This project addresses the overall problem of keeping students in the science pipeline. The Biology Department faculty are providing computerized pre-laboratory exercises that involve students in the challenge and excitement of scientific investigation and discovery. Specifically, our project addresses common "roadblocks" to learning faced by biology students, such as: the limitations of time and finances on the laboratory experience; a lack of understanding of the scientific process; a lack of analytical, critical thinking, and quantitative skills; differing cognitive styles; and a lack of comfort with advanced technology. Project objectives include: 1) Development and refinement of computer-based applications, such as experiment simulations, systems models, data collection and analysis tools, and visual image libraries of organisms, preparations and dissections; 2) Expanding the faculty's use of investigative laboratory activities; students will be expected to design experiments, execute them, analyze data collected, and draw conclusions and generate ideas for further investigations; and 3) Utilizing the talents and experience of advanced-level biology students to help faculty develop and test computer applications for introductory labs, and to work with underclassmen on their laboratory and independent investigations. Working with the College's Educational Computing Services, a group of six biology faculty, each of whom has release time, are developing 12 pre-laboratory computer modules. They are using the multi-media, multi-tasking capacity of the NEXT computer workstation and the NeXTStep development environment to create lessons specifically designed to meet the needs of students in the three introductory biology courses. Advanced-level students are taking advantage of NeXTStep development workshops held on campus so that they can assist faculty in applications development. They also assist the faculty in the labs. We plan to use formative and summative evaluation tools to assess the effectiveness of this project. An Advisory Board comprised of biologists from other institutions will meet at least yearly to monitor the program to determine whether parts of the program ought to be redirected, replaced or augmented. A summative evaluation will be conducted by this Board and by the Allegheny faculty. Final project results will be disseminated to the Advisory Board and to other colleagues nationwide. In addition, Allegheny is planning a symposium to mark the opening of its Hall of Advanced Biology in 1993, and this project and other advances in the educational uses of computing technology will be featured. This project will help our students to discover the excitement of science, and it will help Biology Departments at other colleges which use Unix-based workstations. Colleges that do not use Unix-based workstations can emulate Allegheny's approach by identifying roadblocks to learning and addressing them through interactive computer lessons.
