In, ‘The ‘Banking’ Concept of Education’, the author said that it is the student’s choice how they would want to learn and what they want to learn, not the teacher’s. In WCU, Bio-110 or General Biology is a subject that most of the science majors have to take. Although, in high school, most of the students take general biology and Bio-110 is basically repetition of high school biology which is a waste of time for many students. Bio-110 should not be a requirement, especially for students who have taken a Biology class in the past and there should be an assessment test before students schedule for classes. The labs for Bio-110 should be less than three hours because the workload in the lab does not take that long. If they do better on the assessment test, then they should be able to take a higher biology class. Students even lose interest throughout the course because they are learning the same stuff and if a student already knows something why would they want to learn about it again.
Students are the one who are learning then why do they not have the choice what they want to learn. A class like Bio-110 is imposed on the students and they do not have any option than taking it because WCU has made it a requirement for the major. Even Freire said, ‘The teacher cannot think for her students, nor can she impose her thought on them’ (Freire 3). It is the students who are going to be using the stuff they learned in the future and if the education they are getting is useless, then what is the purpose of going to WCU. This is not what is going to make them successful. It is just a waste of their time and instead they should be taking classes which will actually help them in their career.
Students who take Bio-110 also have to take a three hour lab. In the lab, they learn about how to use a microscope and how to identify the basic structure of a living cell. Many Biology major students already know how to use a microscope or they know what a cell is because they have taken a Biology class in their high school. Most of the time, students finish the lab work in an hour and they leave early. When they could actually schedule for a different class during that time which could be easier for many students when they are making a schedule. Now they have the change their whole schedule because of the three hour that has been reserved for Bio-110 lab. If the lab work is not that long, then why does it have to be three hour long, why not an hour and thirty minute. It is only possible when the professors communicate with the students just how Freire said, ‘The role of the problem-posing educator is to create, together with the students’ (Freire 4).
There are tutoring at WCU for extra help so if someone has a problem when they take a higher biology course like Botany or Zoology instead of General Biology, they could just go to a tutor for help. Why take a course for three months if a student already knows most of it. Most of the students in the class do not study for tests and exams because they eventually lose interest after learning the old information again and end up not doing great for the tests. It is because they are not putting effort anymore. Even Freire said, ‘Their response to the challenge evokes new challenges, followed by new understandings; and gradually the students come to regard themselves as committed.’ (Freire 4) If the students are not learning new things how is Freire’s idea of being committed even possible.
Group: Riley, Leah, Amanda, and Gabby
Leah: Positive: you make a valid point that BIO 110 is a waste of time for most students. I feel like this is the attitude of every student who has this class. The labs are very long for basic information and many students become frustrated because they can take other classes that are more useful to their majors and interests.
Criticism: I think you should talk more about the actions that should be made to change the problems with the class. You say how there are many problems but how should the teacher change the criteria for the class. Talk about what information the teacher should teach in the course should consist of instead of strictly biology basics and review.
Riley: I like your argument that Bio 110 is a waste of time to take in college since most people already take it in high school. Your argument is very strong and your links to Freire are very helpful. I think one thing to think about is the idea that maybe not all students were required to take a Bio class in high school or the idea that some students may need this class as a refresher. Good job presenting your ideas in well thought out paragraphs!
Amanda: I agree that retaking classes in college that we took in high school is a waste of our time and money. Assuming everyone took biology in high school and retaking basic biology is dull. Students lose interest in the subject and WCU made it as a requirement. In my opinion I believe that WCU should combine biology and lab together but shorten the lab to an hour and 30 minutes rather than three. The three hours biology lab overlap in student’s schedule and conflicts their daily activities.
Gabby: Positive is that he has a great argument about bio 110 because it has the same information learned in bio from high school. So students get bored because they already know the material and lessons being taught. I really liked the connection and how true this is about WCU’s bio course that’s required. Maybe in the course they can do a two week review but have new material we haven’t learned from high school bio.
I agree that bio 110 is a waste of time especially for students that took bio in high school. The problem with students taking this course is that it is repetitive information and as you said the students lose interest. If WCU continues to make it a required course that you can not test out of how can the labs be transformed so that the students are benefitting from the course. Maybe talk about how the course could be shortened into a condensed review of basic bio and spend more time in lab doing hands on things that are more advanced.