r 
Digest of Conference on 
SOCIAL HiPLIC::,TIONS OF THE SCIENCES IN GENERAL EDUC A,TION 
Discussion leaders: 
Professor Paul B. Sears, 'Oberlin College; President Carter Davidson, Knox 
College. 
Digest prepared by J. Lloyd Trump, gradua. te student, University of Chic ago. 
, 
Dr. Davidson opened the discussion by describing in detail an inter3sting 
course being developed at Knox College at the freshman level, the purpose of 
which is to give a regional approach to the study of problems drawn from the areal 
of both the social and natural sCiences. The ~ourse developed out of a dissatis 
faction with the operation of the general survey course, which is nov' being given 
in many colleges and universities at this level and which also had been given 
at Knox. Three criticisms were directed against these survey courses: first, 
that. the typical survey course in s~cial science, or physical science, for exam 
ple, covers too large a field for the students to understand satisfactorily; 
second, that teachers come in for a time to deliver a few lectures and then 
disappear from contacts with the students in the course; and third, the courses 
are fre~uently not tied up V','ith the experiences of the students (for example, 
much of the Humanities survey is taken up with the ancient and med1e val' periods, 
and the lack of time may reE·ult in the modern period being tre'ated lightly or 
eliminated entirely, even though it is the modern period that is closest to the 
experiences of the students). The effort at Knox, therefore, was to develop a 
course that would meet insofar as possible these criticisr:s of the typical survey 
courses. 
Taking each of the foregoing criticis~s, Dr. Davidson demonstrated how the 
Knox course was developed. With respect to the field of the survey course being 
too general, the decisicn was made to limit the study to materials related to 
the region of the middle west, the one in which the college is located. Referrin 
to the bool{, American Regionalism, by Odum and Moore, published in 1939. Dr. 
Davidson pointed out that the purpose in limiting the study of problems to a 
region was comparable to the scientist's studying a small section of matter with 
a microscope; the purpose of studying a small portion of the whole is to permit 
a more effective study by limiting the area being observed. Thus the purpose of 
studying a region is t o limit the study to a port more easily understood by 
students. The second criticism of the typical survey course was met by having 
every faculty member whe lectures in the course attend every other lecture in 
the course. Moreover, each lecturer is aSSigned to one discussion group and 
remains with this same group throughout the year, thus coming to know the student: 
very well. ' The third criticism was approached through a conscious tie-up, when 
ever possible, between the matErials of the course and what the students have 
seen and done. At the end of the first semester, ·for example, students turned 
in a term paper om some aspect of culture as observed in his own community. 
These papers are to be expanded during the second semester, Several examples 
of the papers were mentioned. 
The course is being given this year for the first time. The order of the 
divisions of the course was given by Dr. Davidson. First, the geological and 
geographic features of the midwest are studred. This leads naturally to a study 
of the biology of the region. The third part of the -course deals with the his 
tory of this region with much emphasis upon anthropology; the work of the mound 
builders is.studied in some detail, for example. Fourth, sociological aspects 
of the middle west are considered, involving rural-urban relationships, problems 
,of race, relations of institutions, and so on, as observed in the region. The 
first semester is closed with a study of the economic problems of the region. 
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The sixth part of the course deals with the political structure of the region. 
This is followed by a study of the educational institutions of the middle west. 
State universities, for example, have enjoyed unusual development in this region. 
The eighth part of the c,ourse is made up of a study of the religious life of the 
region. In the final division of the course, the art, music, and literature of 
the region are studied. Syllabi, for each of the semesters of the course, 
entitled, "The Eiddle West: An Approach to Le arning and Living Through Examina 
tion of the Student I s Own Environment," were dis tri buted for observation by the 
group.* 
iiThis course,ll said Dr. Davidson, jigives the student a taste of the subject 
fields, but more thaI} that J a study of his own region. i l He went on t o point 
out that the instructors in the different fields found new approaches to the 
study of their res leetive subjects as they planned the study on a regional basis. 
The assigned readings are of a different type from those frequently assigned. 
Selections which are not only scientific but also literary have been chosen. 
Thus, Sears, Deserts on the Harch and Lincoln Steffens, AutobiographY are typi 
cal examples of req.uired readings. A bus trip over the region is planned f or 
the spring a s a means of seeing the different forces at work. The cos ts of this 
will be borne by the students , although Dr. Davidson felt this logically should 
be paid by the college , that this might be a possibility in the future. 
Dr. Sears, in emphasizing the significance of this approach, placed on the 
blackboard a diagram of the divisions of Imowledge in medieval days, out of which 
have developed the different sub ject areas as they are known today. He' pointed 
out that a liberal education involves a knowledge of all these a reas and that 
a tendency to break dorm the divisions between the areas was being furthered by 
this cO,urse at Knox. It i s possible in a region to see all these areas of know 
ledge in operation together and subject divisions are not apparent. llScience,lI 
said Dr. Sears, ii i s not developed in an ivory t owe r, but is drawn from the every 
day activities of men . The great trends in science are of social orig1n.
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This 
seems to poi nt to the possible study of knowledge in a regional setting. 
At this point in the discussion, several pertinent questions were raised 
by the group. The se will be presented along with the answers given in order to 
give additional details with respect t o the course at Knox and also to reveal 
some general problems in implementing the sciences in the direction of soclal 
understandings . 
How may there be a tie-up with other regions in order to prevent a narrowing 
of the student's vision? Dr. Davidson pOinted out that there was a constant 
tie-up bet ween the middle west and other regions. It would be impossible to 
understand e1ther the mid-west or the other regions if comparisons and contrasts 
we re not made. The major emphasis, of course, is placed upon the midwest since 
this is the region best known to the students and the one in whi ch the school 
is located. 
What is done with respect to students from other regions wh o are attending 
the school? Referring to the term paper or special study, Dr. Davidson indicated 
that students frem other regions are urged to take some problem and study this 
in their home r egion and then make com parisons' wi th the mid-west. 
* Copies of the t wo volumes of the syllabus, published in mimeographed form in 
September, 1939 and February, 1940, may be obtained for one dollar (for both 
volumes) Dy writing President Carter Davidson, Knox College, Galesburg, Illi 
nois. 
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Do students come to think too much in terms of one region? Won't a short 
two-day bus trip fix some wrong impressions in their minds since obviously they 
can see only a small part of even the mid-west? This was recognized as an im 
portant problem, Time and, mainly, finances would prevent a more extensive 
study, desirable as this would be. Dr. Sears pointed out that students must be 
taught to realize that regional boundaries were not static, that the region was 
a unit selected for purposes of study" Students should realize that the federal 
government was using regions as a basis for programs of national planning. 
They must see that the region ie a part of the entire national picture. 
Is this the only course taken by freshmen at Knox? No, at the present time, 
there are separate requ~red courses in English, Hygiene, and How to Study. 
In addition, students may take one of t he required science courses, such as 
physics or chemistry. It is interesting to note that these sciences have not 
been incorporated in the regional course. Recently, the instructor in astronomy 
raised the question, tlIsn't there any sky in the middle west?" indicating a 
feeling that this science should be included in the course. It was seemingly 
difficult when the course was being organized for the instructors in these 
science fields to see the possibilities of the regional approach, although these 
are now being seen. Dr. Sears emphasized the point of v ie'N that these might 
well be included in the course. The group seemed to feel that possibly all areas 
of knowledge might be included in the course and that this might be the one courSf 
taken by all freshmen and that the course might be counted as a major course 
in every department. 
Why is scientific terminology avoided to such a large degree in the course? 
As an example, it was shown that an effort is made to explain who Linneus was and 
his great contribution in the classification system he developed, but t hat no 
attempt ~~s made to teach all the Latin names he applied, using only a few that 
applied to living things in the midwest as examples. Dr. Sears pointed out that 
for the purposes of general education it was probab'.y better to drop some of the 
technical terminology, that confusion existed in s ome of it anyway, and that 
knOWing about it was enough in most cases. Social i mplications, said Dr. David 
son, are emphasized rather than scientific terminology. 
What about superficiality in these courses from the scientific 
Viewpoint? This question and its implications provo!,ed a lengthy discussion. 
The point of view was expressed that superficiality might result from the in 
structor rather than the course. Professors must get away from the idea that 
they must tell students all they know. The preparation of a one hour lecture 
in a given field involves the careful selection of material that is most worth 
While; this may be done in a manner that is not superficial if care is used in 
the selection. The f act should be kept constantly in mind that this is general 
education at the undergraduate level and that the purpose should not be to teach 
all the facts of the different sciences.' 
At this point, the discussion turned to the q uestion of graduate school 
reqUirements. There seemed to be a general feeling that the requirements of 
medical and engineering schools, for example,' were a handicap to the efforts of 
science instructors trying to emphasize the social implications in their courses. 
It was shown that students similarly demand that instructors in undergraduate 
Courses give them the facts they will need in graduate study. Requirements of 
learned societies were also criticized. There seemed to be general agreement 
that new standards of the Arne " ican Chemical Society are particularly ob jection 
able •• Sooner or later, if real progress is to be made in realizing social im 
plications of. the SCiences, graduate schools, students, and learned societies 
must change their attitudes with respect to the factual knowledge expected from 
students who have completed general education at the undergraduate level. 
-- .. ~ -
~That are the effects of the new courses upon the instructors? Several 
trends have been observed. Instructors are thinking of themselves more, for 
exa,aple, as ecologists, rather than botanists or zoologists. There is a real 
challenge to locate new materials and to think through new ways of organizing 
these. 
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HoVi isscientifi c method taught in the course at Knox? Lecturers point out 
frequently how the knowledge being studied has been discovere~. Scientific 
method is also taught by means of exhibits which are frequently changed. 
The relationships betv.een the elementary school, high school, and college 
work in science \;'ere discussed at some length. A suggestion was made that the 
teaching of scie~ce in the elementary school might be much more effective if 
teachers were better qual if ied and had more adequate materia Is., that improvement 
here ~ould result in more effective instruction in high school and college. 
Dr. Sears proposed that a study should be made of outstanding science teaching 
at the elementary level, that a skilled reporter should visit and report prac 
tices in elementary school laboratories. This suggestion met with gene ral ap 
proval of the group. The discussion relative to the high school revolved largely 
about the possibility of teaching the survey courses at the high school level., 
thus permitting a surveyor integrating course to be taught at the end of the 
college period rather than at the beginning as is ge nerally true. Mention was 
made of the survey courses at the eleventh and t welfth grade level in the Four 
Year College of the University of Chicago. In general, it was brought out in 
the discussion, educatton in the elementary school, the high school, and the 
college must be regarded as a continuous procer. s, that each revel must assume 
responsibil1ty for continulng the teaching of fundamental operatlons in language, 
mathematiCS, and so on. 
The need f or public laboratories as well as public libraries was emphasized 
by one individual as another aspect of social implications of the sciences. Dr. 
Sears reported favorably upon the experiences in En, '.land and Russia with the 
idea of public laboratories. 
'. 
The general discussion may be summed up in several statements somewhat as 
follows: (1) the regional approach to the study of science gives opportunities 
for dlscovering the social implications in this field; (2) vigorous protests 
should be made agains t all groups tending to enforce s oecific subject-matter 
requirements which delimit the teaching of science courses in terms of materials 
or methods; (3) a study should be made of outstanding practices in the teaching 
of sCie nce at the elementary school level; and (4) education is a continuous 
process and the contributions of any level in the educational system must be 
viewed in terms of the other levels .