The "Anti-Cookbook Laboratory": Converting "Canned" Introductory Biology Laboratories to Multi-Week Independent Investigations

 

Tested Studies in Laboratory Teaching, 2013, Volume 34

Douglas B. Luckie, James J. Smith, Kendra Cheruvelil, Cori Fata-Hartley, Cheryl A. Murphy & Gerald R. Urquhart

Abstract

We converted a series of "canned" biology labs into multi-week, guided-inquiry laboratory investigations. In our labs, students work in research "Teams" of 3-5 students on multi-week, guided-inquiry experimental "Streams". Using an example 12-week long PCR Stream, we describe several aspects of the "Teams and Streams" model, including: i) how we guide students' development of testable hypotheses; ii) how cooperative group interactions within Teams are promoted; and iii) activities that we use in the laboratory, including assessments. Significantly, the learning goals associated with inquiry-based investigations involve higher order cognitive skills and behaviors than those associated with "cookbook" labs

Keywords:  assessment, Inquiry-based learning, multi-week investigations

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (2012)