Since we recognized that student learning outcomes may be influenced by a confluence of
factors, we incorporated multiple methodologies—science literacy and skills assessments,
self-reported confidence surveys, and focus groups—in order to more accurately assess
learning in the inquiry laboratory classroom. Future studies may consider study designs
utilizing multivariate analysis, to account for other variables that may influence student
performance, which is a limitation of our pre-post analysis of science literacy and skills
gains. However, our qualitative results from student interviews may provide insights where
statistical analyses alone cannot. Further, these results may serve to direct the focus of
future studies, including potential variables to consider for inclusion in models.