Development of functional biology

Scope of Study: The high school biology course is a comparatively new subject, having originated slightly over a half century ago. Within this space of time many changes have occurred in the subject and most of these developments point toward what is commonly known as functional biology. This report traces part of this development by a comparison of some of the first textbooks in the subject with their more modern counterparts. But the emphasis of the report centers upon the current subject as related to a high school biology teacher when the objectives, content, sequence, methods and evaluation are discussed. Materials used are chiefly (1) modern and older textbooks, (2) professional literature, (3) course outlines.Findings and Conclusions: Trends in biology teaching indicate that the subject has become more practical and less technical, with increased emphasis upon the function of science in developing understanding of major principles and attitudes. Although there is general agreement upon the broad objectives, considerable variation is evident in relation to content, sequence, methods and evaluation of the course. The content of the course, as presented by modern high school text books, seems to be in general accord with the areas emphasized by teachers. The sequence of the areas comprising the content remains a controversial subject. The decision of arrangement of the sequence is commonly left to the discretion of the individual instructor and can be varied in accordance with local situations. Methods of presentation represent perhaps the greatest variation with the emphasis upon the teachers' ingenuity and initiative. Trends in evaluation, typical of the basic changes in the field, indicate an enlargement of the scope from examinations which reveal how much subject matter the student retains to an appraisal of total pupil growth