Impact of inquiry-based learning in a molecular biology class on the dimensions of students’ situational interest

On the Interest-Promoting Effect of Outreach Science Labs: A Comparison of Students’ Interest during Experimentation at an Outreach Science Lab and at School

“…Outreach science lab programs can complement regular school science classes by providing positive experiences and insights into practical laboratory work and working areas in a "real" scientific laboratory that school-based instruction alone may not provide. School-based instruction is limited in this regard (Euler & Schüttler, 2020;Hofstein & Lunetta, 2004;Röllke et al, 2021;Sommer et al, 2018Sommer et al, , 2020. Science classrooms at schools lack (high-end) laboratory equipment and are designed very differently from the laboratory rooms at outreach science labs at universities (see Goldschmidt & Bogner, 2016;Röllke et al, 2021).…”

“…As the positive effects of hands-on activities on students' interest have also been found in the school context (e.g., Holstermann et al, 2010;Palmer et al, 2017;Potvin & Hasni, 2014;Swarat et al, 2012), the question arises as to whether experimentation at an outreach science lab outperforms experimentation at school in terms of the psychological state of interest. To our knowledge, there are only a few studies that have addressed this issue, such as the studies by Itzek-Greulich and Vollmer (2017), Schüttler et al (2021), andRöllke et al (2021).…”

“…Therefore, the findings cited can only be transferred to other STEM fields to a limited extent, and studies in the field of biology are required. For instance, Röllke et al (2021) compared students' psychological state of interest during inquiry-based learning at an outreach science lab and at school in the field of biology education. They found differences in a certain type of interest (triggered situational interest and the feeling component of maintained situational interest; see Linnenbrink-Garcia et al, 2010) in favor of the students at the outreach science lab; however, no differences were found in the value component (of maintained situational interest).…”

A Comprehensive Inquiry-Based Comparative Experiment for an Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Laboratory Course: Elucidating the Formation Process of N-Phenylbenzamide

“…Inquiry-based learning has been considered effective and is widely applied in lecture and laboratory courses. It engages students by posing a series of open-ended inquiries during laboratory activities, constructing meaning through data collection/analysis, developing laboratory skills, actively participating in the scientific truth-seeking process, and drawing conclusions. − While there are examples of inquiry-based learning in lecture materials, however, resources for hands-on inquiry-based laboratory experiences are limited. Thus, this set of teaching materials for an inquiry-based learning exercise in the organic laboratory was developed using comparative experiments.…”

Changing colors and understanding: the use of mutant chromogenic protein and informational suppressor strains of Escherichia coli to explore the central dogma of molecular biology

“…Holmes argues that effective labs do not need infinite student agency or need always to be as ill-structured as possible; however, there needs to be space for students to be engaged in authentic activities that grant them some form of agency and are not focused on right or wrong outcomes. Instead, the labs should focus on the process of inquiry ( 25 – 28 ). Bachhawat et al ( 29 ) experimented with organizing biology labs “the wrong way.” In their setup, students worked in groups to complete variations on the same experiment to understand the impact of different variables on the experimental design and results.…”