SCIENCE OUTREACH
DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY
Inquiry- and Problem-Based Lesson Plans
Lesson Archive for teaching strategies that use Scientific Science Teaching
including Shorter Introductory Scenarios that can be used as "hooks" to lead into complex issues
A small, but growing collection (feel free to contribute!)
External Collections
WHY Use Inquiry and Problem-Based Learning?
it increases student engagement
it increases student learning
it increases students' retention of what they learn
To be true inquiry, it must incorporate Scientific Science Teaching
See our discussion of Inquiry -- what it is, and what it is not
The links below are to collections of lessons that are available online. Some are excellent. Others may require some reworking to fit your precise needs.
Videos (some available through online streaming), professional development workshops, DVD purchase
Lesson activities that take advantage of computer technology
Center for Inquiry-Based Learning
Crow Canyon Archeological Center
From New England's Center for the Enhancement of Science and Mathematics Education
Activities for many fields, many levels
Activities for many fields, many levels
Activities for many fields, many levels
Evolution and the Nature of Science
A collection of inquiry-based lesson plans developed through a series of workshops
Gateway to Educational Materials
Activities for many fields, many levels
Activities for many fields, many levels
Activities for many fields, many levels
Life Science Links for Teachers
NIH Curriculum Supplement series
New York Times Learning Network
Lesson plans organized around current events
PBS Teacher Guide to Evolution -- several inquiry-based and data-based lessons on critical aspects of evolution
A collection of lesson plans for various ages, various sciences
Activities for many fields, many levels
Activities for many fields, many levels
Activities for many fields, many levels
University of Alberta Libraries
University of Wisconsin IDEAS website
Teacher-tested lessons; not all inquiry-based
WHY Use Inquiry and Problem-Based Learning?
Decades of practice have shown that when we ask students to memorize facts, most of our students are turned off and learn very little. We must use alternate strategies that engage our students and help them think scientifically.
Engagement
To many students, "science" is something that happens in the classroom, not in the real world. The First Principle of Engagement should be: make science relevant to the students.
Several ways to do this are:
* begin with a problem or scenario that they recognize as being "real"
* begin with students asking questions about the world around them, and lead them to the types of questions that address the particular Standards for that lesson
* develop authentic investigations, such as Riverwatch, in which students do real science
* begin with news articles
* use literature or movies as springboards to discuss how things really work
Thinking Scientifically
In all fields, the common feature of Scientific Thinking is reasoning from data. Science does not progress by defining the answer first, and then looking for data to support that pre-defined answer. Rather, science requires that we obtain data and use the data to develop our interpretation. Scientific knowledge is a compilation of such interpretations--tentative understanding that may change as new data are discovered. This is The Nature of Science. Many students leave our classes not realizing this.
For investigating interesting scenarios, solving problems, or understanding news articles, we cannot reach conclusions without data. Thus, if we engage our students fully with interesting problems, we must also make available to them the data they need to solve those problems.
Inquiry Teaching and Learning
Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards provides this short list of five essential activities that comprise "Inquiry"
Table 2-5. Essential Features of Classroom Inquiry
* Learners are engaged by scientifically oriented questions.
* Learners give priority to evidence, which allows them to develop and evaluate explanations that address scientifically oriented questions.
* Learners formulate explanations from evidence to address scientifically oriented questions.
* Learners evaluate their explanations in light of alternative explanations, particularly those reflecting scientific understanding.
* Learners communicate and justify their proposed explanations.
Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards clearly recognizes the importance of reasoning from data, and emphasizes evidence and explanations. While classroom inquiry traditionally addresses asking questions and developing procedures, it should not stop there. It is essential that students obtain data, evaluate those data, and thereby build their understanding based on the data. In our view, it is not necessary for students always to obtain data from their own experiments; they can obtain data from the web, from books, or from the teacher.
Lesson plans that incorporate authentic scientific thinking
Look for the following:
* does the lesson begin with a problem/question/scenario that students recognize as valid?
* do the students obtain data (from experiment, library/web search, text, or teacher)?
* do the students use those data to develop and evaluate alternative explanations?
* must the students justify their explanations to one another, to the class, or to others?
last updated: Jan 16, 2009
