JREF Education Resources

[athon]

As a result of TAM3, I've decided to accelerate my creation of a skepticism / critical thinking unit. I was originally going to get stuck into it just before I returned back to an Australian teaching job, as I could implement such a unit in a Queensland school easier than I could in a UK school.

However, I now see that the JREF has a niche for such resources and feel that it would be beneficial to create such a pool in cooperation with other forum educators. I believe that we can build a network of teaching tools, resources and lesson plans that is both flexible enough to compliment any suject or unit, and solid enough that a single (or series) unit could be made from the database.

To do this, I think we need some goals and a core of people who are willing to initially organise, collect the resources, and then are dedicated enough to arrange them in a manner that can be converted to a downloadable format to put up on the JREF webpage.

As a start, I could like people to do the following. Suggest what you would like to see in a critical thinking unit. Brainstorm ideas, methods, concepts...anything that would be of use in a database of resources. The age groups are irrelevant at this point, although differentiation will occur once a suitable pool has been collected.

Later I would appreciate a list of websites, text books, games, videos etc. that could be woven in. Lastly, a sizeable selection of worksheets, exams, question sheets and assessment pieces could be made which could either stand alone (applicable within nearly any subject or science unit) or incorporated in a single skepticism unit.

I know Kiless was interested in working with me in creating a unit on skepticism in anticipation of changes to the Western Australian education system. Any other teachers, from any country, would be most welcome to help us to build something that the JREF could use.

Let's get something started here, folks.

Athon

[H3LL]

Will you be looking at a lecture approach or a more interactive approach?

A favourite start for me is:

A Field Guide to Critical Thinking (http://www.csicop.org/si/9012/critical-thinking.html)

[athon]

Originally posted by H3LL
Will you be looking at a lecture approach or a more interactive approach?

A favourite start for me is:

A Field Guide to Critical Thinking (http://www.csicop.org/si/9012/critical-thinking.html)

Purely resources at this point. How they are used is up to the educator using them. I'd like to see a unit plan that can be downloaded, with all notes and resources as references that can also be downloaded. For video files, they can eithe be linked to a site from which they can be purchased or the actual file itself linked for download. That way a teacher can copy the pages, convert them as they see fit into a format compatible with their school's curriculum, and find relevant texts etc. that will make up the unit. Making such things easily accessable will surely pave the way for more institutes to alter their curriculums to make way for skepticism and critical thinking in schools.

Usually new schools borrow old work plans and unit schemes from old schools. Critical thinking resources are too rare to be made into schemes, let alone state or national curriculums.

Small steps will slowly have big impacts.

Athon

[Colloden]

I’m not an educator, but I can do software if there’s any call for it. Not exactly what you’re looking for I know, but software’s what I do. :D

[Jeff Corey]

I'm in. A lot of stuff is free, we need a librarian.
Maybe a place where people offer links?

[athon]

Originally posted by Colloden
I’m not an educator, but I can do software if there’s any call for it. Not exactly what you’re looking for I know, but software’s what I do. :D

Hey Colloden. Long time no see! Thanks for the offer; I'll take you up on the http writing once I have collected some suitable material, if that's ok? It will depend on how much material is collected...and at this rate, that will be a while.

But this will happen! Even if I have to go it alone...

Jeff, thanks for the assistance. I'm envisioning a link on the JREF (similar to the existing one, except with useful resources for a wider range of education bodies) which will have several unit plans / work schemes. They will be subsequently linked to assessment pieces, activity suggestions and worksheets, suggested books, texts and videos, useful websites etc. It would make a simple, one-stop site for educators who are interested in either creating a unit that fits their curriculum or simply grabbing some critical thinking resources for their already existing unit.

I'm aiming to have the basic framework ready after this half-term (I'm teaching at the moment, so have thin time to do a lot very quickly).

Athon
(oh, and for the mod' who made this a sticky...thanks!!)

[Dr Adequate]

It's quite easy to teach kids to dowse, and then to show them that they can't really. That should make quite a good lesson, I'd have thought, and teaches all sorts of things about subjectivity, bias, unconscious use of knowledge, how to conduct a double blind trial and why you must conduct a double-blind trial. That's a lesson for life.

What's the educationist's mantra? "I am told and I forget, I am shown, and I remember, I do and I understand."

If you don't know much about dowsing, I'm sure there are web resources, but here's an extract from an account of my own home experiments:
The present crop of New Agers prefer pendulum dowsing, and use it for getting all sorts of information: the crystal healer will use it for diagnosis, the psychic who "helps" (annoys) the police will use a pendulum to dowse over a map to locate the bodies of missing people; the crop-circle-ologist uses it for detecting alien presence, the chiropractor for detecting subluxations. There is a heartbreakingly large* community of people who have mistaken the anomalies in their digital cameras for a glimpse into an Unseen World. What finer tool than dowsing to investigate this "phenomenon" further?
The photos were taken at various locations, under various weather conditions, and some unusual shooting conditions. Because of that they can display themselves differently. You'll also see the Heart shaped Beings in the Snow chapter, and a chapter devoted to Babies. We've also included a chapter of Dowsing Questions and Answers Regarding some of the different Orbs. --- www.orbsbybeans.com

Given all this enthusiasm, of course I had to try dowsing myself, though in doing so, you'll be surprised to learn, I risked falling into the clutches of the Prince Of Darkness and losing my immortal soul. One of the stranger laws of nature states that for every New Age guru, there is an equal but opposite religious fundamentalist, who is just as convinced that the touted miracle, from crystal healing to ouija boards, is a genuine supernatural phenomenon but caused by Satanic power. In the United States, indeed, there is an unholy alliance by which fundamentalists advertise the efficacity of the New Age, while denouncing it as Satanic, while the New Age produces supposed miracles which, by confirming the existence of Satan, increase the faith of the fundamentalist. In researching this chapter, for example, I have made some use of an article by one John Weldon, published by the Christian Research Institute (who knew?) entitled Dowsing: Divine Gift, Human Ability, Or Occult Power?. It is informative, well-written and occasionally witty, but its great fault is revealed in the title, which should have been Dowsing: Divine Gift, Human Ability, Occult Power, Or Just A Bunch Of Bleedin' Idiots With Forked Sticks?

This is by the by. I just wanted to warn you that if my head starts spinning round in later chapters, and I begin to vomit ectoplasm and grow horns, you must regard me as the first martyr to popular science writing.

Pendulum dowsing is easy, and almost anyone can do it, though you're most likely to be successful if, like me, you have a pronounced muscular tremor and are highly suggestible. First, you will need a pendulum; as I do not own a magical crystal pendant blessed by a guru, I used a bunch of keys tied to a bootlace. The method of using the pendulum is simplicity itself: you should ask the pendulum, out loud, any question with the answer "yes" or "no". More detailed information can be extracted by means of the scientific procedure known as "playing Twenty Questions".

It is of course the motion of the pendulum which gives the yes or no answer, usually by moving backwards and forwards for "yes" and side-to-side for "no" --- like nodding or shaking the head. Some people get different reponses, so my textbooks advise me to calibrate the pendulum by asking it questions, for example about my name, to which I know the answer. If you find anything funny about a grown man asking his front door key if he's called Jane --- go ahead and laugh. People laughed at Columbus, you know*. And at the Wright Brothers.

And also at Bozo the Clown.

The results of the experiment were, in any case, succesful: laugh that off if you will. There is something undeniably impressive about seeing a pendulum change the direction of its swing in response, seemingly, to a spoken question. After establishing my name, I went on to extract perfectly accurate information on geography, history, sport, and the French language. I also found that it gave a "nod" over full glasses of water, and a "shake of the head" for empty ones. This was most encouraging. Finally, I tested it by asking it ten question to which I didn't know the answers...

............

...Three out of ten is a fairly dismal record: but now that I know the answers, the pendulum can get ten out of ten! To summarise, rougly, the further results of my experiments, I found:

() The pendulum can only accurately provide answers which I already know. So I'm providing the answers, and not some supernatural force.
() The pendulum doesn't move when I have any sort of support for my wrist. So it's driven by my own muscular tremor and not by some supernatural force
() When I ask a question and look away from the pendulum for a while before glancing down at it, I find that it swings in a random direction, usually neither back and forwards nor side-to-side. So it's my eyes and judgement providing the guidance, and not some supernatural force.

* Because all digital cameras work in much the same way, and because there's a sucker born every minute.
* This is, of course, because he was wrong.
For more on testing dowsing, see the million dollar challenge forum and ask KRAMER on the JREF method of how to make water-dowsing properly double blind.

That's just one lesson, but as I said, I think it's a good one.

By the way, the extract above is from a book I'm trying to write, also for educational purposes, though more for adults than children. Could you let me know what you think? I know what I want to say, but not if I'm saying it well. I'm also trying to be funny --- it will be ghastly if I fail. And people don't know, do they --- how am I doing?

[Dr Adequate]

NB: aspirant literary critics should PM me so as not to derail this thread.

More thinks: I remember one poster likes to give kids horoscopes for the wrong months and rate them for accuracy. I can't remember who, though, but I do remember that the results are good.

Me, I'd have divided them randomly into two groups... well, you get the idea.

I realise these are more scetches for lesson plans than existing resources... but there are plenty of horoscopes on the Internet.

I do think it's important for them to exercise their critical thinking on what they can see in front of them.

You mention games. I don't quite see what you have in mind. What do you have in mind? Can you give an example? Puzzles, yes. There are some puzzles that every child should have to think about. I'll see if I can find some links.

I was sumoned here by your postings on another forum. I do think this is a very important topic. I hope these random musings are of some use.

[H3LL]

This guy is a hero in my book.

darylscience.com (http://www.darylscience.com/Demos/BON.html)

[Kiless]

Thank you Athon - when I get home in early February, I'll get moving on this and will add the work I've already been doing.
:)

Did I mention you're a legend?

[athon]

Originally posted by Dr Adequate

More thinks: I remember one poster likes to give kids horoscopes for the wrong months and rate them for accuracy. I can't remember who, though, but I do remember that the results are good.


Thanks Dr. Adequate. The horoscope thing may have been me, although it's hardly something I can call my own. I've done it a few times to demonstrate probability and the human mind. And yes, it's a perfect exercise and one I intend to include.

As to say what I mean by 'games', I think any exercise which has a demonstratale purpose coupled with either a competitive or 'fun' element.

As of this moment, to make this an achievable project, I've decided to organize it as follows:

1) Construct the skeleton of a unit differentiated as per -

a) Ages 10 to 14
Upper Primary school (Aus) / KS3 (UK) / Primary School (US)
b) Ages 14 to 16
Middle School (Aus) / KS4 (UK) / Junior High School (US)

For senior schooling / KS5 or college level, people are more than welcome to contriute however I feel that we'll leave such a database for later. The reason I say this is because I've seen a few 'higher' level plans and resources, for example aimed at introductory university course students, but not a lot of units aimed at the middle years of education (when it would, arguably, work best).

2) Link to this unit a selection of resources, some of which are downloadable as worksheets and activity sheets.

While seeing what other educators have done is fantastic (and useful), I'm also after interactive web sites for students. I will also wish to include a list of 'myth-busting' sites such as snopes.com, so reference sites will be of use.

Thanks folks

Athon
(as for the 'Legend' status, Kiless, what happened at TAM3 stays at TAM3...;) :D )

[SezMe]

I met a guy at TAM2 who was writing a critical thinking book and had spent a lot of time digging for resources. If you want, I can see if I can find his e-mail and send it to you.

[athon]

Originally posted by SezMe
I met a guy at TAM2 who was writing a critical thinking book and had spent a lot of time digging for resources. If you want, I can see if I can find his e-mail and send it to you.

Please do!! That would be fantastic.

Athon

[Dr Adequate]

Originally posted by athon
Thanks Dr. Adequate. The horoscope thing may have been me, although it's hardly something I can call my own. I've done it a few times to demonstrate probability and the human mind. And yes, it's a perfect exercise and one I intend to include.
Do the dowsing thing too!

Try it yourself... it's so easy.

There's a great piece somewhere in the Commentaries about learning dowsing at school... just as they were being all impressed, the teacher ponted out that they'd detected water only where they thought it was, and missed it where they didn't know about it... and then left it to the kids to figure out what was going on. This apparently instilled life-long scepticism in, at least, the guy who wrote to Randi.

I was looking over my sceptical/scientific/critical books at the weekend... I was going to suggest maybe Darryl Huff's How To Lie With Statistics... it's still in print, but looking it over, dated... $25,000 a year is no longer affluence, and I'm pretty sure no-one says "Negros" any more. But the problem with most such books (including that one) is that they don't have exercises (least of all practical exercises). For example, it would be nice to have a worksheet along the lines of "here are ten badly-designed experiments, find the errors"; "here are ten pieces of flawed statistical analysis, find the errors"; but you don't get stuff like that at the back of each chapter of Martin Gardner, say. There are plenty of books you might give a smart child for Christmas, but that's not the question, is it? That's for people who can read, on their own, and understand for themselves, by themselves. But... resources for a classroom setting? If it hasn't been done, you may be the first to do it. My hero! Anything I can do to help...

Like SezMe's friend, I've been writing a book --- I wouldn't describe it as "sceptical" as such but it's about the scientific method, and there's lots of overlap there --- I've got large collections of people being wrong; contemporary woowoos, errors in the progress of mainstream science, etc... if there's any specific type of error in thinking that you want illustrating, I have one of the finest collections of nuts this side of Brazil. Just say the word.

[athon]

Originally posted by Dr Adequate
Do the dowsing thing too!

Try it yourself... it's so easy.

There's a great piece somewhere in the Commentaries about learning dowsing at school... just as they were being all impressed, the teacher ponted out that they'd detected water only where they thought it was, and missed it where they didn't know about it... and then left it to the kids to figure out what was going on. This apparently instilled life-long scepticism in, at least, the guy who wrote to Randi.


There's a few exercises such as this which work well at promoting a skeptical view of selected beliefs. One or two of these would be useful in a defined part of the unit (such as 'applied' critical thinking), but there is a danger after too many such exercises, the unit could become more about debunking than skills in critical thinking and skepticism. It's a fine line.


For example, it would be nice to have a worksheet along the lines of "here are ten badly-designed experiments, find the errors"; "here are ten pieces of flawed statistical analysis, find the errors"; but you don't get stuff like that at the back of each chapter of Martin Gardner, say. There are plenty of books you might give a smart child for Christmas, but that's not the question, is it? That's for people who can read, on their own, and understand for themselves, by themselves. But... resources for a classroom setting? If it hasn't been done, you may be the first to do it. My hero! Anything I can do to help...


Pretty much the point behind this whole exercise. Text books are one thing, but aside from 'Hoaxes, Myths and Manias' by Richard Buchanan, there's not a lot out there with Q&A. Even that book is aimed more at a college / university level.

Kiless has some texts which are more of what we're after, and there are authors such as Edward de Bono who write books on critical thinking, which are of use. Such things are out there. And of course, we should be willing to design our own worksheets etc. Who knows; perhaps there is a series of skeptical classroom books we can print in association with the JREF...it's not out of the question.


Like SezMe's friend, I've been writing a book --- I wouldn't describe it as "sceptical" as such but it's about the scientific method, and there's lots of overlap there --- I've got large collections of people being wrong; contemporary woowoos, errors in the progress of mainstream science, etc... if there's any specific type of error in thinking that you want illustrating, I have one of the finest collections of nuts this side of Brazil. Just say the word.

LOL, I'm sure there's something we can use nuts for. Nut is, afterall, a synonym for woo-woo...

Thanks.

Athon

[athon]

I've been doing some rearranging of the notes I've already taken on this project, and have come to a conclusion I want people to comment on.

I feel that any complete unit we create has to be easily broken down into several basic components. This will serve the unit better, and allow others to pick and choose sections of it to use within their own modules or units.

I'm thinking that we should follow this course:

Section A) Fooling the Mind: A section demonstrating how both the senses and the mind can be tricked. Here there will be exercises covering illusions (mostly optical, but other sensory illusions would be even better) and magic.

This could also cover media topics such as the use of language to influence the bias of information, the use of statistics to alter perceptions and the use of colour and light to influence mood. There's a whole lot that can be done here.

Section B) Thinking Critically: The scientific method and its uses. In other words, what tricks are there we can use to avoid being fooled. Double Blind tests, protocols, Occham's Razor etc. would work here.

Experiments and surveys could dominate the exercises of this section, with students testing each other for probability and repeated trials under scientific conditions.

Section C) Hoaxes, Lies and Pseudoscience: Like the title suggests, a covering of weird things that people believe. Care must be taken here, though, that it is not a sub-unit we we dictate what is true and what is myth. Rather, this is where we present arguable claims and, well, argue them. At the end of the day we're not about saying 'homeopathy is bunk', but rather 'there are two sides to the debate, let's explore them rationally'.

This could contain a brief history of science, with a focus on what was 'true' in the past, and why we don't believe it any more.

Urban Myths could come under this section, with students writing an assignment on a particular urban myth, using web sites and maybe a survey as resources.

These are the three main blocks I can come up with after looking through my notes. I'm sure there are others, and there's no limit to sub-units (although more than four would be getting excessive, IMHO). Of course all three units will further break down, which I will get around to doing in coming weeks.

Thanks once again.

Athon

[H3LL]

Section B) Thinking Critically:

IMO should be first, not second, assuming all sections would be covered.

The tools are then in place to evaluate what is covered in the other sections.

[athon]

Hmm, good point. Although it's always good to draw students in with a good reason to listen to your subject material. If you can always go back to 'remember when you were fooled' as to a reason why such things as the scientific method exist, it works better than just piling on the thinking tools too early.

Ultimately it will be up to the educator to decide, so I guess the order is merely suggestive and not a concrete plan.

Regardless, I suggest this is where we start. Topics and related resources aimed at each of these three sub-units.

Wow. Progress...

Athon

[athon]

I've decided to fix these three sub-unit topics as the main backbone of the unit. Having given it a lot of thought, asked a few other teachers and education consultants and left it open to debate here, I'm making the call to base all relevant units on these three sections.

Following here is how I'm planning on further breaking Sub-unit One and Two down (sub-unit three will follow when I have time to write it here). Each topic will be covered over a relevant number of lessons, which will be suggested at a later date but ultimately will again be up to the teacher to implement.

What do I need from you people?

I need feedback. Have I missed a topic? Have I inserted a topic that should not be here? Is something irrelevant? Do you have an opinion on how a topic should be covered?

Secondly I need resources. They are the bread and butter of this project, which will cover this framework. Suggestions only at this point, although I will collect site addresses and book titles / ISBN.

Section 1: Fooling the Mind

The Senses and the Brain

* What are they?
* How do they work?
* Nature of 'sensation' versus 'perception'
* How does the brain work?
* Making patterns
* Psychosomatic responses

The senses are what we use to detect changes in our environment. For surviving in this world they work well. For analysing reality, we encounter problems. How many senses do we really have? How do they work together to create a picture of the world? What is 'perception' and how does it differ to 'sensation'?

Limitations of the Senses

* Colour and Perspective
* Art and optical illusions

Our senses can let us down. The stimuli we detect are only a small part of the universe. Worse than that, what we detect does not always reveal the true nature behind our observation. This part of the unit should be practically based with a lot of illusions, and some work on colour and perception in art (dimensions, depth, etc.).

Being Tricked

* Magic and sleight of hand
* Using language to convey meaning and observation
* Using statistics and numerics to convey observation

People can lie and deceive us. More than that, they can tell the truth using words that give a bias, confusing us into accepting beliefs without question. How can word have two meanings? What is misdirection? What do numbers really mean? Graphs and statistics, opinion essays, advertisements and of course magic tricks are all good resources here that will demonstrate to the student that 'truth' is more complicated than it first appears.

Section 2: Critical Thinking

Logical Fallacies

* The arguments people use that initially seem logical, but on second glance fall apart.

How should we appeal to authority? What is a strawman argument? Is it ever a good thing to admit you don't know something? Teaching students how to state their beliefs with strength and conviction is a key part of thinking critically.

Scientific Thinking

* Evidence builds a picture (there are no 'answers' in science)
* Probability versus certainty: when is 'probably' a good enough answer?
* Occham's Razor

Science gives us the tools to make a chaotic world more predictable. Unfortunately, it does not declare what WILL happen. It is difficult for people to grasp that science can provide the wrong prediction, which does not make the process itself wrong. Science builds on itself, constantly addressing what is true and reevaluating it when more evidence comes along.

The Scientific Method

* What are the steps involved in addressing a question in science?
* What is deductive and inductive reasoning?
* Hypothesis, theory and fact; what's the difference?

Science always starts with a question...but where does it end? There are no answers but there is a process where we can always attack what we know.

The Experiment

* Meaningful evidence
* Fair testing
* Double Blind tests

Here we stitch together what we know from sub-unit 1 with sub-unit 2. How can we make sure we're not fooling ourselves? This topic will use a range of tests and experiments to address how experiments are to be set up with collecting objective evidence in mind.


This is a rough look at the first two of the three units. Obviously some parts will be moved about, dropped, changed and other bits added.

I'll put up section three's breakdown within the next week or two when I find time.

Athon

[Girl 6]

Athon,

How long do you envision these units taking?

I'm thinking of a different approach where people like me who aren't educators can come into a school and do some sessions before, during lunch, or after school.

I say this because I see that a lot of teachers in the U.S. don't have time to add things into their mandated curriculum. I want to approach the problem from a community aspect where people outside of the school system can come in and do this.

G6

[athon]

Originally posted by Girl 6
Athon,

How long do you envision these units taking?

I'm thinking of a different approach where people like me who aren't educators can come into a school and do some sessions before, during lunch, or after school.

I say this because I see that a lot of teachers in the U.S. don't have time to add things into their mandated curriculum. I want to approach the problem from a community aspect where people outside of the school system can come in and do this.

G6

Originally posted by Girl 6
Athon,

How long do you envision these units taking?

I'm thinking of a different approach where people like me who aren't educators can come into a school and do some sessions before, during lunch, or after school.

I say this because I see that a lot of teachers in the U.S. don't have time to add things into their mandated curriculum. I want to approach the problem from a community aspect where people outside of the school system can come in and do this.

G6

How long will the unit take to teach? Ultimately I'd like to have available a complete six-month unit that, if followed from beginning to end, would go into detail on all of the topics. But this is neither practical nor helpful for most teachers who don't have the power to install such a unit into their curriculum.

Therefore I envisage a three tier set-up. At its highest, the unit can be taught in its entirety. Teachers who do have the option of adding such a module to their school's curriculum can then simply download a work scheme and resource reference list...and run with it.

The next tier could be for teachers who want to teach important skills but either only have a few weeks to do it, or want to weave it into a pre-existing unit. They can then choose topics that are suitable. I'm thinking of flagging some parts as 'stand alone' topics, but I need to give that some more thought.

The final tier is simply the resource pool. Here teachers can simply download worksheets, crosswords, wordsearches, experiments, opinion essays, articles...you name it. It makes it flexible enough so any unit can use the resources offered.

I'd like to see this used not just by teachers but by anybody who wants to be able to teach critical thinking. That's more or less the point; people like you have a starting place to build from. There's a lot of work to be done and since I'm pretty much working full time I don't expect anything concrete to be available until later in the year. But since resource gathering is the big job, I want a solid framework up and running now for people to read, debate, and then say 'hey, this would work well here!'.

Athon

[athon]

Oh, if there is any format you'd like to see this as, G6, please let me know. This is no more my personal pet project than something I want to see benefit education.

Athon

[H3LL]

In the Critical Thinking section I would like to see some real world examples.

The dedication of Marie Curie over the duration of a long and arduous scientific process springs to mind.

Also, the comparison that the scientific method yields observable results, and belief systems do not.

[athon]

Originally posted by H3LL
In the Critical Thinking section I would like to see some real world examples.

The dedication of Marie Curie over the duration of a long and arduous scientific process springs to mind.

Also, the comparison that the scientific method yields observable results, and belief systems do not.

I don't see a problem with having lessons on that. In my original unit I'd planned on doing a section on the history of science, analysing where good science contributed to our collective pool of knowledge (even if it was a failed experiment...especially if it was a failed experiment), and bad science hindered it (diverting resources, attention and making people cynical towards science).

Stuff like that could be part of an options list, where we suggest where the resources could be used in an overall scheme. Hence it's up to the teacher to decide it it's useful. A history teacher might be interested in using it in one context, while a maths teacher might want a different option on 'historical examples'.

Athon
(I might sugest we use that in Section 3, however. Hoaxes, Myths and Pseudoscience is essentially the application of Sections 1 and 2. Nothing stopping us from putting in 'good science' into that section for contrast)

[Dr Adequate]

Originally posted by athon
There's a few exercises such as this which work well at promoting a skeptical view of selected beliefs. One or two of these would be useful in a defined part of the unit (such as 'applied' critical thinking), but there is a danger after too many such exercises, the unit could become more about debunking than skills in critical thinking and skepticism. It's a fine line. Hello again athon.

I'm not sure that you got my point.

The horoscope thing and the dowsing thing are, yes, useless just as debunks. There's so much stupid stuff out there. It would be like trying to drain the sea with a teaspoon.

But the thing with horoscopes teaches a lesson. It teaches that judgement has to be comparative. Saying "Astrology works because this reading seems to fit me" is exactly the same as saying "homeopathy works because the patient got better", and so forth.

In the same way, although I regard dowsing as a particularly pernicious methodology, I didn't just want you to debunk dowsing: I mentioned it because it can be done in the classroom, and because it...Originally posted by Dr Adequate
... teaches all sorts of things about subjectivity, bias, unconscious use of knowledge, how to conduct a double blind trial and why you must conduct a double-blind trial. Remember, the book I'm trying to write is not a debunking book: it's about the philosophy of science. But I thought it worthwhile putting the story in.

Oh look, I've got back to my theme. Put it in front of them. A good lesson in critical thinking should be like a (good) science lesson, except that the interpretation of the result should be in doubt, and the experimental method should need refining. Science lessons should also be like that. Everything you want to teach should be taught in science lessons. Alas. It is not.

If you can, put it in front of them.

You write that you have about the course being "too much about debunking". But of course debunking is the perfect excercise for a critical thinker. They've got to do it, not just be talked to about it. I think. I guess. For once, I'm not going to be completely dogmatic, because for once I don't really know.

Oh the shame.

[athon]

Originally posted by Dr Adequate
*snip*
You write that you have about the course being "too much about debunking". But of course debunking is the perfect excercise for a critical thinker. They've got to do it, not just be talked to about it. I think. I guess. For once, I'm not going to be completely dogmatic, because for once I don't really know.

Oh the shame.

I couldn't agree more. I got your meaning, and understand how such exercises would work well in a unit on critical thinking. I'm just being cautious about how much 'debunking' should be the focus. But then it should be up those who teach it; it is not my goal to restrict such a project to my own pedagogical philosophy, but rather to provide options to those who want to go about designing their own units.

The reason I have my reservations is this; the choice of exercise reflects the outcomes a teacher wants the kids to have. It is ingrained in most students that the goal of a subject is for them to pass. 'Passing' relies on the application of learned skills for this unit, however learned knowledge remains the core focus of most kids (it's easier to remember 'stuff' over practicing skills). Hence theyactively look out for the teacher's opinion on an exercise and try to determine what it is the teacher wants them to know. They achieve the goal by second guessing the teacher rather then applying their own skills.

In most situations, this might serve them adequately. If your teacher is an obvious liberal, then you will answer appropriately when you're asked about the causes behind WWII rather than thinking critically about it.

This goes against the very nature of our unit. The danger is if we provide numerous debunking situations of 'woo-woo' stuff, the students (and many teachers) might see this as 'critical thinking is about seeing that astrology is nonsense', and not 'critical thinking is about the application of a methodolgy'.

Now, as I said, it is a thin line to walk. In any unit, the influences of the teacher are always central. This cannot be avoided, as much as a teacher might try. If you are an environmentalist, you will hardly emphasise the key arguments against anthropological global warming. Bias, therefore, should be made obvious in any lesson by having the teacher as an 'authority' open to discussion. The tools of a critical thinking unit therefore work explicitly, and such teacher bias becomes almost a tool in itself.

Hence if it is taught well enough, every exercise is open to discussion and criticism. IF it is taught well enough.

Again, I do see your point and it is a good one. But I disagree that the unit is about debunking (haha, this would suck if we couldn't disagree...). Debunking suggests that something is obviously wrong and we are out to disprove it (if I'm wrong about this definition, then it's all semantics). This unit is about the tools we use to make such decisions, or 'how we arrive at the obvious part in the first place'.

Athon

[athon]

Here's where I'm at. The first two subunits seem to work more or less as they stand here; again, there may well be changes, but I'll leave them until I have a good understanding of the resources I've collected in a few months time.

I've gone through a whole lot of lesson-plan formats that could suggest how individual lessons could be taught in the tier 1 (i.e., taught as an all-encompassing, single unit) format. Don't forget, tier 2 would be a 'summarised' suggestion of the entire unit, with important lessons highlighted as 'tier 2'. Tier 3 would simply be the resources, not necessarily to be used in conjunction with any lesson plans. This is the best way I can differentiate things at the moment.

I would like to organise each lesson plan to include the following headings:

Objectives: What the lesson is aiming to accomplish in terms of knowledge, skill or application.

Outcomes: Three levels; the student MUST be able to..., the student SHOULD be able to..., the student COULD be able to...

Key Words: New words that could form an overall unit glossary.

Key Areas: The important nuts and bolts to be taught in the body of the lesson. It could even link to board notes available for download as either a powerpoint or pdf format.

Misconceptions: Things to pay special attention to, as they are commonly misconceived.

Suggested Starter: A good way to start the lesson.

Suggested Activities: Links in with the resources.

Suggested Homework / Revision: Assigment activities, questions etc.

At the conclusion of each sub-unit I think it would be appropriate to suggest a few possible assigments that could be used as assessment pieces, noting in particular which key words or concepts that thread into.

In terms of resources I have a range I'm looking through that I've collected locally. Many of them are useful, but I'm seeing a problem (again) in that no one book has enough to stand as a good overall resource. The last thing I would want to do is suggest a unit plan with twenty text books.

Internet sites can be suggested by the page-load, with ratings for the most useful.

The best resources will simply be downloadable worksheets such as crosswords for keywords, activity sheets, practicals etc. And I think it would work best if we simply made most of those up ourselves.

Athon

[athon]

Sub-unit 3: History, Hoaxes, Lies and Pseudoscience


The History of Science

*Famous Scientists
*Famous Mistakes

I would love to find a series called 'Eureka! I got it all Wrong!', which I saw some years ago. It would be perfect for this. I think this would also be a prime opportunity to look at some of the 'alternative' beliefs of a few of the more famous contributors of science in the past, chiefly to show that a discovery makes no man a master of all knowledge. For example, Lord Kelvin's infamous remarks about lighter than air travel and the ongoing pursuit of science as a discipline. (i.e., even smart people can be fooled!)

The Culture of Belief

*Cultural beliefs
*Urban Myths
*Religion and science
*Astrology

This part of the sub-unit should endeavour to explain that just because enough people believe something, it doesn't necessarily make it real. There are some great web sites that expose urban myths, all of which could be put to great use in an assignment.
I think a lesson on looking at why science is not a religion would be good here, exploring what a 'dogma' is and why science does not have one.
Cultural stories, myths and legends could be discussed, ranging from fairies to Grimm's Fairy tales and arguing why they persist in a culture.

Mystery or Mistake?

*UFO's
*Cryptozoology
*Ghosts

Often something is seen for which some people have no explanation. Unexplained, however, is not unexplainable. Occham's razor should be reinforced here, stating that while we can speculate wildly about the true nature of an observation, there are often more mundane explanations behind what we see.

Trickery and Chicanery

*Hoaxes
*Self-delusion
*Fraudsters and liars

People lie. Pure and simple. Why do they do it? How can we tell the difference? What makes somebody believe that they can do extraordinary things, and then try to make others believe it too? The ethics behind critical thinking can be discussed here in debates, ethical dilemmas and devil's advocating.

The Abuse of Science

*Pseudomedicine
*Pseudotechnology
*Free Energy
*Psychic Ability and divination

In the search for the truth behind the paranormal people often site science as already having provided evidence. Medicine gets sold without being applied to strict regulation, new technology is advertised as doing things it cannot possibly do according to modern scientific theory. This part of the unit should cover the need for new science to be delivered to the public as per a system of peer review and repitition. It should tie together everything learned in the entire unit, from 'Why our senses can be fooled' to 'How does science work' to finally 'Why are some people so willing to be tricked'?



This is how I see the entire unit broken down. There is obviously parts that should be changed, dropped, added etc. Mostly I feel that some parts can be rearranged.

Next step; arranging these into single lesson plans. Oh the joy!

Athon

[TriangleMan]

Athon I love what you're doing. In the last few days I've been thinking on-and-off about finding teaching resources for critical thinking.

At TAM3 I met a guy who told me he teaches a critical thinking class at his high-school. I can't remember his name but I'm pretty sure I recall what city he was from so I'll take a look through the TAM3 registrant list and see if I can Google some contact information. He should have a ton of information you can use.

[Dr Adequate]

Originally posted by athon
But I disagree that the unit is about debunking No, you agree, I agree, we both agree that it's not what it's about. Like I said, I'm writing about the scientific method. The question is, what teaches it best.

Having read your generalised lesson plan, I think that the sort of practical event I'm talking about might go well in "Suggested Starter".

Here's another one I remember. The teacher begins the lesson by saying (truthfully) that she has a method which detects 100% of future alcoholics. You just spit in such-and-such a solution, and if the student will become an alcoholic, the solution will turn blue. One student is a volunteer... the solution turns blue.

This gets attention.

And then: what is a false positive? Did you actually say what proportion of non-predisposed alcoholics turn the solution blue?

All of them. It is activated by spittle.

I can't remember where I heard that one, but it should get 'em interested.

Maybe then a bit about Bayes and HIV diagnosis... do you know that one?

[athon]

Originally posted by Dr Adequate
Here's another one I remember. The teacher begins the lesson by saying (truthfully) that she has a method which detects 100% of future alcoholics. You just spit in such-and-such a solution, and if the student will become an alcoholic, the solution will turn blue. One student is a volunteer... the solution turns blue.

This gets attention.

And then: what is a false positive? Did you actually say what proportion of non-predisposed alcoholics turn the solution blue?

All of them. It is activated by spittle.

I can't remember where I heard that one, but it should get 'em interested.

Maybe then a bit about Bayes and HIV diagnosis... do you know that one?

This is exactly the sort of activities we need to write up. I haven't heard of these ways of addressing false positives, but it sounds brilliant. Whatever ones you have, PM them to me (or write them here if you'd prefer).

Good work!

Athon

[Kiless]

Originally posted by athon
[b]
I would love to find a series called 'Eureka! I got it all Wrong!', which I saw some years ago.

Once I've got several things out of the way, I'll be sending you stuff - but here's something that may help with this...

It's not this show that you mean: http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/eurekatv/

Could it be this instead? :http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0221746/

There's no description on it on imdb.com but I used to watch it avidly... starred (of course!) one of the Doctors (McCoy). A sort of cook's tour through Science, very appealing and had jokes which weren't patronising.

I can keep searching if you like - I have a very good resource centre and Media Dept at my disposal.

[athon]

Originally posted by Kiless
Once I've got several things out of the way, I'll be sending you stuff - but here's something that may help with this...

It's not this show that you mean: http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/eurekatv/

Could it be this instead? :http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0221746/

There's no description on it on imdb.com but I used to watch it avidly... starred (of course!) one of the Doctors (McCoy). A sort of cook's tour through Science, very appealing and had jokes which weren't patronising.

I can keep searching if you like - I have a very good resource centre and Media Dept at my disposal.

Nope. Neither of those. :(

That would be great if you could ask around. All google searches have come up with nothing, and I'm starting to wonder if I simply made it up. I'm sure it exists! It was a fantastic way of showing that science progresses with 'mistakes' as well as 'successes'.

Athon

[Kiless]

Originally posted by athon
Nope. Neither of those. :(

That would be great if you could ask around. All google searches have come up with nothing, and I'm starting to wonder if I simply made it up. I'm sure it exists! It was a fantastic way of showing that science progresses with 'mistakes' as well as 'successes'.

Athon

Hmm. Oh well, if there's any other detail that you remember about the show, just PM it. Was it Australian? British? Canadian?

[Dr Adequate]

You should have a look at Thomas Gilovich's book How We Know What Isn't So (the good people at my local library have just managed to produce a copy for me).

A couple of quotes from it about teaching and learning critical thinking.
It is with respect to the uncertain phenomena studied by the probabalistic sciences that ideas like statistical regression, sample bias, and the importance of control groups are particularly gemrmane. Familiarity with these fields, then, should best facilitate the habits of mind necessary to evaluate properly the evidence of everyday exxperience. To test this idea, a group of psychologists administered a test... to students receiving graduate training in psychology, chemistry, medicine, and law.... The design of this study was both cross-sectional and longitudinal...

In an everyday-life problem, the subjects were told about a mayor who boasted of the 12% reduction in crime that had taken place during his administration. They were then asked about the kinds of evidence they thought would be necessary to evaluate the mayor's claim...

There were no initial differences in test scores across the four disciplines. However, two years of training in psychology led to a 70% increase in test scores, whereas a similar period of training in chemistry and law produced no improvement whatsoever... with two years of medical school producing a 25% improvement in test scores.
This sorts well with the data reported by Shermer showing that psychologists are the most sceptical of academics. It also explains why so many woos are lawyers (okay, I don't have any real statistics for that).
Fortunately, there is reason to believe that these corrective habits of mind are not hard to develop. Students who are familiar with the recent work on the errors and biases of human judgement seem able to aplly the lessons of this research to their everyday lives. I have occasionally overheard my own students remark to their peers, "Yeah, but what do the other three cells look like?", "But we all know that people will see order in almost anything --- isn't this just like the hot hand?", or "Remember though, we've only heard about this secondhand." The necessary principles appear to be easy to understand and to learn...
("The other three cells", and the reasons why people so often don't look at them, come in chapter 3 of his book, and the "hot hand" in chapter 2, if you're not familiar with these.)

[The Bad Astronomer]

Originally posted by H3LL
This guy is a hero in my book.

darylscience.com (http://www.darylscience.com/Demos/BON.html)

Heh. Daryl's a good friend of mine. We met years ago; he was teaching in NJ and liked my site so he emailed me. I went up to give a talk at his school. Years later, we started a program for exceptional teachers to help us develop educational materials, and Daryl was easily accepted. He's still one of our Educator Ambassadors (http://epo.sonoma.edu/ambassadors)! I'll point him to this thread.

[athon]

Originally posted by The Bad Astronomer
Heh. Daryl's a good friend of mine. We met years ago; he was teaching in NJ and liked my site so he emailed me. I went up to give a talk at his school. Years later, we started a program for exceptional teachers to help us develop educational materials, and Daryl was easily accepted. He's still one of our Educator Ambassadors (http://epo.sonoma.edu/ambassadors)! I'll point him to this thread.

Thanks BA.

At this point I've progressed to assigning a time plan for the framework and doing a few lesson plans. Within the next week or so I should have the first section blocked with lessons.

What I then foresee is posting a 'call' for relevant material, stating exactly what I'm after. Mostly it will be web-sites (books are great, but we're trying to keep this as close to '0' budget as possible for those using the resources), but there will also be a requirement for people to make up worksheets and suggest activities for each lesson.

It will take a while to to it this way, but I think people would appreciate a lesson-by-lesson request rather than a non-specific call-out.

Athon

[athon]

Ok, here's the next stage. And, in my opinion, the most important for the project.

I've gone through the topics for tier 1 (complete unit plan) and have broken them down into lesson-sized chunks. I'm aiming at a 15 week unit, or 60 hrs in total (4hrs a week, 1 hr lesson blocks), basing this on average teaching times for basic disciplines. If you think this is considerably out of tune with curriculums you have experienced, let me know.

I feel that essential lessons can be reduced down to a 4 week, 16 hr block for tier 2 (reduced unit). Beyond that it is up to the educator to pick and choose relevant materials.

Which brings us here; searching for relevant resources. First of all, let me state clearly what we are looking for (and what we are not).

Internet Sites

Internet sites are easy for us to find. Good internet sites are not. So I think relevant sites should meet the following criteria:

* Are simple, aimed at adolescents from ages 11 to 16.
* Are relevant to the entire topic. i.e. doesn't have a single page with a few paragraphs of relevant material.
* Has varying methods of conveying information. Completely text-based is ok, but having nothing but text for all of the suggested sites is not as useful as having variety.

I think it is important to remember that a) schools are aiming at encouraging more and more IT skills in the classroom. Having a wide variety of good sites that the students can use (as opposed to relevant materials for teachers to improve their own critical skills on) is what I'm aiming at gathering.

That does not mean good critical thinking sites for teachers should be ignored. I think a separate category for that might be good. But a focus on student-related sites would be preferable.

Books and Multimedia

I can't stress this one enough; suggested text books should be complimentary to the unit, not essential. I definately don't want a lesson to rely on having any given text book for obvious reasons.

Schools suffer from poor funding. No surprises there. The whole aim of this project is to have teachers stop in, looking for some ideas and some printable worksheets and take them into the classroom. Not sell them books or CD ROM's.

That said, suggesting useful text books to look out for is still a good idea. Especially if you know it is commonly used already in a school or a library. Same goes for CD ROM's and multimedia packages.

Downloadable movies and mpgs would also be great suggestions. I'm wanting to upload Merc's fabulous bed-of-nails clip, and would love to have a whole range of short clips of similar style.

Kiless suggested novels and prose pieces (possibly even movies) for non-science disciplines, which is a fantastic idea. I want this unit to be flexible and not just a science-alternative.

Worksheets

I actually think this should be at the crux of our unit. How many teachers have started a day with a lesson they have hardly prepared for? Or have a last minute absence and a class which has no work? How good would it be to have a range of worksheets easy to download for photocopying and handing to a class?

Simplicity is the key here. I think it would be a fantastic idea to have somebody who has the means to make crosswords, word-searches (or any other idea for a worksheet...cloze exercises, literacy and comprehension exercises etc.) to help me create a number of worksheets that can be uploaded as a pdf file.

Exercises

Magic tricks, demonstrations, practicals...you name it. They should be simple for any idiot to do without five years of sleight-of-hand experience, use cheap, easy to get equipment that any school should have access to and have some appreciable result that will get students talking.



I'll post in Community to bug the majority of forumites into searching and suggesting. I think that going through each of the three sections in small steps, prompting with precise details of what we want, we should get a few bites to get this baby started.

And of course, any suggestions or criticisms would be most appreciated.

Athon

[athon]

Section 1: Fooling the Mind
[b]4 wks, 16hrs[b]

Lessons 1-8: Sensation and Perception

Lesson 1
Stimulus and Sensation.
Objective: To understand how our bodies respond to changes in the environment.

Lessons 2-4
Objective: To know basically how each of the senses works.

Lesson 5
Objective: To understand that perception is based on sensation, expectation and interpretation.
Keyword: psychosomatic

Lesson 6
Objective: To know variations and conditions that can cause different people sense the environment in different ways.

Lessons 7-8
Objective: To observe ways our senses can be tricked by optical (tactile and auditory?) illusions.

Lesson 9
Objective: To understand that we can be tricked through magic and sleight of hand.

Lessons 10-13
Objective: To know that language is a system of transferring information, and is imperfect.

Lessons 14 - 16
Objective: To know that statistics and numerics are a form of language that needs interpretation to extract meaning.



This is just the first section, with very very simple explanations of what each lesson contains in the form or an objective. I'd appreciate feedback, but please understand that these are loose explanations. The unit is limited in terms of time, so each lesson is rather compact. Teaching the interpretation of statistics in three lessons, for example, is indeed difficult to do. But it is not to serve as a complete instruction, but as an introduction (basically section 1 informs students that information is only ever as good as how you interpret it).

Athon

[Sansha]

I'm happy to help where I can. I currently teach at a independent Islamic school in Melbourne.

Sansha.

[athon]

Originally posted by Sansha
I'm happy to help where I can. I currently teach at a independent Islamic school in Melbourne.

Sansha.

Thanks, Sansha.

What we need right now is any activities, resources (web sites, books, worksheets etc.) or demonstrations that will be useful in conjunction with any of the lesson topics mentioned above.

I'm slowly building a solid unit plan for Section 1, which is on schedule for being ready for pdf formatting within the next month. I'm looking at having all three sections ready for the next step by the end of August (slow, but mostly because most of my time is spent actually teaching).

Any contribution will be most appreciated.

Athon

[Sansha]

Sounds good to me - I'll do what I can to put together some lessons on the topics you've outlined.

Can I ask, are you working on a 45, 60 or 80 minute lesson? Obviously they can be adapted either way but it seems logical to be working to the same standard.

(My lessons are currently 43 minutes = pointless)

[athon]

Originally posted by Sansha
Sounds good to me - I'll do what I can to put together some lessons on the topics you've outlined.

Can I ask, are you working on a 45, 60 or 80 minute lesson? Obviously they can be adapted either way but it seems logical to be working to the same standard.

(My lessons are currently 43 minutes = pointless)

Good question. One hour suggested lessons, but constructed so they are flexible. I'm going on the assumption of a 60 hr unit over a suggested 15 week term, broken into weeks of four x one hour lessons (for the unit as a whole).

There needs to be some flexibility so the lesson can be taught in 40 minutes or extended to 80 minutes if needs be. However since they will entail basically objectives, some suggested resources, key words and a few lesson notes, it will be up to the educator to decide how to implement it.

This is based on something of an average I've ascertained, but if anybody thinks it's not going to work, I need to know.

Athon

[lynne]

Originally posted by athon
As a result of TAM3, I've decided to accelerate my creation of a skepticism / critical thinking unit. I was originally going to get stuck into it just before I returned back to an Australian teaching job, as I could implement such a unit in a Queensland school easier than I could in a UK school.
...

Later I would appreciate a list of websites, text books, games, videos etc. that could be woven in.
...

I know Kiless was interested in working with me in creating a unit on skepticism in anticipation of changes to the Western Australian education system. Any other teachers, from any country, would be most welcome to help us to build something that the JREF could use.

Athon

I am an Australian teacher in Victoria and wanted to do just this. I have developed a lot of lessons along these lines, and that lead to me writing my book, The Skeptic's Guide to the Paranormal, which came out in Australia last year and America last month. I am getting really good feedback from teachers using it. Randi endorsed it on the back!

Some of the lesson ideas and simple demos made it into the book, but I also have others I'd be happy to share. I have been doing these in church schools as well as other sensitive places - so am well aware how to avoid controversy.

One thing I found I really needed for non-skeptical groups - students or adults - were the human stories. Straight facts and data didn't get me where I wanted without the stories and human content. So that was crucial in writing the book and in teaching kids now. I have been lecturing to schools as well as taking courses as part of an organisation which offers extension courses to clusters of schools - all about skepticism.

So if I can be of any help, then please count me in. I can be contacted through my profile.

cheers,

Lynne

[CFLarsen]

Originally posted by athon
Good question. One hour suggested lessons, but constructed so they are flexible. I'm going on the assumption of a 60 hr unit over a suggested 15 week term, broken into weeks of four x one hour lessons (for the unit as a whole).

There needs to be some flexibility so the lesson can be taught in 40 minutes or extended to 80 minutes if needs be. However since they will entail basically objectives, some suggested resources, key words and a few lesson notes, it will be up to the educator to decide how to implement it.

This is based on something of an average I've ascertained, but if anybody thinks it's not going to work, I need to know.

Athon

You might also want to take into consideration that a unit is not necessarily 60 minutes. In Denmark, it is 45 minutes.

Subtract 5 minutes to get the kids to settle down, of course... ;)

[Kiless]

We have your book, Lynne! Lovely to see you on the boards! :) Gaz mentioned that it was an Australian publication - are you or have you toured any time soon?

[lynne]

Originally posted by Kiless
We have your book, Lynne! Lovely to see you on the boards! :) Gaz mentioned that it was an Australian publication - are you or have you toured any time soon?

Really? Wow! That makes my day!

I've been on JREF for years, just don't post often. I read it a lot though. I have done some talks in the Eastern states of Australia. There is no planned publisher tour. That's for big name authors on topics which sell really well, not little authors battling to get the good word out there.

I'd love to tour, and even more to go to America especially now that the book is out there with an American publisher, but it doesn't seem likely. I'll save my pennies. I'd adore to come to TAM4, so I'll keep saving.

If there are any topics you want specific lesson guides on, let me know. I have done most of them as lessons and linked them into the curriculum, mostly Science but also in Maths and Critical Thinking. I'm getting some really interesting school speaking gigs now. Each school seems to want a different format. I use magic in them, replicating mind reading and other psychic phemomena, plus science demos. I have everything from years 5 and 6 to final year high school coming up.

One was for the ethics section of the International Baccalaureate (cannot spell that!) where I was on a panel and asked where I get morals from if I am an aethiest. On a panel with a Christian and Moslem. It went really well. That was part of the Theory of Knoweldge subject.

So there are lots of places this stuff fits in the regular school curriculum. I want to make teachers more aware of the role of this topic in their subjects. That's one of my major goals now that I have the apparent authority of a book.


Lynne

[Kiless]

Brilliant!

The West Australian curriculum is currently undergoing a major overhaul. One of the new subjects is Philosophy. I'll dig up some links and PM. :)

[athon]

Originally posted by lynne
I am an Australian teacher in Victoria and wanted to do just this. I have developed a lot of lessons along these lines, and that lead to me writing my book, The Skeptic's Guide to the Paranormal, which came out in Australia last year and America last month. I am getting really good feedback from teachers using it. Randi endorsed it on the back!


Lynne,

This is fantastic. It's exactly the sort of thing I've been looking at myself, and any help you can offer would be most appreciated. I'll be picking up where I left off with this project in coming weeks. I'm wanting to have something solid by September at the latest, as next year I'm looking at a slight career change that will involve things like this project.

Update:

The present lack of movement with the project is no indication of apathy or a stalling of progress. It's coming up to final days for the GCSE revision, and proceeding into year 10 revision and coursework, which for me means most of my spare time right now is chewed up. I've slowed things down to cope with school work, but have still been asking about for any resources and things.

So thank you to all for your patience and continued interest.

At this stage I'm looking at staying in the UK over summer break (except for one or two short holidays in Europe), which means I'll be devoting a lot of time to putting everything together. Expect to hear me knocking for that well intentioned assistance, because I'll be needing it.

Lynne, I'll look at contacting you closer to that time to see what you can help me with. Kiless, as per usual, your input has been ever so appreciated. Claus, your points have all be duely noted and are invaluable.

Thanks again everybody.

Athon

[lynne]

Originally posted by athon
Lynne,

This is fantastic. It's exactly the sort of thing I've been looking at myself, and any help you can offer would be most appreciated.

...

Lynne, I'll look at contacting you closer to that time to see what you can help me with. Kiless, as per usual, your input has been ever so appreciated. Claus, your points have all be duely noted and are invaluable.

Athon

Hi Athon,

This sounds great! Through education we can change the world! (OK, a little optimistic, but there's a lot of truth in it.)

I'd love to be involved in anything which aims for this goal. Combining forces can only do one of those gestalt thingoes where the whole exceeds the sum of the parts.

I'll wait for your contact.

Lynne

[Jyera]

I thought this web site is quite good.

http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/evohome.html

I like
1.they introduced phylogenetic tree and the Cladogram as a tool for continuous scientific study

[Jyera]

I thought this website is very useful.
http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/evohome.html

Firstly,
This link from the site shows a phylgenetic tree and Cladogram.
http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/evo101/IIAFamilytree.shtml
It showed the use of cladogram as a framework to create an ever alive hypothesis about the relationship between evolution of different creatures. It fits in under the heading of "The Scientific Methods", which listed Hypothesis and tools.

Secondly,
I find the Cladogram a very clarifying tool to assist in
It fits in under the heading of "Scientific Thinking", where
"Evidence builds a picture (there are no 'answers' in science)".
Like jigzaw puzzle, the populated Cladograms helps to build a picture from the many little evidence.

Third but not least...
this site is created for the teachers with ready made info on how to teach the subject.

[athon]

Thanks for the links, Jyera. They are indeed fantastic sites, and I've added them to my archive for next time I teach evolution. In fact, I'm going to use them for my 11's today in revision.

I'm not too sure where I could use them in a critical thinking unit, however, except perhaps in a comparison between examples of good and bad science (this vs. creationism, for example).

Good work, though.

Athon

[athon]

I've done the first five lessons. I attempted to convert it into an html format which would keep the table form, and I discovered that my skills in that area are rather limited.

Anyway, here's an example of what I've done so far. It's turning into a bigger project than I ever suspected, but it seems to be working. I've tried some of the resources out and the lesson plans can work well. Again, I'm thriving on criticism. Anybody who has said they can help out, I'll be calling on you in the next three or four weeks.

Athon


Lesson 1
Stimulus and Senses

Objective: Define the terms ‘stimulus’ and ‘sense’ and list examples of each.

Outcomes
Must • State that a stimulus is a change we detect in our environment.
• ‘Senses’ are organs which detect these changes.
Should • Explain and contrast various examples of stimuli.
Could • List examples of stimuli other organisms sense but we do not.

Prior Learning:
Students should be familiar with the term ‘organism’ and be familiar with the conventional ‘five senses’ and what they each detect.

Key Concepts:
Our environment consists of a range of substances and conditions directly around us and inside of us. From moment to moment, these conditions can vary, and it is these changes called ‘stimuli’ which can be sensed by an organism’s specialised organs.

A stimulus is therefore any change in the internal or external environment which is detected by an organism. This could be a change in temperature, light intensity or colour, sound or pressure, or chemical concentration. Many organisms can detect other changes, such as electro-magnetic fields.

Most organisms can also sense a change in their relative position and posture through detecting the position of their body parts (limbs) and through a sense of ‘balance’.

Stimuli can be divided up either according to the physical nature of the change, or the organ which detects the change.
e.g. Radiation (infra-red heat, visible light), Moving particles (sound, touch, conducted heat), Chemical, Gravity & Orientation.
or
Sight, touch, hearing, smell, taste, balance.
Dividing stimuli up according to the physical nature of the stimulus is preferable.

Vocabulary:

Must Stimulus, environment, sense, light (intensity, colour), sound (pitch and volume), touch (pressure, pain, heat), smell, taste, balance.
Should Tactile
Could Kinaesthetic, orientation, radiation, infra red, ultra violet, heat conduction.

Options Approx. Time required Resources Required
Starter Read two passages (Res.1.1 and 1.2).
1.1: Describes a sequence of events.
1.2: Describes a person’s response to the events.
Why did the person respond to those events as he did? 10 min Res. 1.1. and 1.2

Activities: Develop a list of adjectives that describe various stimuli (e.g. bright, loud, high pitched, colourful, sweet).
Select 5 random words from this list. Students will use these words to describe an event of their creation. 20 min

Extension: Describe an event where a dog could be aware of what was happening, while a human could not.
Replace ‘dog’ with another animal.
Describe the stimuli.
Explain why the animal can detect the stimuli while a human could not. 20 min.

Homework: Find two advertisements in a magazine or newspaper.
The first should make at least one reference to a stimulus that suggests something ‘positive’.
The second should make at least one reference to a stimulus that suggests something ‘negative’.
Describe each of them. 15 min Magazine or newspaper

Teacher Notes: Students will be more familiar with so-called ‘the five senses’ and how they relate to us, rather than the many stimuli present in our environment.
In the next lesson, these stimuli are discussed in relation to those senses. Keep this in mind when addressing the questions on the senses, but keep it relative to their prior learning.
Enforce the literacy of ‘stimuli’, reminding students that a stimulus is not the same as the sense that detects it. Eg, ‘light’ is the stimulus, ‘seeing’ or ‘sight’ is the sense.

[Jyera]

Hi Athon,

I have tried to help. (Stimuli and senses)
But found that you had covered it pretty comprehensively.
I think you have done a good Job

Some of the things that came through my mind:
1. How about "Sixth sense" of the shark? The term of sixth-sense has been used as often enough as the wooish meaning of sixth sense.
2. Why only 5 senses, why not 6, or seven or more.
3. Is this only about human senses and stimuli detectable by humans?
4. Why not "sense of balance" as the sixth sense?
5. Why didn't you include the sense organs? (eye, ears...etc)

No need to answer the above questions.

After thinking through and relooking at your plan,
I sort of realized that these questions might gone through your mind.

Moreover, I think the questions I posed, might represent questions that you may want to compile into an FAQ. An FAQ for the teachers to help them prepare for questions.

[athon]

Originally posted by Jyera
Hi Athon,

I have tried to help. (Stimuli and senses)
But found that you had covered it pretty comprehensively.
I think you have done a good Job

Some of the things that came through my mind:
1. How about "Sixth sense" of the shark? The term of sixth-sense has been used as often enough as the wooish meaning of sixth sense.
2. Why only 5 senses, why not 6, or seven or more.
3. Is this only about human senses and stimuli detectable by humans?
4. Why not "sense of balance" as the sixth sense?
5. Why didn't you include the sense organs? (eye, ears...etc)

No need to answer the above questions.

After thinking through and relooking at your plan,
I sort of realized that these questions might gone through your mind.

Moreover, I think the questions I posed, might represent questions that you may want to compile into an FAQ. An FAQ for the teachers to help them prepare for questions.

Good points. The tricky part is trying to cover as much as possible in a limited amount of time. I'm quickly realising there is a lot of information that could be relevant, and selecting from that is what's taking so much time. Your points are very relevant, and I've tried to cover them in lesson two, which looks at sensation.

The FAQ idea is a good one, and I've attempted to address these concerns in the Teacher Notes at the end of each lesson. I'm quickly seeing a need for a text book in this, but unless I find myself with a year of free time, that part will have to wait.

Athon

[prewitt81]

Something like this may already have been suggested, or you may have a completely different (and probably better) idea, but I just stumbled upon Wikibooks (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Main_Page) and thought it might be a good place to compile everything.

Just a thought.

[rjh01]

If you want links try this one skeptics links (http://www.skepticforum.com/viewforum.php?f=29&sid=646d47bd7c6421ba16ccf234958f9547)

It is a forum like this one. The link is where we put links that debunks a weird belief.

[athon]

Time for an update.

This has been a lot harder than I originally conceived. For one, a lot of the resources I simply don't have access to, or I've had to look at building from scratch. Secondly I've still yet to find a unit similar enough to what I've wanted to be able to refer to.

The good thing is that the first third has been written. It is a mammoth task trying to fit the educational requirements of the two main curriculums I know (Australian and UK national) into the resources while coming up with relevant outcomes and objectives.

Also, this being my holidays, I fully admit that I've let my deadlines slide. I've done more travelling than writing, so I've hovered between chiding myself for not being more disciplined to thinking 'ah hell, I shouldn't be working on school stuff'.

A lot of people have been very supportive (Kiless' material has been a godsend), and I still want this to be finished. It's just going to be a work in progress as I try out various resources in my own classroom and see how long they take and how effective they are.

Therefore, I'm going to break up the first third of the unit and send each lesson 'topic' (most are single lessons, a couple are two or three lesson blocks) to people who have offered their assistance. I'll detail to you what I'd like you to do, but in short it is yours to edit, add to, change... basically be as critical as hell.

In several of these lessons there are references to resources that have not been created or are in the process of being made. If you see what is needed or would like to make the resource yourself, I would be most grateful.

Again, thanks for those who have given support. This is far from a pipe dream and is (albeit slowly) still moving along.

Athon

[Kiless]

I can do 'test runs' in English classes too... or at least, adaptations. Still teaching Years 9 and 10 and there's leeway with those years, especially after early November when the marks get finalised (shhh!). My 9s are interested in the post-grad studies I'm doing... it could be a 'trial' with student feedback. :)

[athon]

It's been a while, and I had a reminder from somebody that prompted me to update this thread and explain where I've come with it.

A couple of years ago, while I was a teacher, I wanted to construct a unit that taught critical thinking in a fashion that did it justice while concentrating a range of resources which could be useful. I asked many people for opinions and resources, and proceded to drain libraries and the internet of anything and everything that had to do with critical thinking.

I read government documents, syllabuses, numerous school curricula, a score of papers and books on the topic...

And while it's taken a lot of time, I'm finally ready to admit the idea had a fundemental flaw. While teaching critical thinking as a unit is better than not teaching it at all, teaching critical thinking as an integrated, cross-curricula skill is a far superior way of teaching it.

I'll get around to writing an article on my present position sooner or later. The resources in this thread are hardly useless, and I encourage anybody to either use what is here or contact me if they want some advice. But I see no sense in finishing it when I feel my energies are best directed where I feel that will have the most impact.

Thanks to all who contributed.

Athon

[phyz]

I'll add mine to the mix on this sticky.

<a href="http://homepage.mac.com/phyzman/skepticism/">Skepticism in the Classroom 1.0</a>

These are short lessons that can be dropped in anytime during the year. No major committment required! Short, sweet; to the point. Get in, get out, get on with it. Lessons vary in content and style. Some involve presentations, some video clips, some worksheets, and some combinations of the above.

Hope you find something useful.

When I come up with something new, it goes to <a href="http://phyzblog.blogspot.com/">my blog</a> first.

[illogical]

i've been compiling a list of online books, and i could write up a separate list aimed at younger people. the strength of my list is that it doesn't just give links, but summaries too. some people want terse lecture notes, others want gigabytes of video.

[DrugFreeAlcoholic]

I have the PDF file Study Guide for Barker's Elements of Logic which comes with the book Elements of Logic (it was 5th or 6th edition).

"Study guide" is an understatement, for one can actually learn everything from venn diagrams, syllogisms, propositional and predicate logic, and inductiive reasoning from this "study guide."

I'm somewhat afraid of breaking copyright laws. And I don't use the Bible for my moral guide, so um, someone else tell me what to do. -_-;; Or PM me if you want to see the copy.

[phyz]

I'll add mine to the mix on this sticky.

Skepticism in the Classroom 1.0 (http://homepage.mac.com/phyzman/skepticism)

These are short lessons that can be dropped in anytime during the year. No major committment required! Short, sweet; to the point. Get in, get out, get on with it. Lessons vary in content and style. Some involve presentations, some video clips, some worksheets, and some combinations of the above.

Hope you find something useful.

When I come up with something new, it goes to my blog (http://phyzblog.blogspot.com) first.

Sorry about botching the links!

[fossilhound]

Sounds good to me - I'll do what I can to put together some lessons on the topics you've outlined.

Can I ask, are you working on a 45, 60 or 80 minute lesson? Obviously they can be adapted either way but it seems logical to be working to the same standard.

(My lessons are currently 43 minutes = pointless)

MY HS is reconfiguring this year. I'll be teaching 90 minute lessons every other day, as opposed to 55 minutes every day, so I'm rewriting my timings to make sure I'm teaching effectively. I think it'll increase my effectiveness, simply because I'll be able to finish a thought, so-to-speak.