News Release (February 12, 1967)

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. /NEW COLLEGE NEWS RELEASE NEW COLLEGE, SARASOTA, FLORIDA FURMAN C ARTHUR INFORMATION FOR RELEASE: SUNDAY FEBRUARY 12, 1967 Flexibility is the key word in the many changes taking place in the teaching of science at the college level. i New Colle e professor said after returning from a national conference on the subject. These changes include experimentll work for freshmen in science, the development of a cience course for non-specialists. and the abandon ent of tra-ditional laboratory instruction procedures. Dr. Peter F. Buri, chairman of the division of natural sciences at New College, recently participated in econference on Innovations in th Teaching of Science held at Bard College Ann ndala-on-Rudson New York. Buri wa invited to take part in the conference because New College, one of the newest in titutions represented at the eting, has recently faced the probl of eatablishing a new program of science instruction. Allowing students to have early in research oriented situationa, and making it possible for a number of students taking the sam laboratory course to do different things at the same ti are two changes fro the traditional 11cook book" laboratory where all tudenta in the lab do the sa e "ezperi t" at the same time. Another significant dep rture fro the traditional method of teaching science is the astabliahment of courses of instruction for non-science majors. -more-

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NEW COLLEGE Page 2 The object of some science teaching today, Buri said, ie to get etudenta who ar@ not specializing in science to reconsider their attitude toward ecience. The object is not, he empha iz d, to persuade them to major in science, but to allow them to view science in ita proper perspective in the modern world. This type of flexibility is characteristic of the innovations occurring in science teaching. Some of th new sci nee programs include the history and the philosophy of science and other non-technical aspects of th general field. New College now in its third year. is utilizing many of these innovations. One of them is divisional rather than a departmental or8anizat1on of the faculty which allows a variety of interdisciplinary teaching programs. Buri was one of more than 80 representatives who attended the meet ing fro colleges throughout the country. The conference was organized by the Union for Research and Experiments in Higher Education and was sponsored by a grant from the United States Office of Education. f -3o-