Chapter 12 page 275
Teaching techniques a b
- Foster a general
commitment to
making beliefs
consistent with
evidence.
Hold a workshop. In the workshop,
point out instances in which their
entrenched beliefs turned out to be
wrong. In the workshop, the instructor
provides many examples of when
people believe things that aren’t so.
Try to engender a general attitude that
recognizes that bowing to evidence is a
good idea.Throughout the school year, the
teacher points out instances in which
students found that their previous ideas
were not correct so that they changed
their minds. The teacher spends 25%
or more of science time on helping
students learn to reason scientifically,
in general. Have discussions about
issues such as the need to be highly
consistent. Teach students that in
science, one has to learn to conduct
experiments that have the potential to
prove your ideas wrong.- Teach students
about the principles of
reasoning that they
need to know to
evaluate evidence
properly.
The workshop instructors teach
workers about research design and
analysis so that they can evaluate
evidence on productivity.The teacher teaches students about
measurement error, so that they can
decide whether two objects hitting at
the same time can be plausibly
attributed to measurement error.- Present a clear
explanation of a
plausible alternative
theory.
The instructors make sure that the
Americans understand that there is a
range of performance in both groups,
so that they don’t think that the
alternative theory is that ALL
immigrants work as hard as the
AVERAGE American. Rather, the
AVERAGE immigrant works as hard
as the AVERAGE American.
Use conceptual models and other
effective explanation techniques to
teach the alternative theory.When teaching the idea that heavy
things and light things fall at the same
rate, the teacher clearly explains that
the theory does not apply to objects
that float in air. The teacher explains
the role of air resistance clearly so that
students understand that theory does
allow some light objects to fall slower.
The teacher shows how it is that these
objects are structured so to float in the
air, and that those objects aren’t
covered by the theory presented today.
The teacher uses conceptual models
and other effective explanation
techniques to teach the alternative
theory.