Learning Biology With A Web-Enhanced Curriculum

We are currently conducting a formative evaluation study on a new basal biology curriculum for ninth and tenth grade students that integrates the World Wide Web with a short topic-oriented textbook. The curriculum is based on the National Science Education Standards and emphasizes an active, constructivist learning program that integrates interactive, Web-based instructional media. The new curriculum utilizes the interactivity of the World Wide Web, the storytelling abilities of a short textbook, and an inquiry-based program of "wet " labs and fieldwork. National Science Foundation funding supports the formative and summative evaluation of this curriculum. The evaluation program focuses on the effectiveness of integrating Web-based instruction into the biology curriculum, both in terms of helping students learn and helping teachers teach. In this session, we will present the results from the first year of our evaluation study. The presentation will show how the Web-based materials address the important goals of biological science teaching and learning and how the World Wide Web is used to promote inquiry-based learning in high school biology settings. Objectives of the Stud