Biology: Concepts and Investigations: 2024/Evergreen Release

"For years, biology instructors have recognized that we need to turn away from teaching methods that reward students who memorize and regurgitate superficial knowledge. Instead, we need to emphasize deeper learning that requires students to understand and apply course content. This idea is precisely what I have tried to achieve since I started teaching at the University of Oklahoma in 1997, and it has been a guiding principle in the creation of my books and digital material as well. This edition retains what users have always loved about this book: the art program, readable narrative, handy study tips, Investigating Life essays, tutorial animations, and concept maps. In this edition, I have explicitly connected the unit-wide Survey the Landscape concept map at the start of each chapter to the more detailed, chapter-specific Pull It Together concept map at each chapters end. Not only does each Survey the Landscape now direct the students attention to the Pull It Together concept map, but the latter includes a specially labeled question directing the readers attention back to the Survey the Landscapes "big picture" view. The objective remains the same: to help students see the "forest" and the "trees." One way to motivate students to learn is to help them see that biology is all around them: in food, medicine, pets, water, gardens, parks, and even vacant lots. For students interested in environmental quality, biology forms a foundation for understanding issues ranging in scale from the quality of local tap water to the changing global climate. The Burning Question and Apply It Now boxes support my efforts to help readers learn why biology matters. Each chapter now also includes one or more Scientific Literacy questions. These new thought questions at the end of each chapter will help students practice thinking like a scientist about relevant social, political, or ethical issues"--