gms | German Medical Science

Active or engaged learning is currently getting much attention because it engages students and research shows it to be an effective form of (science) learning. Despite this, there is also data, e.g., PISA 2015, suggesting that inquiry learning is not associated with improved student performance. In this presentation I will seek for a reconciliation between these contradictory stances and present evidence that the success of inquiry (and other forms of instruction) is not an “all or none” issue but that that successful and attractive instruction requires a delicate balance between different teaching and learning approaches, both within a lesson and within a curriculum. Inquiry learning with online laboratories fits very well with this approach and in the presentation, I will focus on the advantages of online laboratories and discuss the inquiry processes of students and how these can be actively supported by technological means in the form of focused, flexible, and adaptive online scaffolds but also how expository instruction plays a complementary role. An introduction will be given to the Go-Lab ecosystem which is built around a federation of online labs (www.golabz.eu) and that offers opportunities to create effective learning experiences for students with inquiry at the centre but with a clear eye on complementary instructional approaches.