Iris Tabak

We describe a learning environment for high school biology called BGuILE that engages students in scien tific investigations in which they can explore interest ing problems in evolution and ecology. The environ ment supports productive inquiry by two interrelated means. First, the system structures students' investiga tions, encouraging them to compare competing hy potheses, articulate predictions, and record interpreta tions according to specific task models of biological inquiry. Second, the system provides a context for col laboration in which the biological task model is used to drive the content of students' discussions.