Investigating Biology Through Inquiry

Are you interested in using argument-driven inquiry for high school lab instruction but just aren't sure how to do it? You aren't alone. This book will provide you with both the information and instructional materials you need to start using this method right away. Argument-Driven Inquiry in Biology is a one-stop source of expertise, advice, and investigations. The book is broken into two basic parts: 1. An introduction to the stages of argument-driven inquiry-- from question identification, data analysis, and argument development and evaluation to double-blind peer review and report revision. 2. A well-organized series of 27 field-tested labs that cover molecules and organisms, ecosystems, heredity, and biological evolution. The investigations are designed to be more authentic scientific experiences than traditional laboratory activities. They give your students an opportunity to design their own methods, develop models, collect and analyze data, generate arguments, and critique claims and evidence. Because the authors are veteran teachers, they designed Argument-Driven Inquiry in Biology to be easy to use and aligned with today's standards. The labs include reproducible student pages and teacher notes. The investigations will help your students learn the core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and scientific practices found in the Next Generation Science Standards. In addition, they offer ways for students to develop the disciplinary skills outlined in the Common Core State Standards. Many of today's teachers-- like you-- want to find new ways to engage students in scientific practices and help students learn more from lab activities. Argument-Driven Inquiry in Biology does all of this even as it gives students the chance to practice reading, writing, speaking, and using math in the context of science.

Biology Inquiries offers educators a handbook for teaching middle and high school students engaging lessons in the life sciences. Inspired by the National Science Education Standards, the book bridges the gap between theory and practice. With exciting twists on standard biology instruction the author emphasizes active inquiry instead of rote memorization. Biology Inquiries contains many innovative ideas developed by biology teacher Martin Shields. This dynamic resource helps teachers introduce standards-based inquiry and constructivist lessons into their classrooms. Some of the book's classroom-tested lessons are inquiry modifications of traditional "cookbook" labs that biology teachers will recognize. Biology Inquiries provides a pool of active learning lessons to choose from with valuable tips on how to implement them.

Provides the information and instruction materials needed to use argument-driven inquiry in high school chemistry classes. Includes an introduction to the stages of argument-driven inquiry and 30 field-tested labs covering a broad range of topics. Includes easy-to-use reproducible student pages, teacher notes, and checkout questions.

Describes inquiry-based instruction and explains how to use it in the high school science classroom in accordance with national standards, providing case studies and other tools.

With its distinctive investigative approach to learning, this best-selling laboratory manual encourages you to participate in the process of science and develop creative and critical reasoning skills. You are invited to pose hypotheses, make predictions, conduct open-ended experiments, collect data, and apply the results to new problems. The Seventh Edition emphasizes connections to recurring themes in biology, including structure and function, unity and diversity, and the overarching theme of evolution. Select tables from the lab manual are provided in Excel(R) format in MasteringBiology(R) at www.masteringbiology.com, allowing you to record data directly on their computer, process data using statistical tests, create graphs, and be prepared to communicate your results in class discussions or reports.

Humans, especially children, are naturally curious. Yet, people often balk at the thought of learning scienceâ€"the "eyes glazed over" syndrome. Teachers may find teaching science a major challenge in an era when science ranges from the hardly imaginable quark to the distant, blazing quasar. Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards is the book that educators have been waiting forâ€"a practical guide to teaching inquiry and teaching through inquiry, as recommended by the National Science Education Standards. This will be an important resource for educators who must help school boards, parents, and teachers understand "why we can't teach the way we used to." "Inquiry" refers to the diverse ways in which scientists study the natural world and in which students grasp science knowledge and the methods by which that knowledge is produced. This book explains and illustrates how inquiry helps students learn science content, master how to do science, and understand the nature of science. This book explores the dimensions of teaching and learning science as inquiry for K-12 students across a range of science topics. Detailed examples help clarify when teachers should use the inquiry-based approach and how much structure, guidance, and coaching they should provide. The book dispels myths that may have discouraged educators from the inquiry-based approach and illuminates the subtle interplay between concepts, processes, and science as it is experienced in the classroom. Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards shows how to bring the standards to life, with features such as classroom vignettes exploring different kinds of inquiries for elementary, middle, and high school and Frequently Asked Questions for teachers, responding to common concerns such as obtaining teaching supplies. Turning to assessment, the committee discusses why assessment is important, looks at existing schemes and formats, and addresses how to involve students in assessing their own learning achievements. In addition, this book discusses administrative assistance, communication with parents, appropriate teacher evaluation, and other avenues to promoting and supporting this new teaching paradigm.