ABSTRACT
Given the opportunities provided by, as well as the constraints operating on, a field program, how should someone design a course in order to preserve the multiple visions illustrated by Field Parasitology, and at the same time make these visions legitimate? The answer became obvious our first summer at Cedar Point, and although it has evolved somewhat over the years, it has never changed fundamentally. To deal with both the opportunities and constraints, while preserving the multiple visions, a student must not necessarily learn parasitology, but instead be a parasitologist. Being a parasitologist is distinct from doing parasitology; and, of course, the same comment could be made about virtually any discipline. The challenge is to decide what kind of multiple visions are characteristic of a discipline, then build those visions into the course design. This idea is what I have tried to export back to city campus and apply to whatever course I was teaching, whether it was General Biology, Invertebrate Zoology, or Biodiversity. The task is not so easy to achieve with 230 students in a dimly lighted auditorium, but I honestly believe that the attempt must be made, and that any teacher can come up with at least a few devices that actually work.
