Inquiry-based Lab Research Articles

Simulating an investigative study of clinical cancer samples: use of tissue slides and PCR-based promoter-hypermethylation analysis.

Topics on the molecular basis underlying cancer are quite popular among students. Also, excellent textbooks abound that provide interesting materials for discussion during lectures and tutorials about major events leading to cancer formation and progression. However, much less is available for students to conduct experiments for the analysis of cancer samples in undergraduate modules where there is a limited time-frame. Given the difficulty of working with cancer samples and the scarcity of good samples even in the clinical laboratories, it is impossible to run large-class practicals using patients' samples. Here, we describe the use of tissue slides in combination with polymerase-chain reaction (PCR) as a means of simulating an investigative approach to supplement students' learning of clinical research. By using tissue slides for histo-pathological examinations and specific budding yeast genomic DNA and primers adapted to demonstrate methylation-specific PCR, we designed an inquiry-based lab session to simulate the clinical investigation of a cohort of biopsies that students could analyze in a one-session practical.

Microwave Synthesis of Zinc Hydroxy Sulfate Nanoplates and Zinc Oxide Nanorods in the Classroom

In this hands-on, inquiry-based lab, high school and undergraduate students learn about nanotechnology by synthesizing their own nanoparticles in a single class period. This simple synthesis of zinc oxide nanorods and zinc hydroxy sulfate nanoplates can be done in 15 min using a household microwave oven. Reagent concentration, reaction temperature, and time all affect the size and shape of the particles synthesized, allowing students to explore how materials scientists control reaction conditions to achieve desired results.

A Comparison of Students’ Approaches to Inquiry, Conceptual Learning, and Attitudes in Simulation-Based and Microcomputer-Based Laboratories

The purpose of this project was to investigate the effects of virtual versus physical manipulation using a simulation-based laboratory activity (SBL) and a microcomputer-based laboratory activity (MBL). Both the SBL and the MBL used computers to collect, graph, and analyze data. A major difference was that the MBL allowed the students to manipulate physical materials, whereas in the SBL activity they manipulated virtual materials. In this quasi-experimental design, two 11th-grade classes (N = 68) at an urban public high school in Taipei were assigned to the SBL and MBL settings. The participants conducted the Boyle's law experiment without having done any relevant prior experiment. Their science concepts, performance of inquiry tasks, and attitudes toward the SBL/MBL were examined by pre- and postconceptual tests, an inquiry-based lab manual, and postlaboratory interviews. The results showed that both groups performed equally well and had remarkable gains in their pre- to posttest learning achievement. Nevertheless, physical manipulation may have contributed to inquiry practices such as creating practical ideas for conducting and improving the experiment and interpreting the data and may have increased the enjoyment of the laboratory. This study concludes that virtual manipulation is as effective as physical manipulation in learning physics concepts, but that the former gives learners some naive expectations and induces certain learning strategies that seem to lead to mindless planning and conducting of experiments and hinders them from generating ideas to improve experiments.

A Simple Inquiry-Based Lab for Teaching Osmosis

This simple inquiry-based lab was designed to teach the principle of osmosis while also providing an experience for students to use the skills and practices commonly found in science. Students first design their own experiment using very basic equipment and supplies, which generally results in mixed, but mostly poor, outcomes. Classroom “talk and argument” is then used to determine how their experiments could be changed to gather more reliable data. The final assessment consists of both formal and subjective testing, requiring students to explain their design choices.

Research and Teaching: Statistics Across the Curriculum Using an Iterative, Interactive Approach in an Inquiry-Based Lab Sequence

Research and Teaching: Statistics Across the Curriculum Using an Iterative, Interactive Approach in an Inquiry-Based Lab Sequence

Proteomics in the Classroom: An Investigative Study of Proteins in Microorganisms

As advances in biotechnology and molecular biology rapidly expand in research settings, it is vital that we continue to prepare high school students to enter and thrive in those modern laboratories. This multistep, inquiry-based lab describes highly adaptable methods to teach students not only current molecular techniques and technologies, but also about proteomics and microorganisms. Students participate in protein extraction, gel electrophoresis, mass spectrometry, and data analysis to identify proteins present in microorganisms.

Virtual and Physical Experimentation in Inquiry-Based Science Labs: Attitudes, Performance and Access

This study investigated the learning dimensions that occur in physical and virtual inquiry-based lab investigations, in first-year secondary chemistry classes. This study took place over a 2 year period and utilized an experimental crossover design which consisted of two separate trials of laboratory investigation. Assessment data and attitudinal data were gathered and analyzed to measure the instructional value of physical and virtual lab experiences in terms of student performance and attitudes. Test statistics were conducted for differences of means for assessment data. Student attitudes towards virtual experiences in comparison to physical lab experiences were measured using a newly created Virtual and Physical Experimentation Questionnaire (VPEQ). VPEQ was specifically developed for this study, and included new scales of Usefulness of Lab, and Equipment Usability which measured attitudinal dimensions in virtual and physical lab experiences. A factor analysis was conducted for questionnaire data, and reliability of the scales and internal consistency of items within scales were calculated. The new scales were statistically valid and reliable. The instructional value of physical and virtual lab experiences was comparable in terms of student performance. Students showed preference towards the virtual medium in their lab experiences. Students showed positive attitudes towards physical and virtual experiences, and demonstrated a preference towards inquiry-based experiences, physical or virtual. Students found virtual experiences to have higher equipment usability as well as a higher degree of open-endedness. In regards to student access to inquiry-based lab experiences, virtual and online alternatives were viewed favorably by students.

High Marks for Transformative Teachers

As an educator working to reform introductory undergraduate courses, I was perplexed by B. Alberts's announcement about a Science prize for inquiry-based lab modules (“A new college Science prize,” Editorial, 7 January, p. [10][1]). Given that inquiry modules are readily available in a variety of excellent, peer-reviewed resources ([ 1 ][2]–[ 6 ][3]), students' inexperience with this lesson format is likely not due to lack of access to such materials. The persistent deficiencies in college science teaching discussed in the Editorial point to a problem much larger than availability of inquiry modules. Real transformation, as outlined in the recent AAAS Vision and Change “call to action,” for example ([ 7 ][4]), requires much more than inquiry teaching. For instance, faculty need to assess how well students entering a course can apply scientific thinking to questions about major concepts, and then assess whether such critical thinking skills improve after instruction. In my view, faculty who teach truly transformed science courses, as defined by elements such as these, deserve the honors. 1. [↵][5]The National Science Digital Library ([nsdl.org][6]). 2. Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning ([pogil.org][7]). 3. Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College ([serc.carleton.edu][8]). 4. Teaching Issues and Experiments in Ecology ([tiee.ecoed.net][9]). 5. Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning Online ([taste.merlot.org/merlotcollection.html][10]). 6. [↵][11]Association for Biology Laboratory Instruction ([ableweb.org/][12]). 7. [↵][13]Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action (American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, DC, 2010). [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.1202096 [2]: #ref-1 [3]: #ref-6 [4]: #ref-7 [5]: #xref-ref-1-1 View reference 1 in text [6]: http://nsdl.org [7]: http://pogil.org [8]: http://serc.carleton.edu [9]: http://tiee.ecoed.net [10]: http://taste.merlot.org/merlotcollection.html [11]: #xref-ref-6-1 View reference 6 in text [12]: http://ableweb.org/ [13]: #xref-ref-7-1 View reference 7 in text

Using the Wolbachia Bacterial Symbiont to Teach Inquiry-Based Science: A High School Laboratory Series

Inquiry, discovery, and technology are key pillars in improving science education. We present an inquiry-based lab project using the worldwide symbiosis between the bacterium Wolbachia and invertebrates. This endeavor, called “Discover the Microbes Within! The Wolbachia Project,” has the following goals: (1) involve students in grade 7 through college in a nationwide effort to collect new genetic information on Wolbachia; (2) provide curriculum, protocols, and training to enhance teachers' ability to lead students through the project; and (3) increase students' understanding of biodiversity, evolution, symbiosis, cell biology, molecular biology, and bioinformatics.

Mini-Lab Activities: Inquiry-Based Lab Activities for Formative Assessment

Students everywhere love chemistry demonstrations, especially if they involve explosions. But have you ever wanted to move beyond the wow factor and find a way to incorporate active student learning into your demos? What if you could get them to think more deeply about what they're observing, and then find out if they really understand what they’ve experienced? Those questions initiated our quest to create “interactive demos” at the US Air Force Academy Department of Chemistry. Over the past year and a half, this effort has evolved into inquiry-based learning activities. We now refer to these activities as “mini-labs”, because they also contain the additional dimension of a simple formative assessment of a student’s knowledge and awareness of chemical principles. The “Mini-Lab” was conceived of as an idea to help instructors easily add inquiry-based learning activities to their curriculum by providing an array of activities that are easy to implement and not supply-intensive and that are designed around...

Detergent‐based isolation of yeast membrane rafts

Lipid rafts have been implicated in numerous cellular processes including cell signaling, endocytosis, and even viral infection. Isolation of these lipid rafts often involves detergent treatment of the membrane to dissolve nonraft components followed by separation of raft regions in a density gradient. We present here an inquiry-based lab series using these techniques to isolate membrane rafts from yeast cells designed for the upper division biochemistry or cell biology course laboratory. The co-localization of a common raft-associated protein with lipid rafts is then followed. This lab series involves undergraduate cell biology or biochemistry students in each step of the scientific process from experimental design to dissemination of their results. Additionally, this lab series reinforces concepts in membrane structure while exposing undergraduates to common techniques in cell biology and biochemistry.

The Science Teacher: Spring 2008

This article reviews chemistry-related articles published between Summer 2007 and February 2008, in The Science Teacher (TST). A new TST column addresses safety-with emphases in reviewed articles on chemical hygiene plans, bloodborne pathogens, ionizing radiation, eyewash and shower stations, electrical safety, and chemical management. In addition, activities for teaching about ionic compounds, an inquiry-based lab and cart sorting project on freezing point depressions, and a simulation of Rutherford's Gold Foil Experiment are described. Also included is a career focus on a green product chemist. Supplementary JCE articles for these articles and topics are referenced.

An inquiry into protein structure and genetic disease: introducing undergraduates to bioinformatics in a large introductory course.

This inquiry-based lab is designed around genetic diseases with a focus on protein structure and function. To allow students to work on their own investigatory projects, 10 projects on 10 different proteins were developed. Students are grouped in sections of 20 and work in pairs on each of the projects. To begin their investigation, students are given a cDNA sequence that translates into a human protein with a single mutation. Each case results in a genetic disease that has been studied and recorded in the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) database. Students use bioinformatics tools to investigate their proteins and form a hypothesis for the effect of the mutation on protein function. They are also asked to predict the impact of the mutation on human physiology and present their findings in the form of an oral report. Over five laboratory sessions, students use tools on the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Web site (BLAST, LocusLink, OMIM, GenBank, and PubMed) as well as ExPasy, Protein Data Bank, ClustalW, the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) database, and the structure-viewing program DeepView. Assessment results showed that students gained an understanding of the Web-based databases and tools and enjoyed the investigatory nature of the lab.

Bromination and Debromination of Cholesterol: An Inquiry-Based Lab Involving Structure Elucidation, Reaction Mechanism, and 1H NMR

A classic laboratory experiment involving the bromination of cholesterol and subsequent zinc-mediated debromination back to cholesterol has been reworked for use in an upper-level organic lab. The emphasis has been changed from the purification of cholesterol to a structure determination, conformation, stereochemistry, and mechanism investigation. A series of instructions and questions designed to help the students deduce the structure and three-dimensional shape of dibromocholesterol from approximate 1H NMR data has been developed. Dihedral angles from the three-dimensional perspective drawings and the approximate coupling constants gleaned from 1H NMR data provide the basis for a structural assignment of the dibromocholesterol and allow for a mechanism of bromination to be proposed.

What Makes Swing Time? A Directed Inquiry-Based Lab Assessment

(2001). What Makes Swing Time? A Directed Inquiry-Based Lab Assessment. Science Activities: Vol. 38, No. 2, pp. 29-33.