The Science Prize for Inquiry-Based Instruction

Inquiry-based classes differ from traditional lectures that focus on transmitting facts and principles derived from what scientists have discovered and instead focus on activating students? natural curiosity in exploring how the world works. Consider the laboratory work that traditionally accompanies an introductory college science course. Most scientists recall these laboratories as tedious ?cookbook labs,? where neither any real understanding of the nature of science nor experience in generating and evaluating scientific evidence and explanations was gained. Many college laboratory exercises remain deficient in precisely these ways today. The Science Prize for Inquiry-Based Instruction was created, with support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, to recognize and promote lessons in which students become invested in exploring questions through activities that are at least partially of their own design. In addition to honoring the winning modules, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has disseminated them as widely as possible. Each winner has written an essay for Science magazine with complete details on how others can implement their inquiry-based activity, and the entire collection of articles has been made available on an open-access education website at http://portal.scienceintheclassroom.org/category/ibi-prize.