REMARKS TO INSTRUCTORS 



The course in general zoology, of which the work outlined by these 

 directions is a portion, is not a course of the "phylum" variety, al- 

 though representatives of all the more important phyla are here in- 

 cluded. In the phylum course, each animal is considered, primarily, as 

 a representative of the group to which it belongs, its more general bio- 

 logical aspects being regarded as incidental. Such a course may be 

 necessary in the later curriculum of students specializing in the sub- 

 ject. But in our opinion it fulfills neither the professional nor the cul- 

 tural requirements of an introductory course in zoology. What is 

 needed is the teaching of zoological facts and principles by such meth- 

 ods as are most effective, and not a survey of animal types. We agree 

 with the advocates of the ''principles" course in their main contention. 

 The question at issue is, how may these principles be taught most 

 effectively. 



The principles course is not a new concept, although it has been 

 exploited as such in recent years. There seem to have been two main 

 forms of organization for courses in general zoology as given in Ameri- 

 can institutions during the past fifty years. On the one hand, there 

 have been courses of the phylum type; and on the other, those which 

 have aimed at the illustration of fundamental principles by the study 

 of a limited series of forms. An extreme development of the latter was 

 the "General Biology" of Sedgwick and Wilson (1886) which origin- 

 ally included but a single animal and a single plant, the earthworm 

 and the fern. In a later edition (1895) this text was extended to in- 

 clude unicellular animals and plants, and further elaborated. A more 

 typical example of the form of organization which has used the ani- 

 mals studied as representative of biological principles appears in the 

 courses which have been built upon such books as Parker and Parker's 

 "Practical Zoology," Borradaile's "Manual of Zoology," and similar 

 works. Although largely morphological with some physiological addi- 

 tions, these texts, supplemented by lectures, have served the purpose 

 where instructors have taught principles rather than phyla; and de- 

 spite their chapter headings they seem to have been conceived as 

 principles courses by their authors. 



The course in general zoology at the University of Missouri has 

 been gradually developed from such a beginning. Years ago when 



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