Inquiry based labs

“Un-cooking the Lab”

MARY CORINNE R. SELGABPSD, CAS

A Guide to Constructing

Inquiry-based Labs

Laboratory Instruction

• There is no clear consensus on the function and purpose of laboratory instruction within an academic curriculum (Russell, 2008).

• The perceptions on the importance of laboratory exercises differ greatly between professors and students (Hofstein, 2003).

Why is Laboratory instruction

needed in the Science

curriculum?

• illustrate material taught in lecture,

• increase enthusiasm and foster scientific attitudes, and

• develop skills of observation, reasoning and critical thinking.

Leading purposes include: • bridging the gap between

theory and practice,

Laboratory Instruction

Throwback: THE Traditional Curriculum

Teach scientific laboratory concepts that utilize the “cookbook” type of experimental procedures in which

students follow a pre-described set of

methods resulting in well established and

validated results (Domin, 1999).

“Cookbook” Laboratory Exercises

Does very little to enhance critical thinking skills.

The term “cookbook” refers to experimental procedures in which students follow a

step-by-step method, reminiscent of a cooking

recipe.


•The expected end result of the experiment is often provided to the students before they even initiate the experiment.

•These laboratory approaches encourage students to intellectually disengage from the experiment and follow the protocol to completion without any regard to understanding the methodology or the acquired outcome (Igelsrud 1988).


Evaluation of student performance is often based on how well they follow the protocol.

Since the laboratory exercise is validated with repeated data output, any discrepancy in the results is attributed to student’s inability to follow the protocol.

What is more unacceptable, however, is the

inability to troubleshoot and

explain the possible errors or

circumstances that yielded unexpected

results.


The students that do obtain the pre-determined results often lack the conceptual

understanding and significance of individual steps of the experiment.

For many students, this leads to frustration and often, for

non-science majors, discourages them from

pursuing their education within the natural sciences.


and students are provided an

opportunity to participate in the

experimental design (Matthews, 2010).

Student perceptions and attitudes towards science have been shown to improve if laboratory instruction is taught with a connection to the real world…

Hence, developing laboratory exercises

that have a research orientated focus is

imperative, since it will not only teach science,

but it will develop students to think like a

scientist.

encouraged the need to introduce research-

driven exploration

in lieu of “cookbook” exercises.

National Research Council (2003)

American Association

for the Advancement

of Science (2010)

National Academy of

Sciences (2010)

Inquiry-based laboratory is one of the

most appropriate methods to achieve

this.

[REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10533]AN ACT ENHANCING THE PHILIPPINE BASIC EDUCATION SYSTEM

BY STRENGTHENING ITS CURRICULUM AND INCREASING THE NUMBER OF YEARS FOR BASIC EDUCATION

• SEC. 5. Curriculum Development. The DepED shall adhere to the following standards and principles in developing the enhanced basic education curriculum:

… (e) The curriculum shall use pedagogical approaches that are constructivist, inquiry-based, reflective, collaborative and integrative…

• An inquiry-based lab asks students to:

Inquiry-based laboratory

address a challenge, solve a problem,

test a hypothesis, explain a phenomenon,

or answer a question… in the same manner that a scientist approaches a research question.

The goal of an inquiry-based lab is for students of all

backgrounds to learn science by experiencing the process and thrill of first-hand discovery.

Inquiry-based laboratory

Features of an Inquiry-based Lab

• The primary feature of an inquiry-based lab is that students experience science as an experimental process that uses evidence to explain natural phenomena.

• Students will:

1. Learn essential

concepts, skills, and behaviors that reflect the

nature of science. 2. Think

analytically and critically about experimental

design.

3. Take responsibility for

their own learning in a way that is engaging & meaningful to

them.

4. Experience the collaborative nature of science as they

negotiate with peers and

communicate their explanations.

5. Use evidence as the basis for

their explanations of

natural processes.

6. Witness the thrill of discovery and uncertainty

of science.

Students are asked to

bring in two soil samples,

are challenged

to generate a hypothesis about the

microbes in the soil

samples, then design

an experiment

to test it.

Students are instructed how to make 10 fold dilutions of soil samples and apply each solution to a culture medium. After incubation, students count the number of colonies on each plate and calculate the number of culturable organisms in the sample.

Inqu

iry b

ased

Not Inquiry based

Examples of Approaches to Labs

A

B

Students are told to plant

seeds and fertilize with

a dilution series of

fertilizer, then measure the

effect on plant height,

number of leaves, and number of

seeds.In

quiry

bas

edNot Inquiry

based

Examples of Approaches to Labs

Students are asked to generate a hypothesis about the effect of the environment on the life cycle of a plant and test it.

A

B

Students are given a protocol to inoculate a plant with a known pathogen. A week later, they identify the correct disease symptoms and re-isolate the pathogen.

Inqu

iry b

asedNot Inquiry

basedExamples of Approaches to Labs

Students are given

an unhealthy plant and asked to

determine the cause

of its symptoms

.

A

B

Inquiry-based Labs: Flow of Activities in the Classroom

PRE-LAB

•Prior knowledge•Engagement

LAB PROPER

•Inquiry challenge•The nature of science

POST-LAB

•Learning goals

How will you find out what students already know (or

think they know) and what they need to know before they

begin?

How will you determine whether students are using

evidence as the basis for their explanations?

How will you know whether

students have met the learning

goals?


PRE-LAB

•Prior knowledge•What do the students already know (or think they know)?•What essential information or skills do they need before they begin?•What misconceptions might they have about this topic?

•Engagement•What is the “hook” that will set about the students in learning?

How will you find out what

students already know (or think they

know) and what they need to know before

they begin?

Inquiry-based Labs: Flow of Activities in the ClassroomLAB

PROPER

How will you determine whether

students are using evidence as the basis for

their explanations?

•Inquiry challenge•What challenge will the students

address?•The nature of science

•How will the lab experience

mirror scientific research andencourage students to useevidence as the basis for theirexplanations?

•What methods, materials, orskills will students need to use?•What guiding questions willfocus their discussions onexperimental design?

POST-LAB


How will you know whether students have

met the learning goals?

•Learning goals•What should students know,understand, and be able to do at the end of the lab?

Activity: The Invisible Ink

• Prior Knowledge – a review on the steps of the scientific method

• Engagement – a story on how Jose Rizal and Ferdinand Blumentritt were able to communicate using his “gasera” and discretely attached sheets of paper into the bottom of the lamp while he was incarcerated in Intramuros

The Invisible InkExperiment # ________

Objective: – To perform the various steps of the scientific method.

Materials: Calamansi juice or Evaporated milk, toothpick, bond paper, matchescandle

Aim:With the use of the given materials, create a way of writing and decoding a message. Following the steps of the scientific method, write your own procedure of making use of the “invisible ink.” Problem: Hypothesis: Variables: Procedure: Data: Conclusion:

The advantages and disadvantages of utilizing “COOKBOOK” laboratory

exercises within the science curriculum include:

ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES1. Laboratory exercises are easily designed to fit into restricted student schedules

1. Students easily lose enthusiasm for science education and an interest in ongoing and future scientific achievements

2. The results of the exercise are predetermined allowing assessment of the students performance

2. Students quickly learn what steps of the procedure can be ignored or fail to thoroughly read the protocol for complete understanding

3. Conducive and manageable for courses with large student enrolment

3. Critical thinking skills are not developed

4. Can cover multiple scientific concepts within a course

4. There are little opportunities to apply problem-solving strategies

5. Laboratory exercises can be created into modular exercise that correspond with classroom lecture

5. Students feel disconnected from the exercise and lack “ownership” of the collected data

6. Collaboration among peers is discouraged 7. Students do not plan the experiments and results are not properly interpreted

*Waters (2012) 8. Scientific concepts are “verified” rather than “discovered”

The advantages and disadvantages of utilizing INQUIRY BASED laboratory

exercises within the science curriculum include: ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES

1. Students take “ownership” of the laboratory exercise

1. Difficult to manage in courses with large student enrolment

2. Students experience the scientific method and acquire an appreciation and understanding for scientific achievement

2. Requires significant amount of time that students must be in the laboratory

3. Students become interested in ongoing and future scientific achievements as it relates to current events

3. Students may become frustrated & lose patience

4. Students experience the successes and failures of scientific research 5. Students are encouraged to collaborate to obtain successful results 6. Students learn critical thinking and problem solving skills 7. Students retain the learned concepts

Let’s “Un-cook” our Labs!

Thank You for Listening!

References

• American Association for the Advancement of Science (2010). Vision and change in undergraduate biology education. Washington DC, http://visionandchange.org/finalreport.pdf

• Domin, D. S. (1999). A review of laboratory teaching styles. Journal of Chemical Education, 76(4), 543-547. • Hofstein, A. and Lunetta, V. N. (2004). The laboratory in science education: Foundations for the twenty-first century. Sci.

Ed., 88, 28-54. • Igelsrud D and Leonard, W. H. (1988). What research says about biology laboratory instruction. The American Biology

Teacher, 50(5), 303-306. • Mathews, K. E., Adams, P. and Goos, M. (2010). Using the principles of BIO2010 to develop an introductory,

interdisciplinary course for biology students. CBE-Life Science Education, 9, 290-297. • National Academy of Science. (2010). A new biology for the 21st century. • National Research Council (2003). Bio 2010: Transforming undergraduate education for future research biologists.

Washington D.C.: National Academic Press • Russell, C. B. and Weaver, G. C. (2008). Student perceptions of the purpose and function of the laboratory in science: A

grounded theory study. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 2(2), 1-14. • Volkmann, M. J., and S. K. Abell. 2003. Rethinking Laboratories: Tools for converting cookbook labs into inquiry. The

Science Teacher 70:38.• Waters, Norman C. 2012. The Advantages of Inquiry-Based Laboratory Exercises within the Life Sciences. Center for

Teaching Excellence, US Military Academy, Westpoint, New York.