Internet-based curriculum is certain to be a major component in the future of education. However, currently there are few established models for how to effectively teach utilizing the Internet, and teachers lack training and facility with the Internet, inhibiting their ability to capitalize on this resource. The central goal of this proposal is to produce Internet-based curriculum focused on: 1) teaching science concepts in genetics, a field of biomedical research with immediate relevance to students and the public; and 2) teaching the nature of science as a process of inquiry, in alignment with the National Science Education Standards. The curriculum will be targeted to high school students, but as web-based materials, will also be useable by the public. A second goal is to provide new training for science educators, bringing graduate students from two disciplines, basic research and educational studies, into the process of curriculum development. To emphasize the nature of science as a process of inquiry, each of the four units produced will draw on current research and have as its centerpiece one or more research articles published in SCIENCE. In addition units will contain: 1) background tools and analysis to help students understand the significance of the research discovery; 2) activities that reinforce science concepts and provide a means for assessment; and 3) thorough teacher support materials covering content information and teaching using the Internet. Curriculum production will draw on several types of partnerships. First, to design, develop, and test the curriculum, we will involve clinical and basic research scientists, professionals with science curriculum design experience, professionals in the science education field, and predoctoral trainees from basic research and education fields. Second, a partnership with AAAS/SCIENCE will provide us access to primary literature from the research field. Third, dissemination of the materials will utilize two existing structures at the University of Utah, the Utah Museum of Natural History and the Genetic Science Learning Center (GSLC).
