w illing to see and o bserve som e
re s e a rc h in this direction. |
The experts a re of the opinion that this type of p ractice m ay
108
TABLE 29
Question 29: Students can e a rn a b accalau reate in science degree a t
your college.
A ctual p ractices
Yes 6
P artially 1
No 10
D on't know 0
D esirable p ractice s
E sse n tial 3
D esirable 4
Q uestionable 6
U ndesirable 3
M ajority ex p ert opinion
T his was a ra th e r sim ple type of question which brought a
straig h tfo rw ard "yes" and "d esirab le" from those interview ed. T his
type of resp o n se lends its e lf to a c le a r- cut in terp retatio n .
109
TABLE 30
Question 30: A specialized departm ent o r division te st for placem ent
in biology scien ce is given to a ll incom ing college
freshm en.
A ctual p ractices
Y es 0
P artially 1
No 16
Don* t know 0
D esirable p ractices
E ssen tial 1
D esirable 5
Q uestionable 11
U ndesirable 0
M ajority ex p ert opinion
T h ere is a consensus of opinion that this p ra c tic e is not
w idespread in the C alifornia State colleges. T here is also som e
re se rv a tio n about the estab lish m en t of any instrum ent of this type
with which to m easu re and seg reg ate incom ing students. In p lace
m ent exam inations, late bloom ers will be penalized, along with d is
advantaged students.
110 !
i
lead to a com plete re lia n ce upon testin g as a m ethod of placem ent
instead of th e d e sire s and ab ilities of the student. M ost seem to think!
'‘that every student has the rig h t to flunk" and that, in som e instances^
these placem ent te sts m ay deny him this right.
Students* relatio n s to testin g is again the point of question 31,1
when it ask s if the College E ntrance Board Exam ination re su lts a re
used to place students intially in biology science co u rses. W ith a
unanimous no answ er, the ch airm an 's answ er was easy to re a d as far
as the actual p ractice s p a rt was concerned. How ever, the reco m - j
m ended p rocedures did not show this so lid arity of an sw ers. j
I
U nder the d esirab le p ractice s p a rt of the questionnaire, the
answ ers w ere a little m ore v aried --w ith four of the m em bers 1
indicating eith er essen tial o r d esirab le as th e ir choice, w hile the
rank and file went with questionable and one vote for undesirab le
(see T ab le 31). This negative tren d in p re -te stin g is taken as an
indication of the faith that is held by the chairm en in the p re se n t
ab ilities of the incom ing students. Perhaps this can be seen as a j
w illingness to forgive som e fo rm e r tra n sg re ssio n s and give the |
|
student a fre sh chance to show his ability.
Leaving the a re a of p re -te stin g , the questionnaire swings
!
over to som ething that th e faculty m ay com e to the student fo r--a n j
evaluation of the biology cu rricu lu m . Question 32 asks if it is a i
I l l
TABLE 31
Question 31: The College E ntrance Board Exam ination re su lts a re
used to place students in itially in biological science
courses.
A ctual p ractice s
Y es 0
P artially 0
No 17
D on't know 0
D esirable p ractices
E ssen tial 1
D esirable 3
Q uestionable 12
U ndesirable 1
M ajority ex p ert opinion
A gain th ere seem s to be a reluctance on the p a rt of the
ex p erts to see any type of general I. Q. -Aptitude T e st used to sc re e n
out students. All believe there a re so m any advantages to giving
each student a fresh s ta r t that they a re v ery relu c tan t to d isc rim in
ate ag ain st them.
112 j
i
m a tte r of policy fo r fo rm er students to be asked and encouraged to
re tu r n to discu ss th e ir articu latio n experiences w ith other fo u r-y e a r !
■ in stitu tio n s. Although the c u rre n t p ractices sectio n of the question-
I n a ire did not in d icate much p re se n t activity in th is a re a , the d esirab le
p a r t showed som e p rom ise.
The ac tu al p ractices se ctio n gave the following tally: five
resp o n se s for y es; two, p artially ; eight, no; and one, don’t know
; ( s e e Table 32). T h ese answ ers w e re from d ep artm en t heads who
j ad m itted that they did not know how many v isits w ere paid to various ;
i in stru c to rs w ithin th e ir departm ent by retu rn in g students. [It would j
| be interesting to s e e the re su lts of a reco rd sh eet of visits and
! ;
j com m ents co llected by each in s tru c to r within the departm ent at the
| v ario u s colleges. ]
: i
The d e s ira b le p ractices end of the tab le gives a m o re |
i i
I p o sitiv e approach to the situation, with two saying it is essen tial;
I ‘
I th irte e n speaking up for d esirab le; only one spoke of it as question-
i
i ab le; and none, fo r undesirable. T his idea seem s to be one that
!
can easily be in co rp o rated into the curriculum planning of any biology
!
departm ent at any level. j
Q uestion 33 brought v arie d resp o n ses. The question of a j
sp e c ia l counselor being assigned to m eet with o th er state colleges [
I
and university lia iso n and artic u latio n groups w as, in som e re sp e c ts, j
TABLE 32
Question 32: As a m atter of policy, fo rm er students a re encouraged
to re tu rn to d iscu ss th e ir articu latio n experiences with
o th e r fo u r-y ear institutions.
A ctual p ra c tic e s
Yes 5
P a rtia lly 2
No 8
D on't know 1
| D esirable p ra c tic e s
E sse n tia l 2
D esirab le 13
i
Q uestionable 1
U ndesirable 0
| M ajority e x p e rt opinion
No r e a l purpose can be se rv ed by a re tu rn to discuss
I
c la sse s. The ex p erts indicated the biological cu rricu lu m and staff
a re so dynam ic it will not be the sam e as when the student takes the
co u rses, and so be u seless to d isc u ss them .
a new concept to m any. Only four answ ers w ere affirm ative and
tw elve answ ered no for the actual p ractices section of the question
n a ire (see T able 33). T his indicated a stro n g tren d in p ractices that
; m ay be thought of as "iso latio n ist thought and ac tio n ," without intent :
; to be so. It seem s that th e re w ere few conferences on th is subject.
; [It could fa st become a y early o r se m i-y ea rly a ffa ir.] It also
j seem s that som e re a l exchange could take place at such tim e.
T his idea seem s to have evolved som e type of enthusiasm
i |
; from the persons questioned, fo r fourteen feel positive about the idea,;
\ ' j
w hile only th ree have som e rese rv atio n s about the concept. Again, j
I
; it can only be said that personal feelings on th is m a tte r would be I
: 4 I
! upheld in many resp e c ts through a little p erso n al contact with faculty
| in the various colleges throughout the sta te .
i T he experts that w ere questioned on this topic a re very j
i !
i l
! positive in th e ir outlook tow ard the future. They seem to believe that
a little m obility among the m em bers of the faculty in the form of
I |
v isits, conferences, e t c ., would be m ost beneficial to the depart- :
: i
!
m ents.
Q uestion 34 is the question of a sp ecial counselor that is
i
assigned to m eet and advise students m ajo rin g in biology. Under the
actual p ractices section, th ere w ere eleven who cam e out for yes;
only one, p artially ; five said no; and th e re none for don't know (see j
115
TABLE 33
Q uestion 33: A special counselor is assigned to m eet with o th er state
colleges and u n iv ersity liaiso n and articu latio n groups.
A ctual p ra ctic e s
Yes 3
P artially 1
No 12
D on't know 0
D esirable p ractices
E ssen tial 4
D esirable 10
Questionable 2
U ndesirable 1
I M ajority ex p ert opinion
Again this a re a of liaison w ork with other institutions of
! higher learning is som ething new to m o st of the institutions. The
ex p erts indicated that although this p ra c tic e is new and not w ide
sp read a t the p re se n t tim e, it is one point well w orth looking into
in the future.
116 |
T able 34). T his indicates that som e type of counseling p ro g ram is
needed in som e p laces.
The d esirab le resp o n ses seem a little m ore divided than
i m ight be expected. They a r e four; seven; four; and one--indicating
| a lack of consensus on the p a rt of the individual chairm en a t the
various departm ents throughout the sta te. T his is one point that
I
m any indicated could be cle a re d up quickly with a departm ent c h a ir-
; m an 's m eeting for the sta te . It is believed that these types of
| m eetings a r e not too fa r off in the future. It is hoped that they will .
| be a s su ccessfu l as they have been for other levels of the education
| ladder.
; !
j T able 35 is concerned with the resp o n ses to question 35, j
; i
i i
; which asks if biology m ajo rs a re advised to take a common s e t of j
! I
I co u rses in a fixed sequence with other fo u r-y e a r colleges and
i
; u n iv e rsitie s. T his is a question that m ight be term ed "loaded" in
f
{
m any re sp e c ts. [The experts believe that v ery few would take kindly I
; i
j to its ram ification and im plications. ] U nder the actual p ra c tic e s j
; j
j p a rt of the tab le, it can be noted that the negative resp o n ses out- |
j
num ber the positive in a th irteen to th ree ra tio . Evidently m any j
believe that type of p ractice is going a bit too fa r as pertaining to !
i
regulation of cu rricu lu m .
i 1
1 I
J |
j The d esirab le section also notes a heavy negative to positive!
117
TABLE 34
Question 34: A special counselor is assigned to m eet and advise
students m ajoring in biology.
; Actual p ra c tic e s
Y es 11
P artially 1
I No 5
D on't know 0
i D esirable p ractices
E ssen tial 4
| D esirable 7
Q uestionable 4
U ndesirable 1
! M ajority ex p ert opinion
! T h ere was a unanim ous resp o n se to this question, with all
i
responses indicating a strong d e sire for som e type of advisem ent o r
counseling for incom ing students. M ost believe this counseling
I would be b e tte r serv ed com ing from a biology faculty m em ber ra th e r
than som e cen tral office esp ecially s e t up to function in this capacity.
118
TABLE 35
Q uestion 35: Biology m ajors a re advised to take a com mon se t of
co u rses in a fixed sequence with other fo u r-y e a r
colleges and u n iv ersities.
A ctual p ractice s
Y es 3
P artially 2
No 13
D on't know 0
D esirable p ractices
E ssen tial 1
D esirable 2
Q uestionable 7
U ndesirable 5
M ajority ex p ert opinion
T h ere seem s to be little disagreem ent; m ost ag ree with the
contention that th ere should be little o r no regulation as to the
sequence of course content for the biology m ajo r. As a m ajo r may
lead into a num ber of different graduate fields, there m ay be need
for a m ixed em phasis on direction of co u rse selection for the
individual.
119 |
; rep ly . Twelve have re se rv a tio n s and th ree have positive views. As :
: the biology m ajo rs a r e generally graduate school bound, it is believed!
th at they should have enough latitude to allow for the various pro-
; fessio n s and tra d e s into which they may w ish to go. [T here is little
! to find fault with in this p attern of thinking. ] The experts seem to
fav o r the m o re flexible curriculum [and is one point which the
I ex p erts believe w ill m aintain a status quo fo r som e tim e to com e].
The final tabulation in section C of the questionnaire
i
i (T able 36) deals with the concept of the non-science m ajo r and his
j relatio n sh ip to the biology cu rricu lu m . In question 36, this idea is j
I
: |
j p resen ted by asking if non-science m ajo rs take biology ra th e r than |
i i
! ;
I zoology an d /o r botany. R esponses to the actual p ractices section
i
I a re m ostly affirm ative, w hile only two perso n s responded with a
negative answ er. T his leads to the belief that the use of biology as a
i
; beginning teaching co u rse has gained som e re a l degree of popularity
j
throughout the sta te college biology departm ents. This tren d is seen j
J
i I
as holding fast and perhaps in creasin g in u se. [Tim e w ill te ll how j
; i
| su ccessfu l this concept is in the field. ] j
The d esirab le p ra c tic e s section yielded a different set of |
! opinions. They sp lit p retty n early right down the m iddle on the i
j negative and positive resp o n ses. Nine indicated this was d e sira b le, I
j w hile six questioned the idea, and one thought it was understandable. J
120
TABLE 36
Q uestion 36: N on-science m ajo r students take biology ra th e r than
zoology an d /o r botany.
A ctual p ractices
Yes 12
P artially 3
No 2
D on't know 0
D esirab le p rac tice s
E ssen tial 0
D esirable 9
Q uestionable 6
U ndesirable 1
M ajority ex p ert opinion
M ost of the persons interview ed seem to believe that, while
this m ay be term ed a d esirab le p ractice fo r the future, not too m uch
is being done at the p resen t tim e to m ake it a u n iv ersal o r stan d ard
p ra c tic e throughout the en tire college system .
121
T his diversification of answ ers gives one som e idea of the m ixed
feelings on this point. T his a re a is seen as one that needs som e
: fu rth e r com m unications between biology departm ents in general
!
j throughout the state.
j
C hapter Sum m ary
| T his section of the questionnaire deals with the problem s of
j the student and his curricu lu m in the biology departm ents of the
| C alifornia State colleges. It was found th at m ost of the curriculum
!
is based upon the individual departm ent d iscretio n and that little
I
j com m unication exists between colleges. The student's co u rse
| selection seem s to be guided larg ely by his own choice o r that of a
j resid e n t biology faculty m em b er. No p re -e n tra n c e exam ination
i
j
j appears to be in use, and students a re given a chance at w hatever
i
they believe is best suited to th e ir own needs and ability levels in
i
| the resp ectiv e departm ents.
A ctually, the p ra c tic e s re la te d to students assum e a high
i
! level of ability and m atu rity that m ay o r m ay not be re a lis tic . Since
m o st of the m ajo rs a r e expected to continue on to professional or
graduate school, quite a bit of latitude is given to each individual.
T he non-science m ajo r appears to fa ir a bit b etter than the
! m a jo r, in that th ere is a c le a re r concept of his intentions as rela ted
122 ;
to biology, nam ely, as a graduation o r general education requirem ent.
M ost of the faculty re a liz e this will be a single experience for him
and that the co u rse should be rela ted to his needs ra th e r than to the
req u irem en ts of som e m edical college.
The expert opinions ex p ressed h ere give a b roader, m o re
statew ide, all-o v e r view than do the individual chairm en. This
could w ell be expected. It is seen as a m o re re a lis tic view into
fu tu re curriculum p ro ced u res than that ex p ressed by the biology
chairm en.
CHAPTER VII
FINDINGS; GENERAL ATTITUDES
The purpose of this ch ap ter, and sectio n D of the question-
i n a ire , is to estab lish the general attitudes of the resp ectiv e biology
! chairm en over the sta te . This chapter dem onstrates the feelings
that ex ist on such topics as rev isio n of the biology curriculum in each;
| college and what type of course p rep aratio n is in existence fo r the
i j
' p ro fessio n al schools such as m edicine, d en tistry , v eterin ary science,:
i
etc. A lso, in such new fields as m olecular biology, population j
i
| ecology, the extent of curriculum revision has been questioned. The !
\ j
; i
i different attitudes and feelings on com m ittees and com m issions on
I
i biological planning developm ent a re exam ined. Physical fac ilities and
\ i
i the facu lty -staff supply and quality a re also taken into account. The |
i i
I I
! fac to rs exam ined h e re a re those that a re im portant to any study,
i They a re those th at do not read ily fit into any other category or
t
chapter; the a re also those th at a re h ard est to define and defend. j
T able 37 of this chapter is concerned with question 37 in
the questionnaire, which asks if th e re is a need for devising a unique
124 I
TABLE 37
Question 37: T here is a need for devising a unique type of biological
curriculum for the sta te colleges in C alifornia.
Responses
Yes 3
No 12
D on't know 0
M ajority ex p ert opinion
The experts quizzed believe th ere is nothing so unusual
about the sta te colleges of C alifornia dem anding a unique type of
biological curriculum and the one now under way is doing a s a tis
factory job.
type of biology curriculum fo r the sta te colleges of C alifornia. M ost
j
of the resp o n ses favor leaving things p re tty much as they a re and j
I L
‘ proceeding with careful rev isio n of what is in existence now. The j
• j
experts have upheld this contention and indicated they a re opposed to
any rad ical changes in the curriculum without fu rth e r re se a rc h .
T ab le 38 is concerned with the responses from the chairm en
j i
! regarding the type of co u rse offered to the non-science m ajor a t the |
i !
| resp ectiv e colleges. Question 38 asks if th ere is a general biological!
125
TABLE 38
Q uestion 38: Is a g en eral biology science co u rse offered to non
science (lib eral a rts ) students in your institution?
R esponses
Yes 15
No 2
D on't know 0
M ajority ex p ert opinion
The experts believe a g en eral biology course is available
for the m ajority of non-science students in m o st of the colleges.
T hose few institutions which do not offer such a course a re believed
to be headed in that d irectio n in the n ear future.
scien ce co u rse offered to non-science (lib eral a rts ) students in your j
I # |
institution. While the m ajo rity of those asked (15) answ ered in the j
; i
; I
; affirm ativ e, two responded with negative an sw ers. M ost of the |
j
biology departm ent heads believe that a general co u rse should be
i
i
open to both m ajo r and non-science m a jo rs. They se e no reaso n to
seg reg ate the two groups of students if they w ish to attend the sam e |
le c tu re s. j
I The experts se e this as a com mon tren d in colleges and
126 |
u n iv ersities about the sta te . They seem to believe that if both m ajo r
, i
and non-m ajor scien ce co u rses a re available, it should be the custom !
to allow the non-m ajor to have the choice of which he would p refer to ;
; attend.
' Q uestion 39 hits one of the a re a s that s tirs p rid e in average !
i |
j biology departm ents, the a re a of p rep arin g th e ir students for m edical
: school, o r som e other professional school. As the M. D. degree is
thought by som e to re q u ire the m ost intensive train in g , it is a m atter
j i
I of re c o rd that the selectio n of th ese students is very com petitive, due!
j :
to the influence of the A. M. A. and the re s tric tiv e num ber of M. D. 's I
i aw arded each y ea r. Although m ost departm ents would like to see
j
| th e ir m ajo rs follow into graduate w ork in biology, the professional
j
| schools follow a close second in this aspect.
E
j As m ost faculties believe th at m ore than two y ears would be
I
| advisable for the m a jo r, they also extend this feeling to the student
! j
; p rep arin g for a c a re e r in m edicine. M ost believe that two to th re e j
! i
: co u rses a y ear would be about rig h t for the ju n io r and sen io r y ea rs j
of th ese students (see T able 39).
T he experts went along with the m ajo rity in feeling that an
extension of the tw o -y e a r lim it would be a d esirab le change. They |
have the feeling that if the co u rses a re taken a bit slow er over a
longer tim e period th at fa r m o re could be absorbed by the students, j
127
TABLE 39
; Q uestion 39: A co re p rep aratio n for biology m ajo rs in any specialty
(m edicine, v eterin ary , e tc .) should be extended over a
m inim um of two y e a rs .
; R esponses
Y es 15
; No 1
Don't know 0
j
I M ajority expert opinion
The belief of th ese people on this point is that th e re could
j very w ell be an extension of the p re-p ro fessio n al co u rses to beyond
the tw o-year span. They believe it will be fa r b etter to have som e
I depth in som e fields than to allow the students to go off without a
]
| b etter-th an -av erag e p rep aratio n in these professional field co u rses.
i
j
Q uestion 40 asks if th e re is a co re o r common s e t of
i biological science co u rses offered at the various departm ents, should
th ese be taken in a fixed sequence or by choice by the student? Two-
th ird s favor the fre e choice m ethod, while o n e-th ird a re for the
fixed sequence p rocedure as the m ost d esirab le approach to the
problem (see T able 40).
The experts have negative beliefs on o r tow ard this idea of
i
128
TABLE 40
Q uestion 40: This co re o r common se t of biological science co u rses
should be taken in a fixed sequence.
i ■ ■ - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
i
i
! R esponses
| Y es 5
No 11
D on't know 0
j
| M ajority expert opinion
| T h ere seem s to be a negative feeling about any type of
i
i
| regulation of courses into a straig h t, non-varying schedule to be
I
I
| taken one after the other. It is expected certain p ro g ram s will have
| som e am ount o r num ber of req u ired co u rses with req u ired m inim um
h o u rs, e t c ., but these should not be all-in clu siv e and should allow a
leew ay of som e type.
j setting the courses up in regim ental o rd e r. Some latitude should be
i
j offered to the student in the selection and sequence of th ese biological
co u rse s. It was thought th at if the student is taking five hours of
physical ch em istry , this would not be the tim e to take nine m ore
i
j hours of upper division anatom y and physiology, for instance.
i
! Question 41 cen ters on one of the points that has caused a
129
m ajor change in the orientation of the whole biology curricu lu m
during the past two decades. W here the old curriculum was cen tered I
: about a taxonomy ax is, the concepts and scien ce of genetics has seen
| the em phasis shift to m olecular studies.
In this question, the concepts of the m olecular tren d is seen
as being firm ly established in the biology departm ents over the state.
; Of the fifteen positive resp o n se s, only one negative showed up in the
| count (see T able 41). The question asks if m odern biology co u rses
! have a g re a te r em phasis on m o lecu lar, ce llu la r, and population
biology than the older trad itio n al biology co u rse s. T his concept is
j
again supported and upheld by our panel of experts who ag ree that
! i
i m o lecu lar, c e llu lar, and population basis for biology now form
i
j the co re concepts in m ost biology cu rricu lu m s.
i
Q uestion 42 asks if m odern biology co u rses fo r the non-
I
‘ m ajo r (lib eral a rts ) students should be a o n e -se m e ste r five-unit
i I
I co u rse. On th is question and the following one (question 43, for tw o- j
! se m e ste r attem pt), th e re seem s to be little agreem ent. G etting a |
; . !
com m itm ent on the question of a tw o -sem ester v ersu s a o n e-sem ester
I
co u rse , the question of the lab o rato ry schedule and content would be j
|
f ir s t need in answ er. M ost seem to feel that som e allow ance fo r 1
j
lab o ra to ries a re a m ust and th at this concept m ust be reso lv ed f irs t
before any fu rth er p ro g re ss can be m ade. '
130
TABLE 41
Q uestion 41: M odern biology co u rse s have a g re a te r em phasis on
m olecular, cellu lar, and population biology than older
trad itio n al biology co u rses.
R esponses
Yes 15
No 1
Don’t know 0
| M ajority expert opinion
H ere again we se e thd changing cu rricu lu m typical of any
active and p ro g re ssiv e departm ent. T here has definitely been a
change in the m anner and style of the curricu lu m to fit the la te st
sh ift-o v er to the m olecular em phasis on study and re se a rc h . A re a l
effort to keep up with the la te st tren d s has been m ade by all the
departm ents throughout the sta te . O lder biology courses such as
. em bryology, entomology, a re s till offered, but the new additions to
i the cu rricu lu m a re on the m olecular levels in m ost ca ses.
The ex p erts, too, believe that a lab o rato ry for the non-
i
1
| scien ce m ajor would be a m ust (see T able 42). Again this question
; o r is s u e should be se ttled before any re a l p ro g re ss can be m ade on
i
i
i this topic.
131 I
TABLE 42
Question 42: Modern biology courses for the non-science major
(liberal arts) students should be a one-sem ester, five-
unit course.
j "
R esponses
Yes 4
No 9
; D on't know 3
|
|
| M ajority expert opinion
i
i
H ere again we have an indication of the feeling th ere should j
I :
| be tw o -sem e ste r o r one-y ear co u rses offered to those who can be |
i i
| term ed as non-biology students. T hese students should be, according!
to our ex p erts, subjected to at le a st one co u rse with a lab o rato ry
j
j and one without. They a re afraid that a o n e -se m e ste r, five-unit
!
! offering m ay be the cause of students m issin g too much in the way of j
i i
I co u rse content, i
H ere, in question 43, we have a sim ila rity to question 42. !
I
T his version asks if the m odern biology co u rse fo r the non-science
(lib eral a rts ) students should be a tw o -sem ester co u rse for th ree
I I
units each s e m e ste r. Again the question of the lab o rato ry procedures;
cam e up and until this question can be solved, the debate over the j
132 |
TABLE 43
Q uestion 43: T he m odern biology co u rse for the non-science (lib eral
a rts) students should be a tw o -se m e ste r co u rse fo r
th ree units each se m e ste r.
R esponses
Y es 5
No 15
D on't know 0
| M ajority expert opinion
I H ere again we have the concept of a biology experience for j
I !
i the non-m ajor which should include a lab o rato ry situation. T h ese j
i i
j i
two questions, 42 and 43, do not include the w ord "lab" and so our j
!
j
; experts believe that a negative resp o n se is b est fo r this situation. ]
j |
I They feel very strongly about the lab o rato ry experience and w ill not j
I I
!
: s e ttle for anything sh o rt of this req u irem en t.
one- v ersu s the tw o -sem ester co u rse in biology fo r the non-m ajor
i
j w ill not be reso lv ed (see T able 43).
j H ere again the question of the la b o ra to ries cam e up with the
I
I
| ex p erts. As no m ention of these was m ade in the two questions, the \
1
answ ers w ere m ostly negative. |
i
The question of articu latio n and com m unication with o th er I
133
sta te colleges is a point that is ju st being recognized as som ething
of value. Q uestion 44 ask s if it is po ssib le for C alifornia State
colleges to schedule co re co u rses for biology science m a jo rs to
articu late sequentially with the program s in other C alifornia State
I colleges. In this question and the resp o n ses to it, th e re is a divided
' field. F o r the yes answ er, th e re a re seven responses; fo r the no,
! th e re a re eight; and one fo r the don't know --indicating a re a l m ix tu re !
I of feelings on the m atter (see T able 44). Many com m ented that the
| ‘
| d e sire to have som e unity is overshadow ed by the fear of too much
| regulation fro m a central authority, a challenge to the lo cal autonomy j
! that m ost biology chairm en and th eir departm ents now enjoy. W hether
\ j
i re al o r im aginary, these apprehensions a re clearly v isib le in the j
i i
; resp o n ses. j
| |
T h e experts quizzed also have som e rese rv a tio n s about
| w here such an innocent p ra c tic e m ight lead . They believe that con-
i
I ferences and common agreem en t would be a better answ er to the |
; |
j problem . j
i [
! T h e question of w orking with the s ta te u n iv ersities did not j
have much enthusiasm . Q uestion 45 asks if it is possible for
C alifornia S tate colleges to schedule co re co u rses for biological
1
science m a jo rs to artic u la te sequentially w ith the p ro g ram s in the |
u n iv ersities of C alifornia. As the ch airm en believe th at th is m ight
134
TABLE 44
Q uestion 44: It is possible for C alifornia S tate colleges to schedule
co re c o u rse s for biological scien c e m ajors to articu late
sequentially with the program s in other C alifornia State
co lleg es.
i
I R esponses
Yes 7
No 8
! D on't know 1
i
i M ajority expert opinion
!
I The experts believe this p ractice would indeed be very
|
I difficult, in this situ atio n , to put into effect throughout the sta te .
| T hat som e type of coordination and cooperation-com m unication should
j be introduced, seem s to find favor with th e se people; but a s tric t
i
j statew ide set of co u rses is too m uch for them to accept at th is tim e.
j .
i
I run into quite a bit of negative reactio n from th e u n iv e rsitie s, they
i ,
j w ere non-com m ital about the whole thing. Som e seem ed to feel j
!
i
that som ething along this line m ight be w orked out over th e long-run,
w hile others w ere a little dubious of the chances fo r su c ce ss. T hree
i
I
| believe that they re a lly did not know what to say or think about the
i
I
I id ea. A look at T ab le 45 shows th ere needs to be a little m o re
135 |
TABLE 45
Q uestion 45: It is possible for C alifornia S tate colleges to schedule
co re co u rses for biological scien ce m ajo rs to artic u la te
sequentially with the p ro g ram s in the u n iv ersities of
C alifornia.
i Responses
j Y es 7
No 6
D on't know 3
j [
i
I
M ajority ex p ert opinion j
j j
i A gain, the sam e resp o n se is indicated as in question 44. In |
i i
I this case the experts believe the chances for an innovation such as j
! I
j t
th is with the U niversity of C alifornia a re nil. They stated these !
[ j
i people w ere extrem ely difficult to w ork with and that it is very
!
1 unlikely anything constructive will be forthcom ing.
i
| ■ I ■ —I. — !■! ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ [
i i
I I
; j
j re se a rc h done on this idea before even a rough guess could be |
hazarded as to its p o ssib le su rv iv al. !
T he experts quizzed on th is idea gave it very little chance of
becom ing fact. They, too, believe that the university people very
seldom cooperate with each o th er, m uch le s s a p erso n from another !
I
: I
I segm ent o r level of the education system .
136 |
Q uestion 46 (which re fe rs to a study done som e tim e ago)
asks if, in the opinion of the individual chairm en, the Biological
Science C urriculum Study (1958) has influenced change in the
C alifornia State college biological scien ce cu rricu lu m . As m ost of
the p erso n s did not know exactly what the study was o r what it had
■ trie d to do, th ere w as a la rg e p ercentage of negative and non-
: com m ital answ ers (see T able 46). T hose who did think th e re had
I been som e o v e r-a ll im pact upon the cu rricu lu m proced u res in the
i !
| sta te colleges. !
; i
j i
T he experts believe that little o r no im pact was felt by the j
I
I sta te system as a whole. They ex p ressed concern about the tim e j
I lapse.
T his table undertook the ta sk of conveying one of the m ost
| im portant aspects of this study. As som e type of coordinate planning
' has been d esired by m ost of th o se interview ed and polled in this study,
this question drew m o re positive reactio n s than did other form s of j
this line of questioning. Q uestion 47 asks if th e re is a need for m o re j
! i
i statew ide planning to coordinate biological scien ce curricu lu m am ong
the th ree segm ents of higher education. In the resp o n ses we find ten
t
|
| positive an sw ers, five negative, and one that would not be com m itted
(see T ab le 47). T his shows a v ery cautious d e sire to se e som e type j
of non-regulating, non-com m ittal approach to the problem . T hat a |
137
TABLE 46
Q uestion 46: In your opinion the Biological Sciences C urriculum
Study (1958) has influenced change in the C alifornia
State college biological scien ce cu rricu lu m .
| R esponses
Yes 6
No 5
D on't know 4
! M ajority expert opinion
i !
| T he experts believe little o r no im pact has been felt by the j
; I
j C alifornia S tate colleges by this study. The tim e elem ent (1958) is j
I too d istan t, and the study its e lf lacks re a lis tic goals and re se a rc h .
I
i
i
[ need ex ists and that som ething positive should be done is not ques-
I tioned too extensively, only the m ethods and eventual p ractice s a re
j
; held in skeptical re se rv e .
The experts have som e re se rv a tio n s about the chances of full
I
| cooperation from the ju n io r college and the u n iv ersity factions in such
I
an effort. They believe that the sta te colleges should perhaps lead
i
j
the way w ithin th e ir own system and se t up an exam ple to give the j
other segm ents a tinplate to follow.
i
j
Q uestion 48 asks if th ere is a need fo r a biological sciences |
138
TABLE 47
Q uestion 47: T h ere is a need for m ore statew ide planning to co
ordinate biological scien ces curriculum among the th ree
segm ents of higher education.
| R esponses
Y es 10
No 5
D on't know 1
i
i M ajority expert opinion
j Again th e re was agreem ent that som e type of coordination
| is needed among the sta te colleges them selves, but som e have
i re se rv a tio n s about the junior colleges and U niversity of C alifornia
j
j participation. It is believed that som ething m ay be worked out among j
| |
j the th ree lev els, but th e re should firs t be som e type of general plan- |
| |
; ning established at the sam e levels before an in te r-le v e l com m ission j
is se t up.
accred itatio n com m ission for the C alifornia State colleges. In the
I
an sw ers p resen ted to this study, we find a divided field of responses j
f
and opinions (see T able 48). As the answ ers a re sp lit rig h t down the ;
m iddle with one saying they did not know, th ere is found som ething of j
|
th e reserv atio n s that we found in other questions of this type. In
139
TABLE 48
Q uestion 48: T h ere is a need for a biological sciences accreditation
com m ission fo r the C alifornia State colleges.
I R esponses
Y es 7
; No 7
D on't know 1
j M ajority expert opinion
| The experts have som e re a l re se rv a tio n s about this one.
!
; W hile m ost believe som e type of statew ide planning would be advan-
|
| tageous, they certain ly a r e not ready for this so rt of thing. They
[
: believe set-u p s of this n ature would lead to a top-heavy ad m in istra-
i to r s ' group that would not be w orth the co st of the se rv ic e . They
I also se e this as a ste p tow ard a type of high school se t-u p regulated
! from Sacram ento.
| dealing with any type of in ter-co lleg e regulatory agency, som e strong!
! j
resp o n ses and feelings w ill a ris e . The scien tists a r e torn between j
a d e s ire for a standardization and a d e s ire for autonomy. This is an j
I
a re a which w ill be studied in som e depth, with o r w ithout the co-
i
operation of the college sy stem . As this a re a is v ery touchy to m o st
1 4 0 j
of the p erso n s concerned, it w ill be an a re a that should req u ire som e ;
degree of fin esse. T he p erso n s conducting future studies into this
concept should keep in m ind the troubled w aters onto which he is
; casting his re se a rc h net.
T he experts questioned on this point have som e very stro n g
; re se rv a tio n s on it. They fo re see political in terferen ce, am ong other
S ;
facto rs, as a possibility. They urged g reat caution in m atte rs of this
i
! nature.
I Q uestion 49 ask s if, in the opinion of the chairm en, the
i !
i physical facilities in the institutions a re adequate fo r the in stru ctio n j
I
| of biological sciences. T he answ er to this question m ay be biased by
i
| c u rren t events that m ay have given the chairm en som e item s (o r
|
j denied him ) he expected o r d esired . Still, the answ ers a re o n e-th ird
| positive, tw o-thirds negative (see T able 49). It is in terestin g to v isit
the various departm ents and observe the display o r equipm ent.
; Perhaps th e re is no such thing as adequate in biology. Some of the
| chairm en com m ented th at it is well known that any college can s e t up
and o p erate se v e ra l departm ents for the cost of one biology d e p a rt
m ent, one can set up se v e ra l colleges fo r the p ric e of one good
m edical school. T his w ill be a constant problem as the equipm ent
for biology becom es m o re sophisticated and co stly . Public dem and j
fo r a "top" flight departm ent w ill cause college ad m in istrato rs and
141 I
TABLE 49
; Q uestion 49: In your opinion, the physical facilities in your institution
a re adequate for the instruction of biological sciences?
i
I Responses
Yes
No
D on't know
1 M ajority ex p ert opinion
All seem ed to believe th at the physical facilities a r e |
; adequate; not that they would not be w illing to accept a la rg e r budget j
j j
I for lab o rato ry equipm ent and such buildings as a re needed to keep up I
i !
! with the advances in the different fields with the biological scien ces, i
! i
! This gets us into the a re a of budget, which is always a touchy item . ;
! I
i
; j
i
i departm ent heads' financial pains fo r som e tim e to com e. U nfortun
ately, much of th is equipment se e s a m inim um of use. It is com mon
o ccu rren ce to have equipm ent o rd e re d for one incom ing sp e c ia list
only to have this p erson leave the departm ent in a y e a r o r so and then
have the equipm ent lay idle for la ck of an o p erato r.
| The experts quizzed on th is point a re not in accord by any j
i
' I
| m eans. H ere again is an a re a th at could stand fu rth er investigation j
5
12
0
142
and study. D ollarw ise, the experts indicated, it would be a very
profitable study for the C alifornia State colleges to conduct.
In question 50 the chairm en a re asked if they feel that the
instructional personnel a re adequate fo r the in stru ctio n of biological
sciences in th e ir departm ents. M ost responded with affirm ative
answ ers (see T able 50). The preponderance of Ph.D . 's on the faculty
led to the belief that the personnel w ere m ore than adequate for the
job.
The experts co n cu rred with the views ex p ressed by the
!
i departm ent heads. They, too, believe that the personnel a re m o re
j than adequate and that they a re doing a su p e rio r job in the vast
I
' m ajority of instances.
In question 51 we have a m ajo rity of the resp o n ses in the yes
i
| colum n. Only four no's w ere reco rd ed (see T able 51). This question
j
I asks if a biological science m ajo r should be grounded in the basic
! biological concepts before beginning the study of specific subjects of
l
; botany and zoology. T he concepts asked h ere indicate that the
i co u rses m ay lead to a specialty without extensive investigation into
j
rela ted fields of biology. Evidently m o st of the chairm en responding
believe that th e re is re a l need to have each student with a good
foundation in all closely rela ted fields of biology. As th ese fields,
along with ch em istry and physics, w ill support a re a lly good student
TABLE 50
Q uestion 50: In your opinion, the instructional personnel a re adequate
for the in stru ctio n of biological sciences?
R esponses
Y es 15
No 2
D on't know 0
M ajority expert opinion
T he persons interview ed on this point believe that the staff-
faculty of the biology departm ents a re adequate and that th e re is
little they can add to that statem ent.
j with a biology m ajo r o r m in o r, they a re deem ed a n ecessity by m ost
I of the chairm en interview ed for this study.
| ]
T he views of the experts found h ere w ere not d issim ila r to
|
| those of the college chairm en. They did express som e apprehension
; i
as to exactly what is m eant by "b asic biological concepts" but a r e j
quite s u re that this is an easily defined academ ic com m odity. They
believe th at this foundation is essen tial for the developm ent of com pe- j
tent biologists, m edical personnel, and other pro fessio n al personnel, j
i
As question 52 developed, it becam e one of the m o re !
144
TABLE 51
Q uestion 51: A biological scien ce m ajor should be grounded in the
b asic biological concepts before beginning the study of
the specific subjects of botany and zoology.
; R esponses
Yes 12
No 4
Don't know 0
f M ajority expert opinion
H ere again is a question that one would have to go to som e
| length to define what is m eant by "b asic biology concept" before an
|
| answ er could be forthcom ing. The ex p erts believe that if a student
|
; has a su p erio r high school background in biology, he m ight go stra ig h t
: I
: into specialized college co u rse s. If he lacks these p re re q u isite s, j
then a basic college biology co u rse would probably be best. All in all,
! th e re a re som e divided opinions on this m a tte r.
in te restin g and im portant inform ation g iv ers in this chapter. Too
often re se a rc h p ro jec ts and publications a re attrib u ted to the la rg e r
| c e n te rs of h ig h er learning, in p a rtic u la r th e la rg e sta te and p riv ate
j u n iv ersities. But it was discovered during th is study that a m odest
145
am ount of very good w ork and publication was being turned out by the
1 in stru c to rs at the colleges throughout the sta te. Often the in stru c to rs
w ere given light teaching, o r no teaching for a s e m e s te r, to w ork on
; th e se p ro jects. The type of re s e a rc h attem pted is often lim ited , due
to sh o rt funding but, n ev erth eless, is good w ork indeed. S everal
; taxonom y papers have been published this y ear a t Cal Poly, Pomona,
along with others on herpetology and other d iscip lin es.
T able 52 gives som e idea of the num ber that a re p resen tly
i
; engaged in re se a rc h . T he ex p erts believe that th is re se a rc h w as a
i
1 g rea t stim ulus to the staff, but ex p ress hope and concern th at it does
: not becom e the m o n ster that has engulfed so m any of the la rg e r
(
; u n iv ersities.
i
! In T able 53 th e re is an exam ination of the academ ic effo rts
| of th e sta ff of each departm ent in th e ir p ursuit of fu rth e r c re d its and
1
knowledge by attending other c la s s e s . As som e of the faculty m em -
; b ers had not yet earn ed th e ir d o cto rate, th e re is an honest effo rt
| being m ade to acq u ire the needed cred its to finish th is degree. Those
! who now p o ssess the doctorate seem le ss likely to re tu rn to the
i
classro o m in m ost instances. Som e, however, a r e taking su m m er
in stitu te classes and re se a rc h p ro jects that bring them into fre sh
i
surroundings and into new situations with new p erso n alities in d iffer
ent disciplines.
146
TABLE 52
Q uestion 52: Do any of the staff m em bers in the biology division/
departm ent have re se a rc h p ro jects underway?
| R esponses
Yes
No
D on't know
! M ajority ex p ert opinion
As can be seen from the ch art, m ost of the departm ents have!
! j
som e type of re se a rc h p ro ject under way. The experts believe that j
1 j
i this is the ru le ra th e r than the exception and that staff m em bers that J
!
S have a d e sire to publish a re given tim e to do this w ork. Although
i
| the sta te colleges a re not under the "publish or p erish " law , there is
]
i
i a gentle encouragem ent to do som e re s e a rc h if the individual in stru c -
j to r has the ability and in te re st to do so.
Q uestion 53 asks if any of the instructional personnel in
your division/departm ent have taken any science co u rse s since 1965.
Some of the chairm en indicated s u rp ris e a t the thought of a person
with an advanced degree (Ph. D ., M. D ., e tc .) taking fu rth e r courses j
j
in th eir field. Some believe that the day of universal "continuing
15
1
0
147 !
TABLE 53
Q uestion 53: Have any of the instructional personnel in your division/
departm ent taken any science courses since 1965?
|
! R esponses
Yes 12
No 3
D on't know 1
:
i
! M ajority expert opinion
i
! This question is one that w as not adapted to the ab ilities of
i the outside ex p erts, but aim ed m ore at the individual departm ent
chairm en at each college. How ever, all experts believe reasonably
i s u re th at the vast m ajo rity of the facu lty /staff of the various d ep art
m ents vould have taken som e type of fu rth er w ork in scien ce since
■ 1965
: education" is n ea r at hand and those who feel that the docto rate is the i
i !
| place in tim e to stop and r e tir e from learn in g a re going to find them - I
|
selv es shut out and pushed aside in the academ ic com m unity. j
The ex p erts believe that m ost faculties have som e type of j
extension work, eith er class o r re s e a rc h at other institutions. They
gave the im p ressio n that this is the ru le ra th e r than the exception.
148 |
Question 54 asks if the division/departm ent receiv ed outside ;
financial assistan ce such as equipm ent grants from NSF, AEC, o r
NDEA since 1960. As m ost of the departm ents, th irteen to be exact,
; rep o rted receiving aid of som e type, it m ay conclude that this type of
; a s sista n c e has a rriv e d and m ay be expected to continue in the future
; (see T ab le 54). How m uch use is obtained from this equipm ent by the |
individual departm ents, and how m uch it is used before it becom es
i
! obsolete, is open to question. Be that as it m ay, the departm ents do
I I
| feel a genuine need fo r such item s and seem to believe that th e ir
! departm ent, or any departm ent, cannot com pete and do an adequate j
; job of instruction and student p rep aratio n without such equipm ent. !
| ;
| The experts believe that such equipm ent is essen tial in i
: i
; to d ay 's biology. They stated that equipm ent has been a m ajo r facto r j
| I
t in the g reat leaps forw ard that have been m ade in the biological
I
i
I scien ces during re c e n t tim es. They expressed a d e sire to se e m ore
! of th is type of aid in th e future.
Q uestion 55 ask s if the chairm en believe that students
m ajoring in biology should have the equivalent of a t le a st one y ear of
physics and som e background in organic and inorganic chem istry.
The resp o n ses w ere affirm ative, as fifteen answ ered y es, no answ ers
i |
for no, and one p erso n cam e fo rth with don't know (see T able 55). j
The concept of th ese basic co u rses aiding the student in his biology
149 j
TABLE 54
Q uestion 54: Has your division/departm ent receiv ed outside financial :
a ssista n c e such as equipm ent grants from NSF, AEC,
o r NDEA since 1960?
I R esponses
; Yes
No
D on't know
; M ajority expert opinion
In this question, m ost of the experts believe that th e re a re j
i i
| no departm ents that have not receiv ed som e type of governm ent aid j
I through g ran ts, foundations, etc. Although this is not a m ajo r so u rce
I of finance fo r them , they feel they a re a good outside stim ulus fo r the j
1 i
| departm ents and the m em bers of the facu lty /staff. j
; m ajo r a re firm ly rooted in the m inds of m ost biologists. j
i
The chairm en stated that all sciences in fact as all things,
|
t
a re rela ted to each other to a g re a te r o r le s s e r d eg ree, som e j
i
i
knowledge of them is essen tial. T hese co u rses re p re se n t som e of |
i
]
the m ost fundam ental knowledge in science; they a re deem ed essen tial
: i
and rightly so. T he chairm en indicated that th e ir answ ers w ere i
; I
I c o rre c t. This feeling was backed by the ex p erts quizzed. They saw j
13
3
0
150 j
TABLE 55
: Q uestion 55: Students m ajoring in biology should have the equivalent
of at le ast one y ear of physics and som e background in
organic and inorganic ch em istry .
R esponses
i
Y es 15
No 0
Don’t know 1
i
j r
j M ajority expert opinion
T hose experts interview ed for this study believe that a j
i \
l ;
positive resp o n se to this question is by fa r the best answ er. The fact
i that both physics and ch em istry a re so basic to the study of any
!
I i
i scien ce that a good basic understanding of these subjects is a m ust, i
| It would be very hard to study nerve im pulse conduction without the
|
I b asic law s of electro n ics tucked away som e place in the m ind. i
th e se co u rses as so basic to a com plete understanding of biology that j
th e re has never been any se rio u s questioning of th e ir n ecessity as a
p re re q u isite fo r the biology m ajor.
In T able 56, on the section dealing with general attitudes of ;
the faculty and chairm en of the biology departm ents of the sta te j
i i
1 ;
J
i colleges of C alifornia, we have a continuation from question 55. In [
151
TABLE 56
Q uestion 56: Students m ajoring in biology should have a background
in biochem istry and biophysics ra th e r than one in the
traditional one y ea r of physics and two y e a rs of
ch em istry sequence.
; R esponses
! Yes 6
No 7
i D on't know 4
I
i
i
| M ajority ex p ert opinion
The experts interview ed on this point believe that co u rses
| such as biochem istry and biophysics a re too sp ecialized and b etter
i
i
s saved for upper division o r graduate level stu d ies. The basic
S
co u rse s should, by all m eans, com e f irs t and be m a stered before
j tackling th ese before-m entioned experiences.
question 56 the chairm en a re asked if students m ajoring in biology j
should have a background in biochem istry and biophysics ra th e r than
one in the trad itio n al one y e a r of physics and two y e a rs of ch em istry
sequence. T he resp o n ses w ere not as unanimous as in question 55;
I
six w ere affirm ative; seven, negative; and four, don't know. M ost I
!
thought that m ost persons in biology assum e that th ese courses a r e j
I
I
I
152 !
i
not taken instead of a basic chem -physics basis but taken after them . ;
They a re , in other w ords, advanced co u rses in the usual sen se of
the w ord and not considered as basic c o u rse s. This concept gave the
chairm en a bit of trouble in th e ir answ ers and may account for the
; m anner in which they a re so sp read out over the selection of answ ers.!
; The chairm en stated that in this day and tim e the vast m ajority of the ;
: biology m a jo rs w ish to include som e, if not all, of th ese advanced
; co u rses in th e ir lis t of c la sse s.
| The experts w ere of the opinion that these co u rses a re better;
i i
! i
saved fo r the stu d en t's upper division o r graduate stu d ies. They j
| believe they a re too advanced for the average biology.m ajor to take <
j
; as low er division c la sse s.
i
C hapter Sum m ary
]
i
i
!
T his chapter has concerned its e lf with the general attitudes
i
j of the biology departm ent chairm en a c ro ss the sta te . The answ ers j
I i
; gave the im p ressio n that th ere is a lack of unity in a re a s w here th e re j
! should be som e am ount of so lid arity . C ertainly in basic is s u e s , as
|
co u rse req u irem e n ts, p rereq u isites of the m ajor and co u rse tim e
span should be common to all departm en ts. Some a re a s such as
sequential planning with other lev els, coordinator com m ittees fo r j
i
i
j biology on the sta te level, and equipm ent adequacy m ay cause a !
153
i d iv ersified resp o n se from those interview ed.
Again, in this ch ap ter, as in many of those that preceded it,
m any of the chairm en gave the im pression th at th e re is much w ork
th at could be done in m a tte rs of in ter-co lleg e com m unication and
j coordination. They hope th at som e of these confused issu es will
| reso lv e them selves and becom e straightened out in the future and that
i
; som e of the w eaknesses pointed out in this study may help to lead the
way to a satisfacto ry solution.
CHAPTER VIII
FINDINGS; NATURE OF THE INSTITUTION
The purpose of this ch ap ter is le ss cle a r-c u t and w ell-
! defined than the other chapters of this study. The conclusions draw n
i
j
i from this p a rt of the study w ill be the m ost difficult to defend, and
I yet m ay produce som e of the m o st in tere stin g and valuable inform a-
i ,
\ tion. The eight questions listed in section E of the questionnaire deal :
j 1
! in stru c to rs ' education as a p re re q u isite fo r a position on the biology J
1 i
i
; faculty, settings fo r the various colleges, hours of teaching for the j
i j
' in stru c to rs, em phasis fields fo r biology, sp ecial responsibility of the |
j colleges tow ard biology, and la s t but certain ly not le a st, com m ents |
| from the questionnaire. j
1 I
I
Q uestion 57 concerned itse lf with the type of location o r j
j |
I d is tric t that the college was situated in, m aking it eith er a single j
i i
j ;
college cam pus or a m ulti-cam pus institution. Fourteen of those J
I responding liste d th e ir college as a single cam pus institution, while !
i
i
four listed th e irs as a m ulti-cam pus college.
154
t
Q uestion 58 ask s about the com m unity and w hether it is either
ru ra l o r urban. Seven responded with ru ra l and eleven considered
them selves as urban institutions.
Q uestion 59 asks how m any in stru c to rs on your day staff
this y ear taught biology co u rses. The total num ber teaching day
; classes cam e to 355 fo r all colleges responding. Q uestion 60 ask s
i about the sam e question, except that it is concerned with extended
! day p ro g ram s. A total of seventy-seven in stru c to rs a re listed h ere,
! m aking up roughly 20 p er cent of the day sta ff's total num ber or
i working fo rce.
Q uestion 61 is concerned w ith educational achievem ent levels j
| for the biology in stru c to r at the various colleges. All responding to
|
’ this question believe that the Ph. D. is the only adequate and ap p ro p ri-
: ate degree fo r such a position.
! i
j
Question 62 concerned its e lf with su m m er institutes by j
i |
! asking the num ber of biology faculty in attendance a t sum m er institutes
j j
: since 1965. Only four colleges responded that som e of th e ir faculty
!
had engaged in such activity. j
| F o r questions 63 and 64, which deal with cu rricu lu m , Tables
j
! 57 and 58 have explanations for each.
i
j !
! T able 57 is concerned w ith curriculum when it asks which of j
i j
| the following (co u rse types) is s tre s s e d o r em phasized in your general-
TABLE 57
156
Q uestion 63: Which of the following is stre s s e d o r em phasized in
your general biology co u rse fo r lib eral a r ts non-science
students?
a. M olecular and ce llu lar biology. 11
b. E cological and environm ental
biology. 13
c. O rganism al biology-taxonom y. 3
d. D evelopm ental biology. 11
e. Evolution. 12
f. O ther 6
; M ajority expert opinion
i
T h ese persons believe that le tte rs " a , ” " b ," and "e" a re
| 1
those m o st likely to be em phasized in any p ro g re ssiv e biology dep art- j
j m ent. As th ese co u rses have, to a la rg e extent, rep laced the j
i
taxonom y approach, this question of replacem ent cam e up. They |
i
1 j
i believe it is a com mon and usually valid observation that a curriculum )
\ - i
d e te rio ra te s unless it is subjected to continual m odification. The j
ex p erts indicated that this change and m odification is a constant
featu re of the biology departm ent curriculum in th e C alifornia State
co lleg es. ;
TABLE 58
Question 64: In your opinion, what is the special resp o n sib ility of the
C alifornia S tate college tow ard biological science
education?
a. C u rricu la planned for adult or
continuing education. 2
b. C u rricu la for vocational-
technical education. 3
c. C u rricu la which contribute to
the general education of
tra n s fe r non-science m a jo rs. 7
d. C u rricu la for the science m ajo rs. 15
e. O ther; please specify. 3
M ajority expert opinion
L e tte rs "c ,r and M d" appear to be the m ain o r sp ecial resp o n
sib ility of the biology departm ents as seen by the ex p erts. This
seem s to be in close agreem ent with those ex p ressed by the d e p a rt
m ent chairm en.
biology co u rse for lib era l a rts non-science m a jo rs. Of the choices
th e re , taxonomy and organism al biology seem to be th e le a s t popular.
T he chairm en indicated th at the phylogenetic approach has been
la rg e ly rep laced by the m olecular and ce llu la r biology, the ecological j
i
i and environm ental biology followed closely by evolution and by j
158 |
environm ental biology followed closely by evolution and developm ental
biology. In the p ro c e ss, th ere is le ss em phasis placed on the taxon
omy p rin cip les and m o re em phasis on general phenom ena illu strate d
by the m ost appropriate organism . They indicated that th e re is a
noticeable tendency tow ards g re a te r em phasis on the biology of popu- ;
lations as a distinctive level of an aly sis. Though not n early so
s im p re ssiv e quantitatively as the shift tow ard m olecular biology and
i cell biology, the phenomenon has considerable im plication fo r the
i
i fu tu re. T his point is also brought out in the CUEBS Publication No.
j ;
| 18, June, 1967.
i
T able 58 e x p resses som e of the basic feeling of the individual
i
| chairm en as they looked at the goals and resp o n sib ilities of th e ir
j
i resp e ctiv e dep artm en ts. M ost saw th e ir duty as a resp o n sib ility to
the biology-science m ajo r and secondly to the science m inor non-
i
I m a jo r. They stated th is is to be expected in a school system that
does not s tre s s the com m unity duties, as for exam ple, the junior j
!
college sy stem . Although all of the chairm en did not have a unani- !
m ous attitude on the p a rtic u la r cu rricu lu m procedure, content, or
sequence, m ost of them showed a rem a rk a b le degree of uniform ity
!
in th e ir goals and resp o n sib ilities. j
T he schools them selves have se t up catalog req u irem en ts, |
t I
| goals, schedules that fairly w ell conform to those specified by the
1 5 9
ch airm en . It is a m a tte r of reco rd that the goals a r e usually s e t up
! by the departm ent in close cooperation with the school cen tral adm in-
i istra tio n before such lite ra tu re is available to the public. Often th e re
can be found sm all differences between the actual p ractice s and th o se
called for in the catalog, but not too often.
The experts cam e forth with the opinion that le tte rs "c" and
i
j M d" w ere those m ost closely aligned with the actual p ra ctic e s of the
i m ajo rity of the biology departm ents though out of the sta te . Some
| indicated that som e of the other uses of the departm ent could rece iv e
| m o re attention, but never a t the expense of the m a jo r-m in o r students.
C hapter Sum m ary
i
i
j In the category of com m ents, se v e ra l activ ities w ere seen
I
I
| as needing com m ents. The following statem ents w ere m ade:
! 1. "T hat counseling should be a load sh ared by all. "
2. Needs of the departm ent a r e "m ore staff, m ore
j
space, m o re equipm ent, m o re money. "
i
i 3. "O ur faculty a ll w ork full tim e ."
4. "N inety-five p e r cent have th e ir Ph.D. 's alre a d y ."
5. All B.S. degree students "tak e zoology and botany
instead of biology."
i
! 6. "E ach student has a counselor--about twenty
160 |
students p er faculty m e m b e r."
7. F acilities "could be b etter--alw ay s!"
8 . "Y our questions seem ed pointed to a junior c o lle g e ."
9. Biology co u rses should be "giving th e best p o ssib le
biological background to the non-m ajors and m a jo rs ."
10. "C lass size too large! Low unit value m akes it
difficult to include essen tial ite m s ."
11. C ritica l concern is "c la ss scheduling of la b o ra to rie s ."
12. "Stupid question" (question 17). j
13. C ritica l concerns a re "teaching load, fac ilities, |
s a la rie s to a ttra c t and reta in com petent faculty. "
i
14. On question 2 2 --"Im p lies our faculty has no
re s e a rc h sc ie n tists!--U n tru e, 70 p e r cent engaged
in productive re s e a rc h , many (with) re se a rc h
g r a n ts ."
15. On special resp o n sib ilities of the d ep artm en t--
i
"Giving university c u rric u la to p re p a re students ]
i
fo r graduate school and secondary school teaching,
40 p e r cent of the 707 biology m a jo rs at SDSC a re
in teach er education."
16. On th e study, "1 hope you a re sam pling all sta te
c o lle g e s--! subm it SDSC is a university in all but ;
161
nam e and m ay not be com parable to other sta te
co lle g e s."
17. Q uestions 42 to 4 5 --"Should not even attem pt. "
18. On a biological co m m ission--"R idiculous, this
would be ju st another paper e x e rc ise in red ta p e ."
19. "R em em ber, each school m ust develop its own
curricu lu m for its p a rtic u la r needs. Not all a re
the sam e nor should they be the sam e. D ifferences
lead to com petition and im provem ent. HSC is a
specialized program for environm ental science and
ecology. If a student w ants m o lecu lar biology,
bacteriology, e t c ., they should probably go so m e
w here e l s e ."
20. Our "School of N atu ral Sciences includes d ep a rt
m ents of biology, scien ce, ch em istry , m athem atics,
physics, and geology and physical sc ien c e."
21. "B. S. degrees a re aw arded on this cam pus but not
to m ajo rs with School of N atural S cien ces."
22. On c ritic a l concerns of the d ep a rtm en t-- "T urn them
(students) on as citizen s concerned with support of
s c ie n c e ."
23. On degrees aw ard ed -- "A. B. only in biology,"
162
"B.S. in C linical S cie n ce ."
24. On fixed sequence of co u rse s--"Im p o ssib le to
sc h e d u le ."
25. "The questions a re poor; m any involve such
com plicated issu es that a sim ple answ er is not
possible. The obvious point of the questions is to
su b stan tiate a program for a unified approach to
offerings. We a re try in g to reach m o re of our non
science m ajo rs through student-faculty innovations."
26. On the stu d y --"It needs much m o re work; the goals
of this a r e too evident. I threw away the firs t
m ailing. N evertheless I have been stim ulated to do
som e things I hadn’t done before. Thanks! C h e e rs."
27. On a B.S. in biology--"W e give A .B ."
28. " T ra n sfe r students have usually fulfilled general
education re q u ire m e n ts."
29. On c ritic a l co n cern s--"A need to develop a co u rse
which (would) give g re a te r attention to the im pact
of m an as a p a rt of the ecological environm ent and
the biological consequences which can flow from th is."
30. On c ritic a l co n cern s--"E d u catin g to the student with
p a rtic u la r resp e c t to th e relatio n sh ip s between m an
163 !
and his en v iro n m en t."
31. On question 1 5 --"A m biguous, as we do not have one
introductory biology co u rse as this question im p lie s ."
32. On d e g re e s--"T h e degree is B. A. in biology-science,
not 'B accalaureate in S c ie n c e .' "
j
33. On p re-testin g --"M a y be instituted, Septem ber, 1969."
j
On biology co u n selo rs--"S ev eral ad v iso rs a re assigned."
! 34. On c ritic a l concern s--"W h eth er o r not co u rses such
|
| as biology should be req u ired of lib e ra l a rts students j
[ o r should they (be allowed to) 'do th e ir th in g .' " j
35. On co m m en ts--"It is m y understanding that only |
i i
j departm ent heads will fill the questionnaire out. If
so , this w ill be a poor sam ple and at best a biased
i •
one" [m ajo rity expert com m ent]. j
i
36. On c ritic a l concerns--"D eveloping techniques to
in su re the im portance of biology in the future is
u n d ersto o d ."
| i
| In th is chapter, the n ature of the institution, its setting, !
j
cam pus sty le, type of com m unity, staff, cu rricu lu m , and a lis t of
com m ents from the various persons engaged in the study w ere
|
rep o rted . T he a ll-o v e r feeling receiv ed from th is chapter is that j
I i
j th e se people have an in ten se in te re st and p rid e in th e ir resp ectiv e \
; i
! <
164
institutions. They a re very concerned with the program s and
students produced at th e ir in stitutions. They indicated they would
ap p reciate som e com petent outside advice and help for th e ir d ep art
m ents. T h e ir hopes a re that this type of help w ill be forthcom ing
from dedicated people.
CHAPTER IX
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS,
AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The purpose of this study is to ascerta in and analyze the
actual p ractice s of the eighteen C alifornia State colleges reg ard in g
the biological cu rricu lu m s offered to th e low er division student, with
special em phasis on the cu rricu lu m for the non-science (lib eral a rts )
m a jo rs.
T h is chapter, for c la rity of understanding and ease of
referen ce , has been subdivided into four m ain sections. T hese a re
as follows:
1. Sum m ary: A b rie f overview of the review of
the lite ra tu re , the p ro ced u res used, and the
developm ent of the questionnaire.
2. Conclusions: V erification of the hypotheses and
the findings of the questionnaire a re listed .
3. Im plications: H ere a s e rie s of common p ractices
in the biology departm ents of the C alifornia State
165
166
colleges a re found.
4. R ecom m endations: H ere the twelve reco m
m endations th at w ere produced from the data of
th is study a re listed .
Sum m ary
1
; Review of the lite ra tu re
i A review of the lite ra tu re was undertaken, with this m aterial j
j ;
I being divided into th ree principal categ o ries. |
j j
| 1. T he history and nature of biology teaching at the |
j
| college level.
2. T he use of the lab o rato ry as a teaching device in
| ■ j
biology.
j
3. The methodology of teaching biology at the four-
y ear (state) college level.
' I
As the lite ra tu re did not rev eal an extended am ount of
i
|
| w riting on h isto ry of teaching biology, inform ation on this subject
was obtained by indirect so u rces such as teaching m a te ria ls, out- i
standing te a c h e rs and th e ir c la sse s, equipm ent developm ent over the
y e a rs , p rep aratio n m ethods for secondary teach ers in biology and
catalog review . All of th ese indicated that the older concepts w ere
concerned with collections, dissection of p rese rv e d specim en, g ro ss |
167 |
and m icroscopic anatom y, taxonomy, and field identifications. As
the lite ra tu re rev ealed , th ere now exists a predom inance of courses
: cen tered around m olecular and cellu lar levels of organization. As an
! organizing p rin cip le for biology instruction, the phylogenetic approach
I ;
| has been larg ely rep laced by heredity, the cell, the developm ent, the
j
| m echanism s of integration, and evolutionary dynam ics. In the
; p ro c e ss, the lite ra tu re rev eals that th ere is le ss em phasis on the ;
v ariety of organism s and m ore em phasis on general phenomena
illu stra te d by the m o st appropriate organism . j
I The lite ra tu re indicated a shift in p erip h eral and supporting j
! i
| co u rses also. M athem atics, physics, and ch em istry in the low er
i
! lev els co u rses allow the introduction of m o re sophisticated quantita-
j
| tive m a te ria l and sym bolic analysis into undergraduate in stru ctio n in
I
j
biology.
j
' The use of lab o rato ry m a terials and the laboratory as a
teaching device is the concern of the second section in the review of
! the lite ra tu re . T h e re is nothing new in lab o rato ry use as a teaching
i !
( I
i device for biology, only the m ethods, equipm ent, and techniques j
I
have changed. T he older lab o rato ries cen tered around dissection of
specim en and the m aking and labeling of ra th e r la rg e taxonomy
collections. D issection is now done, if it is done at all, with m icro - ;
m anipulators on the cellu lar level. As the m odern advances in |
168 |
scien ce, during the la s t decade o r so , have been accom plished
through the use of sophisticated equipm ent, this asp ect of learning
the use of new equipm ent, is now of p rim e im portance in any pro-
: g re ssiv e biology cu rricu lu m . As m ost in stru c to rs feel that the
lab o rato ry is an indispensable p art of the learn in g experience, we
can expect its use to widen ra th e r than narrow in the future biology
planning.
The th ird p a rt of the review of the lite ra tu re dealt with the
I teaching m ethods and curriculum at the fo u r-y ear (state) college j
; level. In this p a rt we find that th e re is a dearth of m a terials and
l i
j that the review was confined to sta te college bulletins, catalogs,
! i
re p rin ts, co u rse d escrip tio n s, and c la ss handouts fo r the resp ectiv e !
!
biology co u rse s. The inform ation obtained was m eager and incon-
! i
j elusive. Without inform ation and m inim um guidance, it is difficult j
! I
i j
to m ake a listin g of lite ra tu re for this p a rt. However, th ere w ere j
! enough w ritings available to determ ine that m ost colleges, not only j
j ;
! in C alifornia but in other p arts of the country, have m ade a concerted]
| i
effort, m ostly on an individual b asis, to re v ise th e ir cu rricu la in
i
j
biology. In this section th ere was a selection of w ritings to illustrate^
as w ell as possible, the direction and procedures of the biology c u r
riculum . In this re sp e c t special recognition is given to the so u rce s I
j i
supplied by CUEBS. T his organization and th e ir publications have j
169 I
done m o re than any other so u rce for this study.
i T he procedure
In C hapter III the p ro ced u res involved in the conduct of the
i
| study w ere spelled out and included (1) securing an endorsem ent,
(2) review of the lite ra tu re , (3) delim iting the study, (4) form at of
|
the study, (5) developing the questionnaire, (6) subm it it to ju ry of
' ex p erts, (7) distribution and re tu rn of the questionnaire, (8) organ-
i ization of the findings, (9) tabulation and treatm en t of the retu rn ed
questionnaire, and (10) personal interview s a t the selected sta te j
e I
; i
; colleges. |
i
i T he conclusions se t forth in this study have been derived
i
i
1 from data secu red through the following m edia: (1) personal v isits
j
to C alifornia S tate colleges; (2) professional lite ra tu re in the field of
i
; college level biological education; (3) catalogs, bulletins, m anuals,
I and educational handbooks from the C alifornia S tate co lleg es; \
i
I (4) questionnaires subm itted in p erso n by the investigator; and
I (5) p riv ate interview s with selected individuals who have had ex p e ri- j
ence with the duties of chairm en of the biology departm ents and who j
I
]
a re now in a position o th er than the chairm anship. j
i
A seven-page questionnaire was developed and p resen ted to
i
I
| a ju ry of educators fo r c ritic ism and com m ent. T he questionnaire
was then eith er p resen ted in perso n o r m ailed, a fte r telephone j
170 I
confirm ation, to the eighteen C alifornia colleges. All of th e chairm en
responded. Of the eighteen retu rn ed , m ost of them w ere answ ered in !
full. The re su lts of the questionnaire retu rn s w ere tabulated and the
data becam e the chapters dealing w ith the findings of the study.
Conclusions
: H ypotheses
i R efe rrin g back to the m ain hypotheses of this study, it is
; apparent that w ithin the lim itations im posed on the data that the
following conclusions may be accepted:
;
H ypothesis 1 m ay be accepted and that th e re a re consistent
I p attern s among the biology ch airm en 's attitudes tow ard the need for
I
specific c u rric u la r program s for professional p rep aratio n in the
| I
biological sc ien ces. j
t
Hypothesis 2 m ay be accepted and that th e re is a rela tio n - ]
! !
| ship between the biology curricu lu m and the academ ic background of j
: j
the entering biology students. I
H ypothesis 3 m ay be accepted and that th e re is a re la tio n
ship between the biology curriculum for the scien ce m ajor and the j
non-science m a jo r. ^
| H ypothesis 4 m ay not be accepted and that th e re is no
i consistent p attern in the attitudes about cu rricu lu m for the non-
171
| scien ce m ajo rs am ong faculty m em bers.
Hypothesis 5 m ay not be accepted and th e re is no con-
i siste n t p attern of curriculum re s e a rc h in biology for the non-m ajor
; in th e scien ces.
! T he questionnaire findings
! In C hapters IV, V, VI, VII, and VIII the inform ation col-
' lected from the questionnaires w as rep o rted . T he m ajor problem
| undertaken in this study was to discover and analyze the following
I item s reg ard in g activ ities and curricu lu m p rac tice s: (1) p ra ctice s
j re la te d to cu rricu lu m , (2 ) p ra c tic e s rela te d to articu latio n and
i
!
} sequential planning, (3) p ractice s re la te d to students, (4) general
; attitu d es, and (5) natu re of the institution.
i
i
The findings and conclusions se t forth in this ch ap ter a re
; based on the following p rem ises:
1. The inform ation provided by the biology d ep art
m ent chairm en at each of the C alifornia State
colleges is an indication of the re a l c u rric u la r
p ractices followed by the institutions.
2. C ertain am ounts of uniform ity as to kinds of
L
| biological science co u rses offered to non-m ajor
1
| (science) w ill alleviate the problem of sequential
| _planning and articu latio n among the s tate colleges ____
of C alifornia.
3. In terp retatio n s and understandings concerning the
nature of general education sciences for the non
m ajo r (science) a re num erous and varied.
. 4. T he instructional program s in biological scien ces
can be im proved.
5. C rite ria for general education biology courses can
be established and found w orkable.
] The following w ere .the m ain findings developed from this
|
I questionnaire instrum ent.
i
G eneral inform ation and p ractices
[ rela ted to curricu lu m
i
I 1. A ll of the eighteen colleges eligible to p articip ate
|
i in the study did so by being personally interview ed
j o r by retu rn in g a com pleted questionnaire.
i
! 2. Of the participating institutions, 9 p er cent had an
enrollm ent of under 999; 40 p er cent had a total
I
i
! enrollm ent of students in the category of 1,0 0 0 to
4, 999; 26 p e r cent w ere found to be in the 5,000
to 9,999 category; and 25 p er cent in the total
enrollm ent category that would exceed 10, 000.
i
j 3. Of the eighteen colleges rep o rtin g , all had men
as the biology chairm en on cam puses, w hile none
rep o rted that th e re w ere no women nor ev er had
been any women in this capacity.
All of those responding to the questionnaire and
interview indicated th eir education level was the
Ph. D. in an academ ic discipline.
Of those chairm en rep o rtin g th e ir academ ic m a jo rs,
five had m ajored in som e type of zoology, five had
m ajo red in som e type of botany, two had m ajored in
physiology, two had m ajored in biology, two had
m ajo red in bacteriology, and two had m ajored in
genetics.
Of those rep o rtin g th e ir total y ears on the staff at a
C alifornia State college, th re e had 0-4 y ea rs; six
had 5-8 y ea rs; six had 9-12 y ea rs; and th re e
rep o rted m o re than 12 y ears experience with the
sy stem .
Of those rep o rtin g th e ir total tim e as departm ent
chairm en, we have six persons with one o r less
y e a rs , four p erso n s with two y e a rs , four persons
with th re e y e a rs , th ree p erso n s with four y e a rs,
and only one person with m o re than four y e a rs as
174
departm ent chairm en.
8 . T hose rep o rtin g th e ir title s rep o rted such variety
as chairm an, departm ent head, coordinator, and
p ro fe sso r. C hairm an was by fa r the m o st popular
title for this group.
9. All w ere d irectly resp o n sib le to the p resid en t of
the college in the d isch arg e of th e ir duties.
10. The m ajo rity of those responding indicated that
th ere w as a cen tralizatio n of authority in o r for
the instruction of biological co u rse s.
11. The m ajo rity of those responding to the questionnaire
indicated th e re was no grouping of th e ir departm ents
w ith the physical scien ces and that se p arate d ep art
m ents w ere indeed best.
12. The m ajo rity of those responding indicated that they
had established specific objectives for th e ir biology
students as eith er m a jo rs, m in o rs, o r n on-m ajors.
13. O rganism ally-oriented co u rses, such as botany and
zoology, w ere offered to non-m ajors who rep o rted
seven-seven sp lit on actual p ra c tic e s.
14. The m ajo rity of those rep o rtin g said that the botany
and zoology co u rses w ere being retain ed and they
175
indicated th is would be the case for som e tim e to
com e.
15. T he chairm en rep o rted that about half of the tim e
the sam e co u rse was taken by both the m ajor and
non-m ajor fo r introductory biology.
16. About half rep o rted that th e re w as a tra c k system
in biology fo r the m ajo r and the non-m ajor to
p articip ate in for th e ir departm ents.
17. A slight m ajo rity of those rep o rtin g sta ted that they
offer co u rses in th eir departm ents that do not have
la b o ra to ries to accom pany the le c tu re s.
18. The m ajo rity of those interview ed sta ted that they
have biology co u rses fo r non-m ajors that a re
p ro c e ss-c e n te re d around topics such as genetics,
o r physiology, or m etabolism , o r energetics with
organism al illu stratio n s used re g a rd le ss of w hether
they a re plant, anim al, o r v iru s.
19. The chairm en rep o rted they would like to see an
integrated biological science co u rse for non
m ajo rs to rep lace the o rg an ism ally -o rien ted
disciplines of botany, zoology, and m icrobiology.
20. A sked if they thought that any of the introductory
176 |
biology should req u ire a p rereq u isite , the
m ajority answ ered that they believe it is not
n ecessary , even for a non-science m ajo r.
21. When asked if they thought that the introductory
biology co u rse in the sta te colleges should be a
p rereq u isite to all other courses in biological
scien ces, they w ere evenly divided on this point.
22. Another point that drew a divided opinion was
connected to the question if phylogenetic co n sid er
ations have been deem phasized in biological science
co u rses. Evidently m any like som e of the trad itio n
of the old zoology-botany departm ents to rem ain
and not be com pletely o b literated in a grand push to
prom ote change.
P ractices rela ted to articulation
and sequential planning
1. T h ere w ere evenly divided opinions on the subject
of planning co u rses to duplicate the tra n s fe r
co u rses in the low er division of other C alifornia
colleges and of the U niversity of C alifornia.
2. When asked about the existence of a policy w hereby
the departm ent engages in articulation conferences
with liaison groups from other sta te colleges and
u n iv e rsities, the chairm en adm itted that little of
this exists at the p rese n t tim e but indicated a
d e sire to se e m ore of this in the future.
Although the departm ents did little at p rese n t, they
also ex p ressed a d e s ire to se e m o re engagem ent in
articulation conferences with appro p riate high
school groups in the com m unity.
M ost of the chairm en responding to the questionnaire
believe that w hatever the co u rses taken in th e ir
departm ents, they would have no tro u b le in being
tra n s fe rre d to another institution of higher learning.
Although the co u rses would tra n s fe r, the chairm en
indicated that no re a l effort is being m ade to dupli
cate m ethods and m a te ria ls for teaching each
co u rse w ith other m ethods and m a te ria ls from
other fo u r-y ea r colleges and u n iv ersities.
When asked if som e of the faculty engaged with the
sta te university in re s e a rc h to produce new biology
cu rricu lu m , the chairm en gave negative an sw ers.
When asked if th e ir biological scien ce departm ent
o r division allows w aiver of co u rses by exam ina-
178
tion to w ell-p rep ared high school students who m ay
have had, for exam ple, two y e a rs of high school
biology, the m ajo rity responded by giving an
affirm ative answ er. They also indicated that this
is a d esirab le p ractice to continue in the future.
P ractices re la te d to students
i
1. When asked if the non-science (lib eral a rts) m ajors
I have a choice of biology c o u rse s, the m ajority
answ ered that som e type of choice is available and
; that this is a d esira b le p ra ctice for the future.
2. When asked if the fresh m en m ajoring in biology a re
; discouraged from declaring them selves as biology,
botany, o r zoology m ajo rs in th eir f irs t y ea r of
college, m o st responded th at they do not discourage
entering fresh m en from a declaration but think that
som e type of re se a rc h into this idea will be d esirab le.
; 3. When asked if all students can receiv e a B.S. at
th eir college, som e answ ered that only an A.B. is
available.
! 4. When asked if those who can get a B.S. a re req u ired
|
| to take a biology co u rse, th re e rep lied no and one
j
i indicated he didn’t know.
179
When asked if a specialized biology-placem ent te st
is given to all incom ing fresh m en , m ost of the
chairm en gave negative answ ers and also cam e out
against this as a d esirab le p ractice for the future.
In this sam e lin e, when asked if the College
E ntrance Board Exam inations a re used to place
students, initially in biology scien ce co u rse s, the
answ er was again negative for both actual and
d esirab le p ra c tic e s.
A p ractice that was asked of the chairm en was that
of getting the students to re tu rn to discuss th e ir
experiences in school. Many believe that this was
done enough and that m ore encouragem ent should
be given to students to re tu rn , to give the d ep a rt
m ent som e feedback.
On the m a tte r of counseling the biology students,
som e indicated that th e re is a need for a sp ecial
counselor and som e believe the biology faculty
itse lf is capable of doing this task very w ell, if
not b etter than those not fam iliar with biology.
When asked if th e re is a com mon se t of biology
co u rses that each student is supposed to tak e, in
180
a fixed sequence, the answ er was no for both the
actual and the d esire d p ra c tic e s.
10. When asked if non-science m ajo rs take th e ir
co u rse(s), a re they expected to take a biology
co u rse or a zoology/botany co u rse, m ost of the
chairm en found th is to be a biology co u rse choice
as the best route to follow.
]
! G eneral attitudes
j
j 1. T h ere seem s to be no need to devise a special o r
unique type of biological scien ce curriculum for
i
! the sta te colleges of C alifornia.
|
I
2. T h ere seem s to be, in m ost C alifornia State
j colleges, a general biology science co u rse offered
| to non-science (lib e ra l a rts) students.
3. M ost of the chairm en now believe that the core
|
| p rep aratio n for biology m ajo rs in any specialty
(m edicine, v eterin ary , e t c .) should be extended
over a m inim um of two y e a rs , perhaps into upper
division courses of the ju n io r and sen io r y ea rs.
4. T h ere seem s to be a considerable swing of the
co u rses from th e old sty le taxonomy to the m o lecu lar-
cellular-population biology type of curriculum in
181
m ost of the C alifornia S tate colleges.
5. When asked if the biology co u rse fo r the non
science (lib e ra l a rts ) m ajo r should be a one-
or tw o -sem ester affair, th ere seem ed to be a
little enthusiasm for eith er set-u p and this leaves
one a re a th at will need considerable investigation
in the fu tu re.
6 . T here w as divided opinion on w hether co u rses from
one biology departm ent should be m ade to artic u late
sequentially with those of another college or
university.
7. T here w as a feeling, how ever, that m ore statew ide
planning to coordinate biological scien ce cu rricu la
among the th ree segm ents of higher education in
the sta te of C alifornia is d esirab le.
8 . As for w hether this planning should have the form
of a sta te com m ission, this is another m atte r.
The answ ers w ere p retty well divided here.
9. M ost of th o se quizzed believe that they have good
physical fa cilities, but that th ere is s till room
for im provem ent--m uch m o re room .
10. They also indicated that the instructional personnel ^
182
(faculty and staff) a re adequate for the in stru ctio n
of biological scien ces.
11. T h ere w as a general consensus th at the biological
sciences m ajo rs should be grounded in the basic
sciences and biological concepts before beginning
the study of the specific subjects of botany and
zoology.
12. T h ere w ere w idespread p ractices of re se a rc h
p ro jec ts, grants of one type or another, of new
science learning of one type o r another being done
by the staff of m ost of the departm ents surveyed.
13. M ajors for biology a re asked to take basic co u rses
in physics and ch em istry (organic and inorganic)
as a basis for biology, but certain advanced co u rses
(biochem and biophysics) a re thought of as e x tra
for the upper division y e a rs, if at all.
Im plications
T h e re a re se v eral im plications that can be derived from the
findings of this study. A com plete p ictu re of the C alifornia State
colleges' biology departm ents and th e ir low er division curricu lu m is
difficult to investigate due to rap id turnover and reassig n m en t of
183 :
personnel in this p a rtic u la r a re a , especially of the departm ent c h a ir
m en. This rap id tu rn o v er seem s due to the m ultiplicity of duties and
activ ities expected of the chairm en. Of p a rtic u la r in te re st should be
the inform ation provided by the "stable" biological chairm en who
have been in the position for a fairly long period of tim e, for they a re ^
: apparently perform ing duties and resp o n sib ilities th at would be con-
{
; sid e re d im portant to th eir a re a of curricu lu m supervision,
i T hat rev isio n of the curriculum as a need is due to two
i *
[ ;
; fa c to rs. The f ir s t is the ever-advancing fro n tie r of scien tific knowl- j
\ i . !
; i
| edge that will tend to keep any com petent chairm an on his to es. T he j
i
; second is the fact that if a co u rse is not re v ise d reg u la rly , it has a
: tendency to becom e sta tic and then d e te rio ra te . In a sta tic situation,
the in stru c to r w ill become bored, his text out of date, his notes
: m em orized and routine, and no new la b o rato ry equipm ent w ill be
i added. In sh o rt, all the "zing" will be gone from the co u rse. T hat
5 th e re is a constant need fo r revision is c le a r and this seem s c le a r to I
: I
I the chairm en polled in this study. T hat they feel a need for change, ;
especially in the introductory c o u rses, both fo r the m a jo r and non- |
m ajo r is evident. Only the direction and scope of th is change and
i
! rev isio n is left in doubt.
T hat th e re is a belief about the value of a good foundation in !
i
\
| m athem atics, physics, and basic ch em istry for the biology m a jo r,
184 |
th e re is no doubt. It seem s that a re lia n ce upon co u rses outside the
biology field is becom ing im portant and the accepted thing fo r th ese
d ep artm en ts. How much fu rth e r this w ill continue and sp rea d out can
|
I only be left to observe w ith tim e. The type of co u rse w ork w ill allow
' the introduction of m o re sophisticated quantitative m a te ria l and
i
i
sym bolic analysis into undergraduate biology in stru ctio n .
I
T h ere seem s to be an im plication that w ork w ill continue and'
: develop fu rth e r along the lines of the cellu lar level. In the p ro c e ss,
i |
j th e re is less em phasis on the v arie ty of organism s and m ore em phasis
i ■
| on general phenom ena illu stra te d by the m ost ap p ro p riate organism .
i |
j Along this line com e the concept and feeling that th e re w ill also be j
j |
| m o re em phasis on the population concepts as a distin ctiv e level of
i _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
; an aly sis. Though not as dynam ic to observe as the m olecular and the
genetic scien ces, this them e w ill be seen as one to continue in the
! future.
j
I Although th ere seem s to be a common p attern am ong the
institutions on m any m a tte rs, it is c le a r from th is study that different!
i |
institutions seek th e ir own solutions to fit th e ir own situations. T his !
I
I
indicates that th e re is no sh o rtcu t to curriculum rev isio n , nor is j
|
th e re a single ideal cu rricu lu m . It is doubtful that any of the colleges!
w ill com pletely adopt the cu rricu lu m of another. Given this fact, and!
i
considering the obvious sta te of flux in the p resen t cu rricu lu m plan-
185
ning, th e re w ill have to be a re a l effort put forth continually on the
p a rt of each school to exam ine and modify its curriculum . Along with
th is, th e re w ill be a danger of over-doing the revision. Although not
specified from the objective data of this study, interview data suggest
caution against an o v er-re actio n in curriculum revision. T h ere is
som e tendency to include new m aterial because it is new and to evoke
"change for change’s sake"; and to exclude old concepts because they
a r e old. The p rim a ry aim of the chairm an and his cu rricu lu m staff
should be to p rese n t essen tial knowledge as a sound foundation for the
o v erall concepts of biology. T he basic reaso n for including or
rem oving an item from the curricu lu m should be significance or
relev an ce, not ju s t recen t appearance in a journal.
Recom m endations
T h ere a re se v eral recom m endations that have a ris e n from
the review of the study, its conclusions, and its im plications.
1. F o r curriculum in biological sciences known as
low er division o r beginning-freshm an biology, th ere
should be a carefu l exam ination of the content so
th at it will include what is now recognized as funda
m ental biological concepts. T h ere should be a b rief
taxonom ic approach to te rm s and phylum; the plant
kingdom; the anim al kingdom; the evolution of life
on earth ; the atom ic basis of life; the origin of life;
the cell as th e unique unit of living m atter; m ove
m ent of m a te ria ls into and out of the cell; gene and
cell duplication; photosynthesis; hom eostasis;
tran sp o rtatio n ; support and m ovem ent; coordination
of anim al activity; regulation by horm ones; p rin c i
ples of heredity; gene action; em bryonic develop
m ent; ecology; m an and biological com m unities of
the future. The amount of em phasis placed on each
of these a re a s will probably depend upon the in stru c
to r and the institution. All of th e se a re a s a re
im portant in giving the student an aw aren ess of the
scope and lim itations of biology.
T h ere should be som e effort m ade to give the
students a chance to use the physics, m athem atics,
and ch em istry that may be req u ired as a p rereq u isite
to any biology co u rse s. To re q u ire these before
allowing the student to en ter the c la ss and then
never u se them is u n realistic and g ro ssly unfair.
T h ere should be a re a l and honest effort m ade to
exam ine carefully the curriculum content with an
187
in-depth analysis. T h ere should be outside people
called in to a s s is t. T hat all concepts basic to
biology should be p resen ted , w hether in nam e o r in
fact, is essen tial. Again, the concepts and content
of the curriculum a r e not n early so im portant as
the education and good experiences the student should
derive from this cu rricu lu m . In sh o rt, w ill these
se ts of experiences produce a w ell-educated biology
student?
4. During this rev isio n and in-depth exam ination, th ere
should be cooperation and in te r-co lleg e , as w ell as
in tra-co lleg e, efforts on the revision. L iaison
personnel should attend such w orkshops, not only
from other sta te colleges, but from the junior
colleges and sta te u n iv e rsitie s. They should be
th e re in the capacity of advisor, le a rn e r, and
fellows hip-goodw ill em issa ry .
5. The com mon o r c o re p rep aratio n for the m ajo r
should be extended over the tw o-year m inim um ,
especially for those entering som e field of graduate
work.
6. The biology departm ent should rep lace a ll other
188
living departm ents and consolidate them under one
chairm an.
7. T h ere should be two introductory courses se t up
in biology. T his f irs t is aim ed at the w ell-p rep ared
incom ing m a jo r o r m inor in biology. This should
be an excellerated co u rse. The second should be a
reg u la r level introductory biology course for the
non-m ajor o r m inor that does not have an exceptional
background in biology.
8. T h ese introductory co u rses should extend one y ear
fo r both the m ajo r and non-m ajor and that the f irs t
se m e ste r should be a stan d ard th ree-h o u r le ctu re
co u rse and that the second se m e ste r should be a
lab o rato ry co u rse of the stu d en t's selection.
9. M ore em phasis should be placed upon teaching
m ethods, equipm ent, sk ills, and techniques in the
biology cu rricu lu m .
10. M ore effort should be forthcom ing to have co u rses
tra n sfe r as sm oothly as possible between institutions.
11. All colleges should offer a B.S. in biology.
12. Equipm ent and facilities should be m ore o r le ss
stan d ard ized throughout the C alifornia State college
_ _ biology departm ents.__________________________________
APPENDIXES
189
APPENDIX A
COVER LETTER
191
CALIFORNIA BAPTIST COLLEGE
The Campus of Christian Culture
8432 M agnolia Avenue Riverside, California
Phan* 689-5771
D iv isio n of N atural S c ie n c es
Date
D ear Sir:
Enclosed is the questionnaire that I spoke of on the
phone. I hope that you will find tim e from your busy schedule to
com plete this form and retu rn it to m e.
I hope that you will find this form interesting and not too
long. It is very im portant to m e, and your cooperation is greatly
appreciated.
Hoping this le tte r finds you in the best of health, I rem ain
Y ours tru ly ,
R ichard A. Rundall
A ssociate P rofessor of Biology
Own ad and O parafad by Tha Southern B aptilt G eneral Convention of California
APPENDIX B
QUESTIONNAIRE
192

P le a s e C o m p lete
(1) C o lleg e:_____
INSTRUCTION SH EET
D ate:
(2) Y our n am e:______________________________ (3) T itle :_________ ___________________________
(4) H ig h est d e g re e e a r n e d : (5) M a jo r fie ld of study:____________________
(6) T o ta l y e a r s on staff in s ta te c o lle g e(s):________________________________________________
(7) T o tal y e a r s you have held th is p o s itio n :
T IT L E : B IO LO G IC A L SC IEN C E IN CA LIFO R N IA STA TE C O L L E G E S
P U R P O S E : The p u rp o se of th is ra tin g s c a le is to p ro v id e in fo rm a tio n th at w ill aid in
d e te rm in in g , an aly zin g , and ev alu atin g c u r r e n t p r a c tic e s re g a rd in g b io lo g ic a l s c ie n c e
in C a lifo rn ia S tate C o lle g e s w ith s p e c ia l c o n c e rn fo r biology fo r n o n -s c ie n c e m a j o r s .
D IR E C T IO N S: On th e follow ing p a g e s is a l i s t of s e le c te d c u r r e n t p r a c tic e s a s s o c i
a te d w ith b io lo g ic a l s c ie n c e in C a lifo rn ia S tate C o lle g e s a s th ey r e la te to c u rric u lu m ,
a r tic u la tio n and s e q u e n tia l planning, and stu d e n ts. P le a s e ra te e a c h ite m a s it a p p lie s
to y o u r co lleg e fo r (1) A C T U A L P R A C T IC E and (2) D E SIR A B LE P R A C T IC E . P le a s e
do not skip any ite m ,
RA TING S C A L E :
1. A C TU A L P R A C T IC E : R a te each p r a c tic e a s to the d e g re e w h ich it a p p lie s to
y o u r c o lle g e by e n c irc lin g one of th e n u m b e rs to the left of e a c h ite m .
DOES TH E FO LLO W IN G P R A C T IC E OCCUR IN YOUR IN STITU TIO N ?
4 - Y es
3- P a r tia lly
2- No
1 - D o n 't know
2. D E SIR A B L E P R A C T IC E : P le a s e r a t e e a c h ite m in the lis t of d e s ir a b le p r a c tic e s
by e n c irc lin g the m o s t a p p ro p ria te n u m b e r to the rig h t of each ite m .
SHOULD T H E S T A T E C O L L E G E BIOLOGY/DIV ISION P E R F O R M PR A C T IC E S
ON TH E L IS T ?
4 - ESSE N T IA L
3- D E SIR A B L E
2- Q U ESTIO N A B LE
1- U N D ESIR A BLE
E X A M P L E : A C T U A L P R A C T IC E
4 3 2 1 1. B iology is tau g h t in state c o lle g e s
D E SIR A B L E P R A C T IC E
4 3 2 1
T h e second p a r t of th is in s tr u m e n t d e a ls w ith g e n e r a l attitu d e s, and th e th ird p a r t is
d ev o ted to g e n e r a l in fo rm a tio n ,
SUMMARY AND R E T U R N : You need not be id en tified p e rs o n a lly . You w ill be f o r
w a rd e d a s u m m a ry of th is s u rv e y w hich is s ta te -w id e in scope. Y our p a rtic ip a tio n is
n eed ed and a p p re c ia te d .
1
A C TU A L PR A C T IC E
2
D ESIRA BLE PR A C T IC E
4 - Yes 4 - E s s e n tia l
3 - P a r tia lly 3 - D e s ira b le
2 - No 2 - Q uestionable
1 - D o n 't know 1 - U n d e sira b le
A. P r a c tic e s R elated to C urriculum .
4 3 2 1 1. T h e re is a c e n tra liz a tio n of a u th o rity and re sp o n s ib ility
fo r in stru c tio n in b io lo g ical sc ie n c e s into a d iv isio n or
d e p a r t m e n t ............................................................................................................4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1 2. B iological s c ie n c e s c o u rs e s a re grouped to g e th e r w ith
p h y sic a l sc ie n c e s (c h e m istry , p h y sic s, etc. ) into a
d e p a rtm e n t o r d iv is io n ................................................................. . . . 4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1 3. The b io lo g ic a l sc ie n c e s d iv isio n o r d e p a rtm e n t has e s
ta b lish e d sp ecific o b jectiv es for the d e p a rtm e n t re la tiv e
to tr a n s f e r , n o n -tra n s fe r, g e n e ra l education, and r e m e
d ial functions of the s ta te c o lleg es ..................................4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1 4. The b io lo g ica l scie n ce d iv isio n c o n s is ts of s e p a ra te units
of botany and zoology and m icro b io lo g y , each w ith a
d iffe re n t h ead ...................................................................................................4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1 5. O rg a n ism a lly -o rie n te d c o u rs e s , such a s bo tan y and z o o l
ogy, a r e o ffe re d to n o n -sc ie n c e (lib e ra l a r t s ) tr a n s f e r
s t u d e n t s ..................................................... ........................................................4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1 6. Botany c o u r s e s fo r n o n -sc ie n c e (lib e ra l a r t s ) students
a r e being p h ased out of your i n s t i t u t i o n ............................................4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1 7. Zoology c o u r s e s fo r n o n -sc ie n c e (lib e ra l a r ts ) students
a r e being p h ased out of y o u r i n s t i t u t i o n ............................................4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1 8. The sa m e in tro d u c tio n b io lo g ical scie n ce c o u rs e is tak e n
by both m a jo r s and n o n -sc ie n c e m a jo r s .............................4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1 9. M ultiple tr a c k b io lo g ical sc ie n c e c o u rs e s , e. g. , biology
fo r m a jo r s and biology fo r n o n -sc ie n c e m a jo r s , a re
o f f e r e d * ..................................... . .................................................................. 4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1 10. B io lo g ical sc ie n c e c o u rs e s a re offered w ithout la b o ra
to rie s ......................................................................................................................4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1 11. S p ecially d esig n e d b io lo g ical sc ie n c e c o u r s e s a r e o ffered
to the stu d en t seeking a B a c c a la u re a te in S cien ce . . . . . 4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1 12. The biology c o u rse o ffered to n o n -sc ie n c e (lib e ra l a r ts )
tr a n s f e r stu d en ts is p r o c e s s - c e n te r e d aro u n d to p ics such
as g e n e tic s, o r physiology, o r m e ta b o lism , o r e n e rg e tic s
w ith o rg a n is m a l illu stra tio n s u se d r e g a r d le s s of w hether
they a r e p lan t, an im al, o r v iru s ........................................ . 4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1 13. An in te g ra te d b io lo g ical scie n ce c o u rse fo r n o n -m a jo rs
has re p la c e d the o rg a n ism a lly -o rie n te d d isc ip lin e s of
botany, zoology, and m ic ro b io lo g y .................................................4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1 14. The b io lo g ica l scien ce c o u rs e ta k en by the n o n -sc ie n c e
(lib e ra l a r t s ) tr a n s f e r stu d en ts r e q u ire s a p r e - r e q u i s i t e . . 4 3 2 1
A C TU A L PR A C T IC E
4 - Y es
3 - P a r tia lly
2 - No
1 - D on’t know
D ESIR A BLE PR A C TIC E
4 - E s s e n tia l
3 - D e s ira b le
2 - Q u estio n ab le
1 - U n d e sira b le
A. P r a c tic e s R elated to C u rric u lu m ( C o n t'd .)
4 3 2 1 15. The in tro d u c to ry biology c o u rs e in the s ta te college
is a p re re q u is ite to a ll o th e r c o u rs e s in b io lo g ical
s c i e n c e ........................................................... 4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1 16. P h y lo g en etic c o n s id e ra tio n s have b een d e -e m p h a siz e d
in b io lo g ical sc ie n c e c o u r s e s ................................................................4 3 2 1
B. P r a c tic e s R e la te d to A rtic u la tio n and S equential P lanning
4 3 2 1 17. T he b io lo g ical sc ie n c e d e p a rtm e n t o r d iv isio n (or a s it
a p p lie s to y o u r in stitu tio n ) a tte m p ts to d u p licate the t r a n s
f e r c o u rs e s o ffered in the lo w er d iv isio n of o th e r C alif
o rn ia State C o lleg es and of the U n iv e rsity of C alifo rn ia . . 4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1 18. T he b io lo g ical scie n ce d e p a rtm e n t or d iv isio n , a s a
m a tte r of policy, engages in a rtic u la tio n c o n fe re n c es
w ith the lia iso n g ro u p s f ro m the o th er sta te c o lleg es
and u n i v e r s i t i e s ..............................................................................................4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1 19. T he b io lo g ical sc ie n c e d e p a rtm e n t or d iv isio n , a s a
m a tte r of p olicy, engages in a rtic u la tio n c o n fe re n c e s
w ith the a p p ro p ria te high school g ro u p s in th e co m m u n
i t y ............................................................................................................................. 4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1 20. N o n -sc ie n c e (lib e ra l a r t s ) m a jo r s re c e iv e tr a n s f e r
c r e d it fo r biology ta k e n at y o u r in stitu tio n w hen they
tr a n s f e r to o th e r C alifo rn ia S tate C olleges and w ith
th e U n iv e rsity of C a l i f o r n i a .................................................................4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1 21. M ethods and m a te r ia ls u sed in teach in g biology a r e
co o rd in ated w ith local C a lifo rn ia State C o lleg es and
w ith the U n iv e rsity of C a l i f o r n i a ........................................................ 4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1 22. T he b io lo g ica l scie n ce fa c u lty a r e o r have b e e n in
volved w ith u n iv e rs ity r e s e a r c h s c ie n tis ts in a coop
e r a tiv e e ffo rt to p ro d u ce a new biology c u r ric u lu m fo r
th e State C o l l e g e s ....................................... .................................................4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1 23. B iology c o u r s e s a r e o ffered to biology m a jo r s in a
seq u e n tia l p a tte r n to a r tic u la te w ith p ro g ra m s in o th er
C alifo rn ia S tate C olleges and in the U n iv e rsity of
C a l i f o r n i a ................................... .... ................................................................4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1 24. In -s e rv ic e o p p o rtu n ities a r e provided fo r b io lo g ical
sc ie n c e fa c u ltie s ................................................................................4 3 2 1
COM M ENTS TO CLA RIFY YOUR RATING OF ANY OF TH E ABOVE STA TEM EN TS:
P L E A S E SUGGEST ANY ADDITIONAL D ESIR A BLE PR A C TIC E S FOR THIS AREA.
4
A CTU A L PR A C T IC E D ESIR A BLE P R A C T IC E
4 - Y es 4 - E s s e n tia l
3 - P a r tia lly 3 - D e s ira b le
2 - No 2 - Q u estio n a b le
1 - D o n 't know 1 - U n d esira b le
B. P r a c tic e s R ela te d to A rtic u la tio n , etc. , (C ont'd. )
4 3 2 1 25. The b io lo g ic a l s c ie n c e d e p a rtm e n t or d iv isio n allo w s w a iv e r
of c o u r s e s by ex am in atio n to w ell p re p a re d high sch o o l s tu
d en ts who m a y have had, for ex am p le, two y e a r s of high
sch o o l b i o l o g y .............................................................................................4 3 2 1
C. P r a c tic e s R elated to Students
4 3 2 1 26. N o n -sc ie n c e (lib e ra l a r ts ) m a jo r s have a choice
of biology c o u rse s .....................................................................................4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1 27. F r e s h m e n m a jo rin g in biology a r e d isc o u ra g e d f ro m
d e c la rin g th e m s e lv e s a s biology, botany, or zoology
m a jo rs in th e ir f i r s t y e a r of c o l l e g e .................................................4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1 28. A ll stu d e n ts seeking a B a c c a la u re a te in Science
D e g re e a r e re q u ire d to take a c o u rs e in b i o l o g y ................... 4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1 29. Students can e a rn a B a c c a iu a re a te in S cience D e g ree
at your c o l l e g e ...................................................................................................4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1 3 0. A sp e c ia liz e d d e p a rtm e n ta l/d iv is io n a l p la c e m e n t te s t
in b io lo g ical sc ie n c e s is given to a ll incom ing co lleg e
f r e s h m e n ................................................................ 4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1 31. The C ollege E n tra n c e B oard E x a m in a tio n r e s u lts a r e
used to p lace stu d en ts in itially in b io lo g ical scie n ce
c o u r s e s . . ... ..................................................................................... 4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1 32. As a m a t t e r of policy, fo rm e r stu d e n ts a r e en co u rag ed
to r e tu r n to d is c u s s th e ir a rtic u la tio n e x p e rie n c e s
w ith o th er f o u r- y e a r i n s t i t u t i o n s ...........................................................4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1 33. A sp e c ia l co u n selo r is assig n ed to m e e t with o th er
state college and u n iv e rsity lia iso n and a rtic u la tio n
g r o u p s ..................................................................... - .............................................4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1 34. A sp e c ia l c o u n selo r is a ssig n e d to a d v ise students
m a jo rin g in b i o l o g y .................................................................. ...4321
4 3 2 1 35. B iology m a jo r s a r e ad v ise d to tak e a com m on set of
c o u rs e s in a fixed seq u en ce w ith o th er fo u r- y e a r
co lleg es and u n i v e r s i t i e s .........................................................................4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1 36. N o n -sc ie n c e m a jo r students ta k e biology r a th e r
th an zoology a n d /o r b o t a n y ................................................................. . 4 3 2 1
COMM ENTS TO CLA RIFY YOUR RATING OR ANY O F THE ABOVE STA TEM EN TS:
P L E A S E SUGGEST ANY ADDITIONAL D ESIRA BLE PR A C TIC ES F O R THIS A R EA :
5
D. G e n e ra l A ttitu d e s
P le a s e c h e c k (X) e a c h ite m fo r th e a n s w e r w h ich you p r e f e r by p lacin g th e re s p o n s e
in th e co lu m n on th e rig h t.
Y es
37. T h e re is a n eed fo r d e v isin g a unique ty p e of
b io lo g ic a l s c ie n c e c u r r ic u lu m for th e S tate
C o lle g e s in C a l i f o r n i a ...................................................................
38. Is a g e n e r a l b io lo g ic a l s c ie n c e c o u r s e o ffe re d
to n o n - s c ie n c e ( lib e r a l a r t s ) stu d en ts in y o u r
i n s t i t u t i o n ............................................................................................
39. A c o re p r e p a r a tio n f o r biology m a j o r s in any
s p e c ia lty (m e d ic in e , v e te r in a r y , etc. ) should
b e ex ten d ed o v e r a m in im u m of tw o y e a r s .....................
40. T h is c o r e o r c o m m o n s e t of b io lo g ic a l s c ie n c e
c o u r s e s should be ta k e n i n a fixed se q u e n c e . . . .
41. M o d e rn b io lo g y c o u r s e s have a g r e a t e r e m p h a s is on
m o le c u la r , c e llu la r , and p opulation b io lo g y th an
o ld e r tr a d itio n a l biology c o u r s e s .........................................
42. T he m o d e r n b io lo g y c o u r s e fo r th e n o n -s c ie n c e
(lib e ra l a r t s ) stu d en ts should be a o n e - s e m e s te r
five u n its c o u r s e ............................................................................
43. The m o d e r n biology c o u r s e fo r th e n o n -s c ie n c e
(lib e ra l a r t s ) stu d e n ts should be a t w o - s e m e s te r
c o u rs e fo r t h r e e u n its e a c h s e m e s t e r ...............................
44. It is p o s s ib le fo r C a lifo rn ia S tate C o lle g e s to
sch ed u le c o r e c o u r s e s fo r b io lo g ic a l s c ie n c e
m a jo r s to a r tic u la te se q u e n tia lly w ith th e p r o
g r a m s in o th e r C a lifo rn ia S tate C o lle g e s ..........................
45. It is p o s s ib le fo r C a lifo rn ia S tate C o lleg es to
sch ed u le c o r e c o u r s e s f o r b io lo g ic a l s c ie n c e
m a jo r s to a r tic u la te se q u e n tia lly w ith th e p r o
g r a m s in th e U n iv e r s itie s of C a l i f o r n i a ..........................
46. In y o u r opinion, the B io lo g ic a l S c ie n ce C u r r ic u lu m
Study (1958) h a s in flu en c ed change in th e C a lif
o rn ia S ta te C o lleg e b io lo g ic a l s c ie n c e c u r r ic u lu m . .
47. T h e re is a need fo r m o r e sta te -w id e planning to
c o o rd in a te b io lo g ic a l s c ie n c e c u r r ic u la am ong th e
th r e e s e g m e n ts of h ig h e r e d u c a t i o n ....................................
48. T h e re is a n e e d for a b io lo g ic a l s c ie n c e s a c c r e d
ita tio n c o m m is s io n f o r C a lifo rn ia S tate C o lleg es . ,
49. In y o u r opinion, the p h y s ic a l f a c ilitie s in y o u r
in stitu tio n a r e ad eq u ate fo r th e in s tr u c tio n of
b io lo g ic a l s c i e n c e s .......................................................................
No D o n 't Know
6
Yes
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
In y o u r opinion, th e in s tru c tio n a l p e rso n n e l a re
adequate fo r the in s tru c tio n of b io lo g ical s c ie n c e s.
A b io lo g ical s c ie n c e m a jo r should be grounded
in the b a s ic b io lo g ic a l co n cep ts b e fo re beginning
th e study of th e sp ecific su b jec ts of botany and
z o o l o g y .........................................................................................
Do any of the staff m e m b e r s in the biology
d iv is io n /d e p a rtm e n t have r e s e a r c h p ro je c ts
u n d e rw a y ..........................................................................................
H ave any of the in s tru c tio n a l p e rso n n e l in
y o u r biology d iv is io n /d e p a rtm e n t taken any
sc ie n c e c o u rs e s sin ce 1965 ............................................
H as y o u r d iv is io n /d e p a rtm e n t re c e iv e d o u tsid e
fin an cial a s s is ta n c e such a s equipm ent g ra n ts
f r o m NSF, A EC , o r NDEA sin ce I960 . . . .
S tudents m a jo rin g in biology should have the
equivalent of a t le a s t one y e a r of p h y sics and
so m e b ack g ro u n d in org an ic and in o rg an ic
c h e m i s t r y ..........................................................................
S tudents m a jo rin g in biology should have a b a c k
ground in b io c h e m is try and b io p h y sic s r a th e r
th an one in th e tra d itio n a l one y e a r of p h y sic s
and two y e a r s of c h e m is try s e q u e n c e ....................
No D on’t Know
E. N a tu re of the In stitu tio n
P le a s e fill in the b la n k s w ith an a p p ro p ria te a n s w e r.
D is tr ic t
57. Single co lleg e ; M ulti-cam pus_
o r U rb an
O ther
58. C om m unity: R u ra l_________
Staff
59. How m an y in s tr u c to r s on y o u r day staff th is y e a r tau g h t biology c o u rs e s ?
(count even if it is ju s t one c la s s in biology).
60. How m an y in s tr u c to r s th is y e a r taught biology c o u rs e s d u rin g the extended day
(a fte r 4:30 p .m . )? j___________
61. In g e n e ra l, w hich of the follow ing le v e ls of ed u catio n al ac h ie v e m e n t do you
c o n sid e r ad eq u ate fo r C a lifo rn ia State C ollege in s tr u c to r s of biology?
B. A. B. S. ; M. A. ; M .S . ; M. Ed. P h .D .
O ther
62. The n u m b er of biology faculty in atte n d a n c e a t s u m m e r in s titu te s since 1965.
7
C u rric u lu m
63. W hich of the following is s tr e s s e d or em p h a siz e d in your g e n e ra l biology c o u rs e
fo r lib e ra l a r ts n o n -sc ie n c e tr a n s f e r stu d en ts?
a. M o lec u la r and c e llu la r biology
b. E c o lo g ica l and e n v iro n m e n ta l biology
c. O rg a n ism a l biology - taxonom y
d. D ev elo p m en tal biology
e. Evolution
f . O ther; p le a se identify________________________________________
64. In y o u r opinion, w hat is the sp e c ia l re sp o n s ib ility of the C a lifo rn ia State C ollege
to w ard b io lo g ical s c ie n c e education?
a. C u rric u la planned fo r adult or continuing education
b. C u rric u la fo r v o c a tio n a l-te c h n ic a l ed u catio n
___ c. C u rric u la w hich co n trib u te to the g e n e ra l education of tr a n s f e r non
scien ce m a jo r s
d. C u rric u la for the scie n ce m a jo rs
e. O ther; p le a se sp ecify____________________ ___________________
P L E A S E F E E L F R E E TO MAKE ANY FU R TH ER COMM ENTS WHICH YOU WOULD
D E EM RELEV A N T TO THIS STUDY.
WHAT, IN YOUR OPINION, ARE THE MOST C R IT IC A L CONCERNS IN YOUR C O L
LE G E REGARDING TH E LIB ER A L ARTS BIOLOGY COURSE(S)?
DO YOU WISH A SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS FRO M TH E STUDY? YES NO
MANY THANKS FOR YOUR CO OPERA TION IN THIS P R O JE C T .
T h is q u e stio n n a ire is ad ap ted fro m one o rig in ated by A rth u r J. S chechter, in h is
d is s e rta tio n , at U .S . C.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
194
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
B rubacher, John S ., and Rudy, W illis. H igher Education in
T ra n sitio n . New York: H arp er and B rothers, 1958.
Cohen, I. B ., and W atson, F . G ., eds. G eneral Education in
Science. C am bridge: H arv ard U niversity P re ss, 1952.
Dubos, Rene J. "Science and the L aym an." G eneral
Education in Science. C am bridge: H arv ard U niversity
P re ss, 1952.
Publications of G overnm ent and L earn ed Socities
C om m ittee on Educational Policies of the Biology Council.
Im proving C ollege Biology Teaching (W ashington, D. C .:
N ational Academ y of S ciences--N ational R esearch
Council, June, 1957), p. 25.
CUEBS. "Biology in a L ib eral E d u catio n ." CUEBS
Publication No. 15. F eb ru ary , J.967.
_________. "Content in C ore C urriculum in Biology."
CUEBS Publication No. 18, June, 1967.
_________. "Biology for the N on-M ajor." CUEBS Publication
No. 19. July, 1967.
N ational Academy of Science. Recom m endation on U nder
graduate C urriculum in the Biological Sciences (W ashing
ton, D. C .: N ational R e search Council, 1958), p. 83.
196 i
9. N ational Society for the Study of Education. Rethinking Science
Education (Chicago: U niversity of Chicago P re ss, 1960).
10. Seeley, M illard G. "U niversity of A rizona Science-E ducation ;
Im provem ent P ro g ra m ." C urriculum P ro g ram s.
W ashington, D. C .: N ational C om m ission on T each er
Education and P rofessional S tandards, 1959.
P eriodicals
11. A ndrew s, T . F . "L ib ra ry R esources for Biology." The
A m erican Biology T e a ch e r, XXII (May, 1960), p. 290. j
12. A usubel, David P. "Some Psychological C onsiderations in
Science T each in g ." Science E ducation, LXV11 (A pril, j
1963), pp. 101-4. j
13. Boeck, C larence H. "T he Inductive-D eductive C om pared to
the D eductive-D escriptive L aboratory. " Journal of
E xperim ental E ducation, XXXV (A pril, 1951), pp. 42-45.
14. Brunner, Kenneth A. (re c o rd e r). "R esources for Im prove
m ent of Science In stru c tio n ." Junior College Journal,
XXXII (M ay, 1962), pp. 543-45.
15. Bullington, R obert A. "T ea ch ers and T eaching P rocedures in
College G eneral Education Science C o u rse ." Science
Education, XXXV (M arch, 1951), pp. 92-104.
16. B urm ester, M ary, and Noll, V ictor. "A Synthesis and
Evaluation of O bjectives for a C ourse in College Biology, " j
Science Education, XXXVIII (M arch, 1954), pp. 143-50. j
17. Canavan, Joseph P. "C om pensation and Problem s of Junior
College T each in g ." Junior College Journal, XXXII
(May, 1961), p. 515.
18. C rall, H. W illiam , and M y ers, R. M aurice. "R ecom m enda- i
tions for M a ste r’s D egree P rep aratio n fo r T each ers of j
Biological S ciences." The Journal of T eacher !
Education, XI (D ecem ber, 1960), p. 507. I
197 !
19. Cunningham, H. A. "L ectu re M ethods V ersus Individual
L ab o rato ry M ethods. " Science Education, XXX
(M arch, 1946), pp. 70-82.
20. Dolan, F . H. "T he P reparation of College T each in g ." Junior
C ollege Tournal, XXII (F e b ru ary , 1962), p. 331.
21. F au st, C larence H. Symposium on Science Education
(W ashington, D. C . : N ational Academy of Science, July,
1957), pp. 19-20. I
22. F ran k el, Edw ard. "L ib ra ry R esearch in Biology. " The
A m erican Biology T ea ch er, XXV (M arch, 1963), p. 191.
23. F rin g s, H ubert, and H ichar, Joseph. "An E xperim ental Study
of L aboratory T eaching M ethods in G eneral Zoology. "
Science E ducation, LXII (N ovem ber, 1958), pp. 180-86. ;
24. G lass, H. Bentley. "T he Biology T each er in a R acing W orld. ” !
School L ife, XXXV (O ctober, 1962), p. 9. \
25. G robm an, A rnold. "Biology is Changing, T o o ." Saturday
Review , LXXV (Septem ber 21, 1963).
p
26. Hurd, Paul DeH. "The New C urriculum M ovement in S cien ce--
An In terp retiv e S u m m ary ." The Science T each er, j
XXIX (1962).
27. Lawson, R u ssell D. "T he E ffective Biology L ib r a r y ." The
A m erican Biology T ea ch er, XXII (May, 1960), p. 290.
i
28. L ee, Addison E . "Equipm ent and F a c ilitie s. " T he A m erican j
Biology T e a ch er, XXV (May, 1963), p. 324. j
i
29. M athewson, Jam es H. "Science for the Citizen: An E duca
tional P ro b lem ." Science, CXXXVIII (D ecem ber 28,
1962), p. 1377.
30. M eier, F re d ric k A. "T he Biology fo r a G eneral Education '
P rogram and T each er T ra in in g ." The A m erican Biology |
T e a ch er, XVIII (M ay, 1956), pp. 200-1.
31. M uller, H erm an J. "T he Role of Biology in G eneral
E ducation." AIBS Bulletin, XIII (August, 1963), p. 27. j
198
32. S tiv ers, E a rl R. "T eaching Loads in the Junior C ollege."
Junior College Journal, XXXII (D ecem ber, 1961), p. 232.
33. Suchm an, Joseph. "Inquiry T rain in g in the S chools." The
Science T each er, XXVII (N ovem ber, 1960), pp. 42-43.
34. W ashton, Nathan S. "A Syllabus in Biology for G eneral
E ducation." Science E ducation, XXXV (M arcy, 1951),
pp. 84-92.
Unpublished M aterials
35. Blacks h ea r, John. "T he R elative E ffectiveness of Two
Methods of Teaching Biology. " Unpublished m a s te r’s
th e sis, A tlanta U niversity, 1956.
36. M einhold, R u ssell. "An A nalysis of S cie n ce ," from
D issertatio n A b strac ts, XXII (F e b ru a ry , 1962), p. 1090.
37. R iggs, V irgil. "A C om parison of Two M ethods of Teaching
G eneral College L a b o ra to rie s ," from D issertatio n
A b stra c ts, XXIII (O ctober, 1962), p. 998.
College C atalogs
38. C alifornia State College, Dominguez H ills Catalog, 1968-69.
Dominguez H ills, C alifornia: C alifornia State College,
Dominguez H ills, 1969.
39. C alifornia State College at F u llerto n C atalog, 1968- 69.
F u llerto n , C alifornia: C alifornia S tate College at
F u llerto n , 1969.
40. C alifornia State College at Hayward C atalog, 1968-69.
Hayw ard, C alifornia: C alifornia S tate College a t
H ayw ard, 1968.
199
41. C alifornia State College at Long Beach Bulletin, 1968-69.
Long Beach, C alifornia: C alifornia S tate College, Long
Beach, 1968.
42. C alifornia S tate College at Los Angeles Catalog. 1968- 69.
Los A ngeles, C alifornia: C alifornia S tate College,
Los A ngeles, 1968.
43. C alifornia State College at San Bernardino Catalog, 1968-69.
San B ernardino, C alifornia: C alifornia S tate College
at San B ernardino, 1968.
44. C alifornia S tate Polytechnic College, Kellogg- Voorhis C atalog,
1968-69. Pomona, C alifornia: C alifornia State College
a t Pomona, 1968.
45. C alifornia S tate Polytechnic College Catalog, San Luis Obispo,
1968-69. San L uis Obispo, C alifornia: C alifornia State
C ollege, 1968.
46. Chico State College Catalog, 1968-69. Chico, C alifornia:
C alifornia State College at Chico, 1968.
47. F re sn o State C ollege G eneral Catalog, 1968-69. F resn o ,
C alifornia: F re sn o S tate College, 1968.
48. Humboldt State College C atalog. 1968-69. A reata, C alifornia:
Humboldt S tate C ollege, 1968.
49. Sacram ento S tate College C atalog, 1968-69. S acram ento,
C alifornia: S acram ento State C ollege, 1968.
50. San Diego State College Bulletin, G raduate D ivision, 1968-69.
San Diego, C alifornia: San Diego, C alifornia, State
C ollege, 1968.
51. San Fernando V alley State College Catalog, 1968-69. Los
A ngeles, C alifornia: San Fernando Valley State
College, 1968.
52. San F ran cisco S tate College Catalog, 1968-69. San F ran cisco , |
C alifornia: San F ra n cisc o State College, 1968.
200
53. San Jose State College C atalog, 1968-69. San Jose, C alifornia:
San Jose State College, 1968.
54. Sonoma State College Catalog, 1968-69. C otati, C alifornia:
C alifornia State College at C otati, 1968.
55. Stanislaus State College C atalog, 1968-69. T urlock,
C alifornia: C alifornia State College (Stanislaus) at
T urlock, 1968.
56. Stanford U niversity Bulletin: C ourses and D egrees, 1968-69.
Stanford, C alifornia: Stanford U niversity, 1968.
57. U niversity of C alifornia, D avis, G eneral C atalog, 1968-69.
D avis, C alifornia: U niversity of C alifornia, Davis,
1968.
58. U niversity of C alifornia, Los A ngeles, G raduate School of
Education Bulletin, 1968- 69. Los A ngeles, C alifornia:
U niversity of C alifornia, Los A ngeles, 1968.
59. U niversity of C alifornia, R iv ersid e, G eneral C atalog, 1968- 69.
R iv ersid e, C alifornia: U niversity of C alifornia,
R iv ersid e, 1968.
60. U niversity of C alifornia, Santa B arbara, G raduate School of
Education, Announcement Issu e, 1968-69. Santa
B arbara, C alifornia: U niversity of C alifornia, Santa
B arbara, 1968.
61. U niversity of Southern C alifornia, Bulletin of the School of
Education, 1966-68. Los A ngeles, C alifornia:
U niversity of Southern C alifornia, 1966.

Linked assets

University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Conceptually similar

PDF

The Community College Concept And The Developing World: A Planning Strategy With A Focus On Asia

PDF

The Remedial Mathematics Curriculum In Selected California Community Colleges

PDF

The Role Of The California Community Colleges In The Education Of The Aged

PDF

An Investigation Of The Effect Of Instruction And Practice Upon The Listening Comprehension Skills Of Community College Freshmen

PDF

A Suggested Journalism Curriculum For California Junior Colleges

PDF

The External Degree: Nontraditional Implications For The California State University And Colleges

PDF

An Analysis Of Critical Issues In Higher Education In Denmark

PDF

Centers For Research In Medical Education In The United States: A Preliminary Study

PDF

The Effect Of The Situation On The Quality Of Children'S Writing

PDF

Changes In Jesuit Higher Education And The Influence Of Teilhard De Chardin

PDF

Some Apparent Results Of College Reading Improvement Programs Reconsidered In Terms Of The Method Of Measuring Improvement

PDF

The Middle Class Educator And Minority-Poverty Youth: An Analysis Of The Reactions Of The Educators To Selected Experiences In The Cultural Milieuof Disadvantaged Youth

PDF

An Investigation Of Graduate Student Perceptions Of Campus Environment

PDF

Attitudes Of Selected California Community Junior College Faculty Toward Student-Centered And Intellectually-Centered Concepts Of General Education

PDF

An Analysis Of Organization Characteristics In Selected Elementary Schools As Perceived By Elementary Teachers And Elementary Principals

PDF

Selective Variables In The Achievement Or Nonachievement Of Junior College Students From Different Socioeconomic Backgrounds

PDF

An Analysis Of Characteristics Of Community College Student Volunteers Insocial Services

PDF

Geology In The Junior College

PDF

An Analysis Of Systematic Planning And Development In The Organizational Patterns Of The Intermediate Units In California

PDF

Academic Performance And Persistence Characteristics Of Special Admissionminority-Poor Freshmen And Regular Freshmen At Six California State Colleges

Asset Metadata

Creator Rundall, Richard Aubrey (author)

Core Title An Analysis Of The Freshman Biological Curriculum In The State Colleges Of California

Degree Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Program Education

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag education, higher,OAI-PMH Harvest

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Advisor Wilbur, Leslie (committee chair), Brackenbury, Robert L. (committee member), Martin, Walter E. (committee member)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c18-411942

Unique identifier UC11360908

Identifier 7019121.pdf (filename),usctheses-c18-411942 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier 7019121.pdf

Dmrecord 411942

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Rundall, Richard Aubrey

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA