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At Yale University, biology professor Timothy Goldsmith teaches a biology course for non-majors that is one of the most popular science courses on campus. Entitled "The Biological Roots of Human Behavior," the course examines evolution, genetics, neurobiology, and behavior, concluding with a discussion of what makes humans unique. Attendance at discussion sections is required, and students write miniessays each week on issues where biology intersects with social concerns. "I don't consider the course I teach to be intellectually inferior," Goldsmith says. "It's different." Goldsmith chaired a National Research Council committee, funded by HHMI, that concluded in a 1990 report on high school biology education that "something is profoundly wrong in how we inspire interest in science and convey knowledge about science to the next generation." He knows that many liberal arts majors have bad memories of science classes and are poorly prepared. But he believes they can be inspired to look at biology with fresh eyes — so long as their instructors meet them halfway. Some of the most interesting perspectives on the course he teaches, according to Goldsmith, come from the graduate students who teach the discussion sections. "I've had teaching assistants say that this experience should be part of the undergraduate experience for biology majors as well," he says. "But we're so concerned with cramming details into the heads of majors that we frequently do not provide enough opportunity for reflection." Goldsmith spends considerable time working with the teaching assistants to acclimate them to a new style of teaching. "We try to get the students to talk with each other about what they've learned, and that requires spending time with the TAs, getting them to talk with each other and with me." The resulting dialogues among students and instructors open up areas of discussion that many biology majors never experience. "I've had TAs tell me that there are pieces of this course they've never studied before. That says something about the narrowness and focus of undergraduate science education." |
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ome of the most interesting biology teaching is going on in classes
for students who do not intend to major in biology. With coverage of prescribed
subject material generally less of a concern than in majors' courses, faculty
members are free to experiment with teaching styles and curricula that build
on the specific interests of students and teachers. In the process, they
are demonstrating approaches to teaching and learning that can improve any
class. 
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