A rubric to characterize inquiry in the undergraduate chemistry laboratory

Abstract

Consensus does not exist among chemists as to the essential characteristics of inquiry in the undergraduate laboratory. A rubric developed for elementary and secondary science classrooms to distinguish among levels of inquiry was modified for the undergraduate chemistry laboratory. Both peer-reviewed experiments in the literature and commercially available experiments were evaluated using the rubric, revealing a diversity of uses for the word inquiry. The modified rubric provides a valid and reliable standard of measure for chemists to examine their laboratory curriculum. [Chem. Educ. Res. Pract., 2007, 8 (2), 212-219.]