This project advances educational reform in undergraduate science by taking an interdisciplinary approach in which students create their own scientific community. The project plan emphasizes student participation in experimental science and represents an extension of the principles of discovery- oriented learning. The model of educational reform includes: instructor-generated discovery laboratories, student-generated laboratories, the creation by students of a Natural Science Database, a student-staffed Center for Science Discovery, independent research and off-campus explorations. The project philosophy complements that of the Ohio Mathematics/Science Discovery Project which deals with K-12 educatiion and which is funded by the NSF under the Statewide Systemic Initiative program. The project also embodies a detailed plan for assessment and dissemination.
