The Many Faces of Inductive Teaching and Learning
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The Many Faces of Inductive By Michael Prince Teaching and Learning and Richard Felder This study examines the effectiveness and implementation of different inductive teaching methods, including inquiry-based learn- ing, problem-based learning, project-based learning, case-based teaching, discovery learning, and just-in-time teaching. cience courses are tradition- chological research that provides strong with a challenge and then learn what ally taught deductively. The support for inductive teaching methods. they need to know to address the instructor first teaches students The literature also demonstrates that challenge. The methods differ in the relevant theory and mathemati- inductive methods encourage students nature and scope of the challenge and Scal models, then moves on to textbook to adopt a deep approach to learning in the amount of guidance students exercises, and eventually—maybe— (Ramsden 2003; Norman and Schmidt receive from their instructor as they gets to real-world applications. Often 1992; Coles 1985) and that the chal- attempt to meet the challenge. the only motivation students have to lenges provided by inductive methods learn the material, beyond grades, is the serve as precursors to intellectual de- Inquiry-based learning vague promise that it will be important velopment (Felder and Brent 2004). In inquiry-based learning (also known later in the curriculum or in their ca- Inductive teaching methods come as inquiry-guided learning or guided reers. Failure to connect course content in many forms, including discovery inquiry), students are presented with to the real world has repeatedly been learning, inquiry-based learning, a challenge (such as a question to be shown to contribute to students leav- problem-based learning, project- answered, an observation or data set ing the sciences (Seymour and Hewitt based learning, case-based teaching, to be interpreted, or a hypothesis to 1997; Kardash and Wallace 2001). and just-in-time teaching. Few stud- be tested) and accomplish the desired A better way to motivate students ies have examined these methods as learning in the process of responding is inductive teaching, in which the a group. Prince and Felder (2006) to that challenge. As with all inductive instructor begins by presenting stu- provide an extensive analysis of the methods, the information needed to dents with a specific challenge, such conceptual frameworks and research address the challenge would not have as experimental data to interpret, a bases for inductive teaching, review been previously covered explicitly in case study to analyze, or a complex applications of inductive methods lectures or readings, although it would real-world problem to solve. Students in engineering education, and state normally build on previously known grappling with these challenges quickly the roles of other student-centered material. Inquiry has frequently recognize the need for facts, skills, and approaches, such as active and coop- been found to be more effective conceptual understanding, at which erative learning, in inductive teaching. than traditional science instruction point the teacher provides instruction This paper briefly reviews the distin- at improving academic achievement or helps students learn on their own. guishing features of the principal in- and the development of thinking, Bransford, Brown, and Cocking (2000) ductive methods, describes illustrative problem-solving, and laboratory skills survey extensive neurological and psy- applications in the sciences, discusses (Smith 1996; Haury 1993; McReary, practical issues of implementation, Golde, and Koeske 2006; Shymansky, Michael Prince ([email protected]) is and suggests resources for instructors Hedges, and Woodworth 1990; Rubin a professor in the Department of Chemi- who wish to use one or more inductive 1996; Oliver-Hoyo and Allen 2005; cal Engineering at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Richard Felder methods in their own teaching. Oliver-Hoyo et al. 2004). Colburn ([email protected]) is the Hoechst (2006) recommends focusing inquiry- Celanese Professor Emeritus of Chemical and Inductive teaching methods based activities around questions Biomolecular Engineering at North Carolina What inductive methods have in com- that call for experimental investiga- State University. mon is that students are presented tion, involve materials and situations Copyright © 2007, National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). Reprinted with permission from Journal of College of 14 JOURNAL COLLEGE SCIENCE TEACHING Science Teaching, Vol. 36, No. 5, March/April 2007. somewhat familiar to students, and has the defining characteristics of instructor either provides it or guides pose a sufficient level of challenge to those methods, and use inquiry-based the students to obtain the required promote skill development. learning as an umbrella category for information themselves. Inquiry-based methods have been any other inductive approach. Several examples of PBL imple- used in many different disciplines, mentations are given in chapters of the including physics (Fencl and Scheel Discovery learning edited volume of Duch, Groh, and Al- 2005; McDermott 1995; Thacker et In discovery learning, students are len (2001). In Chapter 18, Susan Groh al. 1994; Heflich, Dixon, and Davis confronted with a challenge and left outlines a series of problems in a case 2001), biology (Chamanay and Lang; to work out the solution on their own study called “Winter Woes” that she Londraville et al. 2002), and chemis- (Bruner 1961; French 2006). The used in a general chemistry course. try (Jalil 2006; Lewis and Lewis 2005; instructor may provide feedback in The students are given several sce- Oliver-Hoyo, Allen, and Anderson response to student efforts but offers narios having to do with a cold and icy 2004; Oliver-Hoyo and Allen 2005). little or no direction before or during winter day: their car is running rough The POGIL (Process-Oriented those efforts. The lack of structure and (Could water have gotten into the fuel Guided Inquiry Learning) website guidance provided by the instructor lines at the prevailing weather condi- (www.pogil.org) contains reports of and the trial and error consequently tions? What can be done if it did?); implementations on several campuses, required of students are the defining they need to choose from among instructional materials for different features of discovery learning relative several salts with different costs to use branches of chemistry, and a video to other inductive methods. This ex- for de-icing a sidewalk; and they need showing an implementation of the treme form of inductive teaching was to select from among several desalina- method in an introductory chemistry developed for precollege education and tion processes to purify the city’s wa- class. ChemConnections (http://mc2. has rarely been used in undergraduate ter supply after a retaining wall failed cchem.berkeley.edu) surveys inquiry- classes, and there is little empirical evi- and tons of rock salt were carried into based instructional modules developed dence for its effectiveness in that set- the reservoir. In Chapter 21, Barbara at the University of California at Berke- ting. (There is significant evidence for Williams presents a first-year physics ley for the first two years of the chem- the benefits of involving undergraduate problem in which someone stands on istry curriculum. The ChemCollective students in independent research [Sey- a scale in an elevator and the students (www.chemcollective.org/find.php) mour et al. 2004], but undergraduate must figure out how the scale readings archives resources for inquiry-based research does not usually qualify as would vary as the elevator moves up chemistry instruction, including virtual discovery learning because the advisor and down. laboratory experiments, concept tests, typically provides significant structure PBL originated, and is exten- problem scenarios, and simulations. Lee and guidance.) sively practiced, in medical education (2004) reports on a series of inquiry- More common than pure discov- and other health-related disciplines based courses in different disciplines ery are variants such as guided discov- (Savin-Baden and Major 2004). PBL at North Carolina State University, ery, in which the instructor provides problems in chemistry and physics including chemistry and physics in some structure and support (Spencer (among other fields) and guidance on large classes (Oliver-Hoyo and Beich- and Jordan 1996). Depending on the how to use them are given in Duch, ner 2004), microbiology (Hyman and nature of the initial challenge and the Groh, and Allen (2001) and on web- Luginbuhl 2004), and wood and paper extent of the guidance, these variants sites maintained at the University of science (Kirkman et al. 2004). would typically fall into one or another Delaware (www.udel.edu/pbl) and Any instruction that begins with of the other categories that follow. Samford University (www.samford. a challenge for which the required edu/pbl), both of which provide links knowledge has not been previously Problem-based learning to many additional resources. provided technically qualifies as in- In problem-based learning (PBL), stu- A meta-analysis of the effective- quiry-based learning, and the scope of dents—usually working in teams—are ness of problem-based learning was the inquiry may vary from a portion confronted with an ill-structured open- published by Dochy et al. (2003). of a single lecture to a major term ended real-world problem