| Completion
Date: January 2004 |
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*MERLOT Classics 2008 Award given for Exemplary Online Learning Resources. Congratulations to Robert Jeanne (Principal Investigator), Jan Cheetham (Project Manager), Lee Clippard (Instructional Design), Alan Wolf, Les Howles, and many others who contributed to the success of Connecting Concepts!
Summary
In collaboration with UW-Madison biology faculty and instructional
staff, the T4 Biology project produced 9 tutorials in
the following areas: Chemiosmosis, Thermodynamics, Natural Selection,
Population Dynamics, Speciation, Homeostasis, Water Relations,
Biotechnology, and Signal Transduction.
The content of the tutorials is a foundational set of concepts relevant
for all students in biological sciences. Their innovative instructional
design features simulations, real-world situations, problem solving,
critical thinking, use of math skills, and analysis and synthesis
of research data, with built in feedback and layers of help. They
are currently being made available to instructors of introductory
and upper level biology courses in the UW-System to enhance learning
and review of key concepts. Furthermore, plans for implementing and
assessing them beyond the UW system, for re-using their design templates,
and deploying them as elements of online individualized study plans
are currently being drafted.
Technical
All tutorials utilize a combination of Flash animations
and HTML.
Results
The project fostered discussions about critical concepts,
student misconceptions, instructional technology, and assessment
of learning between faculty teaching in different sections of Bio
151/152, both in focus groups and course-wide forums. Six of these
tutorials were implemented in Bio 151/152 in 2002-3, resulting
in significant learning gains (N= 922 students).
