Termite Trails
An Introduction to Scientific Inquiry

This initial lab of the semesters sets the tone for the student-directed and inquiry-based nature of this lab experience.  The intent of this lab is to engage students in the process of doing science and to reveal and refine/reform their conceptions about the nature of science and the methods scientists use to study nature.  

Lab Summary
In this lab students observe the behavior of termites exposed to a “trail” made by a black ballpoint ink pen.   After initially observing the termites' behavior student teams develop a question they would like to explore regarding a specific observation. Teams then pose their own hypothesis, protocol for testing their hypothesis (using available lab materials), and predicted results, which would both support and refute their hypotheses. The lab culminates with groups presenting their proposal to the class.  These presentations are meant to have students explore their initial conceptions of how scientists go about seeking answers to a biological question. Each presentation is discussed, weighing the strengths and weaknesses.  Students are asked to rewrite their proposals based on the class discussion.  The end of lab discussion also focuses on several reflection questions about key aspects of scientific discovery (sources of variation, sampling design, describing data, & naturalism). Watch a video of the termite trails by clicking on the picture.


Scientific Skills - students will practice and receive feedback on the following skills:

  • constructing scientific hypothesis and experimental prediction
  • designing an experiment that controls for variables across treatments and trials.
  • designing quantitative measures of biological features in nature and reflect on their value with regard to objectivity, precision, and accuracy.
  • reflecting on the purpose of random assignment of subjects to treatments in order to control for selection bias.
  • exploring the proper types of graph to summarize/describe a data set.
  • drawing a graph which contains all of the essential features required to clearly, concisely and comprehensively summarize a data set (i.e. figure caption, measures of variation, axis labels, units of measure). reflecting on the importance of sample size in generalizing results to the population.
  • exploring the source of limitations in the conclusions one can draw from scientific experiments.
  • exploring the difference between naturalistic (scientific) and non-naturalistic (non-scientific) hypotheses.


Learning Theory & Pedagogy


Learning is an on-going process in which new understanding is constructed from new information, but which is tempered by the learners’ prior conceptions (and misconceptions).  Research in cognitive science also shows that our own familiar and personally comfortable conceptions often get in the way of constructing a new, but more accurate understanding.  This is particularly true for individuals who are novices in the content area being explored.  For these reasons, this initial lab will allow students to actively explore, reveal, discuss and correct their own preconceptions about scientific inquiry by conducting and reflecting on an experiment of their own design.

Instructional Resources

  • An instructor guide which provide lab instructors with pre-lab preparation instructions, suggested materials, learning theory and pedagogical suggestions including common conceptions expressed by students and suggestions for leading the end of lab class discussion of team proposals.
  • An opening and engaging audio case study (from WNYC's Radiolab) intended to challenge students' conceptions and encourage deeper considerations of the nature of scientific hypotheses.
  • Instructor PowerPoint presentation which guides students through the different stages of the lab.