Teaching Inquiry with Insects and Animals Tiffany Heng-Moss Department of Entomology University of Nebraska

Insects in the Classroom Great model organism for teaching life science concepts and science process skills

Insects in the Classroom Relatively inexpensive to rear Easy to maintain Short life cycles Young learns are fascinated with insects

Insects in the Classroom Huge impact on human society - damage crops and urban structures - transmit diseases - recycle organic matter - pollinate crops - influence art, music, and literature

Insects in the Classroom Practical reasons Practical reasons - few people object to dissecting insects - increase in animal welfare concerns - few restrictions on insects - studied both indoors and outdoors

Scientific Method Observation: opportunity for students to make their own observations Observation: opportunity for students to make their own observations Question: ask questions Question: ask questions Hypothesis: predict what the answer to a Hypothesis: predict what the answer to a question might be (make sure testable) Methods: carry out the experiment & gather data Methods: carry out the experiment & gather data Results: state what happened Results: state what happened Conclusion: was your hypothesis confirmed or not, propose explanations Conclusion: was your hypothesis confirmed or not, propose explanations

Important Things to Remember when Conducting an Inquiry Replicate Replicate Variability in results Variability in results – small changes in environmental conditions can make a difference - behaviors can vary among individual animals Test only one variable Test only one variable

Ways to do Scientific Inquiries Structured Inquiry Structured Inquiry -Students engaged in hands-on activity -Follow precise instructions from teacher Guided Inquiry Guided Inquiry -Teacher chooses question to investigate -Students develop procedures for investigation Student-Initiated Inquiry Student-Initiated Inquiry -Students generate questions -Design their own investigation