Nonmajors' Biology: Enhanced Curricular Considerations

Abstract

We are often guilty, as science instructors, of making the assumption that students share our enthusiasm for biology. Since we know that students inherently share this affection, we further assume that our students are interested in learning the complex and wondrous details of the knowledge we possess. However, it comes as no great shock to anyone involved in undergraduate instruction that nonmajor undergraduates may not entirely reflect our fervor for biology. In fact, significant numbers of college students believe that biology has very little to do with their personal lives (Ewing, Campbell & Brown 1987). The typical collegiate science course, unfortunately, lends credibility to such a belief. Larson (1982) alluded to this by noting that science courses are often bogged-down with specialized jargon, symbols, arithmetic metaphors and minute details that can discourage or even turn-off nonmajor students. Certainly one approach to increasing the popularity of a collegiate science course is to reduce the demand placed upon students for abstract reasoning and quantitative skill, while providing reinforcement in the form of 'easy grades (Garmon, Madeley & Lockhart 1974). Should we treat an introductory nonmajors course differently from a majors course, in order to improve nonmajors' attitudes toward biology? We believe that the answer is yes, but not at the expense of content integrity. The content is far too important in the development of a more comprehensive understanding of biology. Besides, an increasingly scientific and technologic society demands that students be scientifically literate in order to make important and informed future choices (Kormondy 1985). A maintenance of content integrity does not, however, preclude us from listening to and addressing the concerns, attitudes, beliefs and interests of nonmajor students.