Recent Developments in the Teaching
Edward C. Fuller
Beloit College Beloit, Wisconsin 5351 I
of Multidisciplinary Courses in Science
The enormous expansion of knowledge
Mu1tidisci;olinaru Course for Nonscienee Maiors
(1) in all of the sciences in the past two decades has
revolutionized our science teaching in secondary schools, colleges, and universities. It has become increasingly clear that with so much to teach we cannot afford unnecessary duplication of subject matter whether we are concerned with the student who plans t o make science his life work or the one who needs to understand science only in order to function as a responsible citizen in a highly technological society. The cramming of new subject matter into the constant volume curriculum prescribed by fairly wellestablished and rigid periods of time to be devoted to study in secondary school and college has resulted in increased pressure on both the student and the teacher of science. One response to this pressure has been the development of courses combining more than one science t,o minimize unnecessary duplication of subject matter (2-7). Believing that the community of teaching chemists would welcome information about recent developments along these lines, the Advisory Council on College Chemistry requested the writer of this paper to make a study of multidisciplinary courses now being offered. A questionnaire was sent in September 1966 to the chemistry departments in 900 colleges and universities offering four years of undergraduate college work and 700 two-year colleges. By April of 1967 replies had been received from 578 four-year and 416 two-year institutions. Data were recorded on punched cards and analysed by a computer. Data from the 994 Replies 1.
Iiinds of imtitution..
State 320 32%
Municipsl 95 10%
private. deoominstiond 341 34%
Priuete. "ondenominationd 154 15%
Other 69 7%
No zn8wer t o this question 15 2%
2. Entranoerquirementaof theseinstitutions: no answer, 311 inatitutiona. Unitsof high schoollaboratoru soienoe 1 2 3 4 Units 200 152 18 10 Institution8 Units of high sohool science. laboratory not weoified 1 2 3 4 units 131 137 31 4 Institution8 3. Highest l e d of work offered in the natural aoienoes and mathematics (numberaof institutions). ChamGeolMathe0.7 Phvsios matios Bio1o.v-. iatrv . . ~ i ~Course ~ t 99 ~ si ~ ~ 18s ~ 186 24 267 374 322 88 Second-year course 299 92 261 358 344 341 Bachelor's degree 72 55 72 96 Master's degree 92 150 68 127 106 P h D degree 114 506 81 36 46 25 No answer 4. Numbers of studenta enrolled in all intmduatory ohemiatry courses for science majors; 86 institutions did not ansver this question. 101-200 201-500 over500 0-50 51-100 Students 188 122 85 288 225 Courses 5. Numbera of studsnta enrolled in all intmductorv ohemistry oourscs fornonsaienosmajors: 254 inlrtitutionsdid not ansrver thisquestion. aver500 101-200 201-500 0-50 51-100 Students 79 61 186 118 296 Courses
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Journd of Chemical Education
State
131
Municipal 49
Private. denominational 146
Private, no=denominational 49
Other 46
7. Numbers of oourses in whioh the various disciplines are combined. Biology Chemistry Geology Physias Mathematiea 140 449 295 446 86 8. Numbersof multidisciplinary ooursesof various lenpths. Semesters 1 2 3 Courses 162 164 92
4 102
9. Numbers of multidiaoiplinary oourae* requiring various amounts of laboratorv work. No laboratory 1 hr/n.k 2 hr/wk 3 hr/wk 4 h d k more 189 188 113 80 a 21 10. Number of such eo,irses which are terminal:
397.
11. Numbe: of pUeh courses which meet prereqoiaites for more sdvsneed courses," solenee: 55. 12. Numbers of studenta enrolled in m u l t i d i s o i ~ l i n a roouraes. ~ Students CL50 51-100 101-200 201-500 170 Collraes 146 117 76
over 500
34
13. Numbers of multidiseiplinsry ooursea serving students with oarioua tvpea of majors. AgriBllsiness Adculture ministration Engineering Fine Arts Humhnitiea 49 384 31 384 446 Medioai Social Prelav Sciences Teohnology Nursing Premedical 71 84 50 247 44R
Multidisciplinary Courses for Science Major. 14. Offerings of one or more aourses oombining two or more of the acienaes and/or math$matios for studants nzajorin'l in the aoienoes. 75 institut~oosoffer suoh courses; 830 do not; 89 gave no answer. 15. Numbers of oour~esin whioh the various disciplines are combined. Biology Chemistry Geology Physics Mathematics 49 90 6 55 36 16. Numbers of multidisciplinary courses of various Lenptha. semesters 1 2 3 Couraes 21 39 13
4 20
17. Numbers of suoh oourses requiring various amounts of laboratory work. No laboratory 1 hr/wk 2 hr/wk 3 hr/wk 4 hr/wk more 17 3 7 35 21 14 18. Number of multidiaeiplinary courses which are terminal:
33.
19. Number of such ooursea which meet prerequisites for more sdvsnoed smenee oourses: 51. 20. Numbers of students enrolled ininterdiaoiplinary oourses. Studeota &50 51-100 101-200 201-500 5 Coursea 72 10 8
over500 1
21. Numbera 01 multidisciplinary oourses serving atudentr with varioua rns,om to science. Biology Geology Physios Other Chemistiy 13 31 2 43 3
Interpretation of the Data
About half of the colleges replying have an entrance requirement of one unit of high school science, though a third of these do not require laboratory work in high school. About a tenth of the colleges replying offer a l y one year of work in biology and in chemistry, but a fifth of them offer a l y one year of work in geology and in physics. About a third of the colleges give a l y two years of the sciences and mathematics with the exception of geology, in which only a tenth of them give a sec-
ond year course. About a third of the colleges reporting grant bachelor's degrees in biology, chemistry, and mathematics, a fourth of them in physics, but only a tenth of them offerthe baccalaureate in geology. The punched cards were sorted into the categories noted in item 1 of the section above and the same compilations of data were then made for each category. Comparisons of the data for item 2 above indicate only minor differences in entrance requirements among the various categories. In item 3 it is found that municipal institutions more than other types tend to limit their offeringsin science to one or two year-courses and only a few grant baccalaureates. Most of the private colleges grant bachelor's degrees in biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics but few grant them in geology. About a fifth of the state institutions and a fifth of the private nondenominational ones grant PhD's in all the sciences and mathematics, again with the exception of geology where the fraction is about one-seventh. Few municipal or private denominational institutions graut graduate degrees. Class size tends to be larger in the state institutions and the private nondenominational ones, the two types which predominate in the offering of PhD programs. Sixty-four percent of the introductory courses in municipal and private denominational colleges have enrollments of less than 100 students but the figure is only 40% for state and private nondenominational institutions. The distribution of class sizes is roughly the same among courses for science majors as for nonscientists. Multidisciplinary Courses for Nonscience Majors
Such courses are offered in 42% of all institutions and this figure holds also for state and private denominational institutions. However, 55% of the municipal institutions offer such courses but only 33y0 of private nondenominational institutions do so. The distribution of content in the multidisciplinary courses is about the same in the five categories of institutions as in the total sample. It is noteworthy that chemistry and physics are fouud in combined courses much more frequently than the other sciences or mathematics. The numbers of courses offeredcarrying various combinations of disciplines are as follows: Chem-Phys-Geol-Astron (Phvsical Science) ~i&dhem-Geal-~h;s Geol-Astron Chem-Phys-Math Phys-Geol Phys-Math
221
33 18 15
Chem-Phys Biol-Chem-Phys Biol-Chem Chem-Geol
109 30 16 13
Almost all of the other possible combinations of two disciplines are found in a eourse or two. About a third of the multidisciplinary courses run for one semester, another third for two semesters, and the remaining third are about equally divided between three- and four-semester sequences. This general pattern holds true with state and private denominational institutions, but one-semester courses are twice as frequent in municipal institutions, and two-semester courses almost twice as frequent in private nondenominational ones. The hours required in the laboratory each week in various multidisciplinary courses are about the same for all categories of institutions except that
27% of the municipal institutions have courses without laboratory work while for other types of institutions the figure averages 18%. Sixty percent of the municipal institutions have two hours or less of laboratory work per week, 40% being characteristic of other types. About 6y0 of all the five types of institutions allow these multidisciplinary courses to serve as prerequisites for more advanced courses in science. Since several large institutions offer more than one multidisciplinary course, about 12% of the courses meet prerequisites for more advanced work. The distributions of enrollment expressed as number of students per course is about the same for multidisciplinary courses as for those in chemistry alone; significant numbers of students are enrolled in all sizes of clzsses, from less than fifty up to more than 500. The distribution of courses serving various ldnds of nonscience majors as shown in item 13 of the raw data for all institutions reporting is also reflected in the data for each category except municipal institutions where the totals are heavily weighted in business administration, fine arts, humanities, nursing, and social sciences. Multidisciplinary Courses for Science Majors
Such courses tend to occur about twice as frequently in private denominational institutions and three times as frequently in private nondenominational ones when comparisons are made between these types and state and municipally supported institutions. The distribution of content in these courses is not significantly diierent in the various types of institutions. Chemistry is included in practically all of these courses; biology is fouud in about half of them and physics occurs with equal frequency. Mathematics is included in a third of these courses but geology in only about one-fifteenth of them. About half of these courses run for two semesters and a fourth for one semester, the balance being approximately evenly divided between three and four semesters' duration. The pattern within the five categories is about the same. The raw data presented in items 17, 18,19, and 21 show no significant variation when broken down according to type of institution. Class sizes in these multidisciplinary courses tend to be smaller in those institutions which have the greatest number of such courses-the private institutions, denominational and nondenominational. A more detailed analysis of the data on multidisciplinary courses for students majoring in science will be presented in a subsequent paper. A Comparison of Data from Two-Year and Four-Year Colleges
About 59% of the two-year colleges which were sent the questionnaire returned answers; 62% was the corresponding figure for four-year institutions. Larger percentages of the two-year colleges are found in the state and municipal categories with relatively few privately supported ones. There are no significant diierences in the patterns of admissions requirements. Class enrollments in two-year colleges tend to be smalle1--40% of them in the C-50 student group compared to 20% in the four-year institutions. A significantly larger percentage of $he two-year colleges offer multidisciplinary courses, 47% of those reporting comVolume 44, Number 9, September 1967
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pared to 39y0 for the four-year iustitutions. The perceutage of institutions offering nndtidisciplinary courses involving biology is slightly greater among the four-year iust,it,utions than among two-year colleges. The revelxe is true with geology-a considerably larger percctrt,:tge of two-year colleges teach geology as a part of C,ptrysical science" than is t.be case in four-year inst,it,ut.ious. The percentages of iustitutions including chemistry, physics, and mathematics in their interdiscipliuary courses shows no variation between four-year and t,wo-year colleges. Courses involving the physical scieuces chemist'yv, geology, physics, and astn~nonly--are found in 04% of t,he two-year colleges with mult.idiscipliuarycourses, bul the comparable figure for four-year institutions is only 42%. On the other haud, courses including biology, chemistry, geology, and physics are found in only 1% of t,he two-year colleges hut in 14% of the four-year oues wit,h multidisciplinary courses. Since there are numy good texts for courses in pbysical science but relatively few treating the biological and physical scieuces t(tgether, it appears 1,hat :t larger uumber of good texlbooks in the latter category might encourage multidisciplirmry courses of wider scope in the two-year colleges. Biology-chemistry-physics is auother c~mbinat~iou fouud much more frequeutly in the four-year than iu the twoyear college. The frequeucy of chemistry-physics courses is about t,he same in the two types of colleges; the same is true for biology-chemistry and chemistryphysics-mathematics comhinat,ions. Chemist,ry-geology, physics-astronomy, m d geology-astronomy are found more frequeutly in the two-year colleges. Other combinat,ionsare fouud wit,ll ahmt t,he same frequeucy i l l both types of colleges. Lengths of multidiscipliuary cour8es and the amouuls of laboratory work devoted to them in two-year colleges are not much different from their counterparts in the four-year institutions. In both types of colleges most, ~m~ltidiscipinary courses do not qualify as prerequisites for more advanced work. The distribution of majors :rmmg students served by the multidisciplinary course* in two- and four-year colleges is roughly the same. Comments Made by the Respondents to the Questionnaire
A uumber of respoudeuta indicated that their colleges are plauuing to offer multidisciplinary courses in the uear future. Some expresved t.he hope that some of t,hese might be designed for science majors as well as ot.hers for nonscience st,udeuts. The sequence called "$ ' ,elence Courses for Baccalaureate Education," being developed under the leadership of V. L. Parsegian at, llensselaer Polytechnic Institut.e, is being tried out in a number of the institutious from which replies to the questionnaire were received. The course called "Physirid Science for the Nonscientist," (also being developed
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Journol of Chemicol Education
:tt K. 1'. I.) is being tried out in some responding institut,ions. Oceanography and hydrology are used as themes for organizing multidisciplinary courses a t some institutions. At obhers, major social problems, such as the ~~tilization of atomic energy, pollution of air and water, world wide starvation, drug taking, etc., serve as the focus of science courses for uonscience majors. Unifyiug themes like "Matter aud Energy," "Space, Time, Particles, and Symmetries" have also been used. Team t,eaching-in one ease with one man each in biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and philosophy- is frequently used in nndtidisciplinary courses with large enrollments which can support so lavish a st,aff. This approach seems to be particularly effective iu inten,rive courses of arouud six semester hours in one lerm. No separate intnjductory chemistry course is giveu at oue college where a combined chemistry-physics course is taught. In some institutions an integrated chemist,r,v-physics course for both science and nonscience majors is followed b!- a second chemistry-physics combination to prepare sciruce majors for work in advanced courses. The special need for ~uultidisciplinary courses in science for students prepariug to be elementary school t,eacheix mas noted by mauy respondents. Courses in chemist.ry-physics and chemistry-physiology especially designed for students of uu12ing are taught in one college. Several institutions offer courses in the histo? aud philosophy of science--usually for seniors majoring in n science. A number of colleges and universities offer curricula or majors composed of courses taught in t,he vnrious science departments.
Further Information
I,ist,s have been prepared giving names of two- and four-year institutions which offer multidisciplinary courses aud the name of the person who filled out the questionnaire for each. The sciences included in each course are also indicated. Single copies of these lists may be obtained free by writing to the Advisory Council on College Chemistry; multiple copies can be ordered in lots of 10 if the order is accompanied by a remittance of $l..50/unit of 10 copies. These list%3may not be used for commercial purposes. Literature Cited ( I ) STRONG, L. E., AND BENIE~-, 0.T.,J. CHEM.EDUC., 37, 29
(1960). @) PIILLER, E. C., J. CHEM.EDUC., 24,380 (1947). (;3) HIENISCH, E. L., AND SALTER, L. W., J. CHEM. EDUC.,35,246
(1958). (4) FULLER, E. C., J. &EM.
EDUC.,39,300 (1962).
( 5 ) FULLER, E. C., AND PALMER, R. R., J. CHEM. EDUC.,39,346 119621. ~-~ , ~
(6) FULLER, E. C., J. CHEM. EDUC.,41,136 (1964). ( i )J. CHEM. EDUC., 41,677 (1964).
