> > > To start the New Year, Science is pleased to announce the “Science > prize for Inquiry-Based Instruction” to highlight outstanding > “modules” for teaching introductory college science courses that can > readily spread to other settings and schools. Therefore, a unit can > neither be unusually expensive nor require highly specialized > expertise. To be eligible, a module must provide a coherent piece of > coursework in a field such as biology, chemistry, physics, or earth > sciences and require 8 to 50 hours of student effort. It should also > be free-standing: that is, suitable for teaching as a discrete unit, > independent of other modules in the course. How do inquiry-based > science modules differ from other science lessons, and why > doesScience care enough about them to create a special prize? > > Inquiry-based classes focus on activating students' natural > curiosity in exploring how the world works, differing from > traditional lectures that focus on transmitting facts and principles > derived from what scientists have discovered. Inquiry-based teaching > is often associated with hands-on activities. But not all hands-on > activities involve inquiry. Consider the laboratory work that > traditionally accompanies an introductory college science course. As > a science major, I spent three afternoons a week in such > laboratories throughout my first 2 college years. Most of us who > later became scientists recall these laboratories as tedious > “cooking classes,” where we learned to follow directions. True, we > encountered various pieces of scientific apparatus, such as > measuring devices for weights and liquids, and we learned how to > keep a laboratory notebook. But we gained neither any real > understanding of the nature of science nor experience in generating > and evaluating scientific evidence and explanations—two central > elements of a modern definition of “science education.”* Many > college laboratory exercises remain deficient in precisely these > ways today. > > CREDIT: THINKSTOCK > > Science is looking for lessons in which students become invested in > exploring questions through activities that are at least partially > of their own design. Instead of a typical laboratory exercise that > begins with an explanation and results in one correct answer, an > inquiry-based lesson might begin with a scenario or question and > then require students to propose possible solutions and design some > of their own experiments. > > In addition to honoring the 12 winning modules, we will attempt to > disseminate them as widely as possible. To this end, each winner > will write a brief essay describing the module, to be published in > Science, with complete details in the supporting online material > that accompanies the printed article. Direct applications from the > course organizers are welcome, as are nominations from former > students and colleagues. Different submission forms have been > provided for these two groups, posted at http://scim.ag/ > inquiryprize, along with instructions describing the information > required by our judges. The deadline for receiving the short > nomination form is 28 February 2011; the longer application form is > due from the course organizers on 15 April. > > The 1990s science education standards movement in the United States > revealed that teachers at the precollege level cannot be expected to > teach “science as inquiry” unless they themselves have previously > participated in such inquiry as students. Incorporating inquiry into > college science teaching will thus be critical for the future > teachers of science in all nations. But it will also be crucial for > many other adults, because successful modern societies need large > numbers of citizens who are skilled, rational problem-solvers—both > in the workplace and in their daily lives. Every society also > requires citizens who understand the nature of science and value > “science as a way of knowing” about important issues. In fact, our > new award has been stimulated by the fact that the world badly needs > a revolution in science education—a revolution that must begin at > the college level.