Teaching

 Inquiry-­‐Based  Science  Labs  

THE  OHIO  STATE  UNIVERSITY

FEBRUARY  24,  2011  

Susan  Elrod,  PhD

Executive  Director,  Project  Kaleidoscope  @  AAC&U
http://www.aacu.org/pkal            elrod@aacu.org
http://www.scribd.com/susan_elrod

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

 What   I s   L earning   I n  S TEM?  

Result  
Process
Condi0ons

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

 A   graduate   teaching   assistant   is   the   instructor   for   one  
sec1on   of   a   lower   division   biology   lab   course   where  
students   follow   the   direc1ons   in   their   lab   books   to   carry  
out  the  assigned  experiment  on  enzyme  ac1vity.  Students  
are  provided  with   all   the   reagents   they  need,  plus   detailed  
step-­‐by-­‐step  instruc1ons  to  carry  out  the  desired  reac1ons  
which  are  measured  by  a  pH  change  in  the  reac1on.  
During   the   class,   a   student   walks   up   to   the   TA   with   a  
reac1on  tube  that  has  turned  from  clear  to  yellow.  He  asks  
the   TA   what   the   yellow   color   means.   The   TA   diligently  
explains   that   the   yellow   color   is   an   indica1on   of   a   pH  
change   resul1ng   from   the   ac1vity   of   the   enzyme   in   the  
tube.  The  student  returns  to  their   lab  bench  and  diligently  
starts  wri1ng  in  the  lab  notebook.  
 

CASE  STUDIES  TO  SET  THE  STAGE

Copyright  2011  All  rights  reserved.  Susan  Elrod  

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

 Learning

BLOOM FINK
Evaluation
think critically about and defend a position

Synthesis
transform, combine ideas to create something new

Analysis
break down concepts into parts

Application
apply comprehension to unfamiliar situations

Comprehension
demonstrate understanding of ideas

Factual Knowledge
remember and recall factual information

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

 EPISODES  OF  
LEARNING

Mature  thinker:
Cri$cally
$me Autonomous,    
Self  Authoring
INTERVENTIONS  
OF  TEACHING

Cognitive  Development:  Perry,  Kegan,  Baxter-­‐Magolda    

THE  CYCLE  OF  LEARNING  AND  ADULT  DEVELOPMENT

Copyright  2011  All  rights  reserved.  Susan  Elrod  

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

 WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT
LEARNING
 Learning  builds  on  exis,ng  knowledge;  is  
built  progressively
 Learning  requires  ac,ve  cogni0ve  
challenges;  transi,ons  novices  toward  
expert  thinking  &  conceptual  frameworks  
 Knowledge  and  understanding  are  
constructed  by  the  learner
 Learning  occurs  best  in  context  &  when  it  is  
relevant  to  the  learner    
 Reflec0on  (metacogni,on)  is  a  cri,cal  
process  for  promo,ng  learning
National Research Council. Bransford, J. D., Brown, A.
L., & Cocking, R. R. eds (2000). How People Learn:
 Learning  is  an  ac0ve,  social  process     Brain, Mind, Experience, and School: Expanded
Edition. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

 TEACHING   A ND   L EARNING

What  should   What  do  students  

students    know? know?  

How  will  we  know?   How  will  they  know?  

How  shall  we  teach?  How  will  they  learn?

Goal:  Inten$onal  and  Deliberate  Teaching

Copyright  2011  All  rights  reserved.  Susan  Elrod  

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

 STEM   E ducation’s  C hallenge  

“The  largest  gain  in  learning  

produc,vity  in  STEM  will  come  
from  convincing  the  large  
majority  of  STEM  faculty  that  
currently  teaches  by  lecturing  
to  use  any  form  of  ac0ve  or  
collabora0ve  instruc0on.”

-­‐-­‐  James  Fairweather  (2009),  

Report  to  the  NaFonal  Academies  
Board  on  Science  EducaFon  

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

 Learning  inquiry  involves  “explicit  instruction”  about  the  process  
of  science  that  is  connected  to  active  learning  of  science.

W.  Wood,    Annu.  Rev.  Cell  Dev.  Biol.  2009.  25:5.1–5.20

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

 What   I s   I nquiry?

What  is  scien$fic  inquiry,  from  a  research  

perspec$ve?  Define  key  steps  in  the  process.  

What  is  scien$fic  inquiry,  from  a  learning  

perspec$ve?  Define  the  key  steps  in  the  process.  

Copyright  2011  All  rights  reserved.  Susan  Elrod  

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

 HOW LEARNING HAPPENS
Observation
of natural world
Concrete
experience
Active Reflective Generate
Experiment Testing observation hypothesis

Abstract
hypothesis

Make predictions

Learning is a discovery process for the learner.

We  must  abandon  the  implicit  assump,on  that  all  brains  are  the  same  and  so  passing  
along  what  is  clear  to  us  (experts)  will  be  clear  to  the  novice  student,  and  if  it  fails,  it  is  an  
indica,on  that  the  students  are  simply  incapable.  We  must  instead  come  to  recognize  
that  mastery  of  a  subject  is  much  more  a  process  of  restructuring  the  brain  than  simply  
of  transferring  knowledge.  -­‐-­‐  Carl  Weiman  (The  Curse  of  Knowledge  (2007)  The  Back  Page,  APS  News,  16  #10)
Copyright  2011  All  rights  reserved.  Susan  Elrod  

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

 Scientific   I nquiry   L earning  O utcomes
Identify  questions  and  concepts  that  guide  scientific  
investigations.
Design  and  conduct  scientific  investigations.  
Use  technology  and  mathematics  to  improve  investigations  
and  communications.  
Formulate  and  revise  scientific  explanations  and  models  
using  logic  and  evidence.  
Recognize  and  analyze  alternative  explanations  and  models.
Communicate  and  defend  a  scientific  argument.  

                         Now  write  your  own  inquiry  outcomes!  

Modified  from:  http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=4962

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

 COOKBOOK  TO   I NQUIRY

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

 Brainstorm  
Using  a  current  lab  exercise,  brainstorm  ways  to  convert  
it  to  an  inquiry  lab.      
✦ Start  with  an  observa,on  or  a  ques,on.  
✦ Have  students  come  up  with  the  hypothesis  being  tested  and  predict  the  
possible  outcomes  of  the  exercise  and  how  they  will  validate  or  
invalidate  the  hypothesis.
✦ Have  everyone  write  their  data  on  the  board  and  discuss,  addressing  
problems,  limita,ons,  and  posi,ve  results.    
✦ Have  students  make  a  flow  chart  of  the  lab  procedure.  
✦ Don’t  give  the  expected  answer!  
✦ Have  students  use  data  from  the  class  to  draw  their  own  conclusions,  
addressing  all  observa,ons  (including  mistakes).  
✦ Hold  each  student  accountable.  
Copyright  2011  All  rights  reserved.  Susan  Elrod  

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

 Converting  a  cookbook  lab  to  an  
inquiry  lab  

Using  a  lab  exercise  you  teach,  apply  what  we  have  discussed  
and  convert  it  into  a  more  inquiry-­‐based  investigation  
(handout).  

Copyright  2011  All  rights  reserved.  Susan  Elrod  

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

 EFFECTIVE  T EACHING

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

 Research-­‐based  Teaching,   L earning,  
Assessment
TRADITIONAL   RESEARCH-­‐BASED  
✴  Topical  content   ✴  Concept  and  outcomes  based
✴  Students  work  individually  and   ✴  Students  work  cooperatively  
competitively  
✴  Frequent  feedback  that  is  both  
✴  Summative  assessments formative  and  summative
✴  Learning  is  passive  (lecture)   ✴    Learning  is  active  (guided)
✴  Students  are  depend  on  text  and   ✴  Students  use  multiple  sources,  
instructor  for  content construct  knowledge
✴  TAs  as  graders   ✴  TAs  as  peer  leaders  
✴  Verification/cookbook  labs ✴  Inquiry-­‐based  labs

Modified  from  :  W.  Wood,    Annu.  Rev.  Cell  Dev.  Biol.  2009.  25:5.1–5.20

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

 !"##$%&'()'*#+,''
Evaluation
think critically about and defend a position

Synthesis
transform, combine ideas to create something new

Analysis
break down concepts into parts
!"#$%&$'()*+$,-.+$)/$012$34567%86$
Application 99:;58<$5=$>?$$@AAB$
apply comprehension to unfamiliar situations

Comprehension
demonstrate understanding of ideas
!"#$%&$'(%)%*+$,-./$01,23%42$
Factual Knowledge 556%/2,4$,7$.)$89:9$
remember and recall factual information

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

 Hoellwarth,  et  al.,  American  Journal  of  Physics  (2011)

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

 STUDENT-CENTERED

Respec1ng  students  as  thinkers  means  we  need  to  

reveal,  not  hide,  the  intellectual  journeys  we  have  
taken,  and  make  transparent  the  intellectual  
transformaBons  we  have  undergone.  Respec1ng  
students  as  thinkers  thus  involves  a  number  of  
changes,  including  meeBng  students  where  they  are,  
so  that  they  trust  us  to  develop  their  intellectual  skills  
and  expand  their  knowledge  base.  

-­‐-­‐  Tim  Clydesdale  (Wake  Up  and  Smell  the  New  Epistemology,  Chronicle  of  Higher  Educa,on,  January  23,  2009)

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

 What  is  the  most  important  thing  you  
learned  this  evening?      

ONE  MINUTE  WRAP  UP  

Tuesday, March 22, 2011