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Subject:
Re: Climate Change and Engineered Systems
From:
Eric Meyer <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informal Science Education Network <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 13 Oct 2011 13:58:24 -0600
Content-Type:
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ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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"Just tangentially, Scientific American has a piece this month that 
suggests that very young children use controlled experiments to learn 
about how things work. Given their natural propensity for doing 
simple, controlled experiments, the question was why school age 
children seem to lose the knack to evaluate such evidence."

Jennie Dusheck

This is the meat of the issue as far as I am concerned.  It seems like
schools are focusing on the products of science and not the processes of
science.  

In order to be able to evaluate what you are told [be it the product of
scientific research or the product of a politician's pen] people need to
be able to evaluate the process by which the information was gathered
and interpreted.  Therefore, I think our education systems should be
emphasizing and encouraging practice of the processes [of 'simple,
controlled experiments'] and not the practice of memorization and
regurgitation for tests.  

On the other hand, as long as we know that the earth is flat and is the
center of the universe, we could just memorize scientific 'facts'.  

Eric Meyer
Explorations/Special Projects Manager
Explora
www.explora.us
 
1701 Mountain Rd. NW
Albuquerque, NM 87104
 
[log in to unmask]
505-224-8386 phone
505-224-8310 fax

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