Tools for critical thinking in biology / Stephen H. Jenkins.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jenkins, Stephen H., author.

Contributor:

ebrary, Inc.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Biology--Research--Philosophy.

Biology.

Causation.

Critical thinking.

Biology--Research.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiv, 324 pages, 23 unnumbered pages of plates.)

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2015]

System Details:

text file

Summary:

Biology courses and curricula must engage students in how scientific inquiry is conducted, including evaluating and interpreting scientific explanations of the natural world. The American Association for the Advancement of Science's report on Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education suggests that instructors "can no longer rely solely on trying to cover a syllabus packed with topics" but rather should "introduce fewer concepts but present them in greater depth." The report further suggests that the principles embodied in a set of core concepts and competencies should be the basis for all undergraduate biology courses, including those designed for non-majors. The theme of Tools for Critical Thinking in Biology is the first and most fundamental of these competencies: the ability to apply the scientific process. In a groundbreaking new approach to teaching introductory biology, biologist Stephen H. Jenkins uses diverse examples to illustrate how experiments work, how hypotheses can be tested by systematic and comparative observations when experiments aren't possible, how models are useful in science, and how sound decisions can be based on the weight of evidence even when uncertainty remains. These fundamental issues in the scientific process are important for everyone to understand, regardless of whether they decide to pursue careers in science. While other introductory biology textbooks are organized around scientific concepts, Took for Critical Thinking in Biology instead uses contemporary case studies to demonstrate the ways in which methods can be used to test hypotheses in fields from ecology to medicine. Informative and original, the text is an ideal resource for biology majors and non-majors alike. Tools for Critical Thinking in Biology provides undergraduate students with a deeper understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of numerous methods for answering new questions, thereby changing the way they think about the fundamentals of biology. Book jacket.

Contents:

Discovery and causation

Observations as evidence

From observations to data

Experiments: the gold standard for research

Correlations, comparisons, and causation

The diverse use of models in biology

Genes, environments, and the complexity of causation

From causes to consequences: considering the weight of evidence

Science as a social process

Critical thinking about climate change.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Electronic reproduction. Palo Alto, Calif. Available via World Wide Web.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0199981051

9780199981052

Publisher Number:

99962962581

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.