Student-Generated Scientific Inquiry

跨学科（99）在许多大学，设计和开展研究，解决科学问题的经验，仅限于研究生或高年级本科生。 这使得许多学生不熟悉实验设计的方法和论证在科学中的作用，并提出了与实践不一致的科学观。 这些问题对未来的教师来说尤其令人担忧。 该项目为职前教师开发了一门课程，使用科学中的开放式探究，让学生在跨越几个学科的主题中制作和调查自己的科学问题。 课程工作支架学生的探究活动，要求他们超越简单的实验，并寻求找到相关性。 探究活动使学生更深入地理解调查和实验作为评估科学论证的方法。 课程的评价评估课程支持学生对科学本质有更深入理解的程度，并提高他们在教授科学思想和探究方面的信心。 该项目编写了一份教员指南，以协助在其他机构开设开放式探究课程。 该指南是仿照社会工作文献中所描述的促进指南的模式，特别注意促进对话和建立社区。 该指南将帮助教师在本科科学促进讨论和调查。

Interdisciplinary (99)In many universities, experiences in designing and conducting research that address scientific questions are limited to graduate students or upper-division undergraduates. This leaves many students unfamiliar with methods of experimental design and the role of argumentation in science, and presents a view of science that is inconsistent with practice. These concerns are particularly troubling to future teachers. The project develops a course for pre-service teachers using open-inquiry in science that engages students in crafting and investigating their own scientific questions in topics that span several disciplines. The coursework scaffolds students' inquiry activities, requiring them to move beyond simple experiments and seek to find correlations. The inquiry activities move students toward a deeper understanding of investigation and experimentation as methodologies for evaluating scientific arguments. Evaluations of the course assess the degree to which the course supports students in developing a more sophisticated understanding of the nature of science and improves their confidence in teaching scientific ideas and inquiry. The project develops an instructor's guide to aid in the implementation of open-inquiry courses at other institutions. The guide is patterned after facilitation guides as described in social work literature, with careful attention to fostering dialog and building community. The guide will aid faculty in undergraduate sciences in promoting discussion and inquiry.