Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-jr42d Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-16T06:10:17.143Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Taphonomy Experiment: Reinforcing Science Process Skills with a Class-Based Student Independent Research Project

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 July 2017

Karen A. Koy
Karen A. Koy*
Affiliation:
Missouri Western State University, Department of Biology, 4525 Downs Drive, Saint Joseph, MO 64505 USA
Get access

Abstract

Since the mid-20th century, science education has focused on active inquiry rather than direct transmission of knowledge. The National Research Council's National Science Education Standards direct that inquiry-based activities be incorporated at all levels of education. The application of inquiry-based activities at the college level should include faculty-student research programs. This paper presents a class-based faculty-student research project conducted by teams of students over the course of a semester. The advantage of inquiry-based learning for undergraduates is outlined in a review of the educational literature. While there has not been much in the way of quantitative assessments of inquiry-based learning, it is clear that students with a good foundation in the subject benefit from open-ended inquiry. This information was used to create an inquiry-based approach to teaching science-process skills, which was used successfully in an upper-level undergraduate paleontology course at Missouri Western State University, a four-year institution located in northwest Missouri. Students worked in groups to design an original experiment addressing some aspect of taphonomic processes. After online class discussions of the research proposals and final approval from the instructor, students independently ran the experiments, monitoring and collecting data outside of class. During the final week of classes, the groups presented their experiments in a 20-minute, conference-style PowerPoint presentation that placed their experiment within the context of the literature.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Paleontological Society Special Publications , Volume 12: Teaching Paleontology in the 21st Century , 2012 , pp. 199 - 220
Copyright
Copyright © 2012 by The Paleontological Society 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Allard, D. W., and Barman, C. R. 1994. The learning cycle as an alternative method for college science teaching. BioScience, 44: 99–101.Google Scholar
Anderson, L. W., Krathwohl, D. R., Airasian, P. W., Cruikshank, K. A., Emayer, R., Pintrich, P. R., Raths, J., and Wittrock, M. C. 2000. A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, Abridged Edition. New York: Allyn & Bacon.Google Scholar
Baker, A. C. 2002. Extending the conversation into cyberspace, p. 165–183. In Baker, A. C., Jensen, P. J., and Kolb, D. A. (eds.), Conversational Learning: An Experiential Approach to Knowledge Creation. Quorum Books, Westport, CN.Google Scholar
Barr, R. B., and Tagg, J. 1995. From teaching to learning—a new paradigm for undergraduate education. Change, 27:12–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bereiter, C., and Scardamalia, M. 1993. Surpassing Ourselves: An Inquiry Into The Nature And Implications Of Expertise. Open Court, Chicago.Google Scholar
Black, P., and William, D. 1998. Assessment and classroom learning. Assessment in Education, 5:7–75.Google Scholar
Boud, D. and Falchikov, N. 2007. Developing assessment for informing judgment, p. 181–197. In Boud, D. and Falchikov, N. (eds.), Rethinking Assessment in Higher Education: Learning for the Longer Term. Routledge, New York.Google Scholar
Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., and Cocking, R. R. 1999. How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience And School. National Academy Press, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Brew, A. 2010. Imperatives and challenges in integrating teaching and research. Higher Education Research and Development, 29:139–150.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brunkhorst, B. J. 1996. Assessing student learning in undergraduate geology courses by correlating assessment with what we want to teach. Journal of Geoscience Education, 44:373–378.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bybee, R. W. 1993. Reforming Science Education. New York: Teachers College Press.Google Scholar
Chen, G., Donahue, L. M., and Klimoski, R. J. 2004. Training undergraduates to work in organizational teams. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 3: 27–40.Google Scholar
Chung, H.-M., and Behan, K. J. 2010. Peer sharing facilitates the effect of inquiry-based projects on science learning. The American Biology Teacher, 72: 24–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, R. E. 2009. How much and what kind of guidance is optimal? p. 158–183. In Tobias, S. and Duffy, T. M. (eds.), Constructivist Instruction: Success or Failure? Routledge, New York.Google Scholar
Cobern, W. W., Schuster, D., Adams, B., Applegate, B., Skjold, B., Undreiu, A., Loving, C. C., and Gobert, J. D. 2010. Experimental comparison of inquiry and direct instruction in science. Research in Science and Technological Education, 28:81–96.Google Scholar
Collins, A. 2002. How students learn and how teachers teach, p. 3–12. In Bybee, R. W. (ed.), Learning Science and the Science of Learning. NSTA Press, Arlington, VA.Google Scholar
Colliver, J. A. 2000. Effectiveness of problem-based learning curricula: research and theory. Academic Medicine, 75: 259–266.Google Scholar
Cowan, N. 2001. The magical number 4 in short-term memory: a reconsideration of mental storage capacity. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 24: 87–114.Google Scholar
Dogru-Atay, P., and Tekkaya, C. 2008. Promoting students' learning in genetics with the learning cycle. The Journal of Experimental Education, 76: 259–280.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Faidley, J., Evensen, D. H., Salisbury Glennon, J., Glenn, J., and Hmelo, C. E. 2000. How are we doing? Methods of assessing group processing in a problem-based learning context, p. 109–135. In Evensen, D. H. and Hmelo, C. E. (eds.), Problem-Based Learning: A Research Perspective on Learning Interactions. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, London.Google Scholar
Falchikov, N. 2007. The place of peers in learning and assessment, p. 128–143. In Boud, D. and Falchikov, N. (eds.), Rethinking Assessment in Higher Education: Learning for the Longer Term. Routledge, New York.Google Scholar
Falchikov, N., and Boud, D. 2007. Assessment and emotion: the impact of being assessed, p. 144–155. In Boud, D. and Falchikov, N. (eds.), Rethinking Assessment in Higher Education: Learning for the Longer Term. Routledge, New York.Google Scholar
Farrington, J. 2011. From the research: Myths worth dispelling. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 23: 113–116.Google Scholar
Gilardi, S., and Lozza, E. 2009. Inquiry-based learning and undergraduates' professional identity development: assessment of a field research-based course. Innovative Higher Education, 34: 245–256.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldfinch, J. 1994. Further developments in peer assessment of group projects. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 19: 29–36.Google Scholar
Gollust, S. E., Lantz, P. M., and Ubel, P. A. 2009. The polarizing effect of news media messages about the social determinants of health. American Journal of Public Health, 99:2160–2167.Google Scholar
Haak, D. C., Hillerislambers, J., Pitre, E., and Freeman, S. 2011. Increased structure and active learning reduce the achievement gap in biology. Science, 332:1213–1216.Google Scholar
Hall, J. 1996. Training in teamwork for students of library and information studies. Education for Information, 14:19–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Halstead, A., and Martin, L. 2002. Learning styles: a tool for selecting students for group work. International Journal of Electrical Engineering Education, 39:245–252.Google Scholar
Hanrahan, S. J., and Isaacs, G. 2001. Assessing self- and peer-review assessment: the students' views. Higher Education Research and Development, 20:53–68.Google Scholar
Hathaway, R. S., Nagda, B. A., and Gregerman, S. R. 2002. The relationship of undergraduate research participation to graduate and professional education pursuit: an empirical study. Journal of College Student Development, 43:614–631.Google Scholar
Herron, S. S. 2009. From cookbook to collaborative: transforming a university biology laboratory course. The American Biology Teacher, 71:548–552.Google Scholar
Hmelo, C. E., and Jin, X. 2000. Becoming self-directed learners: strategy development in problem-based learning, p. 227–250. In Evensen, D. H. and Hmelo, C. E. (eds.), Problem-Based Learning: A Research Perspective on Learning Interactions. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, London.Google Scholar
Hu, S., Kuh, G. D., and Li, S. 2008a. The effects of engagement in inquiry-oriented activities on student learning and personal development. Innovative Higher Education, 33:71–81.Google Scholar
Hu, S., Scheuch, K., Schwartz, R., Gayles, J. G., and Li, S. 2008b. Reinventing undergraduate education: engaging college students in research and creative activities. Ashe Eric Higher Education Report, 33:19–74.Google Scholar
Hudspith, B., and Jenkins, H. 2001. Teaching the Art of Inquiry. Halifax: Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education.Google Scholar
Jin, G., and Bierma, T. J. 2010. Guided-inquiry learning in environmental health. Journal of Environmental Health, 73:80–85.Google Scholar
Justice, C., Rice, J., Roy, D., Hudspith, B., and Jenkens, H. 2009. Inquiry-based learning in higher education: administrators' perspectives on integrating inquiry pedagogy into the curriculum. Higher Education, 58:841–855.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Justice, C., Rice, J., Warry, W., Inglis, S., Miller, S., and Sammon, S. 2007. Inquiry in higher education: reflections and directions on course design and teaching methods. Innovative Higher Education, 31:201–214.Google Scholar
Kalyuga, S., Ayres, P., Chandler, P., and Sweller, J. 2003. The expertise reversal effect. Educational Psychologist, 38(1): 23–31.Google Scholar
Kalyuga, S., Chandler, P., Tuovinen, J., and Sweller, J. 2001. When problem solving is superior to studying worked examples. Journal of Educational Psychology, 93:579–588.Google Scholar
Kayes, A. B., Kayes, D. C., and Kolb, D. A. 2005. Experiential learning in teams. Simulation and Gaming, 36:330–354.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keppell, M., Au, E., Ma, A., and Chan, C. 2006. Peer learning and learning-oriented assessment in technology-enhanced environments. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 31:453–464.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kern, E. L., and Carpenter, J. R. 1986. Effect of field activities on student learning. Journal of Geoscience Education, 34:180–183.Google Scholar
Kirschner, P. A., Sweller, J., and Clark, R. E. 2006. Why minimal guidance during instruction does not work: an analysis of the failure of constructivist, discovery, problem-based, experiential, and inquiry-based teaching. Educational Psychologist, 41: 75–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klahr, D. 2009. “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heavens”: what about direct instruction? p. 291–310. In Tobias, S. and Duffy, T. M. (eds.), Constructivist Instruction: Success or Failure? Routledge, New York.Google Scholar
Kolb, D. A. 1984. Experiential Learning: Experience as The Source Of Learning And Development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Kolb, D. A., Baker, A. C., and Jensen, P. J. 2002. Conversation as experiential learning, p. 51–66. In Baker, A. C., Jensen, P. J., and Kolb, D. A. (eds.), Conversational Learning: an Experiential Approach to Knowledge Creation. Quorum Books, Westport, CN.Google Scholar
Latané, B., Williams, K., and Harkins, S. 1979. Many hands make light the work: the causes and consequences of social loafing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37: 822–832.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, V. S., and Ash, S. 2010. Unifying the undergraduate curriculum through inquiry-guided learning. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 121:35–45.Google Scholar
Mayer, R. E. 2004. Should there be a three-strikes rule against pure discovery learning? The case for guided methods of instruction. American Psychologist, 59:14–19.Google Scholar
Mazur, E. 1997. Peer Instruction: A User's Manual. USA: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
McConnell, D. A., Steer, D. N., Owens, K. D., and Knight, C. C. 2005. How students think: implications for learning in introductory geoscience courses. Journal of Geoscience Education, 53:462–470.Google Scholar
Mestre, J. P., and Cocking, R. R. 2002. Applying the science of learning to the education of prospective science teachers, p. 13–22. In Bybee, R. W. (ed.), Learning Science and the Science of Learning. NSTA Press, Arlington, VA.Google Scholar
Nagda, B. A., Gregerman, S. R., Jonides, J., Von Hippel, W., and Lerner, J. S. 1998. Undergraduate student-faculty research partnerships affect student retention. The Review of Higher Education, 22:55–72.Google Scholar
National Research Council. 1996. National Science Education Standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.Google Scholar
Nnadozie, E., Ishiyama, J., and Chon, J. 2001. Undergraduate research internships and graduate school success. Journal of College Student Development, 42:145–156.Google Scholar
Nyhan, B., and Reifler, J. 2010. When Corrections Fail: The persistence of political misperceptions. Political Behavior, 32:303–330.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Piaget, J. 1950. The Psychology of Intelligence. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Redlawsk, D. 2002. Hot cognition or cool consideration? Testing the effects of motivated reasoning on political decision making. Journal of Politics, 64:1021–1044.Google Scholar
Rife, G. S. 2010. Water bears & pillbugs: two invertebrate models that offer authentic opportunities to explore research methods in biology. The American Biology Teacher, 72:345–349.Google Scholar
Rosenshine, B. 2009. The empirical support for direct instruction, p. 201–220. In Tobias, S. and Duffy, T. M. (eds.), Constructivist Instruction: Success or Failure? Routledge, New York.Google Scholar
Ryan, G. 1993. Student perceptions about self-directed learning in a professional course implementing problem-based learning. Studies in Higher Education, 18:53–64.Google Scholar
Sampson, V., and Gleim, L. 2009. Argument-driven inquiry to promote the understanding of important concepts & practices in biology. The American Biology Teacher, 71:465–472.Google Scholar
Sanger, M. J. 2007. Is inquiry-based instruction good for elementary teaching majors? The effects on chemistry content knowledge and views about teaching and learning science. Physics Education Research Conference, 1:7–10.Google Scholar
Schwartz, D. L., and Bransford, J. D. 1998. A time for telling. Cognition and Instruction, 16:475–522.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schwartz, D. L., Lindgren, R., and Lewis, S. 2009. Constructivism in an age of non-constructivist assessments, p. 34–61. In Tobias, S. and Duffy, T. M. (eds.), Constructivist Instruction: Success or Failure? Routledge, New York.Google Scholar
Somervell, H. 1993. Issues in assessment, enterprise and higher education: the case for self-, peer and collaborative assessment. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 18(3): 221 – 234.Google Scholar
Spronken-Smith, R., and Kingham, S. 2009. Strengthening the teaching and research links: the case of a pollution exposure inquiry project. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 33:241–253.Google Scholar
Spronken-Smith, R., Bullard, J., Ray, W., Roberts, C., and Keiffer, A. 2008. Where might sand dunes be on Mars? Engaging students through inquiry-based learning in geography. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 32:71–86.Google Scholar
Stevens, M. J., and Campion, M. A. 1999. Staffing work teams: development and validation of a selection test for teamwork settings. Journal of Management, 25:207–228.Google Scholar
Sweller, J., and Cooper, G. A. 1985. The use of worked examples as a substitute for problem solving in learning algebra. Cognition and Instruction, 2:59–89.Google Scholar
Sweller, J., Mawer, R. F., and Howe, W. 1982. Consequences of history-cued and means-end strategies in problem solving. American Journal of Psychology, 95:455–483.Google Scholar
Sykes, C., and Koy, K. A. 2011. Taphonomy of small vertebrates in dry versus wet sandy substrates. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 43:68.Google Scholar
Taber, C. S., and Lodge, M. 2006. Motivated skepticism in the evaluation of political beliefs. American Journal of Political Science, 50:755–769.Google Scholar
Tobias, S., and Duffy, T. M. 2009. The success or failure of constructivist instruction. In: Constructivist Instruction: Success or Failure? p. 3–10. In Tobias, S. and Duffy, T. M. (eds.), Constructivist Instruction: Success or Failure? Routledge, New York.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Uno, G.E. 1990. Inquiry in the classroom. BioScience, 40:841–843.Google Scholar
Wallach, M. A., Kogan, N., and Bem, D. J. 1964. Diffusion of responsibility and level of risk taking in groups. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 68:263–274.Google Scholar
Willey, K., and Gardner, A. 2010. Investigating the capacity of self and peer assessment activities to engage students and promote learning. European Journal of Engineering Education, 35:429–443.Google Scholar
Woltz, D. J. 2003. Implicit cognitive processes as aptitudes for learning. Educational Psychologist, 38:95–104.Google Scholar