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NSF Highlights are brief descriptions of selected NSF-funded projects that were active during the March 2007–March 2008 reporting period. Highlights are used to evaluate NSF’s performance, inform stakeholders about NSF-funded activities, capture the essence and excitement of NSF-supported research and education projects, and feature emerging opportunities and challenges. Highlights are also used to inform NSF advisory committees, the Office of Management and Budget, Congress and taxpayers about NSF-funded activities.
Developed at the College of Engineering’s Intelligent Systems Application Center, which is directed by Professor Brian Butz of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, INVISSIBLE’s content was created by the ISAC project team and vetted by an advisory committee consisting of high school science teachers, biologists and other educators.
“It's an honor to have our project selected by NSF,” said Butz, who is also a professor of public health. “It is also recognition of the whole project team, including our advisory committee, and especially of the creative efforts of Michael Duarte and Bryan Wlodarczyk, two members of the Intelligent Systems Application Center. It also emphasizes the importance of interactive, intelligent, multimedia software in education and bodes well for its future.”
INVISSIBLE, or Interactive Virtual Intelligent System for Scientific Inquiry in a Biology Learning Environment, builds on the popularity of the CSI television programs to involve students in three scenarios that reflect authentic experiences of a scientist engaged in using scientific inquiry methods — investigating a murder crime scene, the Thomas Jefferson-Sally Hemings genealogy debate and the origin theory of Homo sapiens. It has been field-tested by more than 100 students at several Philadelphia-area high schools, including Princeton, Germantown Academy, Council Rock North and South, and Springfield (Delaware County).
Funded by a three-year, $843,000 NSF grant, INVISSIBLE is one of 13 projects selected as a highlight by the NSF’s Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings.
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