9354531 Bragin At Pasadena City College, where 25% of the students are born in another country and 70% belong to ethnic minorities, minimal English language proficiency is an obstacle to learning. This is compounded by poor college preparation, bad study habits, inadequate writing skills, limited economic resources, and great variability in concept comprehension. Teaching such students requires that the material be presented in an engaging fashion that allows immediate grasp of principles regardless of the students' background. This project aims to achieve these objectives and to increase student retention and interest in scientific careers by integrating computer visualization and simulation into a core of introductory science courses: a new interdisciplinary course in physical science and biology (Introduction to Environmental Science), 3 introductory chemistry courses, and 2 introductory geology courses. Customized courseware developed in the NEXTSTEP-486 programming environment will utilize equipment purchased with a recently awarded NSF-ILI (Instrumentation and Laboratory Improvement) grant to one of the principal investigators. These applications together with courseware that has already been developed by the PIs will be used to illustrate abstract concepts and model complex natural phenomena. Students will explore the effect of changing parameters on a variety of such systems. Pre-lab computer simulations will familiarize students with equipment and laboratory protocols before performing experiments thereby instilling confidence and facilitating exploration and "discovery". Powerful multimedia capabilities will be utilized to the fullest by incorporating sound, full color high resolution images and video into the applications. Students will use the Internet to access scientific data from public archives and bulletin boards and communicate with peers at other campuses thus providing a sense of connection to the broader scientific community. The proposed curricular improvements will raise retention rates, attract more students to scientific careers, and increase overall scientific literacy among students from populations grossly underrepresented among professional scientists.
