As understanding of STEM education pedagogy deepens, traditional lecture-based courses evolve to include new philosophies, such as active learning, project-based learning, and inquiry-based learning (IBL). Additionally, hands-on educational experiences at the early stages of an undergraduate program are seminal in propelling students into the…

Rock and mineral labs are fundamental in traditional introductory geology courses. Successful implementation of these lab activities provides students opportunities to apply content knowledge. Inquiry-based instruction may be one way to increase student success. Prior examination of published STEM labs indicates that geology labs, particularly…

This meta-analysis evaluated the effectiveness of inquiry-based learning (IBL) on improving students' conceptual understanding in science and mathematics. The study systematically reviewed 12 empirical studies with 14 effect sizes involving 786 students across various countries, educational levels, and disciplines. These studies were selected…

A mixed methods study was used to investigate the influence of blended learning on preservice teachers' readiness to teach using inquiry-based learning. Online science teaching methods activities were added to a face-to-face science content class for the preservice teachers to improve their readiness to teach using inquiry-based learning. An…

This article describes the author's experience designing and implementing an inquiry-based learning (IBL) pedagogical approach to an upper-division undergraduate cryptology course. The author shares the course goals and how the IBL style supports their achievement. The article concludes with sample activities -- in-class exercises that touch on…

Inquiry-based teaching is the most widespread approach in science education worldwide. However, in Peru, this model became better known since the latest curriculum reform in 2016, which proposed implementing that teaching approach at all levels of schooling. Since then, no literature review has been conducted on the status quo of implementing…

Courses: This paper presents a course design that aims to stimulate student ownership of learning. It was developed for a semester-long undergraduate course in political communication, but it is equally suitable for courses at graduate level and on other topics. The course design will unfold its potential best in classes with up to 30 students.…

Creating conditions that allow for the autonomy of educators during professional learning has been a key focus in educational research in recent years. Much evidence supports that collaborative inquiry (CI) is a model that can foster this autonomy by prioritizing teachers' concerns, needs, and interests in the professional learning process. By…

This paper is a practical how-to guide to help you start using active learning or to have greater success and more fun with it. We categorize active learning techniques as Think, Pair, Share, Composite, Group, Move, or Lead and discuss how to implement activities in each category, along with advice on creating engaging, effective, and equitable…

Inquiry-based instruction has played an important role in science education, and been recognized as a critical approach to improve students' scientific learning effectiveness. However, current research revealed that it is a challenge for teacher education programs to improve pre-service science teachers' inquiry-based instructional activity design…

Recently, our course team transformed a large-enrollment introductory genetics course from being predominantly lecture based to active learning based. During class sessions, students engaged in problem solving, which occurs when a student attempts to solve a problem without knowing the path to complete it. We designed class activities…

Inquiry-based course experiences provide a scalable and equitable way to engage students in research. In this study, we describe how we introduced inquiry-based experiences to ten lower-division and upper-division courses across the biology curriculum at a regionally comprehensive public university serving the diverse population in a major…

Future needs and challenges, especially in complex real-world problem-solving, require education to equip individuals with quality skills. Inquiry-based learning that integrates socio-scientific issues (SSI) can significantly develop students' problem-solving skills. This study aims to test the effects of the Socio-Scientific Real-world Inquiry…

This article describes an exercise for a physical laboratory experiment designed to enable physical geography students to practice transferable quantitative skills through inquiry-based learning. The exercise is a deliberately simplified physical model of storm-driven coastal overwash typical of low-lying coastal barrier systems. The experiment…

Laboratory learning in the life sciences is historically centered around following recipe-like instructions to complete activities with defined outcomes. The American Association for the Advancement of Science's "Vision and Change" report has called for a change in science teaching. The report emphasizes the importance of providing…