Trilobite Fossil

Abstract

I n response to national calls for more inquiry-based learning (AAAS 1989; NRC 1996), science teachers often include inquiry activities that require students to use, generate, and analyze models (Bogiages and Hitt 2008; Grosslight et al. 1991; Hitt and Townsend 2004; Van Der Valk, Van Driel, and De Vos 2007; Windschitl, Thompson, and Braaten 2008). With inquiry, students not only learn science content, but also discover how to think like scientists and view the world from a scientific perspective. In their research, scientists generate, test, and modify scientific models. These models can be shared with others and demonstrate a scientist's un-derstanding of how the natural world works. Similarly, students can generate and modify models to gain a better understanding of the content, process, and nature of science (Kenyon, Schwarz, and Hug 2008). When modeling pedagogy is combined with 21st-century tools in the science classroom, excitement and enrichment are woven into the learning process. This article serves as a how-to guide for integrating model-based inquiry (MBI) and wikis into a biology unit on natural selection. Students learn about the content and pro-cess of science through modeling activities (Windschitl 2008; Neilson, Campbell, and Allred 2010) and building wikis. M B I a n d w i k i s MBI is a pedagogical strategy that engages students in mod-eling using four core conversations as a framework: organizing what we know and what we do not know, 1. generating models, 2. seeking evidence, and 3. constructing arguments. 4. By following this framework, students are guided through a process that reflects the method many scientists use to engage in inquiry. To facilitate the collaborative process of scientific model-ing, this unit also incorporates the use of wikis. A wiki is a Web 2.0 tool that allows multiple users to create a website with internet links, multimedia, images, and content. Because the website is accessible from any internet connection and content can be modified at any time, students are able to work with each other both within and across classes (Brunsell and Horejsi 2010). When work is shared with peers (i.e., an audience), students tend to be more thoughtful in their approach and presentation; consequently, deeper engagement and un-derstanding occurs. As students work together to develop wikis, the teacher moves away from a direct instructional approach and becomes a facilitator, rather than a possessor of knowledge. As part of the peer-review process, students also post work for others to read and evaluate, which is an important part of any scientific investigation.