This project's purpose is to substantially increase retention of natural science and math students, especially those with poor academic preparation and English language deficiencies, through a highly visual, user friendly computer-based learning environment that is interactive, powerful and intuitive. An electronic classroom of 25 NeXT student stations is being used in a comprehensive plan for developing this visual and intuitive approach. Discipline specific courseware already created by CSLA faculty along with available commercial applications is being used. Each student's station serves as an interactive electronic blackboard so that science and math can be seen, heard, and explored, thus fully engaging the senses in learning. Eight faculty from 5 target disciplines have already spent 2 years developing curricular materials and designing courseware for the NeXT. In this project the team teaches approximately 10 courses in the proposed lab involving more than 150 natural science and math undergraduates and 100 general education students annually. Four new interdisciplinary courses are being developed: Using Mathmatica in Science, Spreadsheets for Scientists, Visual Display of Scientific Information, and Electronic Networking as a Tool in Scientific Research. Targeted existing courses are: Biometrics, Biological Modelling, Population Genetics, Intro. Chem., Physical Chem., Physical Geology, Computer Aided Map Making, Calculus, Computer Graphics, Object Oriented Programming, General Relativity, and Theoretical Physics and Astronomy. Project results are being disseminated regionally and nationally, taking advantage of faculty experience in running statewide faculty workshops on NeXT courseware development.The grantee is matching this award from non-Federal sources.
