CONVERTING YOUR COOKBOOK LABS TO INQUIRY: TIPS & EXAMPLES Brittany Beutel & Lisa Borgerding, Kent State University

What is student inquiry?  Student inquiry- learning process in which students are engaged… an active learning process - “something that students do, not something that is done to them.”

5 Essential Features of Inquiry (NRC 2000) 1. Learner engages in scientifically oriented questions. 2. Learner gives priority to evidence in responding to questions. 3. Learner formulates explanations from evidence. 4. Learner connects explanations to scientific knowledge. 5. Learner communicates and justifies explanations.

Levels of Inquiry

5 Myths about Inquiry Teaching 1. All science subject matter should be taught through inquiry. 2. True inquiry occurs only when students pursue and generate their own questions. 3. Inquiry teaching occurs easily through the use of hands-on or kit-based instruction materials. 4. Student engagement in hands-on activities guarantees that inquiry teaching & learning are occurring. 5. Inquiry can be taught without attention to subject matter.

Strategies to Reform Cookbook Labs  Change the lab purpose to question/challenge  Eliminate parts of the procedure  Eliminate the data tables  Do lab before lecture  Do textbook reading after lab.  Let students discuss data together.  Have students look for patterns in data.  Use class data & have students examine patterns & anomalous data  Eliminate procedure & provide data table only.

Strategies to Reform Cookbook Labs (continued)  Have students reflect on the process – which evidence is strongest/weakest? How confident are you?  Keep the procedure, mix up the steps, and have students unscramble before they start the lab.  Eliminate the “background” section before a lab so students discover most of this information.  Use familiar materials so that you don’t have to provide a lot of background/safety information.  Provide the lab question/purpose & display a table of materials that students can choose to devise their own procedures. 

Next Steps  Examine a “reformed” lab and its original  Revise a confirmation lab to make it more inquiry based  Explore 10 “reformed” labs that are either structured or guided

Questions & Contact  Brittany Beutel:  Lisa Borgerding:  Materials available at: convertingcookbooklabs.wikispaces.com