STEVENSON, R.D.: Building Conceptual Frameworks for Teaching Biology and Physiology: Theory, Examples and a New Role for SICB?

A recent publication from the National Academy Press titled “How People Learn: Bridging Research and Practice” by Donovan et al. (http://books.nap.edu/html/howpeople2/ch1.html) highlights several ways to improve teaching and learning. The report states that deep factual knowledge, a conceptual framework and an organizational knowledge are necessary to master a discipline. Biology as a discipline overwhelms students with facts and is not as strong as it could be in providing conceptual frameworks. Furthermore the linkages between conceptual framework and factual knowledge are often not as explicit as they could be. I reviewed college biology and physiology textbooks to see what conceptual frameworks are offered. Biology texts discuss the process of science, levels of biological organization, evolution, phylogeny, common features of life, while physiology texts usually discuss levels of biological organization, structure-function relationships, regulation especially feedback and homeostasis and physical and chemical constraints on biological function. Older texts provide fewer frameworks suggesting that teaching strategies are changing. Comparative or environmental physiology texts provided more frameworks than did human anatomy and physiology texts. SICB’s predecessor, ASZ, sponsored John Moore’s Science As A Way Of Knowing symposia that developed conceptual frameworks for Biology and resulted in a series of ASZ publications. Using the Internet, it is now possible to develop dynamics conceptual frameworks based on the expertise of the community of SICB members that could be an online resource. I explore the possibility that such a web site might replace textbooks and generate revenue for the society.