Dr. Mowshowitz knows Intro Biology

Name of Publication: WiGH? The Digital Media Project of The Journal of Global Health (JGH)

Edition: Episode 13

Description:

WiGH? is a science philosophy podcast and digital publication managed by the undergraduate publication team of The Journal of Global Health (JGH) at Columbia. We seek to examine the moral quandaries faced by researchers and scientists at the decision-making level and whether these dilemmas are the same ones faced by people involved in entirely different fields of discourse. By fostering greater interdisciplinary dialogue on the fundamental moral questions in health, we hope to synthesize cross-curricular and cross-cultural solutions to major public health problems in a globalized world.

Selected Article:

The task of educating the next generation of scientists, engineers, and doctors is a daunting endeavor filled with ideological and practical obstacles. In the latest episode of WiGH?, “Monkey Wrench Problems in Intro Biology”, Deborah Mowshowitz, Ph.D. discusses the role of undergraduate science teaching in preparing undergraduates for a career in the biological and health sciences.

Dr. Mowshowitz presently serves as Director of Undergraduate Programs at Columbia University’s Department of Biological Sciences, and she has taught introductory biology to Columbia undergraduates for nearly forty years. Her class is mandatory for all Columbia pre-medical students and biology majors. In 1999, Dr. Mowshowitz received the prestigious Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching. Reuben Saunders (CC’15) and Victoria Cui (CC’15) host this episode.

“How science works is much more important than learning a collection of facts that youcan always look up anyways. In most traditional biology courses you cover a very large number of topics, you learn a huge amount of vocabulary, and at the end of the semesteryou do a brain dump and forget it all.” – Deborah Mowshowitz, Ph.D., “MonkeyWrench Problems in Intro Biology” (WiGH?)