Open Inquiry‐Based Learning Elicits Deeper Understanding of Complex Physiological Concepts Compared to Traditional Lecture‐Style or Guided‐Inquiry Learning Methods

Abstract

Inquiry‐based teaching (IBT) pedagogy has been theorized to be a more effective method of conveying deeper understanding of scientific concepts compared to traditional lecture‐style instruction. This study compared 2 levels of IBT (guided‐problem based inquiry, GPBL; and open ended‐problem based learning, OPBL) with traditional lecture style instruction (LI) in an upper level, undergraduate animal physiology (AP) course. Students enrolled in AP were randomly assigned to one of three experimental groups: LI, GPBL or OPBL. Student grade point averages were not different between groups at the onset of instruction (p>0.05). Student assessments included multiple choice (MC) and short answer (SA) questions at 3 time points across the semester. Students in the OPBL group scored higher on both MC (56.48±6.92pts) and SA (55.38±8.78pts) compared to the LI group (MC: 53.52±8.64pts; SA: 50.95±12.7pts; p<0.05). Conversely, the GPBL group showed no difference in either MC scores (53.54±7.27pts) or SA scores (50.28±11.75pts). These results indicate that students with OPBL instruction, who have been challenged to think about conceptual problems and work with their peers to find a solution, gain a better understanding of concepts compared to LI students. Future studies will assess the writing sample performances of each test group in the same experimental design.