Inquiry‐based ecology laboratory courses improve student confidence and scientific reasoning skills

Abstract

Citation: Beck, C. W., and L. S. Blumer. 2012. Inquiry-based ecology laboratory courses improve student confidence and scientific reasoning skills. Ecosphere 3(12):112. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/ES12-00280.1Abstract. Recently, the AAAS Vision and Change report renewed the push to incorporate inquiry throughout the biology curriculum. Even prior to the report, many ecology faculty have used inquirybased approaches in their laboratory and field courses. However, the efficacy of these approaches has been assessed only to a limited degree and often at a single institution. Therefore, whether one may generalize the results of previous studies of inquiry-based teaching in laboratory courses is unclear. We examined the change in student confidence and scientific reasoning skills using published, validated instruments in inquiry-based ecology laboratory courses at two different institutions (a historically black, all-male, liberal arts college and a private research university) across multiple semesters. Students exhibited a significant increase in overall confidence and scientific reasoning skills with students in the lowest quartile at the beginning of the semester for each construct exhibiting a significantly greater gain in comparison to students in the highest quartile for the same construct. Institution had no effect on learning gains, indicating that the positive impact of inquiry-based learning is general, at least for students at our two institutions. Although weaker students exhibited greater learning gains, significant differences in confidence and scientific reasoning skills between the lowest and highest quartile persisted at the end of the semester; thus, a single, inquiry-based laboratory course is not sufficient to overcome initial differences among students. Interestingly, gains in confidence were not significantly correlated with gains in scientific reasoning with some weaker students increasing in confidence while their scientific reasoning skills decreased, which suggests that our inquiry-based laboratories did not help these students develop important metacognitive skills. Overall, our results indicate that inquiry-based laboratory courses in ecology can lead to significant learning gains, but that performance gaps among students might only be bridged by students taking multiple inquiry-based courses.

Assessing Learning Gains

“…There are multiple learning gains that students can develop in HE, which are linked to the learning outcomes or learning goals of the course: development of the conceptual understanding of the topic [13]; scientific reasoning and confidence in reasoning skills [14]; scientific writing and reading [15]; critical thinking [16]; problem solving, creativity, analytical ability, technical skills and communication [17]; moral reasoning [18]; leadership [19]; interest in political and social environment [20]; well-being [21]; and motivation [22]. Measuring such a variety of learning gains is a challenge in itself and a number of methodologies have been used to assess them.…”

Teaching Introductory Ecology with Problem‐Based Learning

“…The above principles place a strong emphasis on active student-centered learning. For decades, active learning has been promoted as a resolution for poor outcomes in STEM, including ecology, and as a method to bridge the gap between content and application (Allen et al 1996, Duch 1996a, NRC 1996, 1999, Duch et al 2001, D'Avanzo 2003, Tessier 2004, Herreid 2005, Villamagna and Karpanty 2009, AAAS 2010, Beck and Blumer 2012, Freeman et al 2014, Lewinsohn et al 2015. Use of active learning has increased; however, progress is slow, and in 2014, 50.6% of undergraduate instructors reported heavily relying on lecture (Tobias 1992, National Research Council 1999, Seymour 2002, Eagan et al 2014.…”

“…While other articles promote active learning for STEM instruction, including in ecological classrooms (D'Avanzo 2003, Tessier 2004, Herreid 2005, Villamagna and Karpanty 2009, American Association for the Advancement of Science 2010, Beck and Blumer 2012, Freeman et al 2014, Lewinsohn et al 2015, even specifically endorsing problem-based learning (Allen et al 1996, Tessier 2004, Beck and Blumer 2012, few combine a comprehensive methodological overview and practical advice on implementation (but see Allen 1997). This article aimed to assist ecology instructors venturing into problem-based learning by reviewing the theory, highlighting successful applications, and presenting selected resources.…”

“…More empirical research linking problem-based learning to instructional outcomes in STEM classrooms is needed; however, early evidence supports its efficacy. Many educators in independent programs and courses report significant increases in student learning, skills, and meta-cognitive ability (Duch 1996a, Pelaez 2002, Armbruster et al 2009, Downing et al 2009, Beck and Blumer 2012, Loyens et al 2015. Further, instructors often describe gains in soft skills, such as teamwork, leadership, and social interaction, which can be important for students beyond the classroom (Duch 1996a, Tessier 2004, Williams et al 2010.…”

A Practical Guide for Mentoring Scientific Inquiry

“…For decades, there have been calls to provide undergraduate students with authentic research experiences—creative explorations in which the answers are unknown and experimental design is student‐driven (Novak 1964, Germann 1991, Haury 1993, Lopatto 2004, Seymour et al 2004, Hunter et al 2007, Casotti et al 2008, Sadler et al 2010). Numerous studies show benefits to undergraduates who are explicitly taught research skills (Dirks and Cunningham 2006, Coil et al 2010, Beck and Blumer 2012). However, teaching undergraduates the skills they need to engage in authentic research—question formulation, experimental design, problem solving, data interpretation, scientific writing and communication, collaboration, critical analysis of the literature—is a tall order for faculty.…”