Meeting Abstract
P2.63 Sunday, Jan. 5 15:30 Topic Coverage in Introductory Biology Courses: A Comparison POOL, R.; TURNER, G.D.; BOETTGER, S.A.*; West Chester University; West Chester University; West Chester University aboettger@wcupa.edu
The need for ecological literacy and problem solving has increased in recent years, but there is no evidence that this need is reflected by increased ecology coverage at institutions of higher education (IHE) across the United States. As introductory biology courses may serve to direct student interest toward specific biological categories such as ecology, time devoted to topics in these categories within introductory biology courses may be crucial for captivating student attention. Surveys for administrators and members of the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) College and University Sections identified 20 topics they considered essential for inclusion in introductory biology courses. The present study evaluated the actual coverage of eight topic categories compared to previous recommendations and according to location. For this purpose, lecture and lab syllabi were collected from 26 rural, suburban, and urban IHEs from the Mid-Atlantic region. Course content was divided into eight categories, percentages of total lecture and lab time per category were calculated and coverage (%) was analyzed using a One-Way-ANOVA. The actual coverage was compared to the administrator and NABT recommendations. Actual coverage of ecology was not significantly different from recommended coverage, whereas cell/molecular/biochemistry and evolution were lower and genetics, development, and taxonomy were higher than recommended. Comparing course content by location showed no significant effect of institutional location on coverage with the exception of taxonomy which was covered to a lesser extent in rural locations. Overall topic coverage, with the exception of a few currently emphasized topics, corresponded to the coverage level recommended by the NABT, while there is no educational standardization by topic category or location.
