Report on workshop to explore the relevance of EBL for Science and Society

Lis Cordingley, Lecturer in Health Psychology from the University Manchester speaks about her experiences of using EBL On February 8th the Nuffield Curriculum Centre hosted a workshop to explore the relevance of Enquiry Based Learning (EBL) for Science and Society. Practitioners from the University of Manchester, where the medical course is entirely taught through EBL, showed how EBL turns the learning process on its head by encouraging students to identify what needs to be learned.

Starting with a scenario or case-study, students identify questions and issues to be researched. This process is carefully facilitated by the teacher, who then guides the students as they identify the resources needed to acquire the necessary knowledge.

This emphasis on educating for knowledge creation raises questions for curriculum developers in terms of the resources which can help to scaffold an enquiry-based learning process. Medical students are high-achieving, motivated and experienced learners – will similar approaches be suitable for students at sixth-form level, or younger?

Richard Scrase shares his experiences of using EBL at Newham Sixth Form College at the meeting Teachers at the workshop with experience of similar approaches at sixth form level suggested that EBL can be introduced through small-scale tasks, and that resource packs and references can focus students’ research as they gain the skills to carry out their own investigations. Learning through EBL becomes more student-centred, with an emphasis on group work and use of the library, web and other information sources.

An outcome of the workshop is that EBL will be explored within the Science and Society project; the specification provides a wealth of potentially motivating case studies and issues suitable for this approach, such as energy futures, biodiversity, nature and nurture and how the brain works.

New resources will be trialled in schools and colleges, and the appropriate professional development for teachers will be explored with the Science Learning Centres.

Participants at the workshop putting together a SOW which uses EBL as one of the teaching methods

Last updated: 15 February 2008