Chemistry and BiologyThis project expands the interactive component of an integrated freshman chemistry/biology curriculum. The project involves the creation of an interactive computer learning library that incorporates educational research findings into its design. Curriculum integration comprises themes such as energy transformation and dynamic equilibrium, which span and unify the sciences. Linked materials will span several levels of sophistication, allowing a diverse student population the opportunity to explore relationships among concepts in a nonlinear self-paced fashion. Reading assignments from handouts and the HyperCard library will drive discussion-based classes. This will allow more time to engage students in developing specific thinking skills necessary to become independent learners. The Thinking- Aloud Pair-Problem-Solving Method (TAPPS) will be used to help students gain qualitative familiarity with concepts and encourage them to examine their own approaches to constructing solutions to problems.
