Inquiry-Based Teaching in Life Sciences
AmgenTeach
Welcome to the MOOC Inquiry-Based Teaching in Life Sciences
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Asking questions is a vital part of any learning process, and within the life sciences, there is certainly a lot to explore! Inquiry-Based Science Education (IBSE) is beneficial for many reasons and not only for students, but teachers too.
It is primarily a shift from the mere passing on of information, to the stimulation of students’ curiosity and motivation for them to inquire. IBSE allows students to be in control of their own learning process and acquire knowledge in a more interactive way.
On the other hand, IBSE methodologies give teachers the opportunity to present the curriculum from a new angle and to follow students’ development on a unique scale. This way, Inquiry Based-Teaching makes the classroom a space of curious learning and more flexible teaching.
The Inquiry-Based Teaching in Life Sciences (Rerun) MOOC is meant to enhance life science teachers’ pedagogical competences and practices, and improve their conceptual understanding of life science to help them further establish and disseminate IBSE.
The MOOC will offer a selection of tested classroom activities and resources from a number of European countries to empower life science teachers to introduce IBSE methodologies to students aged 12-19, and help them reflect on their own practices.
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Learning objectives
- Understanding why it is so fundamental to focus more on computing in schools
- Experiencing inquiry as an adult learner
- Acquiring the skills and confidence to implement inquiry-based teaching in the classroom
- Learning how to reflect on your own teaching practice
- Enhancing your own and your students’ conceptual understanding of life sciences
- Exploring various formal and informal assessment approaches for IBSE
You can download the course content here.
Prerequisites
Life science teachers (of 12- to 19-year-old students) from Europe and beyond.
Modules
- Module 1: Experience Inquiry as a Learner
- Module 2: Implement Inquiry in the Classroom
- Module 3: Conceptual Understanding of Life Sciences
- Module 4: Assessment and Inquiry I
- Module 5: Assessment and Inquiry II
Certification
After completing the entire course, participants receive a digital course certificate and a digital course badge.
Note to teachers from Portugal: You can get your successful participation in a European Schoolnet Academy course formally recognised as a valid continuous professional development, and thereby acquire the relevant number of training hours, by sending your certificate to the Conselho Científico e Pedagógico de Formação Contínua (CCPFC) at Rua do Forno, nº 30, 1º andar - apartado 2168, 4700 - 429 Braga, Portugal. For more information, please contact the CCPFC.
Course Staff
Disclaimer and Copyright
This MOOC was produced and is updated and rerun under the Amgen Teach project, which is funded by the Amgen Foundation and coordinated by the European Schoolnet. Video contributions and content were provided by training providers Science2School, Jeunesses Scientifiques de Belgique, Vysoká škola chemicko-technologická v Praze, Fondation La Main a la Pate, Professional Development Service for Teachers, Associazione Nazionale Insegnanti di Scienze Naturali, Warszawskie Centrum Innowacji Edukacyjno-Społecznych i Szkoleń, Fundació Catalana per a la Recerca i la Innovació, Development Workshop (DW).
All content on this course unless specified otherwise is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License