Ruthanne Paradise Advocates for Guided Inquiry Learning in Lab Practicals

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Traditionally, chemistry lab classes have centered around experiments—referred to as lab practicals—which are designed to reinforce lecture material. These practicals are often highly structured, following step-by-step instructions. A recent article in Chemistry World provides an example of this paradigm: when students are instructed on performing a titration, the intent is for them to grasp the technique of titration itself. However, from the students’ perspective, the focus is on simply obtaining the required data to solve a problem—since that’s what the assessment prioritizes.

For this reason, there has been a movement in the US to shift lab practicals toward process-oriented guided inquiry learning (POGIL). Ruthanne Paradise, a senior lecturer II at the College of Natural Sciences's Department of Chemistry, describes this form of learning:

"'Most of the [POGIL] labs are discrete single lab experiences where you have a question, and you’re going to work through two or three learning cycles and then, by the end, you’ll have data to answer initial posed questions,’ explains Ruthanne Paradise, a senior chemistry lecturer at the University of Massachusetts Amherst."

— Chemistry World

Click here to read more in Chemistry World.