The faculty have determined that the primary curricular improvements needed for the biology majors program are to provide computer experience in the laboratories, develop additional labs that require critical thinking in investigations using the scientific method, and provide students with biotechnology lab experience. Laboratory exercises in which the students formulate hypotheses concerning the effects of several variables, design the experiments, and collect and analyze the data were developed for the biology majors courses in zoology, cellular processes, and botany. The equipment funded through this project includes (1) 10 Macintosh PowerPc's, software for student use in collecting, analyzing, and manipulating data, and three printers for student use in the labs; (2) the MacLab system, an integrated data recording and analysis system that allows for the acquisition, display, analysis, and manipulation of physiological data; (3) computer-linked spectrophotometers and probeware for data collection of variables that change rapidly over time; and (4) biotechnmlogy-related equipment, including pipetters, centrifuge, ultracold freezer, gel boxes, transluminator, and vacuum pump.
