Development and Evaluation of StarCellBio: A Cell Biology Experiment Simulator for Science Education

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StarCellBiology employs a set of in silico cell biology experiment simulations for use in generating realistic problems for undergraduate student lecture and laboratory classes. The cell biology simulations will augment the biochemistry (StarBiochem) and genetics (StarGenetics) materials already on the STAR web site http://web.mit.edu/star/. Intellectual Merit: The materials and accompanying faculty guidelines are enriching science education by supplying educational software and curricular materials that (i) provide for inquiry-based learning experiences through interactive, realistic, computer-generated simulations of experiments, (ii) expose students to examples of actual data acquired from cutting-edge research, (iii) are useful across a range of educational levels, (iv) are designed to accommodate instructor-determined customization, (v) can be easily implemented in existing course curricula, and (v) are freely and openly accessible worldwide via the internet. This interactive, inquiry-based, virtual experiment simulator enables students to engage in the experimental reasoning process by providing virtual opportunities for them to determine what experiments are needed to answer particular biological questions, design and perform those experiments, analyze the data generated, perform follow-up experiments, and draw conclusions from their own inquiries. It offers students the opportunity to interact with real visual cell biology data in the course of their studies, as well as utilize microscopy image and time-lapse movie data in demonstrations of key topics, including cell cycle, intracellular localization and colocalization, trafficking, signaling, cell motility, cell diversity, and tissue organization. Broader Impact: Following a design model successfully employed in the two sets of STAR materials currently available, the specific components of each StarCellBio experiment simulation are defined by the instructor through use of a modifiable template that is freely available online, and a beta version of StarCellBio was assessed for function and usability by faculty and students. The evaluation plan utilizes research instruments well established in science education and includes mixed-method approaches to (i) measure gains in student knowledge and comprehension of cell and molecular biology concepts, (ii) probe development of student ability to design, conduct, and reasonably interpret results of biological experiments, (iii) measure changes in students' attitudes and motivation towards pursuing further study in biology, and (iv) query overall student response to the StarCellBio tool. Broad dissemination approaches include online advertising campaigns and direct mailings to biology faculty at universities nationwide.This project is being jointly funded by the Directorate for Biological Sciences, Division of Biological Infrastructure and the Directorate for Education and Human Resources, Division of Undergraduate Education as part of their efforts toward Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education.