9451880 Dawley Computer will be used in creating introductory biology laboratories that foster scientific thinking among students by encouraging creativity, communication, and teamwork. As important as it is to give introductory students an experimental, instrument-rich laboratory experience, this experience will be empty if it emphasizes cookbook technique at the expense of scientific creativity. Here we propose using computers specifically to nurture scientific creativity in our students by giving them flexibility in experimental design, encouraging teamwork, and making it possible for them to communicate with a wide circle of their peers. These laboratories will foster creativity by requiring student teams of four to design experiments in multi-week, open-ended exercises. Each team will have its own laboratory bench equipped with a Macintosh computer linked to a local area network and to the Internet. Computers will be used to give students a wider range of options in creating their experimental designs and to increase their flexibility in asking the question "What if we try it this way?" The software we propose using is sufficiently versatile and general that it encourages students to explore different experimental approaches without dictating a particular design. Ideas, initially developed within student teams, will be exchanged among teams using the local network and computer-based oral presentations.
