Microbiology: An Introduction, 12th Edition

Help Students Visualize and Master the Toughest Topics and More

• NEW! Big Picture “Tough Topic” features are 2-page spreads that focus on the most challenging topics for students to master: Metabolism (Chapter 5), Genetics (Chapter 8), and Immunity (Chapter 16).
• Each Big Picture spread breaks down these important concepts into manageable steps and gives students a clear learning framework for the related chapters. 
• Big Pictures are assignable as coaching activities in MasteringMicrobiology
• Quick-response (QR) codes allow students to view related MicroFlix videos on their smart device..
• NEW! Big Picture “Disease” features are arranged in two-page spreads within each body-system disease chapter (Chapters 21-26) as well as in Chapter 19 (Immune Disorders).
• Each spread focuses on a particular disease and applies it to a related real-world challenge, many dealing with public health issues.  For example, Chapter 24 discusses the reemergence of pertussis as a health threat in developed nations and related changes in vaccine formulations, while Chapter 19 includes a discussion of how the human microbiome and autoimmune diseases may be related. 
• Each Big Picture Disease spread includes Key Concepts that encourage students to make the connection between the presented topic and previously learned microbiology principles.
• NEW!  Reworked complement section in Chapter 16 (Innate Immunity).  New art and more straightforward discussions make this challenging and critical material easier for students to digest.
• Stunning Foundation Figures focus on especially important topics in microbiology. Clearly marked step-numbers make these process-oriented figures easy to follow, while a “Key Concepts” feature built into these figures makes the take-away lessons easy to review. In MasteringMicrobiology, Foundation Figures are reinforced with quizzes to ensure students fully learn the material before moving on to later chapters.

Active Learning Pedagogy Encourages Critical Thinking

• NEW! In the Clinic Critical Thinking Questions appear at the start of every chapter. They encourage students to think like nurses in various clinical scenarios and spark student interest in the forthcoming chapter content.
• Clinical Cases woven through every chapter help motivate students to think critically about the chapter content and provide them with practical application to their future careers in allied health. Each case segment includes critical thinking questions that students should be able to answer after reading the chapter material. In MasteringMicrobiology^®, case studies come alive with additional images and questions, leading students through the process of disease diagnosis.

• Check Your Understanding Questions and Figure Questions emphasize critical thinking rather than memorization. Check Your Understanding questions appear at key points throughout the chapters, encouraging students to engage interactively with the text and self-assess their understanding of the corresponding Learning Objectives.

• A “Name It” activity appears with the Study Questions at the end of each chapter, giving students clues about the physical and biochemical nature of a microbe, signs and symptoms of the disease the microbe causes, information about vaccines, etc., and then asks students to identify the microbe.

Keep your course current with the newest developments in the microbiology field

• NEW! ASMcue guidelines: The American Society of Microbiology has released six underlying concepts and 22 related topics to provide a framework for key microbiological topics deemed to be of lasting importance beyond the classroom.  These topics identify what students should understand at a deep level, including the big-picture ramifications of those concepts and how they relate to other issues within the field.  The 12^th edition explains the themes and competencies at the beginning of the book and incorporates call-outs when chapter content matches one of these 22 topics. This approach helps students and instructors focus on the enduring understandings of the course and provides a teaching tool for instructors to assess students’ understanding and critical thinking skills. MasteringMicrobiology content is tagged to these statements in addition to book-specific and global learning outcomes.

• Diseases are covered in chapters 21-26 and organized by body system, which facilitates learning for students who have taken an anatomy & physiology course that also organizes topics by body system.  The authors target and cover diseases from an allied health perspective.

Also available with with MasteringMicrobiology®

MasteringMicrobiology is an online homework, tutorial, and assessment product designed to improve student learning results by helping students quickly master concepts. Students benefit from self-paced tutorials that feature immediate wrong-answer feedback and hints that emulate the instructor office-hour experience to help keep students on track. With a wide range of interactive, engaging, and assignable activities, students are encouraged to actively learn and retain tough course concepts.

• NEW! Interactive Microbiology is a dynamic suite of interactive tutorials and animations that teach key concepts in microbiology. 
• Students actively engage with each topic and learn from manipulating variables, predicting outcomes, and answering formative and summative assessment questions.
• Each Interactive Microbiology tutorial begins with a clinical case scenario that allows learners to explore different real world health care situations.
• Interactive Microbiology explores challenging and important topics including Gene Regulation: Operons, Biofilms and Quorum Sensing, Aerobic Respiration in Bacteria, Innate Immunity: Complement, Mechanisms of Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria, and more.
• Interactive Microbiology can be accessed from the Study Area for on-the-go studying with mobile devices and they can also be assigned and scored with diagnostics in the Mastering gradebook.
• NEW! MicroBoosters are a suite of brief video tutorials that cover key concepts that some students may need to review or re-learn.
• MicroBooster topics include Study Skills, Math, Scientific Terminology, Basic Chemistry, Cell Biology, and Basic Biology.
• MicroBoosters can be assigned in the MasteringMicrobiology Item Library or as Dynamic Study Modules, and they are also available for self-study in the Mastering Study Area.     

• NEW!  Dynamic Study Modules help students acquire, retain, and recall information faster and more efficiently than ever before.  The flashcard-style modules are available as a self-study tool or can be assigned by the instructor.
• NEW! Big Picture Coaching Activities are paired with the book’s new Big Picture: Tough Topic and Big Picture: Disease features.  Similar to the proven coaching activities that accompany the book’s Foundation Figures, these new assignment options ensure that students master the toughest topics before moving on in the chapter.
• NEW!  Adaptive Follow-Up Assignments can be optionally assigned based on each student’s performance on the original homework assignment and provide additional coaching and practice as needed.  Exclusively available with Microbiology: An Introduction, these question sets continuously adapt to each student’s needs, making efficient use of study time.
• NEW!  Learning Catalytics is a “bring your own device” (laptop, smartphone, or tablet) classroom system for student engagement and assessment.  With Learning Catalytics, instructors can assess students in real time using open-ended tasks to probe student understanding.  MasteringMicrobiology users may select from Pearson’s new library of questions designed especially for use with Learning Catalytics.
• Microbiology Animations are featured in MasteringMicrobiology® for students, and on the Instructor Resource DVD/CD-ROM set (IR-DVD) for instructors. References to Microbiology Animations appear throughout the book. 115 topics were developed specifically for the non-majors microbiology course.
• MicroFlix^™are 3D movie-quality animations with self-paced coaching activities and gradable quizzes that help students understand three of the toughest topics in microbiology: metabolism, DNA replication, and immunology.
• MicroLab Tutors help instructors and students get the most out of lab time and make the connection between microbiology concepts, lab techniques and real-world applications. Using a combination of live-action video, molecular animation, assessment, and visual feedback, these tutorials  include answer-specific feedback and coaching to teach students’ how to interpret and analyze different lab results and ensure that students come to the lab better prepared to think critically. MicroLab Tutors are assessable and assignable in MasteringMicrobiology.
• Case Study Coaching Activities in MasteringMicrobiology® help students think critically and connect microbiology to human health.
• Lab Technique Videos give students an opportunity to see techniques performed correctly and quiz themselves on lab procedures both before and after lab time.  Students arrive more prepared and confident for lab time, freeing up valuable lab and lecture time.