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Biology: Exploring Life
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Reviewer:
Deborah Ferrer
Wahtonka High School
The Dalles, Oregon
Textbook Name: Biology: Exploring Life
Authors: Neil Campbell, Brad Williamson, Robin Heyden
Copyright: 2004
Cost: $89.75
Publisher:
Pearson Education
One Lake Street
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
201 236-7000
Publisher's Web site:
 Pearson Education
Review: I was fortunate to serve as a pilot tester for Biology: Exploring Life (known affectionately by its users as "eLife") for three years during its development. My school district adopted the curriculum for the 2003-2004 school year as soon as it officially became available. It is the single most significant addition to my repertoire of teaching tools in 22 years as a biology teacher. The textbook is clearly my all-time favorite, and my students have responded to it much more favorably than any other I have used in the past. It is complete, concise, and very well written, so it takes fewer pages to explain concepts better. The combination of authors with different backgrounds (Neil Campbell, Brad Williamson, and Robin Heyden) has resulted in an outstanding product. The lab manual (by Diane Sweeney) is full of original and creative activities, often using simple materials that students are familiar with and that teachers can obtain easily and inexpensively.
On their own, the text and the lab manual make eLife the best curriculum I have ever used, but it is the media component that sets this program light years apart from all the others. There simply is nothing with which to compare it. eLife has truly enriched my students' education with the incredible selection of high-quality, interactive, concept-based multimedia activities included in the program. Without prompting, students will frequently tell me that a particular media/online activity really helped them understand a difficult concept. I have seen evidence of this in the increased achievement on classroom tests, motivation, and course grades so far this year, our first year using the curriculum in its entirety. I spend much less time trying to explain things and more time watching with great pleasure as students figure things out on their own. I truly can't imagine ever again teaching without Biology: Exploring Life. I'm sure your students and teachers will appreciate it as well.
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