Teaching without a textbook: strategies to focus learning on fundamental concepts and scientific process.

Full Abstract

Textbooks are ubiquitous. They are available for almost every conceivable subdiscipline of biology, and few of us would consider teaching a course without using a textbook. Over the years, they have become more colorful, more encyclopedic, and accompanied by more ancillary materials such as CD-ROMs, study guides, and websites. With all these tools to assist our students, it seems reasonable that they are able to learn more and better than ever. Thus, the question most instructors ask themselves is most likely which textbook to use, not whether to use a textbook. But does the use of textbooks really help students learn better? In this Point of View, I invited a commentary on this question from a faculty member who has decided to abandon the use of a textbook in an introductory level cell and molecular biology course.

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Author information

Author/s: Klymkowsky, M W (MW);

Affiliation: The Bioliteracy Project/Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309-0347, USA. klym(-atsign-)spot.colorado.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

Journal: CBE life sciences education (CBE Life Sci Educ), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2007-; vol 6 (issue 3) : pp 190-3

Dates: Created 2007/09/05; Completed 2007/09/25; Revised 2007/11/15;

PMID: 17785400, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Humans
Learning
Science - education
Students

Students
Teaching - methods
Textbooks as Topic
Thinking

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