Teach Integrity
Any good scientist knows it is more important to record one's observations in the laboratory than to record what was expected but did not happen. It is a constant struggle to convey this message in the classroom. Students spend their entire schoolday looking for the "right answer" - usually meaning the one that will get parents and teachers off their backs so they can get to the business of doing what interests them. And is it so different in the real world?
M.I.T. Dismisses a Researcher, Saying He Fabricated Some Data
Sigh. I emphasize to my students that if their data is grossly wrong, but they are able to record it properly and explain why, then they are on track for a good grade. I have had students get a 100% on a lab assignment despite having an experimental error of more than an order of magnitude. If a student is able to sit down afterwards and figure out why the expected results were not achieved, and especially if they can explain a better procedure or setup for investigating the topic in question, then clearly that student deserves a superior mark. That student is a good scientist.
Our school has a writing initiative (to improve scores on standardized tests), and every teacher is required to give at least one writing assessment per quarter. Many teachers have an essay on their test and count that. Some assign the work as homework despite the fact that it is supposed to be done in a timed setting, like the standardized tests are. Personally, I like to get the students a little off-topic... for example, get them writing about ethics instead of the momentum chapter we are covering. I think this NY Times article on Dr. Luk Van Parijs may be the prompt for their next assignment.
M.I.T. Dismisses a Researcher, Saying He Fabricated Some Data
Sigh. I emphasize to my students that if their data is grossly wrong, but they are able to record it properly and explain why, then they are on track for a good grade. I have had students get a 100% on a lab assignment despite having an experimental error of more than an order of magnitude. If a student is able to sit down afterwards and figure out why the expected results were not achieved, and especially if they can explain a better procedure or setup for investigating the topic in question, then clearly that student deserves a superior mark. That student is a good scientist.
Our school has a writing initiative (to improve scores on standardized tests), and every teacher is required to give at least one writing assessment per quarter. Many teachers have an essay on their test and count that. Some assign the work as homework despite the fact that it is supposed to be done in a timed setting, like the standardized tests are. Personally, I like to get the students a little off-topic... for example, get them writing about ethics instead of the momentum chapter we are covering. I think this NY Times article on Dr. Luk Van Parijs may be the prompt for their next assignment.
posted by Wulf at
11:06 PM
1 Comments:
When i was teaching in middle school and on a team, the science guy and I would combine Science Fair (DUM dum duuum) with writing. It was great -- we scoped out who was responsible for what -- experiment design, research, etc. and usually overlapped a little on everything.
Wulf, you're right about the 'search for the RIGHT answer' thing. It was SOOO hard to get them to see that what mattered most was the test of their hypothesis, and the resulting coclusion rather than getting the result they had predicted.
I don't know how to get around that except to keep on hammering -- good luck.
By
graycie, at 11:33 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home