Trapping Fruit Flies: A Guided-Inquiry Lab Approach to Teaching Biology to Nonmajors

Current trends in education include offering students authentic experiences that generate broad interest, develop their cognitive flexibility, and prepare them to be scientifically literate members of society. We present a three-part guided-inquiry lab that gives students practice applying the scien...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American biology teacher 2020-08, Vol.82 (6), p.403-408
Main Authors: Angra, Aakanksha, Ng, Siu Lung, Onstine, Alison, Spencer, Chrissy
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological activity
Biology
Cognitive ability
Colleges & universities
Control methods
Educational Trends
Fruit flies
fruit fly
Fruits
INQUIRY & INVESTIGATION
inquiry laboratory
Literature reviews
Nonmajors
nonmajors biology
Problem solving
Science education
Science Instruction
Scientific Methodology
sensory biology
Students
Teaching Methods
Citations: Items that this one cites
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Summary:Current trends in education include offering students authentic experiences that generate broad interest, develop their cognitive flexibility, and prepare them to be scientifically literate members of society. We present a three-part guided-inquiry lab that gives students practice applying the scientific method to control fruit fly outbreaks and reinforces concepts related to behavioral and sensory biology. This activity was designed and tested at a four-year university but can be modified for high school courses. Students are “employed” by the fictional Fruit Fly Trap Company to design a device to maximize capture of female fruit flies using environmentally friendly lures. During this lab, students collaborate to conduct literature searches, ask research questions, develop hypotheses, design experiments, collect and analyze data, and present findings in a short oral presentation. In our implementation of this module in a biology class for nonmajors in fall 2017, over 50% of students reported that the literature research, scent experiments, trap construction, trap testing, and PowerPoint presentation were extremely effective in teaching science process and biological problem-solving skills. Over 70% of our students rated the practical, hands-on elements of the activity as enjoyable. Overall, students generally enjoyed the lab and reported positive impacts on their learning.
ISSN:0002-7685
1938-4211
DOI:10.1525/abt.2020.82.6.403