Biology Dep't. to Tutor Candidates for Honors

The Department of Biology has begun an optional, noncredit tutorial program for honors candidates--the first formal resumption of tutorial in that department since World War II.

In a mimeographed announcement distributed last week to biology concentrators, Dr. Ned Feder, chairman of undergraduate affairs in the department, said that the purpose of the program "is to allow a member of the department and an individual student to carry out some course of instruction or discussion with the special, personal attention that is lacking in the larger and more formal courses." Tutors are to be members of the Faculty and post-doctoral fellows.

More Limited Than Before

One of the chief organizers of the project--Assistant Professor William R. Sistrom--said yesterday that the scope of the new tutorial will be much more limited than that of the pre-war version. "In the old days, tutorial was for credit and for all", he exlained, "but apparently it did not work out to everyone's satisfaction, and the war was a convenient excuse to drop it."

The decision to reinstate a more modest form of tutorial grew out of a series of Faculty meetings of possible improvements of the senior year research programs in biology. These discussions, which were held in the Spring of 1961, also produced the "Plan Two for Concentration in Biology" that stresses biochemical sciences and has boosted undergraduate enrollment in the Department to all-time highs.

The prevailing opinion at these meetings was that students who had had no previous close contacts with men in the department would be hard put in their senior year to work on a research topic under supervision of a Faculty member. Such research normally is undertaken by honors candidates as preparation for the writing of a thesis and is officially titled "Biology 40: Introduction to Research in Biology for Undergraduates." At present, a thesis in biology is required only of candidates for high and highest honors; however, honors candidates are usually urged to take Biology 40.

Experiment Last year

An experimental tutorial program was tried out "with little publicity" in the academic year 1961-62. Eighteen honors sophomores and juniors participated; each worked under a Faculty member or postdoctoral fellow who was specifically matched to him on the basis of similar interests.

The content and arrangement of these pilot instructional sessions varied according to desires of both tutors and tutees.

In several instances, actual research was done, and a few of last year's tutees have continued their work under the same tutor this year. Feder feels that in all cases, both tutor and tutee were satisfied.

This year's program may not be much more extensive than last year's, but this time all honors candidates will be given the chance to apply. "The limiting factor is how many Faculty members are able to take tutees," warned Feder, "and probably many applicants will be disappointed."

Debate Purpose

Again, tutors and tutees will work together by mutual consent, and the department will try to match individuals carefully. The actual nature of the instruction will also be left up to the participants again. Members of the Biology

Department are divided on the issue of what purpose individual instruction serves. Some think of it as an introduction to specialization: others consider it a method of broadening.

The persons who have initiated the new tutorial are seriously awaiting applications of both students and Faculty members. Presumably, if the program works out well this year, it will be expanded in future years, especially since the department is going to require a thesis from all honors candidates by 1956.

Dr. Sistrom, however, said he did not think the operation could got too many larger and added, "Under no circumstances would I like to see tutorial biology given for course credit."