DESIGN OF A HYPERMEDIA TUTORIAL PROGRAM FOR UNIVERSITY BIOLOGY STUDENTS

Abstract

Students enrolled in biology programs often encounter problems and concepts that require an understanding of fundamental physical components and systems. Specifically students studying electrophysiology on a cellular or an animal level require a solid foundation in the physics of basic electricity. Although many students have studied some electricity, for most it was in high school and may have been several years prior to their electrophysiology course. Several commercial software packages were reviewed and found inadequate before embarking on the design of a needs centered tutorial program. This project presents the results of an interactive 'hypertutorial’ system that was designed to meet the needs of the students in undergraduate cell and animal physiology courses. General characteristics of the tutorial system include the following: -It is designed to be used as a stand alone tutorial without connection to any specific textbook. - It is always accessed from four ’roof cards that allow students to directly go to the material that they wish. - Its learning path allows sequential access with gradual exposure to more complex information and concepts. - Quizzes allow students to assess their mastery of the material in each module. As part of the formative evaluation process, a group of nine students in third year pharmacology worked through the tutorial and provided feedback on several aspects of the program, and their attitudes toward computer assisted learning. This feedback indicated that the students enjoyed the format of the tutorial system, and they view it as a useful and valuable tool to enhance their learning of electrophysiology.