Guided Questions: A strategy to promote more effective and independent student experimental design in inquiry labs

 

Cara Gormally & Peggy Brickman

Tested Studies in Laboratory Teaching, 2007, Volume 28

Abstract

Instructors are often challenged by the amount of student-teacher interaction required to guide students in inquiry labs. We investigated whether written inquiry prompts were equally effective in aiding students in experimental design as compared to verbal prompts. We assessed students’ written assignments and survey responses to determine the usefulness of these materials. We developed a rubric that measures experimental design quality that may be useful in other laboratories to guide students in designing experiments.

Keywords:  inquiry method

Purdue University (2006)