BSCS | Curriculum Development | BSCS Classic Inquiries

Curriculum Development > High School 9-12 > Other Supplemental Programs > BSCS Classic Inquiries

BSCS Classic Inquiries

Introductory Biology

The BSCS Classic Inquiries are video-based (videotapes or videodiscs) instructional materials that teach timeless concepts in biology. They are designed to encourage an attitude of inquiry, a hallmark of BSCS materials, by helping students to uncover specific biological topics through an interactive learning mode. Classic Inquiries raise questions and present experimental data in ways that encourage students to suspend judgment, change hypotheses and draw conclusions based on evidence, which are important abilities for scientific literacy. Each inquiry draws students and teachers into active discussions. Teachers facilitate learning by guiding students to an understanding of what they experience, not by explaining the concepts in advance or dominating the discussions.

The Classic Inquiries were developed with the help of the research scientists responsible for the original biological research. Much of the film footage used in the video was part of the original research data. As a result, the Inquiries promote the development of higher-level thinking, which often is difficult to cultivate through more traditional instructional materials. Students make observations, generate hypotheses, organize and synthesize disparate information, analyze data, scrutinize results and critique conclusions, opportunities that are missing in too many classrooms.

Current titles include "Social Behavior in Chickens," "Mimicry," "Chemical Communication," "Feeding Behavior in Hydra," "Imprinting," "Locomotion in the Amoeba," "Mitosis," "Mating Behavior in the Cockroach," "Nerves and Heartbeat Rate," "The Peppered Moth: A Population Study," "Prey Detection in the Rattlesnake," "Phototropism," "The Importance of the Nucleus" and "The Kidney and Homeostasis." A Teacher's Guide accompanies each videodisc.

To obtain more information, contact Bert Kempers or Jean Foreman at The Center for Visual Imaging, PO Box 883406, Steamboat Springs, CO 80488, or call 970.870.3064.