After complaining that I struggle with inquiry in biology, I was confronted with a great opportunity to take a non-inquiry lab and bend it to my inquiry will! The lab involves students observing Euglena (a photosynthetic protist) and their response to limited light. The basic lab consists of placing the Euglena in a container wrapped [...]

Before students begin a new inquiry investigation, they must have questions.  Inquiry really gets off the ground when kids have a burning “need to know.”  There are several ways that I like to help give them that inspiration: Play with a purpose activities Current events Demonstrations (preferably a “discrepant event”) Guided inquiry labs Video, images, [...]

During last week’s scichat (#scichat) on Twitter, I mentioned, “play with a purpose.”  Play with a purpose is a saying that I often use with students.  It means checking out something new in a systematic way; having fun in an organized fashion; discovery with a goal. Play with a purpose activities are opportunities for students [...]