Pub Date : 2013-10-01DOI: 10.1525/ABT.2013.75.8.13B
P. DasSarma
The Stardust Revolution: The New Story of Our Origin in the Stars. By Jacob Berkowitz. 2012. Prometheus Books. (ISBN 9781616145491). 376 pp. Hardback. $27.00. Whether you think of it as a revolution story, an evolution story, or even, simply, a history tale, reading this book by the science writer Jacob Berkowitz is like going on a discovery walk through the annals of who’s-who in astrobiology, a budding new field that studies the origin, evolution, and distribution of life on earth, in the universe, and more. It is filled with name-dropping, anecdotes (a bit of an overload of them), birthing analogies, and puns. NASA’s 1999 Stardust mission spent 200 million dollars to bring back stardust material that weighs less than a grain of salt, and now, we have a “catalog of more than ten thousand pre-solar grains” (5–7 billion years old). Hoagy Carmichael wrote and recorded it, Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, Ringo Starr, and Rod Stewart (to name a few) sang about the “Stardust …
星尘革命:我们在恒星起源的新故事。雅各布·伯克维茨(Jacob Berkowitz) 2012年著。普罗米修斯的书。(ISBN 9781616145491)。376页,精装本。27.00美元。无论你认为它是一个革命的故事,一个进化的故事,或者甚至只是一个历史故事,阅读这本由科学作家雅各布·伯科维茨(Jacob Berkowitz)撰写的书,就像在探索天体生物学中谁是谁的编年史一样,这是一个新兴的领域,研究地球上、宇宙中生命的起源、进化和分布,以及更多。书中充满了名人轶事、奇闻轶事(有点太多了)、分娩类比和双关语。美国宇航局1999年的星尘任务花费了2亿美元带回了比一粒盐还轻的星尘物质,现在,我们有了一个“超过一万颗前太阳颗粒的目录”(50 - 70亿年前)。Hoagy Carmichael创作并录制了这首歌,Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, Ringo Starr和Rod Stewart(仅举几例)演唱了“Stardust……
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E. A. Hemphill, L. Martin-Morris, H. Buckland, S. Cunningham
Current drug policy is doing little to stem the tide of drug abuse in the United States. Presenting information about the neurobiology of addiction to students while they are in high school offers hope for improving policy decisions by these future voters. In addition, it provides them with a foundation for promoting safe behaviors and choices for themselves, their families, and the community. By translating what scientists are discovering through research into science that can be understood by the general public, educators offer their students opportunities to challenge old notions about drug abuse and replace them with evidence-based knowledge. We’ve seen a paradigm shift in the past decade. Parents who used to worry about the dealer on the street or the bad kid in school are realizing that the problem may be closer to home. Other than marijuana, prescription and over-the-counter drugs are the most common drugs of abuse among high school seniors (NIDA, 2012). Teens have unprecedented access to a much-feared and deadly classification of prescriptions, the opioids, a general term used for …
{"title":"Final comments on addiction & the brain","authors":"E. A. Hemphill, L. Martin-Morris, H. Buckland, S. Cunningham","doi":"10.1525/ABT.2013.75.6.4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1525/ABT.2013.75.6.4","url":null,"abstract":"Current drug policy is doing little to stem the tide of drug abuse in the United States. Presenting information about the neurobiology of addiction to students while they are in high school offers hope for improving policy decisions by these future voters. In addition, it provides them with a foundation for promoting safe behaviors and choices for themselves, their families, and the community. By translating what scientists are discovering through research into science that can be understood by the general public, educators offer their students opportunities to challenge old notions about drug abuse and replace them with evidence-based knowledge.\u0000\u0000We’ve seen a paradigm shift in the past decade. Parents who used to worry about the dealer on the street or the bad kid in school are realizing that the problem may be closer to home. Other than marijuana, prescription and over-the-counter drugs are the most common drugs of abuse among high school seniors (NIDA, 2012).\u0000\u0000Teens have unprecedented access to a much-feared and deadly classification of prescriptions, the opioids, a general term used for …","PeriodicalId":50960,"journal":{"name":"American Biology Teacher","volume":"6 1","pages":"373-374"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2013-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80560473","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
You may recall that the ABT ran several short articles for the 2012–2013 academic year on addiction and the brain by Helen Buckland and Susanna Cunningham. Thank you, Helen and Susanna, for your valuable contributions to biology education. Those articles are now complete, and the department will be replaced by a new series beginning this month titled “The Neurobiology of Learning.” This column will be written by members of the …
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Pub Date : 2013-08-01DOI: 10.1525/ABT.2013.75.6.14B
P. DasSarma
Secret Chambers: The Inside Story of Cells & Complex Life. By Martin Brasier. 2012. Oxford University Press. (ISBN 9780199644001). 298 pp. Hardback. $29.95. If you want to settle down for a series of storytelling sessions by a prominent Oxford paleobiologist who delves into the origin of life, and ancient waters, drawing analogies to a survey ship’s construction, exploring the pyramids, and describing the not so “boring billion” (if you don’t know what this is, you have to read the book…), this is a great read. It is written up with so many interesting footnotes, with references you feel you absolutely must read – a surreal feeling for this reader, for whom it felt like zooming in and out of subject matter using a camera lens, but it would be quite natural for the younger reader who is used to clicking on links and going on tangents while multitasking. For educators, this is a book to be perused ahead of time and used as both a springboard for further reading and as …
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> One great thing about evolution is that it happens whether you like it or not. I have been very concerned for some time about the intrusion of fundamentalist religious beliefs into biology education at all levels. The most notorious infraction has been in the science-based teaching of evolution. I would like to share some of my experiences with this issue. Flashback to the 1980s . In the late 1980s, Joe McInerney, then director of the BSCS, asked me (as a coauthor of the BSCS Green Version, 1987, 1992) to accompany him to Austin, Texas, to testify to the Texas Legislative Subcommittee on Education for the textbook’s position on teaching evolution to high school students. We were each allowed to speak for about a minute and took the standard science-based position on the evolutionary timeline and the importance of teaching evolution as a major conceptual theme in biology. Abruptly, another person asked to be recognized. The presider, evidently recognizing that person, said, “Yes, Mr. Gabler.” It was the infamous Melvin Gabler, sitting with his wife, Norma (both now deceased). They had for years been very vocal critics of modern science and of anything else they believed to be “anti-Christian,” such as evolutionary biology, secularism, sex education, critics of slavery, and gay rights, and had been quite influential in Texas far-right politics. He stood up with a book in his hand and, raising the book into the air, shouted “All our children need to learn in school is in this here book!” The presider said “Thank you, Mr. Gabler. We are now …
{"title":"The Intrusion of Fundamentalist Religion into Biology Education","authors":"W. H. Leonard","doi":"10.1525/ABT.2013.75.5.3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1525/ABT.2013.75.5.3","url":null,"abstract":"> One great thing about evolution is that it happens whether you like it or not. \u0000\u0000I have been very concerned for some time about the intrusion of fundamentalist religious beliefs into biology education at all levels. The most notorious infraction has been in the science-based teaching of evolution. I would like to share some of my experiences with this issue.\u0000\u0000Flashback to the 1980s . In the late 1980s, Joe McInerney, then director of the BSCS, asked me (as a coauthor of the BSCS Green Version, 1987, 1992) to accompany him to Austin, Texas, to testify to the Texas Legislative Subcommittee on Education for the textbook’s position on teaching evolution to high school students. We were each allowed to speak for about a minute and took the standard science-based position on the evolutionary timeline and the importance of teaching evolution as a major conceptual theme in biology. Abruptly, another person asked to be recognized. The presider, evidently recognizing that person, said, “Yes, Mr. Gabler.” It was the infamous Melvin Gabler, sitting with his wife, Norma (both now deceased). They had for years been very vocal critics of modern science and of anything else they believed to be “anti-Christian,” such as evolutionary biology, secularism, sex education, critics of slavery, and gay rights, and had been quite influential in Texas far-right politics. He stood up with a book in his hand and, raising the book into the air, shouted “All our children need to learn in school is in this here book!” The presider said “Thank you, Mr. Gabler. We are now …","PeriodicalId":50960,"journal":{"name":"American Biology Teacher","volume":"49 1","pages":"310-311"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2013-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74454588","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2013-03-01DOI: 10.1525/abt.2013.75.3.13
H. Buckland, S. Cunningham
In our previous column (in the February ABT ), we reviewed the impact of two key factors that precipitate relapse: (1) priming (introduction of small amounts of the drug), which acts on the mesolimbic dopamine pathway in the brain; and (2) stress, which acts on a variety of neural pathways. As our exploration of addiction and the brain continues, the endocannabinoid system contributes additional pieces of information to enhance our understanding of addiction. Who ever would have thought that the active ingredient in marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), had receptor sites ready and waiting in our brains? The plant that gives us marijuana, Cannabis sativa , has been known for thousands of years. Its psychoactive properties have been used over the centuries and across the world. Once the chemical structure of THC was identified, the research began (Gaoni & Mechoulam, 1964). There have …
{"title":"Brain Wheels Keep On Turning: Forward and Backward?","authors":"H. Buckland, S. Cunningham","doi":"10.1525/abt.2013.75.3.13","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1525/abt.2013.75.3.13","url":null,"abstract":"In our previous column (in the February ABT ), we reviewed the impact of two key factors that precipitate relapse: (1) priming (introduction of small amounts of the drug), which acts on the mesolimbic dopamine pathway in the brain; and (2) stress, which acts on a variety of neural pathways. As our exploration of addiction and the brain continues, the endocannabinoid system contributes additional pieces of information to enhance our understanding of addiction.\u0000\u0000Who ever would have thought that the active ingredient in marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), had receptor sites ready and waiting in our brains? The plant that gives us marijuana, Cannabis sativa , has been known for thousands of years. Its psychoactive properties have been used over the centuries and across the world. Once the chemical structure of THC was identified, the research began (Gaoni & Mechoulam, 1964).\u0000\u0000There have …","PeriodicalId":50960,"journal":{"name":"American Biology Teacher","volume":"101 1","pages":"223-224"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2013-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79924302","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2013-01-01DOI: 10.1525/ABT.2013.75.1.14C
Anil Nawlakhe
Nautilids and Ammonites Worldwide: The World of Cephalopods and Their Reflection in Philately. By Hans Ulrich Ernst and Christian Klug. 2011. Verlag Dr Friedrich Pfeil, Munich, Germany. (ISBN 9783899371291). Bilingual (German and English). 224 pp. Hardcover. $38.50. In the series Reflection in Philately , Friedrich Pfeil (Germany) has published the second issue on Nautilids and Ammonites eight years after the first on Trilobites by Hans Ulrich Ernst, an avid collector of paleontological stamps and the common author in both issues. Dr. Christian Klug, the coauthor of this book, is a paleontological expert from the Paleontological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich. Both fossils and stamps are valued museum objects. The first record natural history, while the second record national history and resources. Both have the potential to record science history and, thus, play significant roles in science communication. A postage stamp can communicate a message, disseminate science information, and propagate science culture to the masses. Science-based stamps help to increase the potential of postage stamps beyond simple “collection materials” to valued sources of information. A postage stamp is a unique medium for science communication and can be a good teaching and learning aid. Utilizating postage stamp imagery as storyteller, the authors complement one another and present an appealing compilation of fossil stamps and postmarks scattered throughout the book. …
{"title":"Science Communication through Philately","authors":"Anil Nawlakhe","doi":"10.1525/ABT.2013.75.1.14C","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1525/ABT.2013.75.1.14C","url":null,"abstract":"Nautilids and Ammonites Worldwide: The World of Cephalopods and Their Reflection in Philately. By Hans Ulrich Ernst and Christian Klug. 2011. Verlag Dr Friedrich Pfeil, Munich, Germany. (ISBN 9783899371291). Bilingual (German and English). 224 pp. Hardcover. $38.50. In the series Reflection in Philately , Friedrich Pfeil (Germany) has published the second issue on Nautilids and Ammonites eight years after the first on Trilobites by Hans Ulrich Ernst, an avid collector of paleontological stamps and the common author in both issues. Dr. Christian Klug, the coauthor of this book, is a paleontological expert from the Paleontological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich. Both fossils and stamps are valued museum objects. The first record natural history, while the second record national history and resources. Both have the potential to record science history and, thus, play significant roles in science communication. A postage stamp can communicate a message, disseminate science information, and propagate science culture to the masses. Science-based stamps help to increase the potential of postage stamps beyond simple “collection materials” to valued sources of information. A postage stamp is a unique medium for science communication and can be a good teaching and learning aid. Utilizating postage stamp imagery as storyteller, the authors complement one another and present an appealing compilation of fossil stamps and postmarks scattered throughout the book. …","PeriodicalId":50960,"journal":{"name":"American Biology Teacher","volume":"26 1","pages":"65-66"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2013-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79077223","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2013-01-01DOI: 10.1525/ABT.2013.75.1.14B
M. Biro
Cells to Civilizations: The Principles of Change That Shape Life. By Enrico Coen. 2012. Princeton University Press. (Cloth: ISBN 9780691149677; ebook: ISBN 9781400841653). 322 pp. Cloth. $29.95. I would not have thought it possible to meaningfully connect bacterial evolution, the developmental differences between various zebra species, and Cezanne’s work in the same book. However, in his new book, Cells to Civilizations, Enrico Coen has managed to do just that. After a long and stressful school year, I was really looking forward to a relaxing summer with some light summer reading. However, when I saw the title of this book, it raised many questions in my mind and I decided to give the book a try. Although it was far from easy summer reading, this was worth the time I spent with it. The writing is clear and logical, the author’s ideas thought-provoking and engaging. The examples that are used throughout the …
{"title":"Evolution & Human Culture","authors":"M. Biro","doi":"10.1525/ABT.2013.75.1.14B","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1525/ABT.2013.75.1.14B","url":null,"abstract":"Cells to Civilizations: The Principles of Change That Shape Life. By Enrico Coen. 2012. Princeton University Press. (Cloth: ISBN 9780691149677; ebook: ISBN 9781400841653). 322 pp. Cloth. $29.95. I would not have thought it possible to meaningfully connect bacterial evolution, the developmental differences between various zebra species, and Cezanne’s work in the same book. However, in his new book, Cells to Civilizations, Enrico Coen has managed to do just that. After a long and stressful school year, I was really looking forward to a relaxing summer with some light summer reading. However, when I saw the title of this book, it raised many questions in my mind and I decided to give the book a try. Although it was far from easy summer reading, this was worth the time I spent with it. The writing is clear and logical, the author’s ideas thought-provoking and engaging. The examples that are used throughout the …","PeriodicalId":50960,"journal":{"name":"American Biology Teacher","volume":"7 1","pages":"64-65"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2013-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76902916","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature's Compass: The Mystery of Animal Navigation. By James L. Gould and Carol Grant Gould. Princeton University Press. (ISBN 9780691140452). Hardcover. $29.95. The stated aim of Nature's Compass is to provide an update on the scientific subject of navigation because "the last serious review for the well-read non-specialist audience is more than two decades old" (p. xi). You could read this book just for enjoyment (a "light read"), and it would be fascinating. But a lot of the interesting, complex information would almost immediately be forgotten because there is not a lot of repetition or emphasizing of main points--this is not a textbook. The authors' tone reads as a friendly conversation among highly educated people, not simple or overly repetitious. It is up to you to decide the highlights for your particular purpose. If your mind wanders, you can follow the conversation, but you long for the interesting details you missed. The wonderful thing about a book, however, is that you can back up and reread sections. The authors examine time sense and the multiple circuits used by animals, as well as time-independent work-arounds, recalibration techniques, and synchronizations. Then the authors turn to compasses, how time and compass combine with memory to permit piloting and inertial navigation, map sense, and the threats posed by humans to species that rely on navigation. "The twin threats of habitat loss and climate destabilization [over the past 25 years] lead many researchers to ask whether the elegant programming that enables migration might now be leading migrating animals into oblivion" (p. xi). The authors italicize the most important basic scientific terms and then define them and give examples (e.g., "Zooplankton, the minute drifting organisms in the sea that ultimately feed nearly all of the ocean's fish" [p. 11]). Bolded subheadings divide the chapters, and the figure legends are clear and comprehensive. The diagrams are simple (all black and white, mostly line drawings) but effective, even for complex topics. There are no pictures of the organisms, but these are largely unnecessary as the authors focus on a subset of well-studied species: honey bees and homing pigeons (their own research organisms), sea turtles, and migratory birds. But many other species are woven in, including other insects, Bermuda fireworms, spiny lobsters, whales, mice, terrestrial flatworms, and even bacteria. They cover different habitats (the sky, ocean, and land) and spatial scales (from very short distances to across the planet), and a range of orientation strategies from simple to astonishing. In terms of using the book as a reference guide, there is an index in the back. The layout of the chapters is according to types of navigational strategies; the focal species are mentioned in multiple chapters rather than in separate animal-specific chapters. To understand how a particular animal navigates, the reader needs to maintain her attention through more than
{"title":"Nature's Compass: The Mystery of Animal Navigation","authors":"E. Iyengar","doi":"10.5860/choice.50-1467","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5860/choice.50-1467","url":null,"abstract":"Nature's Compass: The Mystery of Animal Navigation. By James L. Gould and Carol Grant Gould. Princeton University Press. (ISBN 9780691140452). Hardcover. $29.95. The stated aim of Nature's Compass is to provide an update on the scientific subject of navigation because \"the last serious review for the well-read non-specialist audience is more than two decades old\" (p. xi). You could read this book just for enjoyment (a \"light read\"), and it would be fascinating. But a lot of the interesting, complex information would almost immediately be forgotten because there is not a lot of repetition or emphasizing of main points--this is not a textbook. The authors' tone reads as a friendly conversation among highly educated people, not simple or overly repetitious. It is up to you to decide the highlights for your particular purpose. If your mind wanders, you can follow the conversation, but you long for the interesting details you missed. The wonderful thing about a book, however, is that you can back up and reread sections. The authors examine time sense and the multiple circuits used by animals, as well as time-independent work-arounds, recalibration techniques, and synchronizations. Then the authors turn to compasses, how time and compass combine with memory to permit piloting and inertial navigation, map sense, and the threats posed by humans to species that rely on navigation. \"The twin threats of habitat loss and climate destabilization [over the past 25 years] lead many researchers to ask whether the elegant programming that enables migration might now be leading migrating animals into oblivion\" (p. xi). The authors italicize the most important basic scientific terms and then define them and give examples (e.g., \"Zooplankton, the minute drifting organisms in the sea that ultimately feed nearly all of the ocean's fish\" [p. 11]). Bolded subheadings divide the chapters, and the figure legends are clear and comprehensive. The diagrams are simple (all black and white, mostly line drawings) but effective, even for complex topics. There are no pictures of the organisms, but these are largely unnecessary as the authors focus on a subset of well-studied species: honey bees and homing pigeons (their own research organisms), sea turtles, and migratory birds. But many other species are woven in, including other insects, Bermuda fireworms, spiny lobsters, whales, mice, terrestrial flatworms, and even bacteria. They cover different habitats (the sky, ocean, and land) and spatial scales (from very short distances to across the planet), and a range of orientation strategies from simple to astonishing. In terms of using the book as a reference guide, there is an index in the back. The layout of the chapters is according to types of navigational strategies; the focal species are mentioned in multiple chapters rather than in separate animal-specific chapters. To understand how a particular animal navigates, the reader needs to maintain her attention through more than ","PeriodicalId":50960,"journal":{"name":"American Biology Teacher","volume":"19 1","pages":"657"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2012-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88292908","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Transformations: Approaches to College Science Teaching. By Deborah Allen and Kimberly D. Tanner. 2009. W.H. Freeman. (ISBN 9781429253352). 284 pp. Cloth. $21.95. Can we model scientific practice better through conscientious course design and lecture strategies? Transformations is an up-to-date source book that addresses this question with teaching ideas drawn from the primary literature of the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) and accumulated teacher lore in biology. This book starts from the uncontroversial premise that more active-learning approaches will promote learning in biology courses, but extends this premise toward course engagement and self-reflection about how we interact with our students. The authors have reprinted a series of features they published in CBE--Life Sciences Education. These features, arranged thematically, are intended to be used as independent segments for faculty who want to tool up on particular topics or practices. The volume opens with seven techniques for boosting active learning in lectures, briefly introduced in order of increasing prep time for the instructor. Several of these techniques--especially problem-based learning (PBL), peer-teaching, and cooperative learning--are elaborated upon in later chapters. The second group of chapters outlines ideas about course design, assessment, and content standards, and the reader is directed to more in-depth sources on those topics. For me, some of the most interesting ideas were from the section about student engagement, particularly the chapters about developing cultural competence as well as the practice of framing scientific content with historical or cultural perspectives in order to engage students. Their discussion of cultural competency offered starting points for faculty to self-reflect about our attitudes when working with students whose backgrounds differ from our own. Some of the practices introduced there may stop students from underrepresented groups from switching away from science because they don't see themselves as belonging to the scientific culture. The final chapters emphasize teaching scientists' ongoing development in scientific education. Many of these ideas are attainable by a single faculty member, such as exploring the literature of SoTL or developing partnerships with teachers in P-12 settings. Some chapters are more polemical in nature, particularly in regard to developing the teaching skills of biology graduate students as a systematic element of their training. Surprisingly, offices of teaching and learning that are dedicated to faculty development get no mention in this section. …
{"title":"American Genesis: The Evolution Controversies from Scopes to Creation Science","authors":"E. Karetny","doi":"10.5860/choice.50-0870","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5860/choice.50-0870","url":null,"abstract":"Transformations: Approaches to College Science Teaching. By Deborah Allen and Kimberly D. Tanner. 2009. W.H. Freeman. (ISBN 9781429253352). 284 pp. Cloth. $21.95. Can we model scientific practice better through conscientious course design and lecture strategies? Transformations is an up-to-date source book that addresses this question with teaching ideas drawn from the primary literature of the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) and accumulated teacher lore in biology. This book starts from the uncontroversial premise that more active-learning approaches will promote learning in biology courses, but extends this premise toward course engagement and self-reflection about how we interact with our students. The authors have reprinted a series of features they published in CBE--Life Sciences Education. These features, arranged thematically, are intended to be used as independent segments for faculty who want to tool up on particular topics or practices. The volume opens with seven techniques for boosting active learning in lectures, briefly introduced in order of increasing prep time for the instructor. Several of these techniques--especially problem-based learning (PBL), peer-teaching, and cooperative learning--are elaborated upon in later chapters. The second group of chapters outlines ideas about course design, assessment, and content standards, and the reader is directed to more in-depth sources on those topics. For me, some of the most interesting ideas were from the section about student engagement, particularly the chapters about developing cultural competence as well as the practice of framing scientific content with historical or cultural perspectives in order to engage students. Their discussion of cultural competency offered starting points for faculty to self-reflect about our attitudes when working with students whose backgrounds differ from our own. Some of the practices introduced there may stop students from underrepresented groups from switching away from science because they don't see themselves as belonging to the scientific culture. The final chapters emphasize teaching scientists' ongoing development in scientific education. Many of these ideas are attainable by a single faculty member, such as exploring the literature of SoTL or developing partnerships with teachers in P-12 settings. Some chapters are more polemical in nature, particularly in regard to developing the teaching skills of biology graduate students as a systematic element of their training. Surprisingly, offices of teaching and learning that are dedicated to faculty development get no mention in this section. …","PeriodicalId":50960,"journal":{"name":"American Biology Teacher","volume":"304 1","pages":"655"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2012-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91118289","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}