I vote for the macro-micro sequence.
However, as other contributors have suggested, if the instructor is
comfortable and enthusiastic, it shouldn't matter, I am confident the
class will mirror that enthusiasm.
The reasons for supporting the macro-micro approach are familarity and
relevance. Other individuals have posted ideas on familarity.
Familarity is aligned with relevance. At both the high school and
college level, my biology sequence was the usual micro-macro. I recall
thinking (feeling) at the time that learning what stain colors what
tissue red, was not particularly helpful to career development. As a
student, I thought it (micro approach) was merely the life science
department's "right of passage!" The fact is that the majority of
students will not utilize the micro level in their career (although,
they will certainly need the basic understanding).
The "upper-level" courses not only contained familiar concepts but
fitted most of their career choices. In other words, the student sees
the macro approach as relevant. Taking this one step further, in
seeing the relevancy of biology, a student could be more likely to
select the field as a career choice.
Regards,
Dell Erickson
ricks at tc.umn.edu
>purves at MUDDCS.CS.HMC.EDU (Bill Purves) wrote:
>What a cool discussion! By now it should be obvious that there is no
>"right" way to handle the sequence,
snip...
