BioBLAST is a NASA-funded multimedia curriculum supplement, targeted to enrich high school biology classes. It is modeled after the CELSS scenario and currently is being developed by the Classroom of the Future at Wheeling Jesuit College. Through innovative applications of educational technologies and interactions with active researchers in life sciences based at the various NASA centers and by incorporating alternative assessment measures, the BioBLAST project seeks to improve student learning and assist biology teachers. The studentsed life-support system, which uses biological processes to supply astronauts with recycled food, water, and oxygen. The students will be encouraged to formulate hypotheses, devise hands-on experiments to investigate key processes, and use computer simulations to investigate what systems are required to achieve stability of these life-support systems in a simulated lunar base. To succeed in their mission, students will learn basic principles in plant physiology, microbiology, human physiology, nutrition, and the interdependence of systems, and the impact of physical constraints such as temperature, light, and water availability on biological system functioning. BioBLAST will be supported by extensive interactive CD-ROM-based materials and World Wide Web and other internet resources, together with intelligent tutor, frequently asked question lists, and mentor networks that will include the ability to contact NASA and other scientists on-line. An early version of this software will be prototyped to selected schools throughout the United States in Fall 1996.
Educational Malpractice: The Impact of Including Creationism in High School Biology Courses
