Inquiring About Plants

Inquiring About Plants:  A Practical Guide to Engaging Science Practices

 

Question:  How do you effectively engage your students in the study of biology? 

Answer:  By engaging in activities that focus on students’ learning and that help students help themselves understand and apply the major processes and concepts of biology.  

 

For decades, science process skills and science content were treated as separate arenas within many classrooms across the U.S.—students sometimes practiced science process skills in laboratory and, in “lecture,” learned all the content the teacher could provide. Today, we recognize that science practices should be cultivated in students throughout the course, not just sporadically in lab settings. We also know that learning about content and skills together is a most effective classroom strategy. Yet, there are few working models for instructors to help them teach biology this way. We hope that this inquiry-based, practical guide can help fill the void.

 

Inquiring About Plants offers classroom-tested “tricks of the trade” for drawing students into the practice of science. This guide includes 20 activities to promote students’ critical thinking about concepts in ecology, morphology, anatomy, physiology, genetic variation, evolution, and climate change—making the guide relevant for a wide variety of biology instructors and courses. It then illustrates ways you can help students connect concepts and experiences together in student-centered investigations. This book will be a go-to resource for either high school teachers or college science faculty who want to create a culture of inquiry in their classrooms.

 

Key features include:

Botanical examples for students to develop skills of observation, to pose scientific questions, and to use evidence to support their claims
Strategies for focusing on the big ideas of biology and student understanding of these ideas
Tips for creating your own inquiry-based activities