Students were not told how to conduct the
snail races or how they should find out what affected
the speed at which snails traveled. They had to work
out ways of finding out these things themselves.
Students themselves have to find the solution to
problems they encounter. One such problem is that
snails rarely travel in a straight line, and sometimes
go in totally the wrong direction to that desired. One
group decided to ‘disqualify’ snails that traveled in
the wrong direction, while another group ingeniously
used pieces of string to measure the exact distance
snails traveled regardless of direction. Although
different groups might use different methods, this
does not necessarily mean one method is better or
worse than another, each is valid in its own way.