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We present results from two online college courses-HabWorlds and BioBeyond-that teach introductory science using astrobiology as motivation, according to a new theory of digital learning design that we call" education through exploration"(ETX). ETX design, building on the research-based practices of active learning and guided inquiry, aims to engage and encourage curiosity and to promote higher order thinking skills, in addition to content mastery. Students solve problems and actively discover relationships, supported by an intelligent tutoring system which provides immediate feedback and scaffolds scientific thinking and methods. Here we report the first comparative evidence of the effectiveness of ETX designs. A historical comparative study of HabWorlds was conducted at a community college where two instructors used it to replace an existing introductory astronomy course. Data from five Habitable Worlds …