As science educators, we must help students develop independent critical thinking skills, communication skills and collaborative skills in order to navigate through the dynamic world of the 21st century. By integrating inquiry-based, student-centered learning with traditional teaching methods, we empower students to take risks, tempering their curiosity and creativity within the bounds of concrete scientific learning objectives.
Students gain a deeper intuition for the scientific concepts presented when they are free to formulate and test their own ideas and explain their sometimes unexpected results. This can be achieved in the laboratory with guided inquiry investigations as well as in the classroom with collaborative group work on conceptual problem solving with a focus on cognitive dissonance.
When a scientific question is posed, students often focus on memorizing facts or reading their textbooks to obtain the “correct” answer. The consequence of this is that students see scientific questions as mere tasks to be completed and do not construct a mental framework that can help them discover the answer. The joy and power of science is found largely in the methods used. Mastering the process of scientific inquiry can help students reveal and understand important fundamental relationships that are often both interesting and counterintuitive. In addition student gain confidence, retain information and show better analytical thinking skills.
