In addition, our gains are the first observed in the “derived” science literacy skills of Norris
et al. (2003) in which conceptual understanding is transferred to a new setting and students
are challenged to interpret and evaluate texts dealing with scientific concepts. We would
predict that participation in inquiry labs should have an impact on retention of these skills or
greater long-term interest in biology, but these questions await future studies designed to
track longitudinal learning gains from inquiry classrooms. The other question awaiting
further study is which changes to our instructional materials or methods might improve
science literacy skill acquisition in the short run. For example, it would be interesting to
know if replacing or augmenting the Science Writing Heuristic template (Keys, et al., 1999)
with its focus on improving conceptual understanding and experimental design with writing
assignments would lead to greater skills in interpreting main-stream reports of science.