Search

Humanistic education is concerned with teacher self-esteem and confidence and with teacher-student relationships. In this paper, the author attempts to identify those competencies for a biology teacher that can be considered humanistic, saleable skills for survival in the classroom. Ten characteristics of humanistic teachers are listed. Teachers, lay persons, administrators, and hiring personnel were asked to rank order five characteristics deemed necessary for a potential biology teacher. Humanistic attitudes toward students ranked first or second for all three groups. Next, the same groups were asked to interpret what is meant by humanistic teacher behavior. The results are given for all three groups. In the second part of the paper, the author lists survival competencies associated with humanistic teaching. These are grouped into three problem areas: personal, school, and community. In summation, the author stresses the point that competencies based on the learner need more attention today than those based on subject matter or teaching methods alone. A bibliography concludes the article. (MA)

In this paper the author examines the question of whether evolution is a theory or a dogma. He refutes the contention that there is a monolithic scientific conspiracy to present evolution as dogma and suggests that his own presentation might be more appropriately entitled "Creationism: Theory or Dogma." (PEB)

The book contains 28 papers by a variety of authors who deal with technology and social change in foreign countries. The papers are presented under 13 headings: technology and social change in foreign cultures (two papers), technology and values (two papers), technological and social change in history (one paper), the arts and technology (two papers), technological change and social systems (three papers), political and economic forces in technological change (two papers), moral and ethical aspects of the export of technology (four papers), introduction of engineering techniques in developing countries (three papers), communications and the adoption of technology and social change (one paper), impact of modern medicine and biology in developing nations (two papers), agricultural technology: vanguard of economic development (three papers), technology and the arts in modern Europe (one paper), and induced innovation and agricultural development (one paper). (JR)

A competency-based educational program for future physicians studying reproductive biology was developed at the University of Utah College of Medicine. The development took the form of a generic model specifying a linear sequence of steps, namely: assess competency needs, specify competencies, determine competency components and performance levels, identify and implement competency attainment procedures, establish assessment of compentency attainment, and validate all system components. A functional analysis was performed on each of these steps. In the future it is hoped to eliminate a time-bound curriculum in the sophomore reproductive biology course and substitute a set of self-learning modules where students would learn content independently, using their own personal choices of method of teaching. (WH)

Reported is another study related to the Project on an Information Memory Model. This study involved using information theory to investigate the concepts of primacy and recency as they were exhibited by ninth-grade science students while processing a biological sorting problem and an immediate, abstract recall task. Two hundred randomly selected students were given a biologically oriented classification sorting problem which required them to observe, for 15 minutes, a color slide composed of 14 different animals commonly recognized by ninth-grade students. Student scores were divided into low and high primacy (recall of items early in a list) and into low and high recency (recall of those items at the end of a list) groups. There were generally no significant differences between the low and high groups (primacy and recency) with respect to their set formation scores. When the groups were segregated on the basis of their ability to recall, there were significant differences between high and low groups. Total cognition scores were slightly greater for the recency students when compared to the corresponding ability group for primacy, suggesting that a slight but not significant advantage in recall belonged to the recency group. (Author/PEB)

This paper describes open-ended experimentation with the fungus Pilobolus for laboratory work by high school students. The fungus structure and reproduction is described and sources of the fungus are suggested. Four areas for investigation are suggested: the effect of a diffuse light source, the effect of a point light source, the effect of light intensity, and the effect of different colors of light. Questions are also raised that additional experiments could be designed to explore. Also inlcuded is a list of publications concerning additional information on Pilobolus. (BR)

Reported is an investigation designed to show the relationship between the time required by a student to achieve and his self-image of achievement. Approximately equal numbers of 10th- and 11th-grade biology students (N=57) from two intact classrooms were involved in the study. Learning materials from the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) Green Version High School Biology (1963) were adapted to self-paced instruction. Students in both groups were given several guiding questions to be answered. For one group, teacher-specified activities were provided to help answer the questions. For the other, referred to as student structured experiences (SSE), students were asked to develop their own activities to provide the answers. The Q-sort of Single Adjectives, used to measure self-image of achievement, was administered at the beginning of the experiment and after 43, 98, and 120 days of classroom activity. Achievement was measured both by the BSCS Quarterly Tests One and Two and by the BSCS Comprehensive Final Examination. The investigator concluded that independence of learning required gradual development by most students. The academic performance of the teacher-structured group was superior to that of the SSE group but some SSE students were able to develop independent learning behavior as evidenced by superior achievement scores. (PEB)

This paper contains a report on two science education methods courses for the teaching of biology developed at Arizona State University at Tempa. One course is for preservice teachers only and is taught each fall semester, as it has been since 1964, by a team consisting of a high school biology teacher, a science consultant for the Phoenix school district, and an Arizona state faculty member. As part of the course experiences, students concentrate on inquiry-oriented laboratory investigations using living organisms where possible, class discussions, films, BSCS single topic inquiry filmstrips, and other related activities. One of the major objectives is to permit students to become familiar with methods, techniques, and use of biological materials. In the spring semester, another course using the inquiry field study approach involves inexperienced but certified biology teachers qualifying for admission to a degree program leading to a Master of Science in Biology. These participants in the Prospective Teacher Fellowship Program plan and conduct a two-week resident field study program for 60 high school biology students (30 high school students per week). Also reported are details of an Environmental Education Teach-In involving the states of Hawaii, California, Nevada and Arizona. (PEB)

A two course sequence on human anatomy and physiology using the audiotutorial method of instruction was developed for use by nursing students and other students in the health or medical fields at the Kingsborough Community College in New York. The project was motivated by the problems of often underprepared students coming to learn a new field and by the time constraints caused by students' part-time status. An elementary biology course was divided into 28 learning modules (14 per semester). The program included a student study guide, taped lessons, small and large assembly sessions, an independent learning center with 30 carrels, and performance tests for each module. An analysis of the program is being planned that will use student questionnaires, an analysis of student time, and a comparison with students taking the human anatomy and physiology courses without audio tutorial instruction. The audio tutorial approach is an ideal method of fostering individualized learning, particularly for those students who have experienced academic difficulty. (WH)

A comparison between achievement test scores in a life science course for students in audiotutorial sections and those in conventional lecture-laboratory sections was made during the fall of 1973. The comparison indicated that student achievement, as measured by percentage scores on unit tests plus a final examination, was almost identical between the two types of instruction. However, the audiotutorial students were able to complete additional supplementary minicourses of their choice within the same time span; hence, in reality they were able to achieve more by the individualized instruction. Furthermore in responding to an attitude questionnaire, students indicated a preference for this type of learning experience. Taking confidence from these results and combining that information with the experience gained through field testing minicourses from Purdue University, the Lake Land College Life Science staff has implemented an expanding program of supplemental packaged units (minicourses). (Author)

The purpose of this study was to analyze two methods of instruction used in an animal biology course. One group of students, the experimental group, was taught using an audio-tutorial program, and another group, the control group, was taught using the conventional lecture-laboratory method. Pretest and posttest data were collected from achievement and attitude instruments. An opinion questionnaire and time reports were also analyzed. The major findings were: (1) students taught using audio-tutorial instruction demonstrated significantly greater achievement gain but did not differ significantly in attitude toward course content; (2) an analysis of the opinion questionnaire revealed a favorable reaction by the experimental group toward the use of the audio-tutorial method of instruction; and (3) the experimental group spent a significantly greater amount of time in formal study than those students taught by the conventional approach. (Author/WH)

Textbooks emphasizing visual elements in exposition can be enriched using crisp, concise, audio-taped commentaries to focus attention on essential points in each illustration. These text aids, packaged in the convenient form of cassettes (usually one per chapter), have a number of obvious advantages: (1) any teacher can prepare them; (2) they are immediately and cheaply transferred between institutions; (3) a cassette recorder is the only equipment required; (4) they are readily incorporated into any course, regardless of the teaching methodology--class size is not a limiting factor in their applicability; (5) the student receives a taped guide, complete with his or her own set of take-home visual materials, such as graphs, diagrams, tables, photos and electron micrographs; (6) the student is free to work at a time, place and pace of his or her choice. This freedom makes the modules eminently suited to extension or continuing education courses. (Author)

A comparative approach to the study of communication can be seen as extremely valuable for a thorough understanding of human communication. In its broadest sense, communication is a biological phenomenon, defined as the interchange of information between an organism and its environment. Communication systems of living organisms differ qualitatively and in relation to their fundamental differences and environments. Moreover, they cannot be ranked on a superiority scale. Both cultural and noncultural factors may influence communication abilities and behavior. Although the formal rationalist method of investigation presented by Chomsky and Miller poses some problems, it can be applied in studying animal communication systems and does allow for the exploration of numerous possibilities. This procedure, followed in working with the common loon, has proved highly productive and has provided material for further study. (JM)