Preparing Students for Science in the Face of Social Controversy

Abstract

Science educators often teach topics that are largely resolved in the scientific community, yet remain controversial in broader society. In such cases, students may perceive the teacher as biased. We present two exercises that foster more objective learning about the scientific underpinnings of socially controversial topics. The first exercise clarifies why the scientific resolution of an issue does not necessarily align with social perception. The second applies this concept by having students discriminate science-based claims from other claims.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2014
Accession Number
AD1015017

Entities

People

  • David Westmoreland
  • Terry Bramschreiber

Organizations

  • United States Air Force Academy

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Communities
  • Learning
  • Mental Processes
  • Perception
  • Psychological Phenomena And Processes

Readers

  • STEM Education
  • Systems Analysis and Design