In my effort to make my point I should have mentioned a non-majors biology course with an ecological approach should also include organismal biology (including plants, which sometimes are barely mentioned in many intro biology courses), evolution, taxonomy, and other areas--not just lessons with an environmental emphasis.
BILL ======== On May 27, 2012, at 1:09 PM, Bill Hilton Jr. (RESEARCH) wrote: > With sincere respect to all of you in the fields of microbiology, genetics, > and other laboratory-based disciplines of the life sciences, I contend the > "Campbell Essential Biology" approach is exactly what is wrong with biology > education today. > > Nearly all undergraduate and high school introductory biology courses are > written as if EVERY student is going on to med school, nursing, or a career > in a lab-based science. I agree it's important for an undergrad course to > make mention of cytology, DNA, photosynthesis, etc., but I question the real > value to students of any non-major textbook in which 12 chapters deal with > cell-DNA and ecology, ecosystems, and the biosphere are relegated to the last > three chapters. > > My guess is that 95% or more of non-majors will never have any really > practical use for information about cell-DNA. It's complicated stuff that > their physicians and pharmacists need to know, but what would be of > infinitely greater value is for everyone to be familiar with basic principles > of ecology, plant-animal interactions, pollination biology, and the like. > Knowing about these things will enable students in general to understand how > humans fit into and affect the world around them, and such understanding will > help them make informed decisions about such things as overfishing, > watersheds and wetlands, use of household pesticides and fertilizers--to say > nothing of current controversial topics like global climate change, fracking, > etc. > > We all teach what we know, of course, and the vast majority of high school > biology teachers know what they learned in an undergrad biology courses > taught from the "pre-med" perspective. I know from 25-plus years in the > classroom and lab that for kids not going off to med-school the "pre-med" > approach is often a turn-off to science, while a course that emphasizes > ecology, the environment, field work, etc., is a turn-on. I also taught > undergrad biology and know such is the case with many college students. > > Cheers, > > BILL > > > On May 27, 2012, at 10:48 AM, Helena Puche wrote: > >> David, >> >> I used "Campbell Essential Biology" by E.J. Simon, J.B.Reece and J.L. >> Dickey. It is a book for non-biology majors that has 20 chapters, all of >> them with a focus on evolution and examples, and nice drawings and pictures. >> Twelve of the 20 chapters are geared toward cell-DNA, then three chapters on >> taxonomy and systematics. The last three include populations & ecology, >> communities & ecosystems, and the biosphere. Therefore, you will have to add >> extra material to recreate those last topics. >> >> I created several evolution labs using beans or the web pages below, >> designed a ppt to introduce Darwin's liand thoughts, and added many lab >> activities to learn about mark-recapture techniques, estimating population >> growth rate & size, population growth models, climate change, and >> identifying biomes. >> >> Evolution links to check are: >> http://video.pbs.org/video/1300397304/ >> http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/devitt_02 >> >> I used those as base for the lab activities. >> >> Hope this helps. >> >> Helena >> >> >> >> Helena Puche, Ph. D. >> >> Adjunct Assistant Professor >> >> University of Illinois at Chicago >> >> >> Biological Sciences, 3464 SES, MC >> 066 >> >> 845 West Taylor Street >> >> Chicago, IL 60607hpu...@uic.edu >> >> >> >> --- On Fri, 5/25/12, Johnson, David R <drjohns...@utep.edu> wrote: >> >> From: Johnson, David R <drjohns...@utep.edu> >> Subject: [ECOLOG-L] Non-Majors Biology >> To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU >> Date: Friday, May 25, 2012, 2:49 PM >> >> Greetings, >> >> I am teaching a "contemporary biology" course for non-science majors in the >> fall and for the first time I am fortunate to be able to organize the course >> at my discretion. Effectively, I can present any material I wish as long as >> I hit broad themes such as Cell Theory and Evolution. While this is >> certainly doable, I am struggling deciding exactly what content to present. >> The course is meant to present the science of contemporary issues that may >> be important and/or interesting to the non-science student rather than a >> broad survey course encompassing all of biology. There is another such >> survey course with a set syllabus that I am not teaching, and there are two >> other sections of contemporary biology that are focusing on genetics. I >> would like to focus on the many ecological issues that both affect and are >> affected by humans. My struggle involves the fact that this may be the only >> (or last) biology these students get before we cast them out into the world. >> So I want to be sure and cover all my bases. >> >> I am writing Ecolog with two questions. First, what is the relative merit of >> including as much biology as possible as opposed to focusing on fewer but >> perhaps more directly relevant ecological topics? These students will most >> likely not become scientists, and certainly won't need to memorize the >> structure of all the amino acids, for example. On the other hand, would I be >> cheating them somehow by not providing enough information to them for making >> informed decisions on topics outside of my direct area of expertise, such as >> developmental biology and stem cells? >> >> The other question I have involves textbooks. Is anyone aware of a text (or >> perhaps pop-science books) designed for the non-science major that focuses >> on ecology, in particular the involvement of humans in ecological systems? I >> haven't been able to find something I like and am looking for >> recommendations. >> >> Thanks and I'll circulate a summary response if/when the discussion runs its >> course. >> >> Cheers, >> >> David >> >> David R. Johnson PhD. >> Postdoctoral Research Associate >> Systems Ecology Lab >> University of Texas at El Paso >> drjohns...@utep.edu > > P.S. Please "Like" our new Facebook page at > http://www.facebook.com/HiltonPond for timely updates on nature topics. > > ========= > > RESEARCH PROGRAM > c/o BILL HILTON JR. Executive Director > Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History > 1432 DeVinney Road, York, South Carolina 29745 USA > office & cell (803) 684-5852 > fax (803) 684-0255 > > Please visit our web sites (courtesy of Comporium.net): > Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History at http://www.hiltonpond.org > "Operation RubyThroat: The Hummingbird Project" at http://www.rubythroat.org > > ================== P.S. Please "Like" our new Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/HiltonPond for timely updates on nature topics. ========= RESEARCH PROGRAM c/o BILL HILTON JR. Executive Director Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History 1432 DeVinney Road, York, South Carolina 29745 USA office & cell (803) 684-5852 fax (803) 684-0255 Please visit our web sites (courtesy of Comporium.net): Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History at http://www.hiltonpond.org "Operation RubyThroat: The Hummingbird Project" at http://www.rubythroat.org ==================
