Encourage pupils to examine the evidence
How to structure lessons to get your students to look at ‘the science’ and pick out supporting reasons
Teachers often expect students to accept scientific tenets based on flimsy evidence. A single demonstration or experiment might be used to prove a particular idea is correct or true. Students are offered a very limited range of empirical evidence for the theoretical ideas they are expected to learn. Yet the ability to evaluate evidence is a key aspect of scientific literacy. This article suggests strategies to develop your students’ ability to examine evidence, and comes with a classroom activity to download.
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