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3 years ago in Biology , Education By Pranav

What are the fundamental concepts students should learn in biology?

I'm helping design an introductory curriculum and want to move beyond a list of facts. We need to identify the core, unifying principles the conceptual framework that will allow students to adapt to new discoveries. What are those few big ideas, like evolution or the relationship between structure and function, that are absolutely critical for a lifelong understanding of the life sciences?

 

     

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By Matt Answered 2 years ago

Having taught at multiple levels, I stress four pillars. First, Evolution is the explanatory framework for all diversity. Second, Structure and Function are inextricably linked at every level, from proteins to ecosystems. Third, the Flow of Information (DNA to RNA to protein) and its regulation is the program of life. Finally, Transformations of Energy and Matter govern all physiological and ecological processes. If a student internalizes these, they have a lens through which any new biological fact can be understood and integrated.

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