20th Anniversary Highlights of Hope

SCIENCE EDUCATION
It’s All About Inquiry!
Van Andel Education Institute
encourages both students and teachers
to think and act like scientists. Instead
of focusing on memorization, inquiry-based
learning allows students to learn by asking
questions and testing hypotheses. The
Institute’s inquiry-based model centers on
three dimensions: habits of mind, a sociallyand
language-rich environment and the
QPOE 2
®
investigation organizer. QPOE 2
highlights the scientific process of asking
a question, making a prediction, collecting
data through observation, developing an
explanation and ongoing evaluation to
refine and improve the process.
From the Founding Into the Future –
NexGen Inquiry ®
In the late 1990s, when the founders
envisioned an institute that would have the
potential to revolutionize science education
and inspire generations of students, the
internet was a curious new technology.
Today, the Institute harnesses the power of
web-based connectivity in the form of
NexGen Inquiry—a powerful web-based
science education platform that provides an
opportunity for interactive learning in
K–12 classrooms worldwide.
The platform, accessible to anyone with
an internet connection, was designed by
education experts with the goal of
bringing the Institute’s inquiry-based
education philosophy to an unlimited
audience. NexGen Inquiry provides a
solid foundation for the Next Generation
Science Standards (NGSS) and gives
teachers accessible tools to help their
students develop important 21 st century
skills and a life-long love of science.
Jim Nicolette, associate director of
Van Andel Education Institute, believes that
the Institute’s future in science education
is dependent on the ability to scale-up the
inquiry-based science education model
in order to reach more teachers
and students.
“The model we’ve worked to develop is truly
golden, and now we have to introduce it to
a larger audience,” Nicolette said.
“Betty Van Andel and the Van Andel family’s
original intent was to change the way
science is taught at the national level. Today
we are really in a place to realize this bold
idea and help educate more students than
ever before.”
2012
CONTINUED FROM PG 17 >
2013
Dr. George Vande Woude and Dr. Peter Jones named as Fellows of the American Association
for Cancer Research Academy.
First students graduate from VAIGS.
VAIGS receives initial accreditation from Higher Learning Commission.
VAI and area partners collaborate to
create a world-class biorepository
following the Program for Biospecimen
Science’s accreditation by the College
of American Pathologists.
Dr. Peter Jones appointed Van Andel Research Institute’s
Chief Scientific Officer. VARI commits to becoming a global
epigenetics research hub.
VAI launches Pathway of Hope, a multifaceted initiative to study
tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC).
18 | VAN ANDEL INSTITUTE HIGHLIGHTS OF HOPE