Inquiry Laboratory Research Articles

A solventless carbonyl addition reaction as a guided inquiry laboratory activity for second-year undergraduate organic students

ABSTRACT A less hazardous, environmentally friendly, and energy-efficient Knoevenagel reaction performed using proline as a catalyst has been designed and implemented within a sophomore-level organic chemistry laboratory as a guided inquiry activity. The main learning objective is to enable students to identify and understand various green chemistry principles such as atom economy, use of safer chemicals, design for energy efficiency, and inherently safer chemistry for accident prevention. Students were successful in synthesizing α,β-unsaturated diesters using unknown substituted benzaldehydes (later identified by the students spectroscopically) and Meldrum’s acid at room temperature in the presence of proline as a catalyst without the need for an additional base. By analyzing 1H NMR spectroscopic data, infrared spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry to identify the synthesized product, the unknown benzaldehyde starting material, and the major reaction pathway, students have enhanced their spectroscopy skills and developed a deeper understanding of the mechanism of the reaction that may not be covered in the lecture course.

Engaging theoretically primed students in second year lab courses

During their second year, about 50 undergraduate physics students engage in an open inquiry lab course of 56 hours that prepares them for their bachelor research project. Two combined theory-practical courses (of which 84 hours are spent in the lab) precede this open inquiry course. These preceding courses focus on specific research skills or the use of new theory in experiments (among others the Fourier transform and signal processing). These courses are based on Holmes’ SQI-model. The final open inquiry course that focuses on general research skills is based on Etkina’s ISLE-model. From literature we have identified 5 educational design criteria to engage students in such lab courses and implemented them. One of these was effective in our implementation. We have found that quantitative physics research as opposed to design research or focusing on certain skills is needed to make our theoretically-primed students appreciate our lab courses more. It helped our students to see the meaning of our experiments better and see the need for what we want them to learn in our lab courses. For the other 4 design criteria anecdotal evidence was found shedding some light on the way in which they may work.

A Simulation-based Guided Inquiry Laboratory Package in Teaching Mirrors and Lenses for Grade 10 Learners

A Simulation-based Guided Inquiry Laboratory Package in Teaching Mirrors and Lenses for Grade 10 Learners

Fostering Students’ Creative Attitudes in Laboratory Inquiry Activities: Learning about Extraction by Utilizing Dragon Fruit Skins

Fostering Students’ Creative Attitudes in Laboratory Inquiry Activities: Learning about Extraction by Utilizing Dragon Fruit Skins

The Classroom‐Research‐Mentoring Framework: A lens for understanding science practice‐based instruction

AbstractReformed science curricula provide opportunities for students to engage with authentic science practices. However, teacher implementation of such curricula requires teachers to consider their role in the classroom, including realigning instructional decisions with the epistemic aims of science. Guiding newcomers in science can take place in settings ranging from the classroom to the undergraduate research laboratory. We suggest thinking about the potential intersections of guiding students across these contexts is important. We describe the Classroom‐Research‐Mentoring (CRM) Framework as a novel lens for examining science practice‐based instruction. We present a comparative case study of two teachers as they instruct undergraduate students in a model‐based inquiry laboratory. We analyzed stimulated‐recall episodes uncovering how these teachers interacted with their students and the rationale behind their instructional choices. Through the application of the CRM Framework, we revealed ways teachers can have instructional goals that align with those of a research mentor. For example, our teachers had the goals of “creating an inclusive environment open to student ideas,” “acknowledging students as scientists,” and “focusing students on skills and ideas needed to solve biological problems.” We suggest three functions of research mentoring that translate across the classroom and research laboratory settings: (1) build a shared understanding of epistemic aims, (2) support learners in the productive use of science practices, and (3) motivate learner engagement in science practices.

Students' inquiry skills progression based on STEM approach and inquiry lab

Inquiry skills are one of the skills that students need to master in learning biological concepts. Inquiry skills are influenced by many factors, one of which is the lesson plan. This study aims to examine the effect of inquiry lab and STEM models on inquiry skills progression. The research design used was a quasi-experiment non-randomized control group, pretest-posttest design, with three treatments, namely discovery learning lesson plan as control (C), inquiry lab lesson plan (E1) and STEM lesson plan (E2) as treatment. The three classes were randomly selected from six classes XI of Science. All students in the selected class became the research sample (N = 98), with details. The control class consisted of 33 students, E1 32 students, and E2 33 students. The material taught in all classes is the human respiratory system. Data in inquiry skills progression is measured before and after treatment. The instrument takes the form of an essay test. Data analysis using ANCOVA (p = 0.05%). The results showed that the inquiry lab and STEM models had a significant effect, and the inquiry lab model had the best effect.

Teaching Some Features of Competitive Elimination and Substitution Reactions of Alcohols through a Guided Inquiry Laboratory Activity

Teaching Some Features of Competitive Elimination and Substitution Reactions of Alcohols through a Guided Inquiry Laboratory Activity

Exploring the Impact of Open Inquiry and Simulation Laboratory Teaching Experiences on the Perception of Preservice Physics Teachers

Exploring the Impact of Open Inquiry and Simulation Laboratory Teaching Experiences on the Perception of Preservice Physics Teachers

A Research on Groundnut Shell Ash's Impact on Lateritic Soils' Soil Stabilization

This study aims to provide information on the engineering characteristics of laterite soil, which is frequently used as a building material in civil engineering projects. The significance of subsoil investigations has grown significantly in light of the recent trend of civil construction collapses. In non-industrial nations like Nigeria, minimal residual soil has long been a problem for civil infrastructure, including buildings, culverts, dams, and highways. Also, there has been a lot of global research into using lateritic soil for engineering reasons due to the rising costs of conventional stabilizing agents and the need to utilize industrial and agricultural waste in cost- effective ways for engineering applications. As implied by the research project's topic, this is accomplished through a comprehensive field inquiry and intensive laboratory testing (the effect of groundnut shell ash on lateritic soil properties). The index property test categorized the soil into the A-2-4 subgroup in accordance with the AASHTO standard. As a result, the substance is deemed unfit for use as a foundation or sub-base for paving roads. Tests on the soil's index and geotechnical characteristics after adding groundnut shell ash show significant changes in the parameters. The tests performed for this study adhered to BS 1377:1975 standards. An analysis of the data shows that GSA can be used as a binding agent in the absence of cement, even if it does not have the same binding strength as cement. 4% G.S.A. was also discovered to be the optimal content concentration. All tests and analyses are shown in chapters three and four.

Interactive video’s urgency on guided inquiry laboratory to improve integrated science process skills

There are various obstacles to practice integrated science process skills of students through guided inquiry laboratory learning. Therefore, this study aimed to describe the results of the analysis phase on the ADDIE product development method, which forms the basis for the need for interactive videos in guided inquiry laboratory learning to improve integrated science process skills. The analytical procedures used were identifying gaps in the performance of students' integrated science process skills, identifying the cause, collecting infrastructure information, and determining appropriate products. Data was collected through tests and questionnaires from 42 students and 7 middle school science teachers in West Java. The results show that students' integrated science process skills are low. The cause is the rare provision of learning that facilitates students to design experiments. Students need more intensive guidance, but teachers have limitations in facilitating all the difficulties students face when designing and conducting experiments. Based on the results of an analysis of student characteristics, teacher difficulties, and availability of infrastructure, the interactive video in guided inquiry laboratory learning is suitable for addressing issues of readiness, time management, and difficulties in guiding students so it is hoped that integrated science process skills can improve.

What is in our air? An Inquiry Lab Exploring Sources of Air Pollution in Your Community

What is in our air? An Inquiry Lab Exploring Sources of Air Pollution in Your Community

The BASIL cure: Using structure to predict function in protein biochemistry.

We have developed an undergraduate biochemistry lab curriculum based on authentic inquiry. This course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) allows a large number of students to gain skills often learned only in the traditional one-on-one mentor-student research model by bringing a research project into the undergraduate teaching lab. The Biochemistry Authentic Scientific Inquiry Lab (BASIL) uses a combined computational and wet lab approach to study proteins of known structure but unknown function. Over 3800 structures in the Protein Data Bank (PDB) have unknown function. Students following the BASIL curriculum use a combination of sequence and structure alignment tools to study these structures with the goal of identifying possible enzymes. They then use molecular docking to predict what model substrates fit near a proposed active site. Students can produce the target enzymes in the lab using standard wet-lab biochemistry techniques for expression and purification, and they then perform kinetic assays with model substrates selected from their docking studies. We have successfully used this curriculum in biochemistry lab courses for majors and non-majors. The curriculum is modular and can be used as a whole or individual parts may be incorporated into an existing course - either lecture or lab. Curriculum materials are available free-of-charge at basilbiochem.org. We are currently investigating how this curriculum can be used in a variety of academic settings, and we welcome new collaborators. We can offer synchronous support via virtual meetings and asynchronous support via Slack. This project is supported in part by NSF IUSE 2141908.

Identifying esterase and lipase activity in proteins of unknown function.

Over 3800 structures in the Protein Data Bank (PDB) have unknown function. The Biochemistry Authentic Scientific Inquiry Lab (BASIL) curriculum uses authentic inquiry to teach students to use structural bioinformatics tools to compare these structures to known enzymes and predict a function. We have predicted esterase or lipase function for several structures after performing both global and local structure alignments to identify similar structures in the PDB as well as specific amino acids that may be active site motifs. This function was supported by sequence alignment data from BLAST and PFam. SwissDock was then used for ligand docking to determine ester and lipid substrates to use for testing activity. Students in the biochemistry lab next used standard wet-lab biochemistry techniques to express and purify the target enzymes and performed kinetic assays using p-nitrophenyl acetate to test for esterase activity. After completing the BASIL curriculum, students continued with independent research projects to develop assays to test for lipase function. We have focused our efforts on the protein structures with PDB IDs 2O14 and 4Q7Q, as they showed the most promise through initial enzymatic testing. Both proteins show significant esterase activity in hydrolyzing both p-nitrophenyl acetate and p-nitrophenyl butyrate. Additionally, both proteins are able to hydrolyze p-nitrophenyl dodecanoate when sodium deoxycholate is present in the buffer solution for solubility of the substrate. We have also incorporated the p-nitrophenyl dodecanoate in DMPC vesicles, and testing of substrate hydrolysis with these vesicles is underway. We have also tested pancreatic lipase under all these conditions as a positive control for the experiments. Students will be creating a Proteopedia page for each protein. This project has been supported in part by NSF IUSE 1709355 and 2141908.

An Equity-Focused Redesign of an Introductory Organismal Biology Lab Course To Develop Foundational Scientific Practices.

Laboratory courses can serve as important avenues to equitably support introductory biology students to develop foundational scientific literacy skills while experiencing the authentic research process. We present a model for an equity-focused redesign of an introductory organismal biology laboratory course at a teaching institution with limited research infrastructure. We incorporated elements of inquiry, structure, and climate into our three redesigned course components: weekly research investigations, skill-building assignments, and student-designed group projects. Students were trained in the research process through weekly experiments using locally relevant model organisms, collecting and analyzing novel data and writing brief results sections in the conventions of a research journal article. Student groups then collaborated to complete a student-designed research project and poster presentation using one of the model organisms. Through weekly inquiry labs and practice in skill-building assignments, most students in the sample mastered skills in analyzing, graphing, and writing about experimental results. Notably, students mastered skills that were practiced more frequently throughout the lab course, demonstrating the value of repeated and scaffolded practice. Students reported significant gains in self-efficacy and science identity, as well as sense of project ownership. Student gains were influenced by instructor but not their major or the semester in which they took the course, and growth occurred across students regardless of their incoming score on the presemester survey. This intentional course design model, combined with consistent expectations for instructors across multiple sections, has the potential to equitably support students with a range of prior knowledge and experiences to make meaningful gains in science literacy skills during an introductory semester.

Distances in the Universe: An Inquiry Lab Sequence Taught in West Africa and North America

Astronomy evokes deep curiosity for many people, making it a beautiful topic for supporting students to learn scientific practices and develop as scientists. We present an inquiry-based lab sequence about distances in the Universe, which we have taught in a first-year astronomy course in Canada and in a summer program for upper-year students in West Africa. Students begin with two warm-up labs where they discover the methods of parallax and the inverse-square law for light to measure distances in their everyday lives. Then they engage in a mini research project in which they ask their own questions about astronomical images, then break down their big questions into smaller questions related to measuring astronomical distances. Students work together in teams to investigate their questions, and finally present their findings to their classmates. Students developing their own questions to investigate is a key scientific practice that is not included in many other inquiry lab curricula. We show evidence that students learned astronomical concepts, had positive feelings about the labs, appreciated the freedom to come up with their own approaches in the labs, and built their self-efficacy as scientists. Since facilitating inquiry is quite different from other kinds of teaching, we describe key features of our facilitation including how we teach new instructors. We describe our curriculum in both Canada and West Africa and offer suggestions for future implementations. We encourage other astronomy instructors to try an inquiry approach to help students develop as scientists while exploring topics they are curious about. <em>Primary Image:</em>&nbsp;Students Rubby Aworka, Vincent Oko Laryea, and Mercy Effah Pardie (left to right) work on designing a way to measure the distance to a model planet in the Distance Inquiry Lab A, at the Pan-African School for Emerging Astronomers (PASEA) 2017 in Accra, Ghana. Image credit: Thai Duy Cuong Nguyen, provided with permission for use in this article under CC-BY-NC 4.0.

Biochemistry authentic scientific inquiry lab (BASIL) provides flexible course-based undergraduate research experience with computational and wet-lab approaches to studying protein function.

Biochemistry authentic scientific inquiry lab (BASIL) provides flexible course-based undergraduate research experience with computational and wet-lab approaches to studying protein function.

Guided inquiry laboratory works in investigations of the photoelectric properties of semiconductors

Guided inquiry laboratory works in investigations of the photoelectric properties of semiconductors

Investigating student reasoning about measurement uncertainty and ability to draw conclusions from measurement data in inquiry-based university physics labs

ABSTRACT Measurement uncertainty is a key topic in the university physics laboratory curriculum. In this study, we investigate students’ ability to draw conclusions from measurement data and reasoning about measurement uncertainty in inquiry labs. This investigation centres around a task where students conclude whether measurements from two experiments that differ only by one setup agree or disagree. Surveys were administered in introductory physics courses before and after Workshop Physics instruction, which utilises an activity-based, guided-inquiry approach. Student reasoning was characterised using the point and set paradigms. Think-aloud interviews were conducted to gain deeper insights into students' interpretations of measurement uncertainty. The survey results showed that students tended to draw conclusions based on the means without appropriately accounting for uncertainty even if many recognised the need to evaluate uncertainty. The number of decimal places had no influence on students’ ability to draw conclusions. After instruction, students’ reasoning shifted from point toward set or mixed paradigm, but their ability to draw conclusions did not improve. During the interviews, students demonstrated sophisticated interpretations about measurement uncertainty and data analysis strategies they used. Students recognised measurement uncertainty is inevitable and were able to identify possible sources of uncertainty. We discuss implications for instruction around measurement uncertainty.

Guided inquiry laboratory to improve research skills of prospective biology teachers

&lt;span lang="EN-US"&gt;This study described guided-inquiry laboratory impact on increase in research skills of prospective biology teachers. Skill research indicators are designing, implementing, and reporting. This study was a non-equivalent control group design using experimental and control groups. Data were collected from 60 participants through observation of research skill indicators, namely designing, performing, and reporting then analyzed quantitatively-descriptively. The sample was selected using purposive sampling. The results confirmed that the guided-inquiry laboratory application has a more effective impact on improving research skills than ordinary learning. Each indicator of research skills (designing, performing, and reporting in the experimental class) meets the "Medium" category, while the "Low" category in the control class. This study concluded that the guided inquiry laboratory has a positive impact in improving the research skills of prospective biology teachers. This research provides a reference for teachers to explore the research abilities of their students.&lt;/span&gt;

Uncovering the Emotional Aspect of Inquiry Practices in a Remote SEM Environment and the Development of a Designated Questionnaire

The setting of this study is a remote laboratory with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The SEM is an advanced instrument used by scientists to characterize structures in the nanoscale. The remote SEM activity was structured to address different practices of laboratory inquiry. Secondary chemistry students were requested to prepare at home suitable samples for the SEM device, send the samples to a research institute, and operate the SEM device remotely to study their samples. The scientists and the science teacher supported the students, for example, by providing information on how the SEM works and how it is used in contemporary scientific research. A qualitative analysis of data collected during the activity and students’ open-ended feedback in a postquestionnaire identified different inquiry practices according to acceptable science education standards. The “hands-on” practices (e.g., preparing SEM samples and collecting data) engaged the students more in the SEM activity than did the “minds-on” inquiry practices (e.g., analyzing and interpreting data). Students’ emotions were also evaluated for the remote SEM setting and the school setting using a semantic differential emotions questionnaire (SDEQ). The paper describes the development of the SDEQ and its validation process. Addressing the emotional aspects and applying the SDEQ revealed that the remote SEM learning environment induces positive emotions for students; these emotions cannot be predicted by students’ emotions in a school science setting. This shows the potential of the “emotions-on” aspect to shed new light on inquiry practices and support the inclusion of different students in developing laboratory skills.