Dana Horton

November 26, 2014

Quick Plan Thinking/Inquiry
Quick Plan: Can we just add more fertilizer? - General Biology
Section I: Description
Thinking/Inquiry
Inquiry is a great way to inspire students to be curious and creative in an academic setting. In an
inquiry lesson, students get to ask the questions and seek out answers. They have the opportunity to
practice being independent learners by getting information and forming conclusions independently
from the teacher. These lessons are especially applicable in the science classroom because it encourages
creativity and curiosity, two essential aspects of scientific endeavors. In inquiry lessons, the teacher
becomes the guide, while the students take ownership of their own learning. This type of lesson works
especially well when students are diving into a new topic or stretching their understanding of a
previously introduced topic.
Topic and Rationale
The cycling of nutrients is an essential concept to understand life on earth. Through inquiry, students
can gain a better understanding of how the cycling of nutrients plays a role in wide range of biological
processes. Through analyzing and interpreting data, student construct meaning and draw conclusions.
Because they developed these ideas themselves, students are more likely to be engaged in the concepts
and remember them.
Investigating the factors that influence populations would lend itself well to an inquiry lesson. Students
would be able to discover for themselves what affects populations through simulations. A lesson
looking into how biological processes maintain homeostasis could also be more student driven through
inquiry. Students could uncover the cause and effect relationships that are involved in reaction to a
changing external environment through inquiry rather than being told.
Purpose
To prepare students to be life-long learners who find meaning in the information they come across in
their daily lives, they need to learn how to ask questions, recognize patterns, and draw conclusions.
These are the key components of an inquiry activity. Students also may find more engagement in an
inquiry activity because they are constructing the meaning themselves, rather than being given the
information and meaning by someone else. Thus, inquiry lessons help students develop the
independence they need later in life, as well as help them engage with and understand the content.
Advantages and Disadvantages
The advantages to inquiry activities include the opportunities they offer students to explore a concept
and develop interest in it. They also help students learn to ask questions and be independent in their
own learning. One disadvantage is that students who are not accustomed to inquiry activities may
struggle. For this reason, it is important to ease students into these activities and not assuming they
know how get what they need independently. Another disadvantage is that inquiry lessons typically
require a lot of organization and materials. The amount of structure and organization will need to
reflect the students' experience and ability with these kinds of lessons.

Section II: Implementation

Learning Objective
Students will be able to analyze and interpret data on the impacts of the addition or removal of matter
in an ecosystem by working in groups to research the effects on an ecosystem when fertilizer is added
or removed.
Materials
Each group will be given a list of suggested research resources (books and websites). Each group will
also receive a note-catcher to organize their findings. A worksheet will be handed out to each student
including discussion questions.
Teaching Model
The lesson is taught using inquiry because inquiry allows students to ask questions to guide their
research in a direction that follows their interests. Inquiry also reflects the nature of the problem they
are trying to solve. The effect of fertilizer on the environment is a real-world issue that does not have a
clear answer when put into a larger context. Once our of school, students will need the skills to evaluate
information, ask questions about it, and seek more information to answer those questions. By using
inquiry to teach this lesson, students are also learning how they can tackle other complex issues in the
future.
Key Concepts
Students will gain an understanding of how the introduction of matter, such as fertilizer, can have
positive and negative effects. The removal of matter greatly affects the producers in an ecosystem, and
therefore, the ecosystem as a whole. In agriculture, we add fertilizer because we are removing nutrients
from the soil through standard practices.
Background knowledge
Students will need to be aware of some of the requirements of plants, specifically nitrogen and
phosphorous.
Assessment
Criteria for success include a complete note-catcher turned in for the group and complete individual
discussion worksheets. Quality answers to the discussion questions will include answers that are
supported by evidence from their research.