A unit on microscopic life.

Abstract

A Unit on Microscopic Life represents an attempt on the part of the writer to apply the basic principles and procedures set forth in Fundamentals of Secondary-School Teaching and in the courses of Dr. Roy O. Billett in the Unit Method in the Secondary-School and Dr. John G. Read in Methods of Teaching Science in the Secondary-School. Both courses mentioned are taught at Boston University School of Education.

The unit is intended for tenth-grade pupils in general biology. It is planned to teach pupils to become intelligent consumers rather than scientists. However, provision is made for pupils who have a genuine scientific interest to meet their individual needs through the optional related activities. A description of the pupils to be taught, the classroom laboratory, and the equipment which is needed to teach the unit is given in Chapter I of the paper.

The unit of learning consists of a general statement of the unit, statements which constitute the delimitation of the unit, a list of probable indirect and incidental learning products, and a list of references which are useful to the teacher. [TRUNCATED]

The entire unit has been planned in such a way that pupils will have a maximum opportunity for self-government. Thereby, they may realize a deeper appreciation of the teamwork of scientists, teachers, public-health workers, newspapermen, and citizens which has made possible the great advances, which have been made in the past century, in the conquest of disease. It is also hoped that they will appreciate the beneficial value of microorganisms to man and understand one of the most basic principles of biology, the principle that man cannot upset the balance of nature without suffering serious consequences. Thereby, pupils will keep an open mind about new discoveries. They will welcome them optimistically, but at the same time, retain a certain amount of wholesome reserve until more evidence is presented, which is one of the basic principles of being an intelligent consumer.