The whiteboard at the front of the laboratory displayed just one intriguing question: “Is it alive?“ 

Ranged in pairs at their lab tables, the sixth grade students buzzed with eager anticipation. Their task was to analyze a “mystery pollutant,” ostensibly gathered from a nearby stream by a researcher from Ohio’s EPA. Their goal, as budding research scientists, was to develop a series of experiments to determine whether that substance was biotic (organic) or abiotic (inorganic). 

First, they learned and researched six criteria for living substances. Is it made of one or more cells? Does it grow and develop? Does it metabolize? Does it respond to its environment? Does it reproduce? Does it have a determinable “lifespan”? How, the students were asked, could they determine which of those six criteria the mystery substance met? 

Eventually, they determined the steps that would guide their microscopic investigations. By simple observation, they could determine whether it was made up of one cell or many. To determine whether it grows or develops, they could put a specimen in a nutritive petri dish and plot its size over time. To assess whether it metabolizes, they could analyze data from oxygen and carbon dioxide sensors placed within a chamber. To determine whether it responded to its environment, they could observe the effects of altering the temperature (using ice or hot water) or of placing other substances in close proximity. To test for reproduction, they could bisect the specimen and observe whether each segment would grow independently. And they could observe the specimen over time to see if the signs of life waned after a period of time.

I have often said that what truly differentiates Seven Hills from other schools is not so much what students learn, but how they learn. This sustained exploration is a perfect example. 

Students were given a highly motivating, real life task and worked together to develop an experimental protocol to develop and test their hypotheses. They gathered a comprehensive set of relevant measurements and observations and debated, sometimes fiercely, when the data were inconclusive or self-contradictory.

It’s difficult to adequately convey the excitement this kind of learning generates or the long-term benefits it provides. My congratulations to Jen Licata and to her sixth grade science students for such a captivating demonstration. This was inquiry-based, real world learning at its best!