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CHAPTER 4
Strategies for Teaching the Inquiry Process

What Is It?

In Chapter 3: Strategies for Teaching the Scientific Method and Its Components, we provide resources for teaching students the scientific method. However, with the implementation of the NGSS, many classrooms are using the scientific method less often. Teachers are now focused on teaching science and engineering practices, which are as follows:

The scientific method includes several of these practices, with a focus on planning and carrying out investigations (performing an experiment). However, not every question can be answered through experimentation. Here are examples of questions whose answers can't be determined by using an experiment:

  1. When will Mount St. Helens erupt next?
  2. How did rattlesnake venom evolve?
  3. Is there life on other planets?
  4. How fast will the world's fastest car go?
  5. How does a frog's abdomen differ from a human's?

To answer these types of questions, scientists use the inquiry process, which replaces experimentation with the science and engineering practice of obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information.

When the inquiry process is written in a linear format, like that of the scientific method, it replaces Step 4 in the scientific method: Set up and Perform an Experiment with a new Step 4: Perform More Research and/or Complete Observations. Here are the linear steps for the inquiry process:

  1. Ask a question.
  2. Perform research.
  3. Write a hypothesis.
  4. Perform more research and/or complete observations.
  5. Analyze results.
  6. Write a conclusion.
  7. Publish results.

While this chapter focuses on the inquiry process and Chapter 3 provides strategies for teaching the scientific method, there are two other processes that expose students to the science and engineering practices. See Chapter 5 for resources that support project-based learning and Chapter 6 for resources that teach the engineering process.

Why We Like It

The inquiry process can provide students an opportunity to choose a topic of study. When students are given a choice of work, their intrinsic motivation tends to be enhanced, which increases their engagement level. And, students can learn more when they are intellectually engaged (Patall, Cooper, & Wynn, 2010).

The inquiry process may also contribute toward creating a more culturally responsive learning environment. Culturally responsive teaching can occur when teachers acknowledge and use students' cultural backgrounds and experiences to ensure learning is student-centered and accessible to all (The Education Alliance, Brown University, n.d.). See Chapter 14: Strategies for Cultural Responsiveness for additional resources to foster a culturally responsive environment in your classroom.

Supporting Research

The inquiry process is a tool that science teachers can use to engage students because it feeds their natural curiosity. Many teachers use the inquiry process for student-directed research activities. Students choose their topic of interest, follow the inquiry process to learn more about their topic, and complete a lab report. By allowing students to declare their topic of interest, teachers are tapping into their students' curiosity (von Stumm, Hell, & Chamorro-Premuzic, 2011).

Curiosity may be a predictor of academic success. A meta-analysis of over 200 studies was performed by von Stumm et al. (2011). Their conclusion suggests that, in addition to intelligence and conscientiousness, a third predictor of success is a student's curiosity. In fact, they found that it was as much a predictor of school success as was conscientiousness (von Stumm et al., 2011).

Skills for Intentional Scholars/NGSS Connections

All three Skills for Intentional Scholars are practiced while students use the inquiry process. For example, students creatively problem solve when they are making decisions regarding the resources they'll use when they perform their research and observations. Critical thinking occurs when students perform their research and observations. And students must communicate effectively when writing and publishing a lab report.

Components of the inquiry process are integrated throughout the science and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and NGSS (National Research Council, 2012, p. 85). The NGSS advise teachers to integrate the required science content, the scientific method, the inquiry process, and the seven crosscutting concepts into their lessons (NGSS, 2013c, p. 3). The activities in this chapter cover many of these requirements.

Application

How do we decide when to use the scientific method and when to use the inquiry process?

During a unit's planning stage, we determine if student learning can be accomplished with data gathered from an experiment. We use the scientific method if there is an experiment available and we have access to all of its required supplies (see Chapter 3: Strategies for Teaching the Scientific Method and Its Components for resources in teaching the scientific method). If student learning cannot be accomplished through experimentation, we default to the inquiry process.

For example, when we wanted our students to identify the drivers of evolution, we couldn't fabricate a lab that would teach this concept. We decided to forego the scientific method and, instead, use the inquiry process.

We will describe how to apply the inquiry process in this chapter as we use it for the first time in our classes. Obviously, less scaffolding is required after students become more familiar with the steps.

The first step of the inquiry process is to ask a question. There are two ways to move forward with this activity. One way is to have the teacher write a question that focuses student learning on a specific concept. For example, when exploring tides, we wrote the specific question, “What causes spring and neap tides?” A second way is to have students ask their own questions based on a broad concept the teacher wants them to learn. For example, when we wanted students to study how Earth is a unique planet, one student wrote, “How is the earth different from other planets in our solar system?” and a second student asked, “How is Earth different from other terrestrial planets?”

If our students are writing their own questions, we require them to obtain our approval prior to beginning step 2 of the inquiry process, which requires them to perform research. We review each student's question to ensure it cannot be answered through experimentation (because then it's a scientific method question) and to confirm that it is school-appropriate.

Some students may struggle to understand the difference between a question appropriate for the scientific method and one appropriate for the inquiry process. To teach students the difference, we first explain how the scientific method (an experiment) differs from the inquiry process (more research and/or observation). We begin by providing students with an example of a scientific method question, such as “How many pennies can one strand of hair hold before it breaks?” and ask them to brainstorm an experiment that would provide data to answer the question. After the class creates the hypothetical experiment, we explain that because an experiment can answer the question, we would use the scientific method.

Then we provide an example of an inquiry process question, such as “How deep is the Mariana Trench?” and ask them to brainstorm an experiment that would provide data to answer the question. After the class determines there is no experiment, we introduce the inquiry process, explaining that not every question can be answered through experimentation and these questions must be answered through research and/or observations.

As a first step toward practicing their understanding, we present students with Table 4.1: Questions Already Sorted, which can be used to differentiate between scientific method and inquiry process questions.

Table 4.1 Questions Already Sorted

Scientific method questions Inquiry process questions
How much does your heart rate increase when you run the 200-m dash? Why do your muscles hurt after you exercise?
How fast does a toy car have to go to break through a facial tissue? How have airbags changed throughout the years?
Does food taste differently if you can't smell it? Is it true that food tastes differently when you get older because your taste buds change?
Which plate boundary causes the most damage to a building made of sugar cubes? How do scientists measure the strength of earthquakes?

We put students into small groups and assign each one a different question. They must explain why their assigned question is either a scientific method question or an inquiry process question. Students who are assigned a scientific method question must provide the experimental design that would generate data to answer the question. For example, students assigned the first question “How much does your heart rate increase when you run the 200-meter dash?” may describe an experiment involving their classmates running the 200-m dash on a track. Students who are assigned an inquiry process question must provide the type of research and/or observation they would complete that would provide the answer. For example, students assigned the first question “Why do your muscles hurt after you exercise?” may suggest researching the answer online, interviewing the school nurse, or reading books from the school library.

Student groups are given 10 min to create a 2-min whiteboard presentation to share with the rest of the class.

To ensure students understand the difference, we write the following questions on the board. On their own paper, we ask students to individually sort the questions into scientific method questions and inquiry process questions, along with providing evidence for their claims.

  • Does toilet water spin in the opposite direction in the Southern Hemisphere? Why or why not?
  • What is the chemical difference (i.e., pH) between tap water and bottled water?
  • How can we land a rover on the gassy planets?
  • Why do eggs have a yolk?
  • How does acid rain affect statues made of limestone and granite?

Students are then given time to share their ideas with a partner and make any changes to their answers. We then ask volunteers to share their answers with the class.

SIMILAR RESOURCES FOR THE INQUIRY PROCESS AND THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD

After determining it is necessary to use the inquiry process in a lesson, we leverage the resources available in Chapter 3: Strategies for Teaching the Scientific Method and Its Components, which are referenced in Table 4.2: Resources in Chapter 3 That Can be Used for Teaching the Inquiry Process.

UNIQUE RESOURCES FOR THE INQUIRY PROCESS

The inquiry process can use the same resources from the scientific method for steps 1–3 and 7; however, steps 4–6 require unique resources.

Step 4: Perform More Research and/or Complete Observations

Since there is no experiment in the inquiry process, students aren't required to make a materials list, write step-by-step procedures, or identify controls. Instead they perform additional research or complete observations.

When students ask questions that can be answered with additional research, they may not need to perform observations. For example, during a unit on evolution, a student may ask the question “How did rattlesnake venom evolve?” The student will perform research on evolution and learn that species evolve because environmental changes sometimes cause natural selection to redefine the term “fit.” This initial research will be enough to write a hypothesis that would state, “If a snake's prey population evolved to move faster, then natural selection may choose snakes who have evolved an offense mechanism, such as venom, as more ‘fit’ because when an environment changes, some species evolve.” Step four: Perform More Research requires this student to use research to determine if the hypothesis is valid or null. In Chapter 3: Strategies for Teaching the Scientific Method and Its Components, we provide resources that students can use to write hypotheses and perform research.

Table 4.2 Resources in Chapter 3 That Can be Used for Teaching the Inquiry Process

Scientific method/Inquiry process step Resource name, if applicable
Step 2: Perform research Figure 3.1: Student Research Organizer
Step 3: Write a hypothesis Figure 3.2: Identifying independent and Dependent Variables
Figure 3.3: Identifying Independent and Dependent Variables—Answer Key
Figure 3.4: How to write a hypothesis
Figure 3.5: How to write a hypothesis—answer key

In addition to research, or instead of research, other questions may require observations. For example, the question “When will Mount St. Helens erupt next?” requires a student to research the eruption history of Mount St. Helens but can also be answered through various observations, such as interpreting seismograms to identify earthquake patterns near the base of the volcano.

Observations can include viewing a video of a phenomenon, watching a phenomenon first-hand on school grounds or on a field trip, or performing a dissection.

Regardless of the observation type, students should be noticing and recording details. Younger students are often taught to perform observations by using their senses of sight, smell, taste, touch, and sound. As students mature, the expectation is that their observations become more complex; for example, their observations should include quantitative and qualitative data, which we discuss in the next section.

Observations of Phenomena

We teach upper elementary students (and it may be appropriate for older students as well) to include details in their observations by playing an old game Tara's mom conducted at her childhood birthday parties. Tara's mom would place 20–30 unrelated objects on a tray and then cover them with a towel. All of the party attendees would gather around the tray and then the towel was removed. Attendees had one minute to memorize all of the objects on the tray. Then, the tray was put away and each attendee had two minutes to write down all of the objects they could remember. The person with the most remembered items won a prize.

We modify this for our classrooms by making one tray for every group of eight students. The trays have the same 20 items so we include objects that are in high abundance in our supply room or classroom. Examples of objects we've included are a test tube brush, colored pencil, eraser, nickel, beaker, ruler, and textbook. Another option is to use printed images of various objects.

After one minute, the trays are covered and students are instructed to return to their desks and write down all of the objects they can remember. They complete the task individually. Then we pass out a worksheet that asks detailed questions about the objects, such as:

  1. What color was the colored pencil?
  2. Was the eraser new or had it been used?
  3. What year was on the nickel?
  4. What were the measurements on the ruler (cm, inches, etc.)?
  5. To what page was the textbook open?
  6. How many milliliters of water can the beaker hold?
  7. What object was under the test tube brush?

We give students about five minutes to answer the questions. Then we uncover the trays again so students can see the objects and instruct them to grade a friend's paper. The student with the most correct answers receives a prize. Afterwards, we ask students to brainstorm why it's important to include details in observations.

To further reinforce the importance of making detailed observations, we provide a mystery for students to solve. In our scenario, a teacher has stolen Ms. White's coffee cup and we want to identify the thief. We ask students to think of details that may help us determine which teacher is the culprit. They brainstorm ideas, such as the last time and location she saw her coffee cup, who else was here at the same time, who has access to Ms. White's classroom, and who else likes coffee (not Mrs. Dale!). After brainstorming about the evidence they've gathered, we ask them again, “Why is it important to include the details in an observation?” We've found this kickstarts a rich conversation.

When we work with middle and high school students, we teach them to perform detailed observations by focusing on quantitative and qualitative data. To teach students the difference between the two types of data, we don't define the terms for them but instead provide materials so they can write their own definitions.

In our experience, when students create their own definitions, they have a deeper understanding of the words. On the other hand, when we simply provide the definitions, many students tend to memorize, instead of learn them. This challenge is explained in the book Turning Learning Right Side Up, where the authors argue that memorization doesn't always equal learning (Ackoff & Greenberg, 2008, p. 3). Richard Feynman, a Nobel Prize-winning theoretical physicist, described it eloquently in a 1973 short film, Take the World from Another Point of View. He told a story about his father listing the names of a specific bird species in English, Japanese, German, and Chinese. Then his father said to him, “And when you know all the names of that bird in every language, you know nothing, but absolutely nothing about the bird.” Mr. Feynman commented after telling the story, “I had learned already that names don't constitute knowledge” (Feynman, 1973).

To ensure our students understand the difference between quantitative and qualitative data, we provide students two lists of data with the titles “Quantitative Data” and “Qualitative Data.” See Table 4.3 for an example. We ask students to compare and contrast the data and then write a definition for each of the terms. They work with a partner to complete the task and then we discuss their definitions as a class.

We've found that students notice that quantitative data includes numbers and qualitative does not. However, students often ask questions about the “The jogger at the intersection” example because it also contains a number. We ask them to determine the difference between the numbers in the first column and the phrase “1st Street.”

Table 4.3 Example Observational Data That Students Compare/Contrast

Quantitative data Qualitative data
Four clowns walked down the street. The clowns had red noses.
There were 23,675 jelly beans in the jar. The jar sat on top of the counter.
It took the jogger 15 min to run a mile. The jogger was stopped at the intersection of Main Street and 1st Street.
It was 98°F outside. It was hot outside.
The light blinked four times. The light was turned off.

Once students realize that the numbers in the first column all represent a measurement and “1st Street” does not, we instruct them to review their current definitions for quantitative and qualitative to see if they need to make any changes. Together, we write a class definition for each type of data. For example, quantitative data is defined as data that includes measurements, so it includes numbers. Qualitative data is defined as data that lists characteristics or describes qualities, so it usually doesn't include numbers.

For practice using these concepts, we provide students with Figure 4.1: Quantitative vs. Qualitative Examples, a pair of scissors, and a glue stick. Students are instructed to make a T-chart on their own paper and label one column “Quantitative Data” and the other column “Qualitative Data.” Students then cut the examples into individual strips, sort them, and glue them into the appropriate column. The answer key can be found in Figure 4.2: Quantitative vs. Qualitative Examples—Answer Key.

Students then practice making detailed observations, using both quantitative and qualitative data. We provide them with the worksheet in Figure 4.3: Observing with Quantitative and Qualitative Data. Students work with a partner to complete the worksheet while we walk around the classroom monitoring and ensure students who are struggling receive the extra support they need. When students have completed their practice, we go over the answers, which are provided in Figure 4.4: Observing with Quantitative and Qualitative Data—Answer Key.

Observations During Dissections

Dissections are a type of observation, but are becoming more controversial. We suggest teachers check with their administration prior to performing dissections with students. Currently, 18 states and Washington, D.C., have laws that require students be given an alternate assignment if they do not want to participate in a dissection. See the American Anti-Vivisection Society website at https://aavs.org/animals-science/laws/student-choice-laws to see each state's laws.

There are various reasons why students might not feel comfortable performing dissections. For example, dissections are inconsistent with some Native American tribes' cultural beliefs—it is taboo in the Navajo culture to do anything with a dead animal. They believe the dead organism is intended to decompose and replenish the next generation of organisms (Williams & Shipley, 2018).

For students who may not have a cultural or moral objection to dissections but, instead, feel “squeamish” about the activity, we ask them—with no pressure involved—if they are comfortable standing near their group and being an observer. Many students agree to this compromise. For those who are still uncomfortable with the dissection, we offer an alternate electronic assignment. See the Technology Connections section for alternate activities to dissections.

Students can use quantitative and qualitative data to generate questions while performing a dissection. Traditionally, dissections require students to follow step-by-step procedures as they identify body parts and read about their functions. We normally provide these procedures to our students so they know how to dissect a specimen safely and how to isolate the body parts they are supposed to observe.

We require advanced students to write their own step-by-step procedures to increase rigor and give them another opportunity to practice their critical thinking skills. They are provided with three types of resources to write their procedures. Students are instructed to watch a video of the dissection, read another teacher's lesson plan for the dissection, and complete a virtual dissection. As students perform their research they take notes about the following three procedures:

  1. Dissection safety
  2. Step-by-step procedures to perform the dissection
  3. Dissection clean-up

Students work in pairs to write their own procedures and then perform the dissection by following the procedures they wrote. They are encouraged to edit their procedures throughout the lab. We supplement students' procedures with questions that require them to make observations. See Figure 4.5: Owl Pellet Step-by-Step Procedures and Questions as an example of the directions for students to write their own step-by-step procedures.

Our colleague, Colleen Rumer, an anatomy/physiology teacher, engages her students simultaneously in observation and critical thinking by connecting the dissection to students' experiences outside of school. For example, as students dissect a cat, they identify the peritoneum, which is the tissue that lines a mammal's organs in its abdomen. Her dissection worksheet asks students to, “Observe how the peritoneum is connected to the cat's organs. In horror movies, when someone is cut badly through their abdominal cavity their internal organs appear to ‘fall out.’ Is this possible? Why or why not?” By asking this question, Colleen is requiring her students to observe the peritoneum, hypothesize about its function, and then apply it to a situation beyond her classroom. By connecting the observation to a non-academic situation, Colleen is providing an engaging purpose for the dissection.

After documenting their observations, students engage in reflection, which can include using their quantitative and qualitative notes to generate questions. This assignment can be difficult for younger students, English language learners (ELLs), and students who have learning challenges. To provide support for these students, we give them question stems that have blanks. Students are required to use their critical thinking skills to choose the most appropriate question stems and fill in the blanks. Figure 4.6: Question Stems for Observers is a list of the question stems we use in our classrooms. Older and advanced students are asked to write five questions, each of which must begin with What, Where, When, Why, and How. Figure 4.5: Owl Pellet Step-by-Step Procedures and Questions includes an example. Students then perform research to answer their questions, which deepens their knowledge on the subject.

Once students have obtained all of the necessary information to address the question they initially wrote at the beginning of the assignment, they proceed to steps 5 and 6: Analyze Results and Write a Conclusion.

Steps 5 and 6: Analyze Results and Write a Conclusion

Often, the lack of an experiment means there isn't data that can be represented in a graph. Therefore, when teaching the inquiry process, we choose to combine Step 5: Analyze Results and Step 6: Write a Conclusion. Students still write a Discussion of Results and Conclusion; however, they are combined into one lab report, which is Figure 4.7: Discussion of Results and Conclusion.

DIFFERENTIATION FOR DIVERSE LEARNERS

Students who struggle with organization find Figure 4.8: Using the Inquiry Process helpful. In the younger grades, we give every student a copy and in the older grades we offer it as an optional resource. Students can use this worksheet as a central location for all of their documentation, research, and observational data. On the second page of Figure 4.8, step 5 instructs students to write a lab report, which they can accomplish by completing Figure 4.7: Discussion of Results and Conclusion.

Another differentiation method challenges older and advanced students. When they are writing their own question, we have them ask a question that will require more than a simple Internet search or article to answer it. They must also obtain some of their research through more rigorous approaches, such as reading an academic journal (that could be online) or library book, watching a documentary, visiting a zoo, interviewing a university professor or museum curator via the phone, or attending a lecture or conference. Students are allowed to use the Internet as a tool to view online documentaries, lectures, etc., and read academic journals or online books. Students benefit because they are exposed to additional resources while also developing their listening and interviewing skills.

To help ELL students and those with reading comprehension challenges, we provide dissection videos prior to performing the dissections in class. Students watch the videos, which are sometimes offered in their primary language, at home or in class. This provides them with supportive background knowledge as they read through the step-by-step procedures of the dissection. We've found a myriad of free dissection videos available online.

Generally, the inquiry process is an independent activity; however, sometimes it's appropriate to have students work in pairs. For example, ELL students, those who have learning challenges, and students who struggle behaviorally can pair up with another student who chooses the same research topic.

To assist the pair in working well together, we help them to equally divide the work. We've found more student success when we list each student's responsibilities and add deadlines (see Table 4.4: Inquiry Process Divided for Two Students for an example). Each student is given a copy of the table. We keep a copy as well and then monitor student progress.

By dividing the work, we are chunking a larger project into smaller and more manageable pieces and helping both students be more aware of their responsibilities. Many IEPs (Individualized Education Programs) require teachers to chunk large assignments into smaller pieces, which can also be helpful to all students, and this strategy meets that requirement.

Table 4.4 Inquiry Process Divided for Two Students

Student #1 Student #2 Deadline
Perform research for hypothesis Help student #1 with research for hypothesis End of class tomorrow
Identify dependent and independent variables Write hypothesis, “If…then…because…” End of class tomorrow
Research this topic: ______________ by using this resource: _______________________ Research this topic: ______________ by using this resource: _______________________ End of class Thursday
Write the Discussion of Results portion of the lab report Write the Conclusion portion of the lab report End of class Friday
Share the results with _________________ Share the results with _________________ Beginning of class Monday

Student Handouts and Examples

  • Figure 4.1: Quantitative vs. Qualitative Examples (Student Handout)
  • Figure 4.2: Quantitative vs. Qualitative Examples—Answer Key
  • Figure 4.3: Observing with Quantitative and Qualitative Data (Student Handout)
  • Figure 4.4: Observing with Quantitative and Qualitative Data—Answer Key
  • Figure 4.5: Owl Pellet Step-by-Step Procedures and Questions (Student Handout)
  • Figure 4.6: Question Stems for Observers (Student Handout)
  • Figure 4.7: Discussion of Results and Conclusion (Student Handout)
  • Figure 4.8: Using the Inquiry Process (Student Handout)
  • Figure 4.9: Checklist for Verifying Online Resources (Student Handout)

What Could Go Wrong?

A common problem we encounter during the inquiry process involves students using inaccurate online resources. To address this issue, we help students discern the difference between online fact and fiction.

To teach students how to analyze a website for validity, we challenge them to identify if claims are true or false. To begin teaching this idea, we provide students with the following five claims. They can easily find websites that support all of them, but only one of the claims is true (claim #1).

  • Claim #1: A new crab species has been found and it's hairy.
  • Claim #2: A new trout species has been found and it's furry.
  • Claim #3: You can pop popcorn with your cell phone.
  • Claim #4: There is an octopus that lives in trees.
  • Claim #5: Camel spiders eat the legs of their sleeping victims.

We divide our classes into groups of three and randomly assign each one a claim. Students are required to search online to determine if the claim is fact or fiction. We ask them to record their research on mini-whiteboards so they can show and defend their answer. In the younger grades this usually takes about 10 min because we provide the URL links so they can easily find the claims. Teachers at schools with little to no Internet connection can print the sites' information and distribute the hard copies to student groups.

Advanced students and those in the higher grades tend to perform deeper analysis without much instruction (but may need encouragement, nevertheless). Therefore, they may take longer, sometimes as much as 20 min for one website. Regardless of age, we've found that the majority of students tend to believe the claim they were assigned because they search for information that supports the claim instead of information that disproves the claim. This common error creates a prime learning opportunity.

Once groups have completed their research, we distribute Figure 4.9: Checklist of Verifying Online Resources. We model how to use the checklist by displaying a website on the board and showing students how to check for each of the items. For younger students, we shorten the checklist to include only the first four items.

Groups then receive an additional five minutes to compare and contrast their whiteboard notes with the checklist. At this point, many groups realize their first position was wrong and ask if they can change their stance. We encourage them to do so but also ask that they document how they arrived at their new conclusion so they can share it with the rest of the class.

Following the use of Figure 4.9: Checklist of Verifying Online Resources, groups present their conclusions and whiteboards to the class. All students then use the checklist to determine if the group's evidence is strong enough to support their conclusion.

We continue to have students use Figure 4.9: Checklist of Verifying Online Resources throughout the year so they have the support they need to verify online information.

Technology Connections

Many alternate online dissections are available. See Table 4.5 for a list of online resources for the most popular animal dissections in science classrooms.

Classrooms that lack reliable online access have the option of purchasing software programs. Simply search “dissection software” for a list of vendors. These purchases can be good alternatives for schools with a small science budget because unlike preserved specimens, the software can be used repeatedly.

For additional lesson plans that teach students how to identify websites that have inaccurate information, use Larry Ferlazzo's resource. This can be found at “The Best Tools & Lessons for Teaching Information Literacy – Help Me Find More” (http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2015/07/28/the-best-tools-lessons-for-teaching-information-literacy-help-me-find-more).

Attributions

Thank you to Brittany Chase, for drawing the elephant picture we used in Figure 4.3: Observing with Quantitative and Qualitative Data. Her medium was colored pencils.

Thank you, Colleen, for sharing your cat dissection labs with us.

Table 4.5 List of Online Animal Dissections

Animal Online dissection website
Frog http://www.mhhe.com/biosci/genbio/virtual_labs/BL_16/BL_16.html
Owl pellet http://kidwings.com/virtual-pellet
Fetal pig https://www.whitman.edu/academics/departments-and-programs/biology/virtual-pig
Cat http://biology.kenyon.edu/heithausp/cat-tutorial/welcome.htm
Cow's eye https://www.exploratorium.edu/video/cows-eye-dissection
Sheep's brain https://www.biologycorner.com/anatomy/sheepbrain/sheep_dissection.html
Sheep's heart http://anatomycorner.com/main/image-gallery/sheep-heart

Figures

Figure 4.1 Quantitative vs. Qualitative Examples (Student Handout)

Figure 4.2 Quantitative vs. Qualitative Examples—Answer Key

Figure 4.3 Observing with Quantitative and Qualitative Data (Student Handout)

Figure 4.4 Observing with Quantitative and Qualitative Data—Answer Key

Figure 4.5 Owl Pellet Step-by-Step Procedures and Questions (Student Handout)

Figure 4.6 Question Stems for Observers (Student Handout)

Figure 4.7 Discussion of Results and Conclusion (Student Handout)

Figure 4.8 Using the Inquiry Process (Student Handout)

Figure 4.9 Checklist for Verifying Online Resources (Student Handout)