Howard David R, Miskowski Jennifer A
Department of Biology, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, La Crosse, WI 54601, USA.
Cell Biol Educ. 2005 Fall;4(3):249-60. doi: 10.1187/cbe.04-09-0052.
Because cell biology has rapidly increased in breadth and depth, instructors are challenged not only to provide undergraduate science students with a strong, up-to-date foundation of knowledge, but also to engage them in the scientific process. To these ends, revision of the Cell Biology Lab course at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse was undertaken to allow student involvement in experimental design, emphasize data collection and analysis, make connections to the "big picture," and increase student interest in the field. Multiweek laboratory modules were developed as a method to establish an inquiry-based learning environment. Each module utilizes relevant techniques to investigate one or more questions within the context of a fictional story, and there is a progression during the semester from more instructor-guided to more open-ended student investigation. An assessment tool was developed to evaluate student attitudes regarding their lab experience. Analysis of five semesters of data strongly supports the module format as a successful model for inquiry education by increasing student interest and improving attitude toward learning. In addition, student performance on inquiry-based assignments improved over the course of each semester, suggesting an improvement in inquiry-related skills.
由于细胞生物学在广度和深度上都迅速增长，教师面临的挑战不仅是为本科理科学生提供坚实、最新的知识基础，还要让他们参与到科学过程中。为此，威斯康星大学拉克罗斯分校对细胞生物学实验课程进行了修订，以使学生能够参与实验设计，强调数据收集和分析，与“大局”建立联系，并提高学生对该领域的兴趣。多周的实验模块被开发出来，作为建立基于探究的学习环境的一种方法。每个模块利用相关技术在一个虚构故事的背景下研究一个或多个问题，并且在学期中存在从更多教师指导到更多开放式学生探究的进展。开发了一种评估工具来评估学生对他们实验室经历的态度。对五个学期数据的分析有力地支持了模块形式作为探究教育的成功模式，因为它提高了学生的兴趣并改善了学习态度。此外，学生在基于探究的作业上的表现随着每个学期的推进而提高，这表明与探究相关的技能有所提升。
