Introductory biology students, especially those with poor academic preparation, are often simultaneously overwhelmed and bored by the amount of information they are expected to assimilate. Students' confusion and discontent stem in part from their inability to perceive the structure underlying the discipline and in part from their lack of engagement with the subject matter. To address these problem a two-semester introductory sequence for biology majors is being developed, which has a strong thematic base and a highly visible scaffolding to assist students in constructing their own knowledge frameworks. A major objective is to lay the foundation for continued education in biology. In each laboratory unit being developed a single theme, such as Energy Input, Uses of Energy, or Information processing, is investigated at different levels of organization (molecular, cell, structural, organismal, ecological) and with different types of organisms. Each unit includes activities of varying complexity, structure, and leeway for student inquiry. Students choose from among the available activities and design their own experiments, and work cooperatively in small groups.
