| Abstract Detail
Brown, Beverly J. [1], Denno, Jerry P. [1]. Non-majors botany: An interdisciplinary approach incorporating literature and art. Many colleges require students to complete general education/liberal arts concentrations. For non-majors, required science classes can be intimidating. When faculty are not trained in multiple disciplines, reaching across departmental lines can be equally frustrating. Working with colleagues outside the sciences, we successfully incorporated analysis of poems, prose, and paintings, into a non-majors botany course. Activities focused on the botanical content and themes in various cultural texts, took from 5 to 50 minutes, and required students to integrate texts, course material, and personal knowledge. Using a few probing questions to initiate discussion was relatively stress free for the instructor. Students majoring in disciplines where critical analysis of themes is common, found they had a familiar tool to apply to botany. In this session we’ll introduce some of the texts used in the course, elaborate on how they were used, and discuss student response. Participants will have the opportunity to experience this type of activity for themselves and consider how these activities might be integrated into their own courses.
1 - Nazareth College of Rochester, Biology Department, 4245 east Avenue, Rochester, New York, 14618, USA
Keywords: none specified
Presentation Type: Education Session: F5a-1 Location: Wasatch A (Cliff Lodge) Date: Saturday, July 31st, 2004 Time: 2:45 PM Abstract ID:1044 |