Sunday, February 13, 2011

Structured Inquiry

This past week was interesting. I implemented a structured inquiry on-line interactive lesson that had students research Gregor Mendel and his findings of why offspring may show traits different from their parents. I provided students with a questions in which they had to do the research and a virtual pea plant experiment to answer. Students also had to reflect on what they learned from their investigation.

My students learning was positively impacted by this investigation because they learned some history behind genetics and practiced working as team to research information as well as simulate breeding pea plants with different traits. Based on what they learned from their research students predicted what the genotype and phenotype of the next generation would be. Students then bred the parents of their choosing to observe if they saw what they thought they would see.

Learning was demonstrated by the students in the work posted by how well they answered the questions provided for them and based on what they wrote down in their final reflection.  I was able to tell how well students understood the concept of inheriting traits based on what they wrote down, therefore I could respond to any misconceptions I observed.