A conceptual change rationale for the design and classroom implementation of BioMap: An interactive hypermedia environment to promote conceptual understanding in biology

"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.