(An investigation of real science and pseudoscience)
by Michael Scott Miller
Introduction | Task | Process | Resources | Evaluation | Conclusion
Have you ever seen a person lay on a bed of nails and not get hurt? How about someone bend a spoon with their "mental powers"? Maybe you have seen the video that is "supposed" to be Bigfoot walking in the woods. In our world today we are bombarded with stories and claims that are supposedly true. Claims such as alien abductions, psychic powers, horoscopes, bigfoot, the face on Mars, walking on coals, and the Loch-Ness Monster are just a few. But are these claims tested using real scientific investigation? Doing real science involves investigations, observations, testing, real data and evidence, skeptical thinking, and evaluations from peers. Real science involves testing and retesting before scientists accept the results. Many stories and claims fall short of these scientific standards. When this occurs it is called pseudoscience. It will be your job to research and dissect the claims and judge them to see if, in your scientific opinion, they are scientifically accurate claims.
You will play the part of a scientist from one of these disciplines ( Astronomer, Geologist, Physicist, Biologist, or Medical Doctor). Your job will be to investigate and research one of the claims within your field of study. At the end of this webquest you will be responsible for the three items below.
As a scientist, your journal is a very important tool. This is where you keep all your notes and findings. Before you start your research of a claim you should become very familiar to the difference between real science (see parts 1.1 to 1.5) and pseudoscience. You should read these two links and write down some notes about each in your journal. What are the aspects of real science and pseudoscience? How are they different? After you have done this, you will decide which branch of science you would like to be a scientist with. When you have decided which branch of science you want to be a scientist with, you will click on that scientist in the reference section below. This will open you up to many claims and stories related to your scientific discipline. Each claim will have two links. The first link will be about support for the claim, the second link will take the part of non-belief. You will then choose one of these claims within your discipline to research. Follow the sites and gather all the information you can to put in your journal.
Choose one of the categories of science below to access claims and stories. Remember, the claims and stories will have 2 links. The first one is from believers of the story, the second is from non-believers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Your evaluation will be in three parts. Click here to view the Evaluation Rubric.
1. A complete journal of notes and information your have kept. Remember, you should have 4 entries a day, dates by the entries, diagrams /charts/pictures, and it must be neat.
2. A research paper that is at least one page long, and takes one side of the issue. Explain, using your information you gathered, if you support the claim or do not support the claim. Use scientific reasoning and evidence for your conclusion.
3. A poster showing your topic. You can do this on poster board, or design one on the computer. You must have at least 2 diagrams/pictures, it must be neat, and it must have a title of your topic on the top. You should also include some phrases or words about your topic you researched.
After completing this webquest, you should have a deeper understanding of what real science and pseudoscience are. You should also have a better understanding of what it is like to research claims and compare beliefs about these claims. You should realize that unusual claims should be researched thoroughly before they are accepted as the truth. That is what science does!!!
Based on a template from The Webquest Page.