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AP® Biology: Transitioning to Inquiry-Based Labs

South Hadley, MANovember 18, 2011

Mark StephanskyWhitman-Hanson Regional HS

Whitman, MAhttp://www.whrsd.org/stephansky/APBioCB

Restrooms / Coffee

• Please leave as needed – We are adults• “Alone we can do so little; together we can

do so much.”• On paper – list books; videos; websites;

questions

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Agenda—Good Intentions 8:30 – 9:00 Introductions 9:00 – 9:30 Science Practice -- Egg Activity 9:30 – 10:15 Laying the Foundation -- AP® Equity and Access Policy, AP Redesign 10:15 – 10:45 What Is Inquiry? Cubes 10:45 – 11:00 Break 11:00 – 11:35 Levels of Inquiry 11:35 – 12:00 Modifying Traditional Labs Part 1• Science Practices and the AP® Biology Exam 12:00 – 1:00 Lunch 1:00 – 2:15 Modifying Traditional Labs Part 2 2:15 – 2:45 MAPSI: Modifying Traditional Labs Part 3 2:45 – 3:30 Classroom Connections – Frisky Fish? Workshop Summary and Closing• Workshop Goal and Learning Outcomes

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Welcome… Sign Attendance Sheet Materials Logistical Questions? Key to Productive Workshop – Sharing Brief Introductions: Name, School, Experience, Length of

Meeting time, 1 main concern about new course… Mark Stephansky – 24 Years @ W-H, 1200 kids – not very

diverse but have pockets of talent, 14 Years AP Bio (10 as Reader, Table Leader, Question Leader), 60 minutes everyday, Adjunct Faculty @ MCC, College Board Consultant

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“Emails”

“We will be receiving a copy of the new curriculum Inquiry Based Labs publication that the college board store says won't be available to download until spring, right?”

• I am looking forward to specific ideas on converting the traditional curriculum to the new Inquiry based curriculum, including syllabi, topics to add and subtract, and new lab ideas. I have been teaching AP Bio for 12yrs with good results and would like to have a smooth transition to the new curriculum.

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Emails• I am also glad to hear that so may of the attendees

are experienced AP Bio teachers who have even been readers.I have just completed (last year) my first year for teaching AP Bio. My school only offers it every other year, so I will not do it again until next year. It was a really good year, but wow, am I still exhausted! And I feel even more exhausted when I consider that now I have to rewrite our syllabus for the new curriculum and re-do the Audit process.

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Emails• What are the start and finish times for the workshop?• I am sorry to say that I am going to have to cancel my

attendance at the conference.

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Workshop Goal

Participants will learn strategies for modifying traditional labs and incorporating inquiry-based labs into their AP® Biology curriculum.

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Learning Outcomes Participants will:• Examine current research and models of inquiry to

gain an understanding of differing lab structures.• Consider the cognitive processes that students engage

in during various laboratory investigations and learn to identify the tasks that enable different levels of inquiry (confirmation, structured, guided or open).

• Practice modifying traditional labs to make them inquiry based.

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Personal Goals• On page vi of your handbook please write 2 or 3

personal goals for this workshop. You will revisit these goals at the end of the day.

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Let’s Do Some Science-Egg Activity

• Set up and watch throughout the day• Materials – Raw eggs, pin, straw, hot glue gun or wax,

container with water• Knick top and bottom of egg without breaking the

membrane.• Insert and seal straw through one end’s membrane.• Place in water—preferably distilled

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Laying the Foundation

• Review CB AP® Equity and Access Policy• Examine New AP Biology Curriculum

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Building Equity and AccessAP® Equity and Access Policy

The College Board strongly encourages educators to make equitable access a guiding principle for their AP programs by giving all willing and academically prepared students the opportunity to participate in AP. We encourage educators to:

• Eliminate barriers that restrict access to AP for students from ethnic, racial and socioeconomic groups that have been traditionally underserved.

• Make every effort to ensure their AP classes reflect the diversity of their student population.

• Provide all students with access to academically challenging course work before they enroll in AP classes.

Only through a commitment to equitable preparation and access can true equity and excellence be achieved.

Curriculum Framework

• Big Idea 1 — The process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life.

• Big Idea 2 — Biological systems utilize free energy and molecular building blocks to grow, to reproduce and to maintain dynamic homeostasis.

 

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Curriculum Framework

• Big Idea 3 — Living systems store, retrieve, transmit and respond to information essential to life processes.

• Big Idea 4 — Biological systems interact, and these systems and their interactions possess complex properties.

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Curriculum Framework

Big Ideas

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Enduring Understandings

Essential Knowledge Science Practices

Learning Objectives

Big Ideas…the New AP Biology Curriculum

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1. What’s in a Big Idea?• Jigsaw

• Home Team count off to 4• Expert Teams meet – Which chapters belong to your idea?• Experts explain to Home Team

2. Home Team: What’s Out of the course Summary

Science Practices

Science Practice 1: The student can use representations and models to communicate scientific phenomena and solve scientific problems.

Science Practice 2: The student can use mathematics appropriately.

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Science Practices

Science Practice 3: The student can engage in scientific questioning to extend thinking or to guide investigations within the context of the AP® course.

Science Practice 4: The student can plan and implement data collection strategies in relation to a particular scientific question.

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Science Practices

Science Practice 5: The student can perform data analysis and evaluation of evidence.

Science Practice 6: The student can work with scientific explanations and theories.

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Science Practices

Science Practice 7: The student is able to connect and relate knowledge across various scales, concepts and representations in and across domains.

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Science Practices

What words or phrases come to mind when you think of teacher-directed, “cookbook” labs?

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Science Practices

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Transition

• So far we have:• Introduced the Workshop Goal and learning

outcomes, reviewed the College Board Equity and Access Policy and examined the new AP curriculum and science practices.

• Next we will:• Define and examine the multiple levels of inquiry.

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What is Inquiry?

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Defining Inquiry

Directions:Take thirty seconds to write down as many words that you can think of that relate to inquiry on page 6 of your handbook.

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Whip Around

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1. Stand next to your chair. 2. When you are called on, share one of the

words from your list.3. Check off any words on your list that are said

by another person.4. Sit down once all the words on your list are

checked off.

Cubes of Inquiry?

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1. Cube 1: a. ID Questions about cube –NO Touching

b. Propose an explanation – use evidence

2. Cube 2: same problema. Make Observations

b. Generate hypotheses, make predictions

c. Design experiment

d. Use Technology

Break

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The Levels of InquirySchwab (1962)

• Students use classroom materials, such as textbooks or lab manuals, to pose questions and describe investigation methods.

• Classroom materials are used to pose questions, but the methods and answers are developed by the students.

• Students investigate scientific phenomena without the guidance of classroom materials.

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The Levels of InquiryHerron (1971)

Confirmation—students confirm a principle through an activity in which the results are known in advance. Structured Inquiry—students investigate a teacher-presented question through a prescribed procedure.

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The Levels of InquiryHerron (1971)

Guided Inquiry—students investigate a teacher-presented question using student-designed/selected procedures. Open Inquiry—students investigate topic-related questions that are student formulated through student-designed/selected procedures.

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The Levels of Inquiry

Level of Inquiry Question? Procedure? Solution?

1—Confirmation Provided Provided Provided

2—Structured Provided Provided Student generated

3—Guided Provided Student generated Student generated

4—Open Student generated Student generated Student generated

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The Levels of Inquiry

Directions:Work with a partner to determine the level of

inquiry for the remaining two labs.

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Reflect and Assess

Do you think that your students will be ready to perform inquiry labs?

What skills and knowledge will they need to have before they can confidently perform these types of labs?

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Transition

• So far we have:• Defined and examined the levels of inquiry.

• Next we will:• Practice modifying traditional labs to make

them inquiry based.

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Modifying Traditional Labs

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Science Practices and the AP® Biology Exam

Examining AP Biology Questions:What knowledge and skills would students need

to have in order to successfully answer each question? Handbook pages 14-15

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Science Practices and the AP® Biology Exam

Match the skills you found for each question to a specific science practice.

Please note that it is possible that not all skills will link to a science practice.

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Science Practices and theAP® Biology Exam

Which question more accurately reflects the science practices?

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Lunch

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Modifying Traditional LabsNational Research Council (2000)

1. Learner engages in scientifically oriented questions.

2. Learner gives priority to evidence in responding to questions.

3. Learner formulates explanations from evidence in responding to questions.

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Modifying Traditional Labs National Research Council (2000)

4. Learner connects explanations to scientific knowledge.

5. Learner communicates and justifies explanations.

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Modifying Traditional Labs

Essential Feature Variations

1. Learner engages in scientifically oriented questions.

Learner poses a question.

Learner selects among questions, poses new questions.

Learner sharpens or clarifies question provided by teacher, materials, or other source.

Learner engages in question provided by teacher, material, or other source.

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Modifying Traditional Labs

Review Lab 11 – Animal Behavior.

What are some of the characteristics of this lab that make it “cookbook” and not student-directed? Write these characteristics down on your group’s chart paper.

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Modifying Traditional Labs

Directions:Use the NRC’s model to develop a plan for

modifying your three chosen “cookbook” aspects to make them more inquiry based. Create a poster showing how students will conduct the investigation as an inquiry activity.

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Modifying Traditional Labs

• What did you learn during the gallery walk?

• Between groups, did common features surface in the adaptation of the lab to inquiry?

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Modifying Traditional Labs

• What are some ways that this lab could be further expanded? See page 50

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Modifying Traditional Labs

Look at the new version of the Animal Behavior Lab starting on page 51 of the Handbook.

What features of this lab make it inquiry based?

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MAPSIThe Inquiry Matrix for Assessing and Planning Scientific Inquiry

Four Cognitive Process1.Generating scientifically oriented questions

(SP 3, SP 6).

2.Making predictions or posing preliminary hypotheses prior to conducting investigations (SP 3, SP 4, SP 6).

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MAPSI

3. Designing and conducting the research study (SP 4, SP 5, SP 6).• Design procedure• Dependent/independent variables• Experimental controls• Gathering/organizing data

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MAPSI

4. Explaining results (SP 1, SP 2, SP 5, SP 6, SP 7).• Analyzing data• Identifying evidence• Providing explanations• Connecting evidence• Posing alternative explanations• Communicate/defend findings

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MAPSIExample: Process 1 – Generating scientific ally oriented questions

• Least Complex• Students do not contribute to the investigative

question; the question is provided by the teacher or curriculum materials.

• Most Complex• Students generate the question for

investigation based on their own experience, knowledge and research.

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MAPSIModel Outline

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MAPSI

Directions:Work with your group to mark the level of

complexity of your group’s modified Animal Behavior Lab on the model outline for each of the cognitive processes.

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Break

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Classroom Connections

Directions:• Write down a few of the labs you use outside

of the AP Biology Lab Manual that will need to be modified to make them inquiry based.

• Choose one lab that you would like to explore and work with your group to generate some ideas as to how the lab could be modified to make it more inquiry based.

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Optional/Frisky Fish Inquiry?

Directions:• Using the Frisky Fish lab generate some ideas

as to how the lab could be modified to make it inquiry based.

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Implementing Inquiry-Based LabsAction Plan

• The action plan is a planning tool that you can use to map out how you will teach specific concepts or units in AP Biology.

• It allows you to plan how you will incorporate inquiry-based labs into your curriculum.

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Implementing Inquiry-Based LabsAction Plan

• Connections to Curriculum Framework• Resources• Instructional Activities• Skills and Content Knowledge• Instructional Sequencing• Challenges and Solutions

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Implementing Inquiry-Based Labs

Directions:

Think of the biology concept that you most enjoy teaching. Use the provided action plan to begin planning how you will incorporate inquiry-based labs into your chosen concept.

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Reflect and Assess: Modifying Traditional Labs

• Think back on everything you have learned today. Is there a particular aspect of inquiry-based labs that still concerns you?

• What can you do to begin easing these concerns?

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Workshop Summary and Conclusion

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Workshop Goal

Participants will learn strategies for modifying traditional labs and incorporating inquiry-based labs into their AP® Biology curriculum.

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Learning Outcomes Participants will:• Examine current research and models of

inquiry to gain an understanding of differing lab structures.

• Consider the cognitive processes that students engage in during various laboratory investigations and learn to identify the tasks that enable different levels of inquiry (confirmation, structured, guided or open).

Learning Objectives (continued)

Participants will:• Practice modifying traditional labs to make

them inquiry based.

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Workshop Closing

Look back at your personal goals from page vi. Were these goals met? If not, what additional questions do you have?

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Workshop Evaluations

Please complete the workshop  evaluations.

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Thank you!

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