GENERAL INFORMATION
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Remind
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Necessary Software |
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COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course will help high-school students develop the critical thinking skills necessary to guide their future in making sound decisions on often-controversial topics such as pseudoscience, climate change, stem cell research, genetically modified food, DNA testing, gene therapy, and other emergent issues in science.
By the end of the semester, students will be expected to know:
- Understand that science is the best tool for understanding how the universe works
- Apply the scientific process to solving problems
- Compare and Contrast good science vs pseudoscience vs nonscience
- What science can and can’t prove about the paranormal.
- What is strong scientific evidence and what is weak. .
- What the Placebo Effect is and how powerful it can be.
- What constititutes scientific explanation.
- The self-correcting nature of science.
- The difference between science and pseudoscience.
- Cold Reading techniques and their use by psychics.
- 7 Fallacies that support irrational thought and behavior, including 3 problems with scientific thinking (e.g., theory influencing observation, ad hominem and ad ignorantiam arguments).
Vocabulary
observation - impressions of the physical universe that come to us directly through our senses or indirectly through instruments
scientific principle (law) - description of how something behaves
scientific theory - stablished and experimentally verified fact or collection of facts about the world. Unlike the everyday use of the word theory, it is not an unproved idea, or just some theoretical speculation
hypothesis - proposed explanation for an observation, phenomenon, or scientific problem
experiment - test to examine the validity of a hypothesis
fact - observation that has been repeatedly confirmed that is believed to be true or real
conclusion - decision based on a set of observations and facts
theory - explanation that incorporates facts, laws, inferences, and tested hypotheses
falsifiable hypothesis - hypothesis that can be tested for falsehood
controlled experiment - situation where two virtually identical experiments are conducted, one of which is a control, where the factor being tested is not applied
experimental variable - factor that is tested in an experiment
Occam’s Razor (the Principle of Parsimony) - principle that the best theory is the simplest, the one requiring the least number of suggestions
fantasy - fictional description that includes magic, myth, and supernatural elements
supernatural - transcending the laws of nature
skeptical or skepticism- is an approach to evaluating claims that emphasizes evidence and applies tools of science. Skepticism is most often applied to extraordinary claims – those that refute the current consensus view.
pseudoscience - any body of knowledge that claims to be scientific but does not follow the basic components of the scientific method
scientific principle (law) - description of how something behaves
scientific theory - stablished and experimentally verified fact or collection of facts about the world. Unlike the everyday use of the word theory, it is not an unproved idea, or just some theoretical speculation
hypothesis - proposed explanation for an observation, phenomenon, or scientific problem
experiment - test to examine the validity of a hypothesis
fact - observation that has been repeatedly confirmed that is believed to be true or real
conclusion - decision based on a set of observations and facts
theory - explanation that incorporates facts, laws, inferences, and tested hypotheses
falsifiable hypothesis - hypothesis that can be tested for falsehood
controlled experiment - situation where two virtually identical experiments are conducted, one of which is a control, where the factor being tested is not applied
experimental variable - factor that is tested in an experiment
Occam’s Razor (the Principle of Parsimony) - principle that the best theory is the simplest, the one requiring the least number of suggestions
fantasy - fictional description that includes magic, myth, and supernatural elements
supernatural - transcending the laws of nature
skeptical or skepticism- is an approach to evaluating claims that emphasizes evidence and applies tools of science. Skepticism is most often applied to extraordinary claims – those that refute the current consensus view.
pseudoscience - any body of knowledge that claims to be scientific but does not follow the basic components of the scientific method