John:
Three years ago we did just the opposite and went from a two-semester
sequence to a three-semester sequence. The other courses in our
required core were and still are cell biology, genetics, and ecology.
Thus the only required exposure to animal and plant biology at the
organismal level (morphology, anatomy, physiology) is in the beginning
sequence and neither botany nor zoology were being done justice in the
two-semester sequence. In addition, if anything was slighted it seemed
to be the plants, and for most students including many of those
interested in health professions, their only exposure to plant biology
per se was in a few very abbreviated weeks in their freshman year.
We, both faculty and students, are universally pleased with the move to
the three-semester sequence. BTY, if a desire to "integrate" is
driving the proposed change, I would be skeptical. We have found that
students appreciate the organized phylogenetic approach to organisms
early on. It seems they feel more confident and able to "integrate"
in the upper-division courses such as the required cell biology,
genetics, and ecology when they know the organisms they are integrating.
Maybe it's something inherent in us to know the names of objects and
their place in the larger scheme of things. This is not to say that the
botany and zoology courses are all systematics. In fact, we have
shifted away from a solely classical approach and try to take a broader,
integrated view of plant and animal biology, building on the cell/mol
background they gained in the first course.
Good luck.
John jsowell at western.edu
Biology Department
Western State College
Gunnison, CO 81231
