WEB ADVENTURES to teach about Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Through previous grants, a successful educational model using web adventures to teach adolescents about drugs of abuse has been created. The title of the prior web adventure series on OPIOIDS and CLUB DRUGS is THE RECONSTRUCTORS (http://reconstructors.rice.edu). It has been field tested and proven to have significant educational impact. A similar series, titled MEDMYST (http://medmyst.rice.edu), that focuses on infectious diseases was also produced and tested. Both series have earned national recognition and are increasingly gaining users. In this proposal, the same model will be used to construct a web adventure series focused on ALCOHOL. NIAAA research indicates the prominence of alcohol as the substance adolescents are most likely to use and abuse. Research also indicates that both middle school students and their science teachers want to know more about the impact of alcohol on the human body, but it is unlikely that they will spend instructional time on the impacts of alcohol, unless it can be closely aligned with current science curriculum content. The web adventure series is an effective and efficient way to teach about alcohol, while adhering to the prescribed middle school curriculum and incorporating the National Science Standards. It also provides science teachers with a program to complement the prevention efforts underway in their schools. Web Adventures to Teach about Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism has four primary goals: 1) Increase students' science knowledge about the biological effects of alcohol; 2) Reinforce the National Science Standards and the Goals of Healthy People 2OOO and 2010; 3) Gather feedback through formative and summative evaluations from specific classrooms who participate in web adventures to determine their efficacy; and 4) Encourage widespread use of web adventures as a resource for science education and drug prevention through aggressive dissemination and publications.