Reforming COOKBOOK Labs Cookbook Labs Most of the

Reforming COOKBOOK Labs

Cookbook Labs § Most of the labs you’ll find in lab manuals or textbooks are cookbook labs § Give a purpose/background that tells students what they will find out § Provide step-by-step instructions that do not require students to think along the way § Are so structured that students don’t have to organize data or make sense of data § With relatively little effort, these labs can be converted to the level of inquiry that makes sense for your group of students

Problems with Cookbook Labs § They don’t stimulate student thinking § Students often miss the “big idea” of the lab because they’re lost in the details § Students have difficulty constructing meaning from the data they collect § Cookbook labs misrepresent NOS § § § They present a single scientific method They don’t emphasize uncertainty in science They don’t emphasize how scientists make inferences from their data (instead these labs suggest that data “speak” for themselves)

But cookbook labs have merit… § § § Some of the activities are GREAT! They are hands-on or activity-based Many times, we as teachers couldn’t come up with hands-on activities just from our imaginations § AND they can serve as templates we use to make labs more inquiry-based

Modification 1: Questions 1. Change the purpose to a question or challenge. 2. Eliminate the background information that tells the student what to expect. 3. Make the question relevant to students 4. Involve students in activities where they • • Generate questions themselves Get to select among questions/variables to test

Modification 2: Evidence 1. Before students see any procedure, pose the question/challenge. • Ask them what they would have to do to solve it. 2. Eliminate the procedure altogether or just eliminate parts of it that students could reasonably figure out. 3. Give students chance to select & define variables to test/observe 4. Eliminate the data tables & let students decide how to present data

Modification 3: Explanation 1. Do the lab before you lecture. 2. Move the textbook reading from before lab to after it. 3. Establish a pattern for lab-work in your classes: students must develop evidence-based explanations 4. Let students discuss data together. 5. Engage students in data analysis by • • Looking for patterns Using evidence & logic to support conclusions

Modification 4: Communication 1. Provide opportunities for students to present & critique their explanations from evidence 2. Require students to determine the extent to which explanations are really based on evidence • • • Which evidence is strongest? Weakest? How confident are they in their findings? What would make them more confident? Volkmann, M. J. , & Abell, S. K. (2003) Science Teacher, Sept. : 38 -41.

Other Strategies 1. Keep the cookbook, mix up the steps & have students “unscramble” first 2. Give only procedures & no data tables 3. S-T round robin: T poses problem/Q and gives the first step for procedure. Then asks S what they’ll need to do next 4. S-S round robin: T poses problem/Q & S (in groups) generate procedures

Other Strategies (cont. ) 5. Provide data tables only 6. Provide a flowchart/ concept map instead of steps 7. Provide students only independent variable & dependent variable and ask THEM to develop the procedure to find such a relationship 8. Provide only the first few steps 9. Provide only the problem/challenge Teacher’s Toolkit. (2005) Science Scope, Nov/Dec: 16 -20.

Final Thoughts § When trying to teach using inquiry, ask yourself: § WHAT CAN MY STUDENTS FIGURE OUT ON THEIR OWN? § WHAT MUST I PROVIDE THEM?