Over the course of five editions, the ways in which biology is taught
have dramatically changed. We have seen a shift away from the
memorization of details, which are easily forgotten, and a movement
toward emphasizing core concepts and critical thinking skills. The
previous edition of Biology strengthened skill development by adding two
new features, called CoreSKILLS and BioTIPS (described later), which are
aimed at helping students develop effective strategies for solving
problems and applying their knowledge in novel situations. In this
edition, we have focused our pedagogy on the five core concepts of
biology as advocated by "Vision and Change" and introduced at a national
conference organized by the American Association for the Advancement of
Science.