ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the use of POGIL in STEM classrooms and labs. It discusses the connection of POGIL methods with common conceptions of the scientific method, including models of how scientists work, as described in the Harwood model and other contemporary accounts. The chapter briefly describes the spread of POGIL in the STEM classroom, also taking note of the recent expansion of POGIL into the laboratory environment and closely related methods, such as the science writing heuristic. It explores and compares the parallels between scientific inquiry and guided-inquiry learning. In the learning cycle, students are to develop concepts through the steps of exploration, term introduction, and concept invention, and then apply those concepts to new problems or scenarios. As public and private high schools adopt the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), the need for an effective classroom methodology to address those standards becomes more clear.
