An Inquiry-Based Curriculum for Nonmajors

摘要

Only 28% of the U.S. adult population is considered scientifically literate. Although this is the second highest among 35 developed countries, a fact attributed to postsecondary science requirements (7), it should not be considered satisfactory, and improvement is critical to our future. A trend of many U.S. colleges and universities is to offer courses for nonmajors that cover a wide range of material via lectures, with few opportunities for students to engage in hands-on learning. This is particularly disturbing given that "a growing body of science educators has found that students' attitudes toward science, their motivation for learning, and their conceptual development... can all be enhanced by engagement in real scientific investigations" (2).