1. Example: Within the training course “Know-
How! Inquiry-based learning“, which was
targeted at science teachers in secondary level
I, the questions of “How many drops of water
fit onto one coin?” was addressed (see: http://
blogs.fhnw.ch/profiles/unterrichtseinheiten).
Based on the presentation of a problem, the
students are to comprehend the concept of
determination of mean value and the idea of
mean variation with the help of typical scientific
methods and to critically test the gained
insights. In groups, the students examine how
many drops of water fit onto a coin. They create
an examination plan which is then discussed in
class before the experiments with drops of water
and they specify the research question during
the research process.
2. Example: The project SWiSE (2014) focuses on
the development of instruction and schools. The
core focus is laid on the teachers and continuous
professional development. It is concerned with
the development and dissemination of inquirybased
science teaching approaches in particular.
At many of the 60 SWiSE schools, teachers
worked on teaching units with a strong focus
on inquiry-based learning, partly in cooperation
with didactic experts in natural science. The
teaching unit battery is presented as a typical
example.
A chemistry teacher and a physics teacher at the
secondary school, Frenke in Liestal/Switzerland,
both taught the same 9th grade in chemistry
and physics. Within SWiSE, they conducted an
interdisciplinary project. At the outset, they
introduced the topic “batteries”. The students
already had previous knowledge of terms such as
acids, bases, and metals in chemistry and of terms
such as charge, current, and resistance in physics.
The design and function of a battery, however, were
not yet known. In the course of the project, the
students completed the following tasks:
1. read up on the design and function of a
battery,
2. build a battery that makes a light emitting
diode glow (Figure 1),
3. keep a project journal during the work
process,
4. write a report after completing the battery,
5. present and explain the battery to the class.