POGIL
Introduction
Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) is a student-centered, group-learning instructional strategy and philosophy developed through research on how students learn best. POGIL was devised in 1994 to better teach general chemistry. Today, POGIL is implemented in a wide range of subjects in more than 1,000 American high schools and colleges.
There are two crucial aspects to the design of a POGIL activity. First, sufficient appropriate information must be provided for the initial "Exploration" so that students are able to develop the desired concepts. Second, the guiding questions must be sequenced in a carefully constructed manner so that not only do students reach the appropriate conclusion, but at the same time various process and learning skills are implemented and developed.
Typically the first few questions build on students' prior knowledge and direct attention to the information provided by the model. This is followed by questions designed to help promote the recognitions of relationships and patterns in the data, leading toward some concept development. The final questions may involve applying the concepts to new situations and generalizing students' new knowledge and understanding. Thus, POGIL activities follow the structure of the learning cycle of exploration, concept invention and application, and has a strong basis in constructivism. (source: Wikipedia)
Learning Cycle Activities
Exploration:
Start by discussing and sharing what you know in small groups.
Look at questions or problems to explore the topic.
Concept Invention:
Dig deeper into the topic through discussions and problem-solving.
Build your own understanding of key ideas.
Application:
Use what you've learned in new situations or problems.
Apply concepts to show real-world relevance.
Application Activities
These activities deepen, refine, and/or integrate the understanding of one or more previously developed or presented concepts through application of relevant process skills.
A typical POGIL lesson starts students off with a question to answer or a puzzle to study, and they get either a series of questions or a short activity that will help guide them toward discovering a key concept.