Utilization of <i>Vargula Hilgendorfii</i> as an Experimental Teaching Material to Foster Inquiry

<p>In Japan, the word ‘inquiry’ is used as one of the objectives of science in the High School Course of Study, and science education requires inquiry activities. However, there are few research reports on inquiry activities in high school science classes. In high school biology textbooks, there are many confirmation experiments, and within activities involving enzymes, experiments with catalase and amylase are popular. Optimal temperatures for the above two enzymes are approximately the same as human body temperature, and so the results obtained in experiments involving catalase and amylase do not differ significantly from the students’ hypotheses before the experiment is conducted. This is less than ideal because students are denied a chance to think more deeply. We focused on Vargula hilgendorfii (sea firefly) as an experimental teaching material because it is a familiar subject to us and it may yield experimental results that are contrary to students’ expectations.</p><p>In this study, we first examined the results of experiments using the sea firefly. We found that the conclusions were promising, and used the sea firefly to conduct experiments in the classes. We examined the students’ expectations and considerations. When dried sea fireflies were ground and water was added at different temperatures, the strongest and longest-lasting luminescence was observed when ice water was added. During lesson practice for this material, students expected the sea fireflies to glow the brightest at around body temperature. The results were contrary to the students’ hypotheses, and they were surprised and thus motivated to produce various other considerations. In addition, it became clear that they came to think more accurately after listening to other students’ presentations than if they had merely thought them through by themselves. Sea firefly luminescence is more than a simple and efficient teaching material; it immediately interests students and spurs them to think and interact more deeply, not only in terms of their own scientific thinking, but also, synergistically, with other students.</p>