| "BioMap" was developed by the author and others to facilitate learning of evolution and natural selection by reducing misconceptions, and record how students used BioMap. It consisted of a hypermedia resource-base, games, and a conference.;The purpose of the study was to investigate two questions: (1) Do all students who use BioMap achieve and/or learn its content? (2) Is it possible to identify strategies that are predictive of achievement and/or learning? Twenty-six undergraduate non-science majors who enrolled in a nine week mini-course used BioMap in two hour sessions twice a week. A mini-test for content knowledge (test reliability.983; inter-reader reliability 88.7%) was administered before, during, and after the intervention. "Trail maps" (time-stamped activity sequences) were generated as students used BioMap.;Innovative techniques were employed to analyze the data. Mini-tests were analyzed using: repeated ANOVAs, computationally intensive inference making, simple regressions, frequencies of conception/misconception, percent misconception by category, frequencies of conversion/reversion, and frequencies of co-occurrence. "Trail maps" were analyzed using: simple regressions, ANOVAs, activity matrices, Event Recorder graphs, frequency/count analyses by activity, "c"-measures, and scree diagrams.;Sample size limits the extent to which conclusions can be drawn from this study. Tentative conclusions include: (1) Students demonstrated significant gains in understanding, regardless of gender or ethnicity. (2) Prior knowledge played a significant role in achievement and learning. (3) The frequency of misconceptions was reduced significantly for most students. (4) Stable/unstable, and malleable/resistant conceptions were identified. (5) Significant predictors of achievement included: c-measure, percent reading at Level Five, and movements from game questions to reading, and game to guide. (6) Significant predictors of learning slope were movements from simulations to reading, and time/event reading. (7) How students used the reading component of BioMap contributed to achievement/learning differentials between students.;This study is one of only a few that integrate what students learn with how they learn. The findings should guide: (1) science educators and instructors in instructional reform, and (2) software designers in development and classroom implementation. |
