How Were the Activities Developed?

Lab activities in this collection were created as part of the Creating Inquiry-Based Labs for Introductory Geology Courses at the 2020 Earth Educators' Rendezvous (EER). Authors explored ideas of teaching with inquiry and created lab activities to incorporate different levels of inquiry. Each activity within the lab has been reviewed and ranked based on the level of inquiry using a modified version of the Buck et al. (2008) rubric. Most labs in the collection include structured, guided or open levels of inquiry. Lab activities were piloted by authors and other workshop participants in fall 2020 and spring 2021, then reviewed and revised for publication in summer 2021. Reviews included all TTE review criteria:

  • Scientific Accuracy
  • Alignment of Learning Goals, Activities, and Assessments
  • Pedagogic Effectiveness
  • Robustness (usability and dependability of all components)

and new elements including the respect for diversity, equity & inclusion, accessibility for all students, and the persistence of the lab for long term use. Additionally, labs were reviewed for level of inquiry by our Inquiry Experts.

Original authors who participated in the 2020 EER Inquiry Labs workshop were invited to make revisions to their labs prior to publishing them here. In some cases revising authors were not on the original author team, as is noted on the activities in the final collection.

Variations developed for each lab activity can be added to the collection by instructors who contribute "Other Versions of This Activity" on the activity page.