Portland Community College is undertaking a radical transformation of its introductory biology curriculum to better reach and prepare students for advanced science courses, teaching careers, technical training and most importantly to improve science literacy and application of this knowledge in the home, workplace, and the world. This revitalization shifts the college's industrial age model of science education into an information age model which addresses the needs of 21st century learners and workers. The revitalized curriculum and learning environments is learner driven, facilitating access to a wide range of learning opportunities. The faculty are creating a new curriculum, modifying existing instructional materials and developing new materials as they transform the current audio-tutorial method of general biology instruction to include: small group sessions and an enhanced multimedia platform with multimedia based instructional materials. The project is working closely with the Oregon Collaborative for Excellence in the Preparation of Teachers to ensure that students in the course preparing to be teachers will be able to use new technologies in their future teaching careers.
