Inter-Disciplinary Inquiry-Based Science Experiences for the 21st Century

Abstract

Inter-disciplinary Inquiry-Based Science Experiences that have Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in the undergraduate learning experiences are the learning experiences needed for the 21st century. The laboratory research experiences for my undergraduate science education students working on development of sensors to analysis of field samples changes a typical traditional classroom into a highly interactive learning environment. The inquiry-based labs are required to engage students into problem solving with the process of critical thinking skills. These problem-based skills enable students to generate, evaluate and share their research findings for their sensors developed. The students are required to design the sensor to analyze a sample collected on a field trip. The sensor(s) developed to the samples collected on a field trip are analyzed by technology such as cyclic voltammetry (CV), differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), square-wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) and Raman Spectroscopy [1-3]. The results of the SWASV will be shared to show the students success at learning how to utilize and develop novel sensors in this talk related to heavy metal detection in water sampling.

Keywords

• Inquiry-Based Science
• Inter-disciplinary