What is Problem-Based Inquiry

This chapter introduces an inquiry designed to foster learner engagement in science and literacy in using new media. The design included an online, problem-based, science inquiry that investigated environmental pollution at the Lehigh Gap, a U.S. Superfund Site. During five weeks of classroom sessions, several sessions were enhanced by remote access to an electron microscope to analyze Lehigh Gap samples. This access allowed the students to capture images from the microscope, known as micrographs, and furthermore, allowed them to perform an elemental analysis of samples from the polluted area. Additionally, an introduction to nanoscale science and nanotechnology used for remediation of heavy metal contamination was explored. Students contributed the artifacts they generated during their research to a university database and presented them to researchers at the university working on similar problems. This approach proved highly engaging and generated design guidelines useful to others interested in student engagement, introducing nanotechnology, and using remote electron microscopy in middle school science.