Current Issues in Biology:  BIOL 9

About the Textbook

Introduction to Biology

Description: 

This Open Learning Initiative (OLI) course defines biology and its relationship to other sciences. It examines the overarching theories of life from biological research and also explores the fundamental concepts and principles of the study of living organisms and their interaction with the environment. It also examines how life is organized into hierarchical levels; how living organisms use and produce energy; how life grows, develops, and reproduces; how life responds to the environment to maintain internal stability; and how life evolves and adapts to the environment.

This course is part of the Community College Open Learning Initiative (CC-OLI) series. Courses in this series are particularly well-suited to the needs of introductory community college courses, but are open for use by any instructor or student.

Author: 

• Open Learning Initiative - Carnegie Mellon University

Formats:  

It is available as an online interactive course which uses the OLI Platform+ learning management system developed at Carnegie Mellon University.  Students may utilize the course without creating an account.

Supplemental Resources: 

The course includes practice activities, self-assessments, and graded assessments to support the student’s achievement of clearly defined learning objectives.  Instructors may request learning analytics for students enrolled in the course. Read more details here.

Cost Savings: 

Students can either use the OLI Introduction to Biology open course as their textbook or they may choose to purchase the traditional publisher textbook Discover Biology: Core Topics by Cain, et al.  This book costs about $100 new.  Approximately 150 students per semester are given the option to use the OLI open course rather than the publisher textbook.  Thus, potential annual savings for students is estimated at $30,000..

Accessibility and Diversity Statement from Publisher:  

There are some known accessibility issues with the current version of the online course.  In-line tutoring components are being converted from FlashTM to HTML5 and are expected to be available in 2015.

License:  

Except where otherwise noted, Introduction to Biology is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as they credit the original author(s) and license their new creations under the identical terms.

About the Course

BIOL 9: Current Issues in Biology

Description: 

Students will develop an understanding of important current issues by understanding the biological principles.   Biological principles include:  the scientific method; biological macromolecules; cell structure and function; cell division; genetics; DNA structure and function; metabolism; evolution; and ecology.   Issues covered may include:  the nature of science, nutrition, stem cells, cancer, genetic diseases, cloning, genetic engineering, gene therapy, nature versus nurture, ecological diversity, invasive species, sustainability, and the role of humans in the environment.

GE Credit: 3 units lecture, UC and CSU transferable

Learning Objectives: 

The student successfully completing this course will be able to:

• Design and conduct an experiment utilizing the scientific method.Identify characteristics that differentiate science as a distinctive way of knowing.

• Identify the structure and function of biologically important macromolecules and describe the role of macromolecules in the nutrition of the human population.

• Explain how each cellular structure affects cellular function and discuss the problems resulting from flawed cellular structure and function.

• Solve inheritance problems, including calculations of genotype and phenotype ratios of offspring.

• Describe the structure and function of DNA (including DNA replication and Protein Synthesis) and discuss recent discoveries related to DNA structure and function.

• Explain the mechanism of natural selection and the genetic basis of evolution. Apply this understanding to classic and current examples of evolution. 

• Define sustainability, illustrate examples of sustainable practices, and discuss the impact of humans on ecosystems.

• Compare and contrast the processes of photosynthesis and respiration and discuss how these metabolic pathways contribute to global biogeochemical cycles and energy flow.

• Discuss sensitive topics (such as stem cell research and genetic engineering from an informed position using scientific evidence.

Curricular Changes: 

Nothing in my course changed as a result of the OER adoption. I still provide the same lecture content, activities and study questions. The tests still cover the same material. The only difference is that the chapters listed at the top of each unit are for multiple texts rather than one. The syllabus provides details on how students can access the various text options.

Teaching and Learning Impact:

More faculty collaboration: Yes   

Joining the OER communities online has allowed tremendous collaborative opportunities. I was able to collaborate on the development of the OLI resource, and am currently collaborating on an OER microbiology textbook.

Wider range of teaching materials: Yes

I am able to pull from a wider variety of resources, which allows me to find the BEST resource for each topic. I generally supplement each topic with an addition OER outside of our textbook.  I find these on MERLOT and other OER repositories.

Student learning improved:  Yes

Since these options are free, I am able to offer students more choices which allows them to select the resource that best meets their learning style.

Student retention improved:  Not assessed

Any unexpected results:  Yes

Giving students options on which text to use has been surprisingly simple and has had unexpected pedagogical advantages. I give students a specific list of questions that they need to be able to answer for the test. For example: Identify and give a function for the following cell structures…(a long list follows). We discuss these topics in lecture, so the textbook is mainly to solidify the information and as background for those who need more.  

Since the study questions are so specific, students can find the answers in most textbooks. I help students by guiding them to the correct unit in each text, but for the most part, students find the information on their own. The unexpected advantage is that students are learning how to use textbooks to find the best answer to their questions. Occasionally students will find this strategy challenging and we will have an excellent discussion about how to find answers in a variety of sources (textbooks as well as online)

I was worried that giving students options for a textbook would confuse them, but this was not the case. Students feel more empowered in the course because they have options. Students have been very responsive to and appreciative of textbook options.

Sample Assignment and Syllabus:

Protein Synthesis Activity
Student are asked to demonstrate knowledge of protein synthesis using multiple modalities.

Biology 9 Syllabus
Syllabus for fully online Biology course.

Textbook Adoption

OER Adoption Process

The OLI Biology is a native online resource that includes interactive content on almost every page. These active learning strategies are helpful for students who may be struggling with the material or students who do not learn best by reading text. My only concern was that some students may prefer to have a paper textbook (those that learn best by reading or those that prefer not to be on the computer as much). This particular OER is not one that can be printed, so I gave the students an option. They could either purchase the traditional publisher textbook or they could use the online OER.

Student Access:  

When I surveyed students about this option I found that roughly half the students elected to buy the paper text, but many of these students ended up using both the paper text and the OER. Students commented that they appreciated the option, and I have kept these two options in my class since. This semester I added a third option (the OpenStax Biology text) because this can be downloaded (for free) or printed (for a minimal fee).

Student Feedback: 

“I used the online resource. I really liked it because it saved me money on books and I could access it whenever I needed to.”

 “I have a 4th edition of the book and read alot (sic) of the modules online. I prefer to use the text but the online text can be accessed anywhere and helped me alot. “

"I chose OLI because it was easy to understand and had practice questions. It was also convenient that I could access it from anywhere."

Suzanne Wakim, M.S.  
I have been teaching biology since 2000 at numerous community colleges and universities in Northern California and am currently a full-time instructor at Butte Community College. I have taught a wide variety of biology classes ranging from Cell and Molecular Biology; Botany; Microbiology; Anatomy and Physiology; and various GE courses.

I developed the first online biology class at Butte, have written a number of lab manuals, developed numerous instructional resources, and have collaborated on a couple of textbooks. One of the resources I helped develop is the OLI Biology Course that I use as a textbook option for my current classes.

I have found that there is no single best teaching strategy for any given topic. I vary my teaching modality throughout the semester to touch on different learning styles. I encourage my students to try different learning strategies to discover those that work best for their learning style. I have found that the most effective strategy is to provide students with a clear set of goals and a variety of study options so they can find the best route to learning the material.