Biological Sciences (61) "Integrated Pedagogy to Promote Understanding of Nature of Science and Scientific Inquiry in a College Biology Laboratory" is creating learning materials and teaching strategies and conducting research on undergraduate STEM education via a multi-department, multi-institution collaboration. The project aims to increase student understanding of the nature of science (NOS) and scientific inquiry (SI) in response to findings that undergraduate science students do not understand NOS and SI and do not necessarily improve their understanding by performing science. Current research-based practice calls for incorporation of explicit reflection about NOS and SI as part of the science curriculum, and this project is employing a full factorial design to compare the efficacy of inquiry versus non-inquiry labs and reflective versus non-reflective practices on student learning of NOS and SI in introductory biology laboratories at both a 4-yr and a 2-yr institution. Project outcomes include: TA's better informed about NOS, SI, and innovative instructional techniques, a NOS / SI symposium, and a pilot lab manual.
