Most of my college learning experiences involved large classes (often exceeding 200 students). These classes used conventional lecture formats. Graduate teaching assistants conducted corresponding laboratory and quiz/discussion sections. Consequently, my initial approach to teaching was similar: I would lecture and my students would take notes madly.
While I still rely heavily on a lecture format, I have taken advantage of the small classes at Windward Community College to personalize my teaching. I rely heavily on the use of the blackboard (frequently using colored chalk), overhead transparencies, 35mm slides, and computer-aided instruction (e.g., CD ROM’s). I have prepared many of the transparencies and 35mm slides myself using computer graphics. In the future, I will take advantage of internet technologies to enhance delivery. I ask questions of my students to draw out concepts. I try to support student understanding with demonstrations, concrete examples and analogies. My style is vigorous, energetic, and occasionally humorous.
Most of the contents of my classes are presented during lectures. These lectures are generally detailed and comprehensive. To help students understand the information I expect them to know, I provide them with study guides that must be purchased from the bookstore to save the college from these expenses. Each guide includes lecture outlines, lists of corresponding text pages, vocabulary lists, and study questions. Besides helping students understand the material, these study guides help me to present the information in a more organized manner.
Science laboratory sessions provide students with hands-on experiences that complement and enhance lecture materials. I encourage my students to work together by having them work on laboratory exercises in groups of two or three (usually two). I encourage collaborative learning by inviting the groups to share information and observations with each other. These laboratory sessions also give me the opportunity to work closely with my students, because throughout the lab sessions I move systematically from group to group, asking questions and talking informally. This interaction lets me know how well they understand and lets them know that I am approachable.
When I first started teaching, I evaluated my students primarily through several major objective exams. Since then, I have incorporated frequent quizzes, graded homework (usually take-home essays), and laboratory assignments to help students understand the material and prepare for exams. The quizzes help students to recognize important concepts and to keep current with instructional materials. The homework and laboratory assignments stress writing rather than requiring simple objective answers. In fact, my students often comment that I require as much or more writing than is typically required by writing intensive classes.
My approach to teaching depends upon the function/purpose of the course being taught. BIOL 101 (Biology and Society) is a laboratory class for nonscience majors. A significant number of students enroll in this class planning to enter the College of Education at U.H.M. Most of these students hope to become elementary school teachers (not science teachers!). The remainder take BIOL 101 primarily to fulfill degree core requirements. Thus this class de-emphasizes the volumous “nuts and bolts” of biology and emphasizes major themes of biology such as historical and philosophical perspectives, evolution, genetics, and development.
Despite this approach, the class is rigorous and demanding. Many of the “nuts and bolts” are actually woven into the fabric of these major themes. Thus the details of cell biology are presented in the context of the historical development of the cell theory; and biogeography is discussed as evidence for evolution. The required laboratory section gives students “hands-on” experiences with the scientific method, data collection and presentation, cell structure and diversity, interpreting past life, major groups of living things, genetics, and animal development. To help the students carry out these lab activities, I have written a laboratory manual specifically geared for this class.
Like BIOL 101, ZOOL 101 (Principles of Zoology) and ZOOL 200 (Marine Biology) are biological science laboratory classes that cater primarily to nonscience majors, although many of the students actually plan to major in a biological science. Students enrolling in them often hold the misconception that they are easy. I try to dispel that myth on the first day of classes, when I tell them these classes must cover all the major concepts of biology. However, the difficulties of these classes should not preclude our ability to have fun immersing ourselves in some of the most romantic and fascinating subjects in college! In fact, students in ZOOL 200 literally get wet collecting seaweed and carrying out reef surveys.
OCEAN 201 is a sophomore-level class for non-science majors, but does not include a required laboratory component (although some students may enroll in OCEAN 202, a companion field/lab class taught by another instructor). Because class enrollment is generally larger than biology lab classes (typically 30 students instead of the maximum of 20 for lab classes), and because contact is restricted to three hours per week (as opposed to six hours per week for typical lab classes), my opportunities for personal interaction with students is reduced for OCEAN 201. The format is primarily lecture, but relying heavily on the use of colored chalk, transparencies, and 35mm slides. I avoid showing films and videos because most of these tend to offer low content with too much fluff -- a film must be really exceptional for me to use it. As in all of my classes, I begin each lecture by briefly reviewing the last lecture’s main points and asking the students if they have any questions before proceeding on to new materials. From time to time I will ask students questions to break up the presentation and assess student comprehension. Finally, I administer short quizzes weekly to help the students keep current with the important information I expect them to know.
BIOL 171/172 (General Biology I/II), on the other hand, presents a different goal as a course that satisfies major requirements for certain biological science and pre-professional degree programs. Consequently, this transfer-level course must cover specific topics in detail. Thus “nuts-and-bolts” biology is important in this class. The lectures involve similar multimedia presentations to those described above for other courses, but the pace is quicker and the detail greater.
The BIOL 171/172 laboratories are generally coordinated with lecture topics to provide students with hands-on experiences in these topics. Students maintain laboratory notebooks, complete short written laboratory summaries, and write formal laboratory reports. Student comprehension in the laboratory is tested through the administration of pre-lab quizzes and laboratory practical examinations. These practical exams test not only the student's understanding of biological concepts, but also the student's mastery of basic laboratory skills, such as the use of a spectrophotometer and the preparation of a microscope slide.