Instructionof geneticsin agriculturalinstitutions’
2G. P. Redei
helpful commentswere made. A number of the instructors, however, skipped one or more questions.
The contents of the questionnaire are reproduced
here:
ABSTRACT
During the fall of 1979, information wasobtained by mail from39 majoragricultural colleges
in the United States and Canadaconcerning
geneticstextbooks
currentlyin use. Thesurveyincludedthe teachersof approximately
11,260 studentsa year. Theresponses
indicate that in about
47.8%of the institutions surveyedthe students
are mainlyagricultural; in another33.5%,half or
moreof the studentsare agricultural; andonly
18.8%of the respondents
classify their students
as primarilynon-agriculturallyoriented.Though
18
different textbookswereused, 68.9%of the students relied on oneor anotherof four different
texts. Only26%of the instructorsindicatedcom.
plete or somesatisfaction with the texts, while
37%werenot contentedwith the booksthey have
tried. Approximately
62%of the instructorswould
like to see a newtextbook which wouldbetter
meetthe needsof their students.
*Anintroductory courseof genetics is taught at our institution aimedprimarilyat studentsin agriculture (yes
__, no __), at students of botany (yes __,
__). The average annual enrollment is __.
*Wedo not have either this time but weare contemplating one oriented toward agriculture (__.), botany
(__). Weare expecting an annual enrollment
*The currently used textbook for basic genetics is
andit is entirely satisfactory(
).
*Wewould like to see on the market a textbook of
genetics whichwouldbe moresuitable for students in
agriculture (____), for students in botany(__).
oWewouldlike to see the results of this tally returned
Additional index words:Textbooks
of genetics
usedin agriculture.
Optional
*Theaffiliation of the instructor:
oAnyother remark:
IN
1969 a survey by Straney and Mertens examined
genetics courses in the United States and Canada
(1). The results provided someinsights into the academic environment, the topics covered, and the enrollment
and various other aspects of both instruction and instructors.
The purpose of the present survey was to obtain information on the instruction of introductory genetics
courses in agricultural colleges. Also the current botanical interest was to be explored since the majority of
available textbooks rely mostly on zoological and
microbial examples.
SUMMARY OF THE ANSWERS
METHOD OF COLLECTION OF INFORMATION
During September 1979 a questionnaire was mailed to
about 100 individuals, mainly in the Land Grant universities. Since I did not knowexactly whowas responsible for the teaching in these schools, two or three persons received the questions in someinstitutions. Most of
the colleagues responded by return mail and practically
all the answers were returned within 1 month. In addition to answering specified questions, many additional
’Contributionfromthe MissouriAgric.Exp. Stn. JournalSeries
No.8576.
2 Professor, Dep.of Agronomy,
Univ. of Missouri,Columbia,MO
65211.
47
Complete or incomplete answers were received from
the following institutions:
Auburn Univ., Auburn, Ala.; Univ. of Arkansas,
Fayetteville; Univ. of California, Davis; Colorado State
Univ., Fort Collins; Univ. of Florida, Gainesville; Univ.
of Georgia, Athens; Univ. of Hawaii, Honolulu; Univ.
of Illinois, Champaign;Purdue Univ., Lafayette, Ind.;
Kansas State Univ., Manhattan; Univ. of Kentucky,
Lexington.
Louisiana State Univ., Baton Rouge; Univ. of Maryland, College Park; Michigan State Univ., East Lansing; Univ. of Minnesota, St. Paul; Univ. of Minnesota,
St. Paul; Mississippi State Univ., Mississippi State;
Univ. of Montana, Missoula; Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln; Univ. of Nevada, Reno; Univ. of NewHampshire,
Portsmouth; New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces;
State Univ. NewYork, Syracuse; North Carolina State
Univ., Raleigh; North Dakota State Univ., Fargo;
Miami Univ., Oxford, Ohio; Oregon State Univ.,
Corvallis; Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park;
Clemson Univ., Clemson, S.C.
South Dakota State Univ., Brookings; Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville; Utah State Univ., Logan; Brigham
Young Univ., Provo, Utah; Univ. of Vermont, Burlington; Virginia State Univ., Blacksburg; Washington
48
JOURNAL OF AGRONOMIC EDUCATION
State Univ., Pullman; West Virginia Univ.,
Morgantown; Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison; Univ. of
Wyoming, Laramie; Univ. of Manitoba, Winnipeg. The
approximate average annual enrollment in introductory
genetics was 289. This estimate is loaded with substantial error because some of the answers were not very precise. Some respondents gave wide ranges, one answering
that "hundreds" are enrolled annually. These 39 institutions have an annual enrollment in genetics of approximately 11,260 students.
As pieced together from the answers, it appears that
47.8% of their enrollment represents mainly agricultural students; another 33.5% indicated that half or perhaps more of the students are agriculturally oriented.
Primarily non-agricultural students were indicated by
18.8% of the respondents. It seem's quite likely that
most of the instructors do not keep accurate records
concerning the academic affiliations of their students.
Only five institutions, representing 6.7% of the students, indicated that their genetics course is botanically
oriented. Two respondents made special remarks that
the introductory course should not be organismoriented and that plant, animal, and human examples
should be used throughout the discussions. One of the
respondents noted his dissatisfaction with terms such as
agricultural, plant, or animal genetics; he had a strong
feeling that the introductory course should be a wellbalanced course in general genetics. Two instructors,
representing 870 students, indicated their preference for
organismal genetics, as opposed to a molecularly oriented course.
Only one institution reported the planning of an introductory course aimed primarily for students in agriculture, anticipating an annual enrollment of about 125.
Another institution indicated the teaching of three types
of courses in genetics, offered to general, agricultural,
and botanical students, respectively.
Altogether the use of 18 different textbooks are indicated; 68.9% of the students at these institutions,
Thirty-seven percent of the respondents did not indicate their appraisal of the textbooks available. Another
37% were dissatisfied with the books currently used or
tried in the past. Only about 13% expressed complete
satisfaction with their textbook and another 13% were
more or less contented with their text.
Somewhat surprisingly, 61% of the respondents
would like to see on the market a textbook which would
better meet the needs of agricultural students; 4% do
not want such a book, and another 35% did not answer
this question. One instructor complained about the lack
of a book suitable for one-quarter-year courses.
Another suggested that a paperback should be published which would cover the various aspects of applications of genetics.
The return of the tally was requested by about 72% of
the respondents.
however, used the four books at the top of the list
tion, the introductory genetics courses avoid the details
(Table 1). The remaining seven texts combined were
used by 1.5% of the students.
This information on textbook usage revealed that
molecular genetics was not the main concern among the
respondents. Apparently classical and cytogenetics have
more relevance to their interest. Had the questionnaire
been addressed to the colleges of liberal arts and science,
the results might have been different.
Table 1. Textbooks used as a percentage of enrollment
Burns
Farnsworth
Strickberger
Gardner
Jenkins
Merrell
Suzuki and Griffiths
Rothwell
Watson
Goodenough
Crow
23.7%
16.6%
16.1%
12.5%
7.7%
5.2%
5.0%
4.8%
3.5%
2.2%
1.2%
CONCLUSIONS
This survey provides a rather good insight into the
nature of courses in genetics offered to undergraduates
within agricultural colleges in the United States. This information is not suitable, however, for extrapolations
concerning the types of introductory courses of genetics
offered by other types of schools, such as in most of the
private colleges and institutions of liberal arts and
science.
The introductory courses offered by the agricultural
colleges appear rather traditional. The emphasis seems
to be on organismal aspects of genetics, cytogenetics,
and quantitative inheritance, rather than on molecular
biology. This can be explained by the fact that most of
the larger state universities are now offering several
courses in molecular and cellular biology which provide
thorough instruction in those areas. Recently the
boundaries of genetics have expanded so that it seems
impossible to compress even the most desired information into a single course. In order to prevent duplicaof those areas which are covered by other and advanced
courses on campus.
Though the lectures of no single one-semester course
can cover everything in even the shortest textbook, the
most successful texts encompass the broad field of
genetics in a balanced manner. This effort to cover all
the important principles of genetics leads to increasingly
long textbooks, as the successive editions demonstrate.
These "comprehensive" texts seem to owe their popularity to the fact that instructors can select most of their
preferred topics, and still use only a single reference.
There also seems to be a strong interest in the applications of genetics to human affairs, be they in the fields
of agriculture, industry, or medicine.
FUCCILLO: BETTER WRITING REACHES WIDER AUDIENCES
49