Practice And Explorations On Investigative Learning In Biology Teaching In Senior High School

A new reform of high school curricula has started in some provinces in our country, which will be generalized completely in Gansu Province in 2008. There are still many controversial issues, although investigative learning is regenerate in the reform, such as what kind of course is investigative learning? What position does investigative learning occupy in the whole course system? To what extent will it change the learning style and the life style of the students' in schools? How to deal with the relationship between investigative learning and the subjects and how to form the evaluation system for which investigative learning is fit, and so on. As a provost of a high school as well as a biology teacher, the author has some attempts and explorations on investigative learning.As a learning approach, investigative learning is that the students independently discover the problems, explore them until they find the ways to solve them in learning under the guidance of teachers without being told the conclusion before. In the Chinese new course reform, investigative learning is presented as one part of the integrated practice. As a form of courses, investigative learning is based on the students' own interests, they choose the research topics from the nature, the society and their own life and they are initiative to acquire knowledge and apply knowledge to solve the problems to improve the actual effect of investigative learning. Some practice and explorations on the process of carrying out investigative learning on biology in senior high biology is put into effect in this paper.The literature method, investigation method and action study method are used in this paper. After studying the theory of investigative learning, the author organizes and develops investigative learning in biology teaching in senior high school and makes some practice and explorations in the four stages: preparation stage, practice and experience stage, exchange of conclusions stage and evaluation stage. Meanwhile the students are evaluated in three aspects: learning initiative, self-confidence and potential; learning methods and abilities and cooperation awareness and capacity, from which the following conclusions are reached:1.Investigative learning can be effective in improving students' learning initiative, self-confidenceand their potential, enhancing the students' emotion of biology and establishing a scientific viewpointof biology and strengthening students' understanding of biological science.2.To a certain extent, investigative learning changes students' learning methods of biology, trainsand develops students' abilities of understanding and information collection. Learning and practice and questioning and innovation.3.Investigative learning can effectively raise students' cooperation awareness and capacity and help them to apply the skills into their learning and living.Through nearly two years of explorations and practice, the author thinks that it is a breakthrough in the reform of biology teaching in senior high school to carry out investigative learning. And it is of great significance to bring up students' innovation awareness, to improve ability to practice and comprehensive qualities. At present, there is a certain degree of difficulty to carry out investigative learning in biology teaching in senior high school but it is imperative.