Demotivation: Biological science

Oct 22, 2014 • Jeremy Metz

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The sciences were my favourite topic during secondary school, and not surprisingly, also my best subjects. Biology had been my favourite of the sciences as it had seemed one of the most relevant to everyday life. When I got to GCSE grade (~14 years old) however, my Biology teacher was of the “old school” of teaching and had us memorize pages and pages of Biological information parrot fashion. Examples included the Krebs cycle, plant anatomy, and countless other biological systems bundled together as if they were meaningless data without context.

I have always found this method of learning the least constructive, and within a short space of time Physics quickly became much more appealing due to the teaching methods and *lack* of learning reams of data.

I was still able to pass Biology, but went on to pick Chemistry, Physics, and Maths at ‘A’ level, leaving Biology behind. I avoided Biological science components during University and only became more confident and switched to Biophysics at post-doctoral level. I now work in a Biosciences department and enjoy learning more (often high school) Biology on a regular basis.

What could have been done differently? 

The teacher could have been much more enthusiastic about the material; instead they were the type of instructor who made it quite clear that we were a nuisance and a means to receiving a pay cheque. Despite the lack of enthusiasm they could have at least thought out a lesson plan and structure that introduced topics with context and then followed the way that the students would naturally be asking questions about the system being studied.

For example, instead of (literally) reading through a textbook during class and having us memorize chapters for subsequent tests, a guided approach whereby concepts are taught as a subject is being explored would likely have been much better received.

Of course the responsibility doesn’t rest solely with the teacher; as a student I should have become more active and compensated for the teacher’s lack of enthusiasm with my own, instead of shying away from the subject.