Abstract
This chapter presents an overview of the development and implementation of a student-centered teaching approach, namely the Student-Led Instructor Facilitated Guided-Inquiry Learning (SLIFGIL), in an undergraduate chemistry laboratory course. SLIFGIL is a hybrid approach to teaching and is based on the science writing heuristic (SWH) approach used in the laboratory settings. The SWH approach has been used for two decades in school and college science classrooms. Prior studies have reported the effectiveness of the SWH approach in improving student academic performance and conceptual understanding. Though the SWH approach has its strengths, student participation in collaborative group work and continued reliance on the instructor to step in to guide the flow of laboratory activities and facilitate student learning was observed to be a challenge by the first author. To address these challenges, SLIFGIL approach was developed to shift the ownership of learning to the students. In this chapter, an overview of the SLIFGIL approach and results on its effectiveness are presented.
TopIntroduction
Laboratory instruction is important to engage students in scientific investigations and to provide them a firsthand experience of conducting an authentic scientific study. Laboratory instruction should enable students to support or refute a hypothesis through experimentation and build their scientific understanding and laboratory skills during the laboratory work. Despite repeated calls for incorporating student-centered practices in college chemistry laboratory courses and engaging students in active-learning inquiry-based experiences there has been little success in achieving the goal of fostering an appreciation and liking for scientific inquiry among students through laboratory experimentation. Two major issues have impacted laboratory instruction. First, the student perceptions of scientific inquiry and their interactions in the laboratory are often neglected by instructors. Secondly, across the nation most laboratory instructors engage in traditional verification laboratory practices (Hofstein & Lunetta, 1982; Johnson & Johnson, 1985). The problem with the traditional verification laboratory instruction is that the students already know the outcome of the laboratory experiment which limits any opportunities for the students to engage in the process of scientific inquiry through experimentation. These issues have remained unaddressed despite proven research on the use of extended, reflective inquiry-based investigations for a meaningful learning of science.
The present study addresses these challenges in the context of chemistry laboratory teaching by highlighting the development and implementation of the Student Led Instructor Facilitated Guided Inquiry Learning (SLIFGIL) approach. This study fills an important gap in the literature on active learning in science teaching laboratories specifically on the use of guided inquiry teaching wherein it is feasible to gradually train students to be actively involved in the learning process. The study shows that laboratories could be transformative for student learning with carefully and systematically designed pedagogical approaches that focus on the role of instructor as a facilitator and students as peer-leaders.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Active Learning: Engaging in learning process through note taking, participating in hands-on activities virtually or in a classroom room setting either individually or in learning teams.
Science Writing Heuristic: A guided inquiry-based approach that involves writing to learn science.
Laboratory Teaching: Instruction with experimental component specifically hands-on investigations of scientific concepts and principles accompanied with laboratory related skills and techniques.
Peer Learning: A format of learning where peers lead instruction in a laboratory or classroom setting.
Collaborative Learning: Learning in small groups or teams facilitated by an expert or an instructor.
Hybrid Instruction: The use of remote or online learning activities such as videos and podcasts with a face-to-face component.
Guided Inquiry: A structured approach to teaching science through carefully designed activities to guide student through exploration and discovery.