A Vision for University Biology Education for Non-science Majors

Abstract

College biology education must prepare future college graduates to be engaged, science-literate citizens. This is especially important, because the vast majority of college students (82%) are non-science majors. This essay identifies aspects of science education critical for preparing science-literate non-science majors.

An interdisciplinary course on evolution and sustainability increases acceptance of evolutionary theory and increases understanding of interdisciplinary application of evolutionary theory

“…This is promising evidence that contextually meaningful scientific knowledge and attitudes are associated with pro-social behaviors, which perhaps could include support of global sustainability goals. Our course builds on the work of others teaching evolution in an interdisciplinary way, and is in the spirit of Gormally and Heil, who recommend that educators take deliberate steps to better educate and include non-science majors in courses to improve scientific literacy (Geher et al 2019 ; Gormally and Heil 2022 ; Hanisch and Eirdosh 2020 ). A major recommendation of Gormally and Heil is that science be taught to non-majors in a contextualized way with a community focus, which is a goal of our course.…”

Four‐Dimensional Ecology Education (4DEE) for everyone: teaching ecology to non‐majors

“…As compared to majors courses, non‐majors courses can have unique challenges (eg smaller budgets for supplies, limited or no time for labs, students expressing little interest in or being apprehensive about spending time outside) that can impact the activities and experiences that are possible. Furthermore, non‐majors bring diverse academic interests, perspectives, and backgrounds, and differ from majors in their confidence and interest in, and motivation to do, science (Gormally and Heil 2022). For example, non‐majors may have little outdoor experience, they may have had formative experiences with science that were negative, or they may not see the relevance of ecology to their chosen field of study, career path, or future.…”

Reading Primary Scientific Literature: Approaches for Teaching Students in the Undergraduate STEM Classroom

“…This paucity of pedagogical approaches developed for or tested at 2-year colleges is striking, given that about one-third of STEM students in the United States are currently enrolled in 2-year colleges ( Varty, 2022 ), and calls into question the effectiveness of such techniques across a broader range of students and the generalizability of the assessment data provided in these papers. Similarly, only three of the approaches for teaching PSL have been developed for STEM courses for nonmajors ( Figure 1B ), despite calls that have highlighted the need to train non–STEM majors in scientific literacy ( Gormally and Heil, 2022 ). While we acknowledge that some instructors may find low utility in teaching PSL to non–STEM majors, we highlight the lack of studies that have examined the impact of teaching PSL in nonmajors courses and the possibility that having such students engage with PSL may lead to improvements in critical thinking and scientific literacy.…”