. ThinkBio Module

Students are ready for the Big Ideas

No one ever learned anything by first accumulating random facts 'to be used in 2-3 years.' Few things are most easily grasped when presented as superficial glosses.
I'm currently writing a textbook that embraces current thinking about science teaching as well as the wisdom I've heard from others and developed over my own career Intro Biology eBook

Ideas are like buildings

A foundation must be in place before the rest of the building can rise above it; you can't build on sand. 'Science is built up with facts, as a house is with stones. But a collection of facts is no more a science than a heap of stones is a house.' --Jules Henri Poincaré
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Doing, not watching

Not hearing about. And not reading about. These are valuable activities, but they're not the essence of science. Thinking and engaging are. I think clickers and verbal problems/questions have their place, but to the extent possible, both learning and assessment must involve tasks... thus the software simulations and explorations here.

Words are not ideas

There are terms in biology, and they matter. But there are too many, and they aren't what matters most. We need exciting, dynamic explorations of the universe--not just vocabulary. And we need ways to help the students 'own' the vocabulary we use.

Molecules are real.

Understanding modern biology requires understanding the actors. Life happens using a tiny handful of atoms, and only a few properties--number of bonds, electronegativity, electron orbitals--are truly central.

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