biology teaching and visual aids

ScHOOLSciENCEMATHEMATICS

VOL. XXXII No. 5 MAY, 1932 WHOLE No. 277

BIOLOGY TEACHING AND VISUAL AIDS*

BY WINIFRED PERRY,Roosevelt Junior High School, San Diego, Calif.

Biology has an important contribution to make to theeducation of a twentieth century youth in a twentiethcentury world. The inculcation of correct attitudes ofcivic consciousness as regards matters of personal andcommunity health, conservation problems, a more toler-ant attitude toward other nations and a more worthyuse of leisure time are desirable outcomes of all biologyteaching. What we shall teach is fairly well agreedupon. How we shall teach it is a problem worthy ofconsiderable discussion.

Teachers of biology have employed visual aids sincethe day the botany or zoology instructor brought aspecimen into the classroom to illustrate the lecture ofthe day. Perhaps biology teachers more than those ofany other subject have been dependent upon visual aidsto clarify their teaching. But as with the content ofbiology courses which stressed first one phase and thenanother of the subject, the question of visual aids hasbeen largely a matter of emphasis. For many yearsteachers have used charts, slides and museum specimensas a matter of course. Today we use them with a newconsciousness of their value in teaching; we give theman emphasis which was formerly accorded only to dem-onstrations and experiments.For some time there has been a trend toward the

*Read before the Department of Science Instruction- N. E. A. at Los Angeles.Calif.. June 29. 1931.

466 SCHOOL SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS

placing of more emphasis upon natural history in all ele-mentary biology courses. Requirements for a teachinglicense in biology, now necessary in the state of NewYork, includes a field test for the identification of com-mon plants .and animals. Teachers are realizing thatthey are not training their pupils for college sciencecourses but for living. They should be given lasting ap-preciations of the beautiful and interesting in their en-vironment.

"There should be a Back to Nature Movement amongbiologists. By cutting out fads and fancies, a singlebiology course should be given which should contain moreold fashioned natural history or ecology, more knowledgeof plants and animals and less of their detailed insides,enriching the students life by a closer association withthe life about him/^

In teaching such courses as have just been described ora course in which the principles of biology2 are givenfirst consideration, the actual specimens or realia, a termcoined by Miss Annette Glick of the Visual EducationDepartment of the Los Angeles City Schools, deserve firstconsideration. A field trip to see the plant or animalin its actual environment would be the most desirableprocedure. Wm. G. Vinal believes that money spentfor textbooks might well be spent for field trips, andsays that "Students have as much right to read the fieldsas about the fields."3However every teacher in a town or city high school

knows the difficulties that must be overcome before anexcursion is undertaken, and so specimens are of para-mount value and importance.A living specimen is far superior to a dried or pickled

one. A living starfish will arouse interest as a dried onewill never do. But every teacher knows the difficulty infinding the material for class use when she needs it, andan adequate ^supply of museum specimens is essential inevery school.Now that the demonstration performed by the teacher

ârrelma, F. A., "On Teaching Living Biology," SCHOOL SCIENCE AND MATHE-MATICS, March, 1931, pp. 273,274.âyles, E. E., "The Organization of the High School Biology Course," Science

Education, January, 1931, pp. 75-82.înal. Wm. G., "Humanizing Biology," SCHOOL SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS, Feb-

ruary, 1931, pp. 228-231.

VISUAL AIDS IN BIOLOGY 467

has replaced the individual pupil experiment in so manyschools, \\ the preparation of such specimens provides anexcellent form of pupil activity. Insect specimens, shellsand seaweeds, as well as valuable plant specimens maybe safely and attractively preserved in some form of aRicker mount. Pupils should be encouraged to make thesecontainers as well as to collect and prepare the speci-mens. Bird skins and the skins of small mammals maybe exhibited in tubes made of rolls of celluloid with endpieces of wooden dowling. A neatly typed or writtenlabel should be pasted on the back of each small exhibitcase. This label should give the scientific and commonnames of the specimen, the locality and date when foundand the name of the donor. While these realia shouldbe largely of the local environment, specimens from otherlocalities which may be obtained through an exchangeof material by schools or biology clubs are of great in-terest and value to pupils. These specimens should begiven a prominent place in the school museum, whichshould also contain commercial exhibits that are of in-terest to biology pupils. Sources of supply of these so-called commercial exhibits may be found in the publi-cation from Teachers’ College, Columbia University,"Enriched Teaching of Science in the High School."6

Charts are an accepted part of the equipment forall biology teaching. Certain types of printed charts arealmost indispensable. In the field of human biology theW. and A. K. Johnston Company’s physiology chartsare too well known to require any comment here. Thenew Winslow Health Charts published by the DenoyerGeppert Company cover the field of physiology and pub-lie health in a most admirable way. The American Med-ical Association sells for a nominal sum a set of chartswhich deal with patent medicines and the fundamentalsof dietetics. There is a great variety of charts in thefields of botany and zoology with special material forbird and insect study. Some charts from the United

Downing, Elliot R., "An Investigation to Determine the Time Required toTeach Certain Units in Biology," Reprint from North Central Association Quar-terly, March 31, 1931, 18 pages.Derrick, Louise, **A Unit in Ninth Grade Biology," SCHOOL SCIENCE AND MATHE-

MATICS, January, 1931, pp. 70-74.^oodring-Oakes-Brown, "Enriched Teaching of Science in The High School,"

Bureau of Publications, Teachers’ College, Columbia University, New York City,1928.


States Department of Agriculture and The United StatesPublic Health Service are worthwhile additions to thisform of visual aids in biology.Chart making furnishes an excellent form of pupil ac-

tivity. Life histories of insects, frogs and toads, fernsand higher plants may be put into chart form. Thegraphic chart showing the decrease of certain communic-able diseases, the amounts of alcohol in patent medi-cines, the amounts of protein, calcium and iron in com-mon foods may be shown in this way.The picture chart made by cutting pictures from ad-

vertisements in magazines has great possibilities. In theteaching of hygiene these charts are especially effective,and they are likewise adapted to various botanicalstudies, as for example, the various types of fruits�-berry, pome, drupe, akene and so forth.

Flat pictures used on bulletin boards may be utilizedto illustrate any subject in biology. Pupils never tire ofviewing and contributing to these illustrated lessons.Teachers who file flat pictures under large divisions cor-responding to the commonly used units in biology neverlack this form of illustrative material. Magazines havebeen especially rich in this material during the last fewyears.The twenty thousand biology teachers who receive

Turtox news each month are aware of the constantly in-creasing numbers of biological models which are offeredby the General Biological Supply, Chicago. Then thereare equally excellent models sold by Denoyer-GeppertCompany, Chicago, and by other concerns as well. Inproblems involving cell structures, for example, nothingis more useful than a well executed model to help theyoung pupil visualize mitosis, root or leaf structure, orthe anatomy of cray-fish, earthworm or of man himself.These models are quite expensive, but if a few well se-lected ones are added each year, a department will havea good collection in a few years’ time.The projected picture is usually the layman’s idea of

visual education, and the biology teacher finds the sev-eral types of projected pictures an indispensable aid togood teaching. It would seem that every school would


be equipped to use some type of projected pictures, butthe chief of the bureau of Visual Instruction, ExtensionDivision, University of Wisconsin paints a different pic-ture. "It ought not to be necessary to argue the valueof pictures as aids in learning today, but judging by thelarge percentage of our teachers�yes, the many, manyschools�who have never employed stereographs, lan-tern slides or educational motion pictures in their class-rooms, there must be many teachers and school admin-istrators who do not believe that pictures in their variousforms do vitalize classroom teaching."7The slide, opaque picture, film strip, still film and mov-

ing picture, either silent or with sound, are aids to goodteaching but should not be considered a method in them-selves. "Unless pupils are led to pay attention to par-ticular points of importance, they may grasp little morethan they would have done from a printed page."8The preview by the teacher is an absolute necessity

and without it the lessons often result in a waste of timeand become a mental narcotic instead of a mental stim-ulant.The baloptican is a widely used piece of apparatus per-

mitting the projection of opaque pictures and glass slides.Pupils should be encouraged to work up sets of opaquepictures that will serve as a summary or review of thevarious units of work, or that will illustrate special re-ports. When these pictures are mounted on cardboardand filed they furnish valuable illustrative material foryears to come.The making of lantern slides provides an excellent

form of pupil activity. An outfit from the KeystoneView Co., Meadville, Penn., is a great aid to the makingof pupil-made slides. Blank slides of ground glass andcolored pencils, cellophane sheets, especially preparedglass slides and bottles of various shades of transparentink are included. These slides may be cleaned and usedrepeatedly. They lend themselves to many studies, par-ticularly in the field of botany.�Many schools have quite complete collections of slides

^ansen, J. E., "Why We Should Use Pictures in Teaching," Junior-SeniorHigh School Clearing House, December, 1930, p. 205.editorial in Junior-Senior High School Clearing House, December, 1930. p.

194.


which may be obtained from several companies. Theyare among the oldest and most useful of the visual aids.

Microscopical slides of plant and animal tissues maybe projected by means of a micro-projector. With youngpupils who are inexperienced in using the microscope,the slide thrown on a screen is an excellent means offamiliarizing pupils with cell structures. While it isdoubtless desirable that pupils in elementary biologyshould do some individual microscopic work, much timeis often wasted because they do not know what they aresupposed to see. If a slide can be projected on a screenand the instructor can point out the different kinds ofcells in a cross section of a stem, for example, pupils maythen use their microscopes with far greater efficiency.The description in SCHOOL SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS forOctober, 1930, of a microprojector used in a biologyclassroom in Munich is replete with suggestions.9The film slide, film strip or picturol as it is variously

called is in many ways superior to the glass slide. Thefilm slide is among the most inexpensive of the variouskinds of projected pictures, and schools which find themoving picture out of the question, find it a welcome sub-stitute. Many 35 m. m. and 16 m. m. moving picturefilms have been reproduced as film slides. "Interdepend-ence of Plant and Animal Life" from Bray Productions,Incorporated, is an excellent summary of the usual uniton photosynthesis. "Functions of Living Things" fromthe Spencer Lens Company is another example of thefilm slide that is adapted to biology. The well-knownmoving picture "How Life Begins" has been reproducedin a series of film slides.The United States Department of Agriculture furnishes

some valuable film strips that have been prepared fromlantern slides. Especially noteworthy are the ones onplant propagation, plant and insect diseases of gardenand field crops.

Mention should be made of the film strips distributedfree by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. Thesefilm slides supplement their booklets in the HealthHeroes Series.

9Black, N. Henry, "The Use of the Projection Microscope in The Teachingof Biology," SCHOOL SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS, October, 1930, pp. 737-747.


The Nature Study film strips issued monthly by TheSan Jose State College, San Jose, California, provide sea-sonal material that may be adapted to biology classes. Aswith so many forms of the visual aids, these film strips maybe adapted by a skillful teacher to a class in high schoolbiology or to one in elementary science or nature study.The presentation of the material will determine to alarge extent the success or failure of the lesson. Thesubjects are chiefly of California plants and animals. Itis to be hoped that other sections of the United Stateswill be represented as is California in these Nature Studyfilm strips.

With a good delineascope these film strips or picturolsgive almost as clear a picture as the more familiar glassslide and have the decided advantage of being non-break-able and far less expensive. "The Life History of TheBullfrog" a new production of the General BiologicalSupply House, Chicago, in a film slide is listed at $3.75and in a lantern slide set at $18.00. To the school witha limited budget the film slide offers a maximum amountof material at a minimum expense. There are situationsin which it is superior to the moving picture. During areview any particular slide may remain on the screenas long as is desired for discussion or questioning bypupils or teacher.The still film produced in Los Angeles is similar in pur-

poses and uses to the film strip. Some of the subjectsclassified under nature study may be used in biologyclasses. The construction kit offered by this companyis a real contribution to the development of pupil ac-tivity in the making of pictures to be projected in theclassroom or in assembly. This material has been usedwith considerable success in some of the Los Angelesschools, but it is not as conveniently handled as the in-dividual glass slides.The moving picture arouses pupil interest as prob-

ably no other form of the visual aids can do. There aresituations in which the movie shows that which cannotbe explained by any other means. Life processes maybe shown by means of animated diagrams. X-ray or mo-tion microphotography. A class in the middle states, for


example, may view a film entitled "Some Seashore Ani-mals^ and have the experience, vicarious to be sure, ofwitnessing these animals moving, feeding, fighting intheir natural environment. When the desirable excur-sion is impossible or impractical the moving picture isoften an excellent substitute.Nothing finer than the Eastman Teaching Film Library

has been made. The widely read columnist, Arthur Bris-bane, visited the Eastman factory last April and .afterviewing some of the educational pictures wrote: "Thegreatest teaching genius could not in 10 hours conveyto the mind what these pictures can convey in 15 minutes.As Ruskin testified long ago, photography in itself is thegreatest force for education. With motion and coloradded, it will shorten education as stenography has short-ened writing."10

Teachers who have used films as a teaching devicehave discovered that they are not a substitute for super-vised study, experiment, discussion and review. Dr. T.E. Finegan gives a clear and sane statement relative tothe place of the films in the schools. "This type of filmis, therefore, simply a classroom agency in the hands ofthe teacher. It is to be used by him when needed, in thesame way as other classroom aids or apparatus; it is nota substitute for the teacher or the textbook. It is justa tool to clarify his work and make it more impressive.It should be adapted to specific lessons and to definitegrades."11Among the Eastman Films valuable in what we may

term human biology are the following subjects edited onthe unit basis: "The Blood," "Circulation," "CirculatoryControl," "Body Framework," "Breathing," "Digestion,""Food and Growth," "Muscles," "Tuberculosis and HowIt May Be Avoided," and "Bacteria." In the realm ofNatural History are the following: "Termites," "Micro-scopic Animal Life," "Life History of the Yellow FeverMosquito," "Game Birds," "Birds of Prey," "Birds of theSeacoast" "Luther Burbank," "Wild Flowers," "Some

^Brisbane, Arthur, Rochester, N. Y., Journal and Post Express, April 17, 1931.^Fingan, T. E., "An Experiment in The Development of Classroom Films,"

Reprint from "Transactions of The Society of Motion Picture Engineers," VolumeXI, Number 31, 1927. pp. 545, 563.


Water Insects/’ "Rocky Mountain Mammals/’ "SomeLarger Mammals/’ "Some Seashore Animals/’ and "TheLiving Cell."

Persons who have enjoyed the illustrated lectures ofMr. Arthur C. Pillsbury will be interested to know thathis films are available for school use. Among them .areassorted microscopic pictures, including the mold study,circulation in a leaf, the germination of the pollen grain,and so forth. He also offers lapse time pictures ofunder sea life and the life story of the termite as wellas wild flowers of the Sierra Nevada mountains in fullcolor.The UFA Films, Incorporated, 1540 Broadway, New

York City, has produced many biological films whichmay be had with spoken lectures. Many of these splen-did films deal with large biological principles. They arein a class by themselves�superior in every respect.Among them are: "Partnership Under the Sea," a studyin commensalism; "Traps for Insects," insect eatingplants and animals; "The First Law of Nature," thesnake’s struggle for existence; "The Survival of the Fit-test"; "The Cycle of Life" which shows the interchange-ability of matter; "The Bloods" which shows human, bird’sand frog’s blood and "The Breath of Life" which showsbubbles of gas escaping from the stomata.The University Film Foundation of Cambridge, Mass.,

has produced some noteworthy films. Among them are"The Nesting of The Sea Turtle," "A Tropic Garden,""Elementary Animal Forms," and "Simple AnimalForms."

This paper would not be complete without some men-tion of the newest of the visual aids, sound films. Port-able machines for classroom use have been developedby Bell Howell Company, The Victor AnimatographCorporation and others. The films with sound accom-paniment in the form of large discs have been producedby UFA Films, Incorporated and The University FilmFoundation. It would seem that the sound picture usedin science classes will not have the values that it willin music, the language and in English classes. Biologyteachers have been successful to a great extent in escap-


ing from the lecture method, and these sound films arerather formal discussions synchronized to explain thefilm as it appears on the screen. When explanation isnecessary it is far better that the teacher should furnishit. She knows the background and capacities of hergroup and a word here and there where really neces-sary is more helpful than a continual barrage of explana-tion, part of which must be confusing and distracting toyoung pupils. The projection apparatus is so expensivethat sound pictures will doubtless make their way slowlyinto all schools except those in large or richly endowedcommunities.As a classroom teacher whose work during the past

eight years has been vitalized and made more pleasur-able and interesting to herself as well as to her pupilsbecause of a generous and, I hope, a wise use of the dif-ferent types of the visual aids described in this paper,I wish to urge all science teachers who have not alreadydone so to use these materials until they too become enthus-iasts. Boards of education will provide these visualaids as they are demanded or better requested. It is to behoped that they will be provided as liberally as maps,texts and reference books, and laboratory apparatushave been in the past. It is my belief that one well-edited film is fully as valuable, if not more so, to a classthan a set of supplementary texts. The cost is often aboutthe same. It will be a step toward better teaching tosee to it -that administrators appreciate the amount ofpupil time that these visual aids may save, as well as thefact that these materials arouse interest as nothing elsecan do. Thus the economy of visual aids in biologyteaching is at least two-fold.

NO CHEMICAL ELEMENTS HEAVIER THAN URANIUM,SCIENTIST CONCLUDES

Hope that there are more than the 92 chemical elements now "knownis not bolstered up by theoretical studies made by Dr. V. V. Narliker,University of Cambridge scientist. Investigating the highest atomicnumber in the light of wave mechanics, Dr. Narliker finds that thehighest possible atomic number seems to be 92, that of uranium,heaviest known element, and not 137 as previous studies had sug-gested. His report was made to ^Nature,^ leading British scienceweekly.�Science Service.

biology teaching and visual aids

Documents