The purpose of this project is to enable the Biology Department to incorporate multimedia learning experiences into the laboratory component of five courses. Computer use is minimal in the curriculum at present. Science education reformers emphasize the importance of learning science as it is practiced, of experiential learning, and of developing student problem solving skills. Computer technology is an essential component of modern scientific research and offers unique ways of enhancing learning experiences for students. One of the five courses targeted by this effort serves as a model for introducing this technology into the curriculum. This course, the 2-semester introductory human anatomy and physiology course, is required of biology students pursuing a bachelor of science in Exercise Science degree, pre-physical-therapy students, and nursing students. It has a high enrollment (200 students) with multiple lecture and laboratory sections. One of the current course instructors is a new junior faculty member, Dr. Donald Rodd, who has extensive experience with multimedia approaches to education. Through the purchase of computers and anatomy and physiology software to supplement or replace traditional laboratory exercises, the project encourages student group work and interaction with faculty. The department is also introducing multimedia experiences, on a smaller scale at first, into the introductory biology course for majors and pre-physical-therapy students and into the laboratory work in genetics, cell biology, and molecular biology courses.
