I think for some sub-units, depending on how you appropriate your course, it may be difficult or disruptive for students while reading the material since the instructor may want to include only portions of content from multiple sub-units or chapters. The framework is consistent since text, figures, links to careers, and everyday applications to life are spread throughout each chapter. read more. Chapter outlines should include many levels of subheadings so the students and instructor can find or assign smaller sections of text. Concepts of biology will be up to date for many years to come and students who thoroughly study the book will have a well rounded introduction to the science of life as it pertains to current issues facing our society. I believe necessary updates will be easy to make. Campbell Essential Biology 7th Edition Read & Download - By Eric J Simon, Jean L Dickey, Jane B Reece Campbell Essential Biology For non-majors biology courses. I think for the most part the textbook is complete. Upgrade to premium! Occasionally I think it tries to put a bit too much detail into short paragraphs or short chapters and I am often telling students they may not need that specific term or section since they are struggling with just the basics. Chapter 6: Reproduction at the cellular level. It presents a full coverage of topics in biology appropriate for students that may not have a previous biology background. For instance, the chapters on body systems could... There are not many cultural or historical references. There are many areas throughout the textbook were the authors appear to have sacrificed some accuracy or omitted information for brevity. I am very pleased with the comprehensiveness of the materials provided in the book. Reviewed by Maria Entezari, Associate Professor, LAGCC on 1/15/19, This book covers all different topics that I need for the non-majors Biology course. The topics presented are the traditional biological topics covered in a first-year general biology course. So chapter 2, introduction. This text is consistent, both in the way it is laid out and in the terminology that is used. read more. Usually there is not enough content within the text on these newer topics and gaps would need to be filled in by the instructor. It is crucial to show non-majors that biology is important to them and to society, and that it moves forward on a truly daily basis. All of the images and figures are clear and easy to read. The text and jargon seems consistent throughout. With ever increasing cost barriers in higher education, I am very excited to have a legitimate and cost effective alternative to the traditional text. However attempts at cultural relevance seemed to be lacking, including diverse photos (these were not even included in the career example sections!) Reviewed by Alex Shupinski, Teaching Assistant, University of Nebraska - Lincoln on 3/31/19, The textbook has the topics in an order that allows students to build on their knowledge in a way that connects the concept to the previous ones. The supporting materials for instructors are of excellent quality. Biology is universal and doesn't make reference to any particular cultures except for bacterial cultures, and as science is based on fact, there are no ill placed opinions about said bacteria. However, the animations that are built in are very good. Aside from content, the images in the textbook already appear to be older than and not as updated as those in other textbooks. The content covered is comprehensive and appropriate for a first-year non-majors Biology course. For instance: I believe this textbook represents a standard biology textbook in terms of the cultural relevance. Because this book should not be used as a substitute for a dedicated A&P textbook, that is not too much of a problem. There is also an effective index at the end of the book. Subchapters have glossaries but the overall text should have a glossary that would... Units 2 & 3 could be combined into a single unit - perhaps something like, "The Continuity of Life.". The active links will make it easy for students to use, and while there is no comprehensive glossary, key terms are defined at the end of each... Reviewed by Shannon Ansley, Biology Instructor, Portland Community College on 1/7/16, This provides an excellent level of detail for a non-majors biology course. Section 12.2 Figure 4. It contains an extensive table of contents, which is organized by unit, by chapter, and by section within each chapter. After that is when systems biology can be discussed. Overall, the text is nicely comprehensive. I found it easy to read; however, I found that in many areas there was too brief a description, which I believe would make the material difficult for the student to completely understand. I have yet to find any inaccuracies in this book. This unit plus units 1, 2, and 3 would work well in a Human Biology course. As an instructor of non-major biology classes, I am particularly concerned with the take-home messages that students will carry with them long after they leave my classroom. This book covers all different topics that I need for the non-majors Biology course. This text book covers all the topics that I typically cover in my non-majors course. Subchapters have glossaries but the overall text should have a glossary that would refer students to the location of terms within the text. Partial words or phrases are fine as long as they are not misspelled. I did not find any obvious errors or biases. The reason that they give the most often is that they prefer to read a hard copy of the book and/or have difficulty navigating the online or PDF versions. All chapters are well divided into small concept chunks with appropriate subheadings. This has been a great resource for students at my institution by providing the content needed to successfully exit their General Biology course requirement. Some suggestions on clarity: Terminology is listed alphabetically and defined in the "Key Terms" section of the chapter. The critical thinking questions at the end of each chapter can serve as interesting writing prompts and/or discussion starters. This is a disappointingly low number. However, I believe that all major concepts were covered. From firsthand experience, I know that students appreciate that. Chapters themselves are modules and each is subdivided into several sections. Text is clear and easy to follow for students and faculty. There was no bias that I detected in the text. Everything is where it should be. Personally, I feel that the chapters on DNA and gene expression should occur before the units on genetics, but most textbooks don't organize it that way so I did not let it affect my evaluation of this text. It would be nice if the key terms were hyperlinked from the in-text highlight to the "Key Terms" section. The textbook does a great job of accurately explaining the science of life for a nonmajors course. There is a video embedded within this section that does describe the process but very few students utilize these links. The modularity is good. I am using this book for a non-majors level introduction to biology course that is 1 semester long. Biology 2e is designed to cover the scope and sequence requirements of a typical two-semester biology course for science majors. Interesting and relevant topics from this unit would be incorporated with... Diagrams are clear and well labeled making them easy to look at and understand which will help students to understand concepts presented in the reading. The grammar is accurate and consistent, I noticed no errors. Biology Biology Textbooks. Overall the text is "lucid", but much of the language is dry and a bit too high level for my first-year students. All chapters are divided appropriately by the subheading into the smaller concept parts. Each chapter provides a glossary of key terms and a few review and critical thinking questions. The index is easy to use and each chapter has its own glossary. If time were available I would organize my notes and PowerPoint presentations into a nicely flowing text presented in a logical sequence of topics.