Inquiry-Based Science Education


detail. We built a glass-lens analog of the SEM column and used a laser pointer to simulate the electron beam as it scanned back and forth on the “specimen” of our model. Te students learned about signal generators, trigonometric functions, electronics, optics, and even a little quantum mechanics. We discussed electron mass and charge, and any other topics that came up. Much of this material was somewhat new to me as well, so I posted frequently to the Microscopy List server (a little too frequently, I admit...), getting wonderful feedback and technical information from the community. As I passed this on to my students, they realized how cooperative and supportive the scientific community could be. Aſter spring break, however, the corporation that ran the


school began to rein in our principal’s freedoms, and consequently my own teaching came under scrutiny. Various requests for small items were being denied from superiors in the corporation, and I was given less and less to work with. I poured even more of my personal resources into my class and managed to finish off the year achieving two to three grade levels of improvement with my students. I had proven to myself that hands-on education works at a higher level. On the last day of school, I received distressing news that


the corporation had eliminated my position. Tey decided that math and science were so similar, one person could teach both. Te math teacher at the school had a master’s degree, therefore she was obviously more qualified than I. Tis decision was to cut operating costs so that they could provide a greater return for their investors. I was told to have the SEM removed by the Saturday following graduation. I broke down the SEM, giving the parts to a local JEOL technician who turned out to be a good contact to have in setting up the next SEM. My personally purchased materials went with me. My next teaching job was at a charter school. Te principal


knew about both my success rates and my methods. I was again given a tremendous amount of latitude in what I could teach and in the way I was allowed to teach it. I selected a high school forensics curriculum. It seemed the natural choice because student interest was high and it built on their previous knowledge of biology, adding a physical science component. Again, I secured a donation of an SEM, a JEOL JSM-35C. Te students were eager learners and would come to class ready to devour whatever topics we were discussing for the day. Every day they were given a problem. To solve the problem, they had to incorporate lessons in biology, physics, chemistry, and many other disciplines—truly a wonderful integrated approach. In Florida, public and charter schools are subject to the


Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). Based on my previous experience, I naïvely assumed that if I taught by using hands-on instruction and challenging my students to answer their own questions, that they would pass the test without my teaching to it. My chance to prove this never came. In December, the board of directors met and decided the principal was making too many changes for their comfort level. She was summarily dismissed. Te new principal was fresh from the local school district


administration office and had little creativity. She not only accepted, but also embraced, the standardized testing movement as a positive advance in education. She did not believe that anything should be taught using methods other than what had been done for years. Shortly aſter accepting her new position, she came to my classroom


42


and told me to drop the forensics curriculum and handed me my new textbook, an FCAT preparation book. It was printed on cheap newsprint, and contained multiple-choice questions. For the next three months, my instructions were to drill, repeatedly. I was no longer allowed to teach; I became a constant proctor. Tis book did not teach critical thinking. It did not inspire inquiry. It did, however, catch fire really easily when I went camping and needed kindling. At least two questions in the FCAT prep book had incorrect answers. My challenge shiſted away from finding ways to make material interesting. Should I teach them incorrect answers in anticipation of their seeing it on the actual test, thereby getting the question right by answering wrong, or should I teach them the correct answers and give them true knowledge? I was no longer allowed to inspire them to ask questions, I was required to teach them how to take a multiple-choice test. Aſter one week in this abyss from which no knowledge


could emerge, I finally spoke to the new principal regarding my concerns. I showed evidence of my past successes and discussed the reasoning for my methods. Over winter break, the board of directors voted to eliminate my position stating that having two science teachers was redundant. Later, I discovered, they hired a replacement science teacher. In 2006, Wired magazine published an article entitled “Don’t


Try Tis At Home.” Te article detailed, among other things, how schools were taking labs out of their curricula in favor of teacher demonstrations or video demonstrations. Science education has become more about facts and equations and less about discovery. To borrow a phrase from Richard Feynman, whatever happened to “the sheer enjoyment of finding things out?” Our complex world requires critical thinking skills that students do not get by memorizing facts and producing the correct answer on a test. I have seen the result of teaching actively, not passively. When granted access to equipment and problems that “working” scientists face every day, even jaded teenage students become excited and eagerly devour new information. I have tried to get away from the sucking vortex of multiple-


choice questions, but I have been shut down. Although I fully recognize that one person cannot save science education, I feel that I must try. As a community that loves science, we must bring back the wonder of science and show students our passion. For this reason, I am taking a break from the frustrations of teaching until I attain my PhD in physics. Perhaps that will give me the credentials to make a difference. Tere have been discussions in the HS_SEM Google group,


started by Margo Gill-Linscott, about what we can do to help teachers improve science education. Many in the community are willing to go to classrooms, host field trips, and talk to students. I want to encourage this, but with the caveat that it is not always easy for teachers to accept even free help. Despite my trials, I was very lucky for the freedoms that I was given in my teaching. I have been one of the lucky few. I have worked with teachers in south Florida who want to bring in people and equipment to enrich the education of their students, but their administrators have been against the idea. Unfortunately, it goes against the “conventional wisdom” of teaching. Hopefully, the educational world will soon realize what most scientists already know: science is not about regurgitation of facts. Science is about discovery. Perhaps one day, we can put that discovery back into the classroom.


www.microscopy-today.com • 2010 September


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