Inquiry based learning

A bit of background and thoughts on IBL to keep in mind when evaluating these lessons -

The SIMPL approach to inquiry based learning:

1) Teacher - intro

2) Student Lesson - intro

3) Student Lesson - body

4) Student Lesson - reflect

5) Teacher - reflect

Very close to Engage->Explore->Explain model, which relates to the scientific method.

The SIMPL approach (as I read it) seems to have the teacher provide the background needed for the lesson, then lets the student work on the lesson (developing their own ideas), and then has the teacher tie it back together into a take-home message.

There is also the very basic version of: tell the students what they will do, have them do it, then tell them what they did.

According to the typical process for IBL:

The learner should engage in a scientific question, gather evidence, use evidence to formulate explanation, connect explanation to background, and present their work using evidence the justifies their explanation.

The nice thing is that these processes teach students how to learn on their own and solve their own problems in a methodical, adult way. Using these methods students should be able to answer any question. The lessons typically have differentiation built in to the process and fit into many different classes in Bloom's Taxonomy.

Let me not forget that science is supposed to be about curiosity and research. Sure, some stuff is just not practical to get through methods other than direct instruction, but science education SHOULD be mostly interactive.