Bioinformatics for undergraduates: Steps toward a quantitative bioscience curriculum*.

We describe an innovative bioinformatics course developed under grants from the National Science Foundation and the California State University Program in Research and Education in Biotechnology for undergraduate biology students. The project has been part of a continuing effort to offer students classroom experiences focused on principles and reasoning, using a computer-assisted, problem-based learning model. Here we report on the course design, methods of assessment for the course and materials, and analysis of results obtained in initial offerings of the course.