Lec. 3. skills

ESSENTIAL SKILLS FOR THE LIFE SCIENCE DR.
EMAN TAWFIK
Case study
What Should Life-Science Students Acquire In Their BSc Studies?

Faculty and Student Perspectives
Faculty Perspectives
Below we elaborate on faculty responses to the question: What should life-

science students acquire in their BSc studies? Our discussion will be based on
the eight factors that were mentioned above. Table 1 shows the percentages of
faculty members who marked each factor as either important or very
important.
The most essential criteria are:-
1. Knowledge
2. Lab experience
3. Inquiry skills
4. Scientific writing
5. Dynamic nature of science
6. Application of science to everyday life
7. Historical viewpoint
8. Motivation
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ESSENTIAL SKILLS FOR THE LIFE SCIENCE DR. EMAN TAWFIK
Knowledge: Almost all the instructors believed that knowledge is one of the
fundamental aspects that should be emphasized in the course of graduation.
This aspect gained the highest rate of importance (Table 1). About 92% of the
instructors chose to mark Categories 3 or 4 for this aspect. Interestingly, in the
interviews the instructors raised the dilemma that while “knowledge” is
necessary for any graduated student, independently of his/her future
specialization, nowadays the available knowledge is so enormous, that it is
difficult to agree what parts of it are necessary for a graduated student to
master. Some of the instructors argued that it is more important for students
to acquire the tools and skills to locate relevant knowledge rather than trying
to cover all the subject matter during the course of study. They mentioned their
conflict about the topics that should be included in their course syllabus. As
one instructor explained:
Only one instructor was very determined about the insignificance of providing
a basic body of knowledge during first-degree studies:
The body of knowledge is changing from year to year so it is not important to

teach facts or theories. We only need to equip the students with tools and skills
that will enable them to get the information.
Lab Experience: This aspect refers to the obligatory and optional lab courses
in which students participate during their course of study. Two-thirds of the
instructors thought that laboratory experience is very important for
undergraduates to gain. Almost all the instructors emphasized this in their
interviews. One instructor said, It is very important that every life science
undergraduate acquires manipulative skills, such as, how to hold a pipette, or
how to prepare solutions. Another instructor stated, Biology is an
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experimental discipline, and so teaching biology without emphasis on the

practical aspect is really a joke.
Inquiry Skills: More than 80% of the instructors thought that acquiring
research skills is very important to the undergraduate student. One instructor
said: The aim of teaching in a research university is not just to transmit
knowledge, but to “produce” people who think creatively and are able to
analyze observable facts and events, since at the end of the road, we want
them to be researchers. Other instructors thought that involving students in
field research could be postponed to MA studies. At some Universities,
students have the opportunity to actively experience field research in their last
BSc year as part of a project under the supervision of one of the faculty
members. Participation in this activity is not obligatory, but most of the
students (about 85%) are involved in such projects.
Scientific Writing: During first-degree studies there is no specific scientific

writing course, which trains students in writing the results of their research
studies. Students gain limited experience in scientific writing through their lab
reports or in seminar papers. Seventy-four percent of the instructors rated this
as an important component of BSc studies. In the interviews, all the instructors
complained about students’ poor writing skills. One instructor said: Israelis
are good students, but they don’t know how to complete one single sentence.
They don’t know how to organize paragraphs in a fluent and logical way. But
while most of the instructors mentioned the importance of this skill, they also
claimed they did not know how to teach it. They mentioned that in the past
there had been a special course dedicated to scientific writing, but it was
cancelled due to budget considerations.
32
Understanding the Dynamic Nature of Science: Nearly ninety percent of

the instructors believed it is very important for students to understand that
science is not based on definite facts, and that scientific theories are changing
and developing all the time. One of the instructors mentioned that, it is
important to give the student the sense that this field is dynamic, changing and
adjusting all the time, generating more questions than answers.
Emphasizing the Applicability of Science to Everyday Life: A majority of

the instructors (70%) rated this aspect as very important. It should be noted
that the instructors argued that, on one hand, it is important to relate science
to everyday life in order to enhance its relevance and interest for the students;
yet on the other hand students should also appreciate that pure scientific
research is not necessarily applicable to everyday life.
Teaching science from an historic viewpoint: A relatively small proportion

of instructors (37%) rated this aspect as very important. The interviews
revealed that instructors’ attitude toward teaching with an historical viewpoint
depended a great deal on the specific topic that they taught. One instructor
argued that teaching with an historical view greatly contributes to students’
understanding of the dynamic nature of science, and that it is important that
students who graduated in life science departments should recognize key
characters in the history of science. In his words, it is ridiculous that life
science students do not know who Louis Pasteur was. Besides, I think that we
owe them [scientists from the past] this recognition.
Motivation to continue in the field: Most of the instructors (84%) viewed

this as a very important factor. One of the instructors mentioned that, it is
important to develop a positive attitude towards the field among the students;
this will motivate them to specialize in life science later on. Another instructor
33
said, their [the students’] motivation to stay in the field greatly depends on our
teaching, so it is our responsibility to make the subject interesting and
appealing to students.
Students’ Perspectives
Table 1 shows that, with the exception of the historic viewpoint, students rated
all the other factors as important components of the BSc program. We found
significant difference (p < .01) between instructors’ and students’ perspectives
only in the case of three aspects: knowledge, lab experience and the dynamic
nature of science. Our findings show that students rated knowledge and lab
experience as more important than did the instructors. This might be because
many students who choose life sciences believe, as a result of the way they
were taught at high school, that this is an experimental discipline, mainly built
on facts (knowledge) and hypotheses that are tested in the lab. Moreover,
unlike the instructors, they are probably unaware of budget-related
constraints.
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ESSENTIAL SKILLS FOR THE LIFE SCIENCE DR.

What Should Life-Science Students Acquire In Their BSc Studies?

Below we elaborate on faculty responses to the question: What should life-

The most essential criteria are:-

The body of knowledge is changing from year to year so it is not important to

experimental discipline, and so teaching biology without emphasis on the

Scientific Writing: During first-degree studies there is no specific scientific

Understanding the Dynamic Nature of Science: Nearly ninety percent of

Emphasizing the Applicability of Science to Everyday Life: A majority of

Teaching science from an historic viewpoint: A relatively small proportion

Motivation to continue in the field: Most of the instructors (84%) viewed

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