Malcolm, I think something like what you describe is common, and that departments try to assure that persons with proper training and experience teach the courses. However, the regional higher education accreditation programs do not specify specialized training for teaching in undergraduate programs. Rather, they specify that some minimal (I think it is something like 40% but it's been a while since I looked at it) fraction of upper division courses be taught by a person with a Ph.D. in the discipline (discipline defined broadly, such as biology or zoology, not narrowly such as genetics) or a related area (a wildlife degree would qualify for example, as would environmental science, microbiology, and so on .......... ), and that all courses be taught by a person with at least a master's degree with 18 sch of graduate courses in the discipline.
My last department made it a point to have all it's M.S. and M.S.I.S. graduates prepared to teach all the lower division courses the program offered and that were common in community colleges in the area. Made sense to me. Persons with a Ph.D. in a biology discipline should be broadly capable in the discipline and thus able to teach a range of undergraduate courses, not just those most directly related to their dissertation area. I'm not saying anyone with a Ph.D. in biology should be able to teach all undergraduate courses, but certainly should be able to teach multiple ones. My Ph.D. was in zoology, with my dissertation work in stream fish ecology. I ended up teaching ichthyology, ecology, limnology, marine zoology, evolution, genetics, and a variety of lower division courses including botany. My students were well prepared when they went on to graduate school and jobs. When I was asked to teach cell biology, however, I said "no." If we are teaching biology at the ! undergraduate level, we should be broadly enough prepared to teach multiple courses. What about materials such as textbooks? Should there be a requirement for minimal readings to qualify for certification? Just asking. I don't know if I have an opinion about this. I do know that the tradition of the instructor of a course having considerable leeway in this matter seems to have worked well. David McNeely ---- malcolm McCallum <[email protected]> wrote: > However, who is teaching these courses? > Should a geneticist be teaching genetics, microbiologist teaching micro or > is it ok for any PHD in biology to teach any course? > > I think such guidelines only have meat if they have an accreditation backing > them out. Without, its just opinion. > Certainly there are discipline specific course outlines recommended by > several organizations. But, again these are > pure recommendation and there is nothing stopping two colleges from having a > sequence in "wildlife" and offering relatively few to none of the wildlife > courses. The same goes for any subdicipline. However, if we at least had > the broad area of biology accredited, subdiscplines would be a whole other > bucket of worms. > > It is my opinion that any biology department at most reasonable universities > will offer courses in at least most of the following: > > Genetics taught by a person with a genetics background > Microbiology taught by a person with a micro background > Cell Biology taught by a person with a cell background > Anatomy (jr-sr level) taught by a person with an organismal background > physiology (jr-sr level) taught by a person with an organismal background > Ecology taught by a person with an ecology background > (evolution could be an additional stand alone or incorporated into other > courses, as it should be anyway!). > > Then, at the freshman-sophomore level the following material can be offered > in various ways... > General Zoology taught by a zoologist > General Botany taught by a botanist > General biology taught by a biologist > > Then, programs should have supporting courses > Gen Chem through Organic taught by chemists > Biochemistry taught by a biochemist. > Physics I & II taught by physicists > Algebra and calc taught by a mathematician > statistics taught by a statistician or biostatistician. > > > Do you think this qualifies as a minimal curriculum for a biology BS? > Notice, this is a minimal number of courses offered, not the minimum number > of courses taken. This is about programs not about degree requirements. > > Malcolm > > On Fri, May 21, 2010 at 3:24 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: > > > I gave a somewhat jocular response to this question a day or so ago, but my > > point was that we have a lot of diversity, and probably want it that way. > > Here's what I said: "Because ACS is more union-like than any professional > > biology organization is? > > Because biology programs are so much more diverse than chemistry programs? > > Because biologists are less conformist than chemists?" > > > > Despite my joking, and despite the great diversity that we have and that we > > offer, it is practical to set up a curriculum that many can agree on as > > effective and that provides a minimal level of training, if training is what > > we are after. Most regional public colleges (mostly now called > > universities) have installed something like this, requiring for a general > > biology program something like the following: > > > > Principles of Biology 8 sch (or Botany 4 sch, Zoology 4 sch), Cell Biology > > 3 or 4 sch, Genetics 3 or 4 sch, Ecology 3 or 4 sch, a physiology course > > focusing on a broad taxon such as vertebrates or plants 3 or 4 sch, and an > > investigative course of some kind (often a seminar), with enough elective > > hours in some biological science to make up to something like 36 to 40 sch. > > Some require a research experience. Support courses usually include at > > least General Chemistry 8 sch, and may include Organic Chemistry 8 sch, and > > perhaps Biochemistry 4 or 8 sch, plus 8 sch of General or Engineering > > Physics and 6 sch of mathematics including a semester or two of calculus. > > Some also include a statistics course or allow statistics in lieu of one > > calculus course. This would compare to the professional major in chemistry. > > > > On the other hand, a lot of liberal arts colleges, where a > > disproportionately high number of eventual Ph.D. graduates come from, > > generally require fewer hours (30 sch is common) in the major, and fewer > > support courses, in keeping with their expectation of broader exposure in > > humanities and social sciences. > > > > Some programs also specify such things as at least one course in > > "organismic biology," which means different things at different places but > > is usually focused on a taxon such as vertebrates, angiosperms, or insects. > > > > If we developed an accreditation in biology, it would have to take into > > account the broad diversity of offerings, the differing purposes and > > expectations of programs, and differing needs of students. We do have a > > staggering array of subject matter, and certainly we should not lose that. > > It is in the specialized offerings that many undergraduates find their > > focus. > > > > David McNeely > > > > > > > > > > ---- malcolm McCallum <[email protected]> wrote: > > > I think we can agree that there is much diversity in what a biology or > > > environmental science program is. However, there are also bare minimums > > in > > > supporting programs, faculty and student resources that certainly must be > > in > > > place for a program to not only be viable but also adequately supported > > to > > > ensure student success. > > > > > > Hence my question. > > > > > > I don't think that a biology accreditation program could be as regimented > > as > > > the one in chemistry. However, I also think that we as biologists have a > > > civic responsibility to monitor our own field. The world of higher > > > education is rapidly changing, and new programs are popping up all over. > > > Something to think about? > > > > > > So, maybe I should reword my question! > > > > > > What are the bare minimum resources that a biology program should have in > > > place? > > > What kind of faculty curricular diversity and numbers should there be? > > > What laboratory resources are necessary and should be in place before the > > > program is started? > > > What supporting programs are critical? > > > > > > This is cosmetic and academic at most institutions, but not all. > > > > > > > > > On Thu, May 20, 2010 at 9:11 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > > Chemistry has standardized the undergraduate curriculum to a few > > standard > > > > subjects- organic, physical, biochemical, inorganic. We've got an > > astounding > > > > diversity of college-level biology courses taught; would accreditation > > mean > > > > giving that up to create standard curricula? That might not be a bad > > thing, > > > > but its pretty far from where we are. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Quoting malcolm McCallum <[email protected]>: > > > > > > > > Chemistry currently has accreditation, why not biology? > > > >> > > > >> Malcolm > > > >> > > > >> -- > > > >> Malcolm L. McCallum > > > >> Managing Editor, > > > >> Herpetological Conservation and Biology > > > >> > > > >> 1880's: "There's lots of good fish in the sea" W.S. Gilbert > > > >> 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, > > > >> and pollution. > > > >> 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction > > > >> MAY help restore populations. > > > >> 2022: Soylent Green is People! > > > >> > > > >> Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any > > > >> attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may > > > >> contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized > > > >> review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not > > > >> the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and > > > >> destroy all copies of the original message. > > > >> > > > >> > > > > > > > > > > > > Daniel (Max) Taub > > > > Associate Professor and Chair of the Biology Department > > > > Southwestern University > > > > 1001 East University Ave > > > > Georgetown TX 78626, USA > > > > > > > > email: [email protected] > > > > phone: (512) 863-1583 > > > > fax: (512) 863-1696 > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > Malcolm L. McCallum > > > Managing Editor, > > > Herpetological Conservation and Biology > > > > > > 1880's: "There's lots of good fish in the sea" W.S. Gilbert > > > 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, > > > and pollution. > > > 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction > > > MAY help restore populations. > > > 2022: Soylent Green is People! > > > > > > Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any > > > attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may > > > contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized > > > review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not > > > the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and > > > destroy all copies of the original message. > > > > -- > > David McNeely > > > > > > -- > Malcolm L. McCallum > Managing Editor, > Herpetological Conservation and Biology > > 1880's: "There's lots of good fish in the sea" W.S. Gilbert > 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, > and pollution. > 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction > MAY help restore populations. > 2022: Soylent Green is People! > > Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any > attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may > contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized > review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not > the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and > destroy all copies of the original message. -- David McNeely
