Why are we here?

Teaching the Process of Science WorkshopCarleton College, Northfield, MNJuly 14-16, 2009

What is it about the process of science?

• We believe that students who understand how science works will better understand and remember scientific concepts AND be able to make better decisions that involve scientific information

• We also believe we might be able to attract more students into science if they know what it is really like (or at least we won’t drive them away)

• Unfortunately, our traditional teaching methods and materials focus on the facts of science, not the process

• And yet, we know that students can learn a lot of facts and still hold many misconceptions about the process of science

• Effective teaching about the process necessarily involves explicitly addressing those misconceptions and giving students the time and background to develop new conceptions

What is wrong with this picture?

He’s Vulcan

He knows morethan anyone else

Scary “science station”

He betrays no emotion

Logic always prevails

Spock, Chief Science Officer, Enterprise

Data

an android

In “The Next Generation”, Spock is replaced by

Portrayals in the media

“But while Raymond-Whish’s intimate acquaintance with cancer may harm her credibility as a dispassionate scientist, it may also propel her to help make startling discoveries where no one else has thought to look.”

“On Cancer’s Trail” Florence Williams, High Country News, May 26, 2008

“... Darwin... was hardly even a scientist in the sense that we understand the term - a highly trained specialist whose professional vocabulary is so arcane that he or she can only talk to other scientists.”

“Who Was More Important, Lincoln or Darwin?” Malcolm Jones, Newsweek, July 14, 2008

Misconceptions from educational research

• “Everything is science.” Moss et al., 2001 - Interviews of five US high school students in an environmental science class

• “Technology is really good... so the computer can generate a good interpretation.” Ryder and Leach, 2000 - Paper survey of 731 science students across Europe + 19 interviews

• Conceptual models are not an important part of data interpretation. Ryder and Leach, 2000

• Controversy resolves when experiments prove a theory right. Ryder et al., 1999 - Interviews of 11 college students at Leeds involved in final year projects

• Scientists may not work alone, but it is unclear how they interact. Ryder et al., 1999

Now for some good news...

Scientific Achievements Less Prominent Than a Decade Ago PUBLIC PRAISES SCIENCE; SCIENTISTS FAULT PUBLIC, MEDIA

•Study from the Pew Research and AAAS released July 9, 2009

•Phone surveys of 2001 adults, 18 and older

•Science knowledge quiz given by phone to 1005 adults

•Online interviews of 2533 scientists who are members of AAAS

Public views of science and scientists

Science interest and knowledge

So we have...

A public that thinks scientists make important contributions to society...

...but students who think they can’t become scientists

A public that knows (and enjoys knowing) the results of scientific findings...

...but doesn’t understand how those results are generated

We think we know how to solve these contradictions:

Teach them how science really works

Discussion questions (~30 minutes)

•What does “the process of science” mean to you?

•What does teaching the process of science mean to you?

•What do we really want our students to be able to do that can help us define what and how we teach about the process of science?

Report out and large group discussion