Lawrence J. Stephens' Findlay College Findlay, Ohio 45840
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Physical Environment and the
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A course for non-majors
~ a t u r a Sciences l
In 1969 the faculty of Findlay College inaugurated a Liberal Studies program "designed to he responsive to the needs of students in a rapidly changing society and to new developments in the understanding of learning" ( I ) . The student completes the Liberal Studies requirement by taking six core courses and six courses from a bank of electives. The Natural Science Division has developed a number of current topic courses for inclusion in the bank of electives. This paper will concentrate on the experiences of the Division with the Natural Science core course "Physical Environment and the Natural Sciences" (L.S. V). Students are expected to take L.S. V in their junior year, although many take it as seniors. The college science hackground, except for science majors, will he two courses or less, and many will have had no science or math a t the college level. The student/faculty ratio is about 85:l. Course ohjectives are very similar to those usually outlined for a course of this type (2, 3). Thus, it was felt that the methods of science and the role of science in society were of more importance than technical knowledge. For the first 2 yr the course was taught, the topic chosen to use as a vehicle to meet the course ohjectives was Oceanography. The teaching method consisted primarily of lectures with considerable use of audio-visual aids. Thirteen questions were distributed on the first day of class. The class was told five of these questions would appear on the final exam. Each student was also expected to write a short term paper on some topic related to Oceanography, which particularly interested him. During the third year the course was taught, a new format was used. The course was divided into five 2-wk mini-courses. Students Were tested a t the end of each mini-course. There was no comprehensive final examination. The selection of topics for the mini-course was based on: response of students to topics covered in other courses, student interest, faculty interest and expertise, and how well the topic could he used to meet the course objectives. Topics for the mini-courses were: Air Pollution, Water Pollution, Population, Photography, and The Petroleum Industry (4). In the spring of 1972, a n evaluation committee was formed with the intent of collecting and analyzing information about the state of the Liberal Studies program for future development of liberal education. Pursuant to this goal the evaluation committee examined 1) The extent to which the goals of the L.S. program were met. 2) The attitudes of students, faculty, and the administration of Findlay College toward the L.S. program (5). The results of
this evaluation indicated that while the respondents perceived that the course was rather successful in the goals of the L.S. program, there was an indication that the class was relatively
'Present address: Elmira College, Elmira, New York 14901.
impersonal. Students also perceived that memorization was stressed. Changes made in the course for 1972-73 were hased on a desire to increase the student's involvement of himself in the course material, so that he could see where science was relevant to him. The approach then was to look a t science in terms of its effects on the individual. Since the exclusive use of large lecture sessions did not seem suited to this individualization of the material, discussion sessions were introduced into the course for the first time. It was hoped that through discussions the student could he helped to see his role in the science-related problems of our society. Homemakers from the community who had undergraduate science degrees were invited to he discussion leaders. Three students enrolled in a seminor in college teaching were also discussion leaders. In this way the 160 students were broken down into groups of 20 without additional facultv load beine allocated to the course The five 2-wk mini-courses format was continued from the previous year with some changes in topics. The minicourses were 1) Philosophy of Science The approach here was two-pronged. A member of the English faculty discussed science fiction (6) and its relationship to science; while the methods and role of science were examined using "Science and Human Values" (7) as a text. 2) Photography This 2-wk segment was designed to help the student see photography: (IT as a means of expressing himself, (2) as a means of viewing the environment, and (3) as both an art and a science. A Kodak "haw to" hook (8) was used as the text. 3) Enuironrnent and the Oil Industry The Manager of the Environmental Control Division at Marathon Oil Company agreed to take charge of this 2-wk segment. Experts discussed the environmental problems of the oil and transportation industry. These experts included persons involved in the Exploration, Production. Marketing, and Environmental Control Divisions at Marathon. Students discussed their role in the environmental problems associated with energy consumption. No text as such was used, but students were given a booklet about autoemission controls (9). 4) Airpollution The causes and effects of major air pollutants were discussed both in general terms and as they related to the individuals in the class. 5) Seieneeond the Quality of Life This last segment was an attempt to encourage students to Look toward the future. What is meant by "quality of life?" What effect will increased use of materials, energy, and technolow have on future life? Appropriate sections of "Human Ecology" (10) were used for this mini-course as well as for two weeks on air pollution. Some of the advantages we have seen in using the discussion group format include: increased student involvement in the course, increased student awareness of their roles in science-related problems, less feeling among the students that science is merely a collection of abstract facts, and increased town-gown cooperation. An evaluation of the effectiveness of the homemakers as discussion Volume 51, Number 5. May 1974
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leaders depends upon one's interpretation of their role in achieving the course objectives. They were quite effective in leading discussions, in getting the students to participate, in helping students to see their role in causing environmental prohlems as well as what they can and should do to help solve these problems, and in providing flesh and blood examples of people who care enough about environmental problems to do something more than complain. Difficulties which arose were primarily due to student misconceptions of the role of the discussion leaders. Those students who looked to the discussion leaders as sources of factual knowledge to he memorized for a test felt short-changed. Considerable student reeducation will be needed to alleviate this problem. Based on our experience, the lecture-discussion format using volunteer discussion leaders and guest speakers offers a very attractive alternative to a strictly lecture format for a class of up to about 200 students. Acknowledgment
Much credit should be given to the other persons involved in teaching and planning the course for the 1972-73 academic year. Dr. Robert Allen was the primary instruc-
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/ Journal of Chemical Education
tor for the course. The following persons freely contributed their time and efforts to the project: Mr. Jack Wilfong, Chairman of the Natural Science Division and Mr. Stan Wineland, Assistant Professor of Physics; Dr. John Noonan and Mr. Robert Ewald provided the humanities input; Mr. Tom Challoner, Mr. W. E. MacDonald, and Mr. L. Mihaly from Marathon Oil Company; and Mrs. William Lowry, Mrs. Donald Hardesty, Mrs. John Spitler, and Mrs. Lem McManness, who volunteered their time to work as discussion leaders. Literature Cited i l l Findlay College Bulletin. M.No. 5,44 (19711. (21 Division of Chemical Edueatim Curriculum Committee, Chemktry for tho Nanreience Major SuhcommiMe. J. CHEM. EDUC.. 47.151 119701. (31 Psuii, G.H., J. CHEM.EDUC., 50, 210(19731. (11 S*phens. L a m n e e J.. J. oi CollogeSriene~Teaching. (in print). (51 "Liberal Studies Evaluation," A report svhmitted to the Liberal S t u d i ~ sCommitteeof Findlay College. June. 1972. Publishera, 1972. (61 Elliron, Harien (Editor). "DangemunVisions,"Bork~I~ (71 Bmnowki, J., "Seianec and Human Valuss," revised Edition, Harper and Row Publish-, New York, 1965. (81 "How to Make Good Pictures," Eastman Kodak Company, Racheater. New Yak, 1972. I91 "Your c a r and Clean Air." Marathon Oil company, Findlay. Ohio. (101 Ehrlich, Paul R.. Ehriieh. Anne H.. and Holdren, John P., "Human Ecology,‘' W. H. heemanand Company, San Francisco. California. 1973.
