Part 1 (1/2)
Adequate Preparation for the Teacher of Biological Sciences in Secondary Schools.
by James Daley McDonald.
The use of the term _preparation_ herein is intended to indicate partially the limitation of the problem attempted. The following discussion will be concerned only with such attributes of the successful teacher as are the direct result, or at least greatly enhanced by thorough preparation. A sufficiently comprehensive and difficult problem remains after still further restriction of the field so as to include only subject matter and the method of biological science.
It is scarcely necessary to make the statement that the standards of preparation and the facilities for meeting these standards have been enormously improved within the past few years. Evidence of this is found in the changes recently made in the curricula of and the requirements for graduation from the California State Teachers Colleges. Neither is it necessary to say that improvement must continue. Such problems are evolutionary. Notwithstanding that requirements for teachers certificates have been raised the country over, the universities are not generally making very rapid strides in affording opportunities for better preparation in subject-matter and special methods. In corroboration, witness the recent criticisms of the departmental courses in special methods now given in universities generally (Swift, 1918; Taylor, 1918). The length of time or the number of units of work required for certification may be increased but that does not insure a finer _quality_ of preparation.
In attempting to explain the slow pace of improvement in the quality of preparation for the teaching of science, one becomes involved in a cycle. Science had its development in the college and university whence it diffused slowly into the secondary schools, and finally slightly into the elementary grades. The differences between the aims of college science and secondary school science were and still are not taken sufficiently into account. As an inevitable result there are to be found in the curricula of high schools too many science courses that are mere dilutions of the college type, with no modification of purpose, and just enough change in method and subject matter to bring them partially within the power of understanding of the less mature mind. This situation in turn reflected upon the higher inst.i.tutions of learning in such a way that it seemed that they were giving adequate training of the correct type. And such would have been the case had the college course in the particular science been planned for the express purpose of being diluted to suit secondary school needs. But it will be generally conceded that such courses never have existed.
Another r.e.t.a.r.ding factor in the evolution of the problem has been the subordination of special training in subject matter to other really less important qualifications, in the selection of teachers. The table given below, compiled from statistics gathered in one of the States during 1916, shows sufficient justification for the above statement.
And not only has the preparation in subject matter been too little considered in choosing teachers, but also in the administration of schools specially intended for teacher-training. An educator of high standing in California is credited with making the criticism of the Normal Schools of the State; that they attempt to teach a person how to teach intelligently something about which he knows nothing. When teachers have adequate preparation in subject matter as well as in methods, and when they are employed to teach only those subjects for which they are fitted, then the problem of maintaining a high standard of teaching will be well nigh solved.
Preparation in Subject Matter
Before facing the problem of preparation for the teaching of biological sciences in the secondary schools, there must be a clear conception of the aims and legitimate purposes of these sciences in the high school. We are fortunate in having the aims of biology clearly and concisely stated by the Commission on the Reorganization of Secondary Education of the N.E.A. (”Reorganization of Science in Secondary Schools”, U.S. Dep't. Interior, Bureau of Education, Bulletin 26, 1920). These aims will not be considered in their entirety but only in so far as they bear directly on the problems that follow. Before proceeding further, for simplification we will a.s.sume that the teacher is a.s.signed to teach biological sciences only.
Even then the field is quite comprehensive, for besides instruction in general biology, there will be courses of a more advanced type, in Zoology, Botany, Physiology, and often Bacteriology, Sanitation, or Agriculture. However, with preparation in the fundamentals necessary for biology a teacher should be able to conduct such courses without difficulty. Thus the problem is sufficiently inclusive if it concerns preparation for biology alone.
The brief literal translation of the word _biology_, science of life, is full explanation of its scope. A course in the subject is not Zoology, nor Botany, nor Bacteriology, nor Physiology--but rather all of these in one. Biology should logically follow the nature study of the elementary grades. The course must be so planned that it will give the pupils the maximum of serviceable fundamentals and at the same time be a basis for further study in advanced courses, if he desires to continue; but such that he will miss none of the essentials if he does not. Since science is the product of mature minds, the culmination of knowledge, then in this course for adolescents, the ”ology” must not be too greatly stressed lest the essential part, the ”bios” be obscured. The goal then is a course in which a study of plant life, a study of bacteria in relation to human welfare, a study of animal life, and the biology of the human, are all incorporated with well balanced emphasis. This is the type of course recommended by the Commission on Reorganization for the ninth or tenth year pupils, so is the end toward which preparation should be made.
The next question concerns what const.i.tutes adequate preparation for the direction of studies of animate nature. First and foremost is a realization of the aims, or better, the values, and relations of biology. It is a socializing subject and must be so taught--man is social. Biology affects man vitally, directly his behavior follows natural laws, and indirectly by ill.u.s.tration and comparison brings him to a better understanding biologic laws underlying the organization of society. By way of ill.u.s.tration we need only to cite the struggle for existence and the division of labor with their far reaching influence in determining the course of evolution. It would be impossible, I believe, to teach biology so poorly that it did not have some socializing value; but it comes very near to being done in some cases, there is little doubt.
A paramount aim is the improvement of living conditions, both as it concerns measures for group sanitation and factors in the health of the individual. This should be the almost exclusive aim in those parts of the course dealing with bacteria and disease, and the biology of man, or physiology and eugenics. Biology has many applications in our economic life. It is the very foundation of agriculture. The lumber industry is beginning to find that there are biologic laws. The Government of the United States some time ago established a Bureau of Fisheries for the purpose of studying the biological problems involved in the continuance and furtherance of our extensive fisheries industry.
So far as the individual is concerned, biology should train him to observe life phenomena accurately and to form logical conclusions, through the use of problems. This ability is a valuable a.s.set whatever his life work may be. Also, if it is the right kind of a course, and well taught, it will enrich the life of the boy or girl through the aesthetic appeal of plants and animals, and so make possible a sincere appreciation and enjoyment of nature. In addition, the study of biology should make clear to the pupil the important part that the intensive study of the various biological sciences has played in the whole marvelous scientific progress of the past centuries.
Along with these values certain relations of biology must be well understood if it is to be well taught. These relations may be conveniently segregated into five groups, 1) relations to world problems, 2) to problems of the state, 3) to the community, 4) to the school curriculum, and 5) to individual pupils. To world problems biology bears many relations, for example, it is fundamental in the a.n.a.lysis of immigration problems, especially those phases concerning health, over-population, and the probable hereditary effects of a.s.similation through hybridization. State problems of health protection, conservation of game and forests, control of rodents and other crop pests, and others can only be solved after gaining a thorough knowledge of the underlying natural laws, and acting in accordance with them. How inadequate a game conservation law of closed season, without regard to the breeding habits of the animal concerned!
Again, State regulations regarding the care of mentally deficient, especially in the prevention of intermarriage, must be given consideration from the biological as well as the ethical point of view.
As we consider the smaller group unit so the relations of biology to that group become more special. A biology course may be readily standardized for national problems, but for any given community the course must be somewhat unique. A course planned for a rural population would not be fitted for a school in an overcrowded section of a city. Where there are differences in social and biological problems there also must be fitting adaptive changes in the course in biology. In addition to these community relations, the teacher must keep in mind the relations between the biology course and the other courses in the curriculum of the school. Such a question as this should arise in the mind of the teacher; how may my work be made to correlate with that of Domestic Science? The possibilities are many, there is the field of dietetics, scientific determination of the best methods of sweeping methods by bacterial culture methods, and the role of bacteria, yeasts and molds in the culinary arts const.i.tute a few of them. How about cooperation with the English Department? Certainly every bit of written work, every oral recitation, should measure up to standards of ability in expression as well as to standards of attainment in the mastery of certain scientific information. This cooperation has been carried out to great mutual benefit in some schools. These ill.u.s.trations are sufficient to ill.u.s.trate, though the teacher should not overlook any department of the school.
Relations to cla.s.s and to individual will be considered in conjunction with teaching methods.
The values and interrelations of biology have been discussed at some length because they must serve as criteria in deciding what const.i.tutes adequate preparation.
The comprehensiveness and vital nature of the subject, biology, present at once an inspiration and an element of fear to the conscientious teacher. They cause him to regard in utter amazement, the applicant for a position who in answer to question replies ”No, I have never taken any courses in biological Science, but I can easily prepare myself to teach it, if need be.” The impossibility of such impromptu development of skill in the teaching of biology will become more apparent as we proceed.
Besides a full appreciation of the aims and relations of the subject, the teacher must be able to construct a course especially adapted in content to the peculiar needs of the particular community. This follows from what was said of relations in a previous paragraph. The development of such a course demands sufficient knowledge of economics and sociology to make possible a correct a.n.a.lysis of local conditions and so find what is required. The course to fulfill the requirements will necessarily be to some extent new, and just to such extent may the teacher feel something of the inspiration of the pioneer. Relative values must be established; emphasis must be properly placed--life of distant regions should not be taught except as local material may not be available to ill.u.s.trate some very essential point, yet too often a carefully pickled gra.s.shopper is transported from Florida to California, there to be dissected by some unfortunate high school lad.
Not only must the larger divisions of the course be carefully balanced and tested for value, but each lesson must justify its induction into it. It is at this point that the relation to the individual is the chief criterion.
Each lesson of the series that makes up the course must justify its place by having some rather direct bearing upon the life of the individual pupil. The core of the lesson must be either the pupils problem or one in which his interest can be readily stimulated. Herein is the value of the project method of science teaching, the problem is sure to be of interest to the pupil since he himself chooses it. Other questions to which the lesson must give satisfactory answer are; Why this particular lesson, at all? What relation does it bear to the preceding and following lessons? Is it of real value to the pupil in his living? What biological phenomenon does it teach? Is it the best problem to ill.u.s.trate that particular phenomenon? What generalizations and practical applications can the _pupil_ make?
The organization of a course in biology which is fitted to the needs of a certain community, the conditions of a particular cla.s.s of pupils, and to the needs of the individual pupils so far as possible, requires that the teacher have an extensive knowledge of the subject matter as a background freeing him from the necessity of dependence on a textbook. Anyway, a biology teacher conducting the right sort of a course, will see that the textbook is only an incidental, if used at all. A continuation of set a.s.signments in most textbooks would dampen the ardor of pupils generally. Besides, few localities have textbooks fitted to their specific needs. One that does have is New York City.
In fact it has two, ”Elementary Biology” by Peabody & Hunt, and ”Civic Biology” by Hunter. These both have a large sale throughout the United States, But, of course, in most localities they can be used only to furnish supplementary reading, since _portions_ only will be adapted to the conditions of the restricted locality. The fundamental life processes are the same the world over, but varying environmental conditions necessitates a variation in emphasis, in application, and in the choice of problems which make up the course. If the teacher is well prepared in subject matter, there is little use for a laboratory manual except as it may suggest new methods and new experimental materials. Students of the high school age should never be compelled to follow a set laboratory outline with detailed instructions for procedure; it will kill every whit of initiative. The teacher must be so prepared, then, that he is able to steer a free course, employing books for reference and supplementary reading almost exclusively. He will cause the student to realize that the books are the result of _human_ effort and therefor not infallible, and that they must always take second place to first hand observation and experiment. The study of animate nature, with endless opportunity for observation and experiment on every hand, permits little excuse for such method as is ill.u.s.trated by ”Be prepared to recite on the next three pages in the book, tomorrow, and read experiment 37 so that you wont have to waste any time in getting started with the laboratory work”.