We describe a new approach to teaching introductory biology. Our introductory experience for undergraduates is a laboratory course that is entirely inquiry and discovery based. We introduce our students to fundamental concepts in biology in the framework of three multi-week laboratory modules, each of which is an open-ended investigation of a current area of biological study. Students read the primary literature about the research question, learn techniques and statistical approaches, and conduct student-designed experiments. We focus on the process of doing biology, rather than on acquiring a particular body of facts. Students are actively engaged in integrative thinking about biology, and they emerge from the laboratory experience with a strong grasp of quantitative and experimental approaches and skills. Our assessments indicate that this process-based approach is an effective way to approach introductory biology. (Contains 5 figures and 1 table.)