Learning Strategies to Initiate and Motivate Students of an Introductory Microbiology Laboratory Class to Perform Cooperatively an Inquiry-based Project

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mary Man

Pre-nursing students in an introductory microbiology laboratory class gained confidence to conduct an inquiry-based project after learning standard microbiological techniques during the term. Students worked cooperatively to perform a microbiological analysis evaluating the safety of sushi. The paper describes learning strategies and assessment methods used to prepare and motivate students for investigative work. It also details ongoing assessment approaches to support group harmony and progress across the project stages, improving analytical thinking.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages7

Reading Time18 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

The Inquiry-based Cooperative Learning Strategy and Student Assessment

(i) Initiating and motivating the students

(ii) The food microbiology investigative project and design

Learning Strategies to Initiate and Motivate Students of an Introductory Microbiology Laboratory Class to Perform Cooperatively an Inquiry-based Project. Subir Ghosh Division of Natural Sciences, College of Natural & Applied Sciences, University of Guam, UOG Station, Mangilao, Guam 96923. E-Mail: [sghosh@triton.uog.edu](sghosh@triton.uog.edu) Abstract Pre-nursing students of an introductory Microbiology laboratory class, having learnt typical microbiological techniques during the semester, gained the confidence of conducting an inquiry-based project as part of their lab coursework. Students cooperatively performed a microbiological analysis, to evaluate safety of sushi. This paper presents learning strategies and assessment methods to prepare and motivate the students for undertaking an investigative project. Approaches are discussed that were taken to continually assess the students during the performance of the project in order to ensure harmonious group activity and transition through the various stages of the investigative project. Students commented that their investigative experience had increased their thinking and analytical skills and heightened their awareness of the process of scientific discovery. Key words: Introductory Microbiology laboratory course; Pre-Nursing majors; Inquiry; Cooperative Learning Introduction For quite some time, education experts and many biology teachers have been urging critical thinking exercises, hands-on experimentation, and inquirybased science education in conducting undergraduate biology courses. Human society has become rapidly technological and science has assumed a major presence in the everyday functioning of an increasing number of people. It is, therefore, imperative for the young student to gain an understanding of the process of science and how researchers make discoveries in order to make informed decisions in today’s world (American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2011; Somres & Ham, 2009; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2015, 2017). Numerous reports of successful inquirybased undergraduate laboratory teaching in biology have been reported (Mitchell & Garziano, 2006; Marshall, 2007; Madhuri & Broussard, 2008; Spiro & Knisely, 2008; Walker et al., 2008; Hurd, 2008; Lu et al., 2008; and, Zhang, 2008) . Further, it has been shown that when investigative approaches are performed by biology students in a cooperative manner working together to achieve a common goal, higher levels of student achievement are attained compared to traditional methods of teaching (Goyette & DeLuca, 2007; Goldberg & Dintzis, 2007; Seifert et al., 2009; Weisman, 2010; Premo et al., 2018) . One of the key findings in cooperative learning has been that student’s self-esteem is significantly enhanced. Cooperative learning also provided the students with an opportunity to acquire interpersonal communicative skills, enhance their motivation for learning, and to discover and exercise their critical thinking skills (Weiman, 2009) . It is, therefore, important that biology and other science courses should be taught based on inquiry, research, and teamwork. Typically, inquiry-based projects in an undergraduate laboratory course are conducted for biology juniors and seniors who have previously completed a set of biology courses including rigorous laboratory courses and students work on the project throughout the semester (Seifert et al., 2009) . At the University of Guam, pre-nursing majors are required to take an introductory one semester-long microbiology laboratory class. The students have limited science background and have not had the opportunity to engage in investigative projects in science lab classes. As part of efforts at improving the laboratory course experience for pre-nursing majors, an inquiry-based cooperative learning approach was tested. After ensuring that students acquired the skills in experimental microbiology in par with nationa

FAQs

Who participated in the inquiry-based cooperative project?

Pre-nursing students enrolled in an introductory microbiology laboratory class participated after completing typical microbiological techniques during the semester.

What was the focus of the microbiological analysis?

Students cooperatively evaluated food microbiology by assessing the safety of sushi as their investigative project.

How were students prepared and motivated for the project?

Learning strategies and assessment methods were used before and during the project to ensure preparedness and to continuously support students through different project stages.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mary Man