Skepticism in the Classroom Curriculum Materials

[phyz]

I've been creating, using, and modifying lessons in skepticism and critical thinking.

Various lessons include presentations, video clips, worksheets, and weblinks. They can all be found here:

http://homepage.mac.com/phyzman/skepticism/

Current lessons include
- Wiseman's Three-color Mind Control
- Dead Psychic's Sketch
- Football Clairvoyant
- Angel at the State Fair
- Columbia Explosion Photos
- Chicago's Most Haunted

I created these resources because I wanted to use resources like these in the classroom. If there are more such resources out there, please let me know. My high school science students gobble these up and have less patience for woo than I do.

In the meantime, please send feedback on the page and the lessons contained therein.

Dean

[wollery]

I don't have an Apple Mac, I don't run Quicktime (not downloading it just for this) and half your .docs and .pdfs don't open (.Mac says it can't find the files).

Other than that, the two I could read were fine.

[tkingdoll]

I can't open 'em either...

[phyz]

Extreme apologies, wollery and tkingdoll!!!

I will fix those bad links tonight. Thanks for scoping them out for me. Anyway, QuickTime is free, and it's the only way I know to make the presos interactive for end-users who don't have Keynote. Or MS Office, for that matter.

If there's a better format, please clue me it. In the meantime, note to self: if I bundle these things onto a CD for colleagues, I'll include the free QuickTime installer.

Thanks and sorry,
Dean
(almost ready for prime time; wishing he could chew gum and walk at the same time)

[phyz]

It appears that all the links on the page work except for the text documents (worksheets) for Wiseman's Mind Control trick and The Dead Psychic's Sketch. Those would be the Word docs and PDF files for those two lessons. I'll fix those by 5pm PT.

As far as I know, everything else is up and running.

Dean

[phyz]

I fixed the links and documents so that foot bone's connected to the.. leg bone, and so on.

Thanks again to wollery and tkingdoll for suffering through my clumsiness.

The lessons I developed were attempts to bring current events or news items into the classroom as exercises in skepticism.

If readers look through the Psychic Sketch, State Fair Angel, and Chicago's Most Haunted lessons, I hope they could get a sense of how to write their own lessons when the next wacko news item spews forth from the local affiliate news.

Thanks for any feedback you might offer.

[vIQleS]

I'm interested in this - I'm trying to put something similar together myself - either for the library learning centre where I work, or as a community ed. course of some sort. (to counter the refexology / iridology type courses that seem so popular...)

I haven't looked at everything yet, I'll get on to that when I have more time, but i would suggest that if you want a presentation thats a bit more universal - there is a way to create a powerpoint presentation that works without having to have pp installed (I get these in emails all the time.

Alternatively you might want to consider using a more standard and generic type of movie (avi / mpg etc), as a lot of people I know (me included) don't like having to install a special player just for one type of movie...

[phyz]

Thanks vIQleS,
Part of the fun of doing a project like this is tangential learning. I will confess that I was completely unaware of how uninstalled QuickTime is out there. But then I never had any reason to care before.

I'll have to look into the pp thing. I'm far from expert in the field of video formats, but I fear neither avi nor mpg will handle the way QT (mov) does.

The presos don't come across as movies, but as, well, presentations. You click to advance just as you would in a regular preso--you're in control throughout. I think of avi and mpg files as play, pause, and stop-capable only. I could be wrong.

[wollery]

Thanks vIQleS,
Part of the fun of doing a project like this is tangential learning. I will confess that I was completely unaware of how uninstalled QuickTime is out there. But then I never had any reason to care before.

I'll have to look into the pp thing. I'm far from expert in the field of video formats, but I fear neither avi nor mpg will handle the way QT (mov) does.

The presos don't come across as movies, but as, well, presentations. You click to advance just as you would in a regular preso--you're in control throughout. I think of avi and mpg files as play, pause, and stop-capable only. I could be wrong.Powerpoint presentations can be made in open office.

[athon]

They look like useful little activities. I've used similar ones myself in classes, and they can effective starters or plenaries.

Nice work, phyz.

Athon

[phyz]

Thanks, athon.

I think I just added PowerPoint-compatible versions of the presos to <a href="http://homepage.mac.com/phyzman/skepticism">the site</a>.

But I'll know for sure when someone out there running Windows can open and play the presentations.

I trust open source Office substitutes can open .pps or .ppt files.

I also added some graphic thumbnails to some of the lessons to spruce the page up a bit. I'll work toward having a graphic thumbnail for each lesson.

All I need now is ideas/sources for more lessons. I suppose I should sift through my TAM2-TAM3 DVD sets. But if you have other ideas, I'd love to hear them.

[cbish]

Looks good Dean!
Still thumbing through it.

cbish
chemistry teacher
Nevada Union HS

[Beady]

All I need now is ideas/sources for more lessons. I suppose I should sift through my TAM2-TAM3 DVD sets. But if you have other ideas, I'd love to hear them.

This (https://www.skeptic.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?&Screen=PROD&Store_Code=SS&Product_Code=b075PB) contains sample syllabi.

[blutoski]

Extreme apologies, wollery and tkingdoll!!!

I will fix those bad links tonight. Thanks for scoping them out for me. Anyway, QuickTime is free, and it's the only way I know to make the presos interactive for end-users who don't have Keynote. Or MS Office, for that matter.

If there's a better format, please clue me it. In the meantime, note to self: if I bundle these things onto a CD for colleagues, I'll include the free QuickTime installer.

One solution I came up with for distributing 'presentations' was to export them all to html format. This maximizes my portability, as it will work on a website and dvd just as well. Everybody has a browser .Create a ZIP file for downloads, and you don't even need to distribute physical discs.

But not everybody can install Quicktime, Office, Keynote, &c.

[articulett]

I'm eager to get the downloads--I can't access them either--I get a message saying Our records show that the account you're attempting to connect to either does not exist or is currently inactive.

They sound fantastic. And I'd be glad to give feedback. Can anyone else help me access them?

[LostAngeles]

I'm eager to get the downloads--I can't access them either--I get a message saying Our records show that the account you're attempting to connect to either does not exist or is currently inactive.

They sound fantastic. And I'd be glad to give feedback. Can anyone else help me access them?

I've got the same error and I've been trying to think on doing something like this for my tutoring work in AmeriCorps.

[phyz]

Apple's .Mac service misplaced a CC# digit when they tried to renew my account, so everything went black for a few hours while I was off on vacation.

Nothing like having the web equivalent to having your fly down and a leaking pen in the shirt pocket.

I fixed it as quick as I could. As far as I know, my fly is zipped and the shirt is clean. Just trying to anticipate the source of the next "outage."

Blutoski, I hope to try the HTML thing to see how that works. And thanks for the tip, Beady!

[articulett]

Apple's .Mac service misplaced a CC# digit when they tried to renew my account, so everything went black for a few hours while I was off on vacation.

Nothing like having the web equivalent to having your fly down and a leaking pen in the shirt pocket.

I fixed it as quick as I could. As far as I know, my fly is zipped and the shirt is clean. Just trying to anticipate the source of the next "outage."

Blutoski, I hope to try the HTML thing to see how that works. And thanks for the tip, Beady!

It was worth the wait--and now I've seen your pic. on the pic. thread, and I plan to tease you about your fly having been down--

Are you going to the critical thinking special?

[phyz]

Thanks, articulett--no, really.

And that's only going to be funny if my actual fly isn't down when you spot me at TAM. [Writes note to self on that matter. Places note in suitcase.]

I'm signed up for the Thursday workshop on classroom strategies. You? I'm looking forward to that session. And TAM in general. I have found my addiction.

Regarding your signature... if I confess my work sucks, does that mean it's probably pretty good? Just curious.

[articulett]

Thanks, articulett--no, really.

And that's only going to be funny if my actual fly isn't down when you spot me at TAM. [Writes note to self on that matter. Places note in suitcase.]

I'm signed up for the Thursday workshop on classroom strategies. You? I'm looking forward to that session. And TAM in general. I have found my addiction.

Regarding your signature... if I confess my work sucks, does that mean it's probably pretty good? Just curious.

Yes.

Actually, Kellyb posted the article on the skeptoid thread http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?p=2234800#post2234800 , and I realized that it was really descriptive of some people. But such people never apologize or have self effacing humor nor do they contribute much--though they seem to think themselves to be superior to most other skeptics. I think they are pretty well known on the forum--but, as the article noted, they are the least likely to conclude that the article is about them. If they come to TAM, they appear to be in the minority.

I haven't signed up for the workshop thread yet, but I plan to. And as long as you are writing notes to yourself, you might want to make sure your pens aren't leaking as well as making sure your fly is zipped. I can be ruthless. (note to self:--make sure pants are zipped, and no leaking pens nor excess pet fur on person lest pot calls kettle black...)

I've been trying to think of a lesson plan around that article, but I can't think of a way that wouldn't be damaging to fragile self esteem. But I am quite thankful to live in the age of the internet, where stellar lesson plans are readily available (except when sites are down and site owner is on vacation).

[phyz]

C'mon Articulett, you need to be in that class with me. We can be bad students together! (Teachers make the worst students--we know all the tricks.) Anyway, it should be good. And I'm hoping to come away with some ideas for classroom activities.

When I got back from TAM4, I *had* to show my students my "bootlegged" video clips of Richard Wiseman's backward lyrics and magic square. They loved it. And I made them tell me how Randi levitated Ed Lu. Great stuff just from clips taken with my digicam. The students put together a full page of skepticism for the student newspaper and did a really nice job of it.

I still need to get a legal copy of that gorilla basketball film, and make some actual lessons from the Wiseman/Randi clips I used last year. All in due course, I suppose.

Oh, and I've been running http://phyz.org in one form or another since 1996. It's been pretty smooth until I got up the nerve to share my critical thinking lessons with the JREF Forum. Probably messed up as many things in the past few weeks as I have in the previous 10 years. But hey, the world spins madly on...

[articulett]

C'mon Articulett, you need to be in that class with me. We can be bad students together! (Teachers make the worst students--we know all the tricks.) Anyway, it should be good. And I'm hoping to come away with some ideas for classroom activities.

When I got back from TAM4, I *had* to show my students my "bootlegged" video clips of Richard Wiseman's backward lyrics and magic square. They loved it. And I made them tell me how Randi levitated Ed Lu. Great stuff just from clips taken with my digicam. The students put together a full page of skepticism for the student newspaper and did a really nice job of it.

I still need to get a legal copy of that gorilla basketball film, and make some actual lessons from the Wiseman/Randi clips I used last year. All in due course, I suppose.

Oh, and I've been running http://phyz.org in one form or another since 1996. It's been pretty smooth until I got up the nerve to share my critical thinking lessons with the JREF Forum. Probably messed up as many things in the past few weeks as I have in the previous 10 years. But hey, the world spins madly on...

They have that gorilla video at the Fleet museum in San Diego--I'm usually pretty good at finding bootlegged stuff--but I can't find that. But I use a Randi tape that I purchased...And there are some really good optical illusions on line:

http://www.johnsadowski.com/big_spanish_castle.php

I was thinking of having the kids make a video like the gorilla video for other classes. (Damn, I wish I would have had a teacher like me :)). Kylie Sturgess is a forum member in Australia who won an award for teaching critical thinking to her English students, and her essay is posted at the Australian Skeptics society--

Yes, I will be a bad student with you. I will teach you how to make origami cranes that move their wings in a pterodactyl manner.

[phyz]

They have that gorilla video at the Fleet museum in San Diego--I'm usually pretty good at finding bootlegged stuff--but I can't find that.

(Damn, I wish I would have had a teacher like me :)).

Yes, I will be a bad student with you. I will teach you how to make origami cranes that move their wings in a pterodactyl manner.

The producers of the gorilla basketball clip are tres protective of their intellectual property, and I tend to respect that kind of thing (especially since I've gotten involved with publishing and hope people don't boot my stuff too much). Then again, I give a tonne of my own stuff away for free, so what's their problem?

Every once in a while, I will--with a straight face--tell my students, "...yeah, my physics teacher wasn't nearly as good as yours..." and move along. Takes them a coupla seconds to put it together.

Whoa. Can we start with jumping frogs? I won't mention the origami book I saw at Tower before they closed down. It should have been filed in the adult section, if you take my meaning. Oops. Looks like I did mention it.

[phyz]

But such people never apologize or have self effacing humor nor do they contribute much--though they seem to think themselves to be superior to most other skeptics. I think they are pretty well known on the forum--but, as the article noted, they are the least likely to conclude that the article is about them. If they come to TAM, they appear to be in the minority.

Your signature is subtle. This post is not.
http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?postid=2243474#post2243474

I'm guessing it was cathartic. But probably not any more effective.

[articulett]

I won't mention the origami book I saw at Tower before they closed down.

I'm guessing it was a pop-up book?

Wait... it's amazing what you can find once you kow something exists...
http://underground.zork.net/index.html

Now this isn't as titillating, but it's pretty cool--I'll have to think of a project I can use this for...

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/330851/make_paper_stairs_part_1/

[phyz]

Two words: pornogami

[phyz]

Now this isn't as titillating, but it's pretty cool--I'll have to think of a project I can use this for...]
1. Groovy in part because of its simplicity.
2. Can the origami escalator be far behind?

[tkingdoll]

C'mon Articulett, you need to be in that class with me. We can be bad students together! (Teachers make the worst students--we know all the tricks.) Anyway, it should be good. And I'm hoping to come away with some ideas for classroom activities.

When I got back from TAM4, I *had* to show my students my "bootlegged" video clips of Richard Wiseman's backward lyrics and magic square. They loved it. And I made them tell me how Randi levitated Ed Lu. Great stuff just from clips taken with my digicam. The students put together a full page of skepticism for the student newspaper and did a really nice job of it.

I still need to get a legal copy of that gorilla basketball film, and make some actual lessons from the Wiseman/Randi clips I used last year. All in due course, I suppose.

Oh, and I've been running http://phyz.org in one form or another since 1996. It's been pretty smooth until I got up the nerve to share my critical thinking lessons with the JREF Forum. Probably messed up as many things in the past few weeks as I have in the previous 10 years. But hey, the world spins madly on...

Don't steal people's material, just email them and ask if you can use it.

[phyz]

Don't steal people's material, just email them and ask if you can use it.
I don't think I'm stealing anything, actually. A certain latitude is granted to educators under "fair use." I purchase the DVDs of TAM every year. At worst, I suppose I could be accused of jumping the gun. I show clips in class after returning from TAM. The same material comes out on DVD months later.

Do you imagine that anyone involved with TAM would object? Where's my offense, Teek?

[Brown]

Don't steal people's material, just email them and ask if you can use it.Better yet, perform the magic square trick yourself. It's ridiculously easy to do, yet it makes you look like a mathematical genius. With a little practice, you can perform it faster and better than Wiseman did.

For those who want to know how to do it, drop me a PM.

[tkingdoll]

I don't think I'm stealing anything, actually. A certain latitude is granted to educators under "fair use." I purchase the DVDs of TAM every year. At worst, I suppose I could be accused of jumping the gun. I show clips in class after returning from TAM. The same material comes out on DVD months later.

Do you imagine that anyone involved with TAM would object? Where's my offense, Teek?

It's not illegal, I dare say, but it's hardly polite, especially as I'm sure you'd have no problem getting permission. Although as it was a private performance and the material is not in the public domain for free, you might be on slightly dodgy ground, particularly as the material does come out on DVD so there is a commercial interest to protect. But, regardless, it's just common courtesy to ask someone if you can use their material, let alone video footage of them using it.

However, the gorilla video is a different matter, you might even have to pay to use it, I think the owner is pretty strict about it.

[phyz]

the gorilla video is a different matter, you might even have to pay to use it, I think the owner is pretty strict about it.
Which is why I don't use the gorilla basketball clip. I do hope to purchase the DVD and be able to use it at that point.

Your point about securing permissions is well taken. But there's also something to be said for the teachable moment when you get back to class and students want to know where you were and what you did, and you're still buzzed from TAM.

So you're right, but I'm not wrong.

[tkingdoll]

Your point about securing permissions is well taken. But there's also something to be said for the teachable moment when you get back to class and students want to know where you were and what you did, and you're still buzzed from TAM.

So you're right, but I'm not wrong.

Yeah, you're right, the buzz is more important than anything. That's why when I go the cinema I record the movie on my phone, so I can show people when I get back home.

[phyz]

Like I said, I've been creating, using, and modifying lessons in skepticism and critical thinking.

Various lessons include presentations, video clips, worksheets, and weblinks. They can all be found here:

http://homepage.mac.com/phyzman/skepticism/

Current lessons include
- Wiseman's Three-color Mind Control
- Dead Psychic's Sketch
- Football Clairvoyant
- Angel at the State Fair
- Columbia Explosion Photos
- Chicago's Most Haunted

I created these resources because I wanted to use resources like these in the classroom. If there are more such resources out there, please let me know. My high school science students gobble these up and have less patience for woo than I do.

In the meantime, please send feedback on the page and the lessons contained therein.

Enjoy!

[tkingdoll]

Like I said, I've been creating, using, and modifying lessons in skepticism and critical thinking.

Various lessons include presentations, video clips, worksheets, and weblinks. They can all be found here:

http://homepage.mac.com/phyzman/skepticism/

Current lessons include
- Wiseman's Three-color Mind Control
- Dead Psychic's Sketch
- Football Clairvoyant
- Angel at the State Fair
- Columbia Explosion Photos
- Chicago's Most Haunted

I created these resources because I wanted to use resources like these in the classroom. If there are more such resources out there, please let me know. My high school science students gobble these up and have less patience for woo than I do.

In the meantime, please send feedback on the page and the lessons contained therein.

Enjoy!

I've done better than that...

[phyz]

I've done better than that...
Yes you have. Congratulations!

Now...

If you can do better than the resources I posted, kindly share them with us. Considering my limited skills, creating better materials shouldn't be such a challenge. Anyway, we eagerly await the opportunity to review your work.

[tkingdoll]

Yes you have. Congratulations!

Now...

If you can do better than the resources I posted, kindly share them with us. Considering my limited skills, creating better materials shouldn't be such a challenge. Anyway, we eagerly await the opportunity to review your work.

I'm not a teacher, why on earth would I create teaching aids? But, start with the UK Skeptics chiropractic factsheet if you want an example of my projects. I do plenty to further critical thinking in the community, including fundraising for this very forum. However, I don't start threads boasting about my bootlegging skills and the brilliant example I'm setting to students with them.

I fail to see what my work has to do with you filming talks without the knowledge or permission of the speaker, though. Perhaps you are trying to distract the discussion away from that?

[RecoveringYuppy]

They have that gorilla video at the Fleet museum in San Diego
I love the Fleet Science Museum. The spinning disk optical illusion that makes the wall move is freaky. Last Spring my GF and I spent four months building a tornado machine like the one they have. I'm working on a second one now.

[phyz]

Perhaps you are trying to distract the discussion away from that?
Actually, I was doing my best to keep the thread related to the original post.

You seem obsessed with the thought that my students come away from the post-TAM clip presos with the singular thought that, "Wow, our teacher totally bootlegged this intellectual property from an academic conference, so now I'm going to camcord a movie at a theater and sell it to make money!"

Let me put your fears to rest. I know my students well enough to know that out of 100 different thoughts they might have after the presos, that isn't any of them. Not even close. And as far as the students know (or care), I have piles of signed, dated, notarized permission forms on file.

One reaction they did have was to write a full page spread on skepticism and Randi's $1M for the school newspaper. A whole page! And yet no mention of the possible copyright infringement. Perhaps it speaks poorly of them that this issue was nowhere on their radar.

I'd pay a dollar for every TAM speaker you could get to show shock or dismay at the news that someone in the audience of several hundred was capturing the event and showing it to schoolchildren. But you should give me a dime for each one whose reaction runs counter to that.

Bragging? Boasting? Are you commenting on this thread? The only bragging I found was the comment "I've done better than that..." But that was your comment. If you saw something you thought was me bragging or boasting, please identify it. All I did was offer curriculum materials to educators free of charge.

I'm not sure what I did to offend you to such disproportionate magnitude, but you're clearly resistant to any attempt at tact on my part. Perhaps the best place for me is on your ignore list lest I unwittingly offend you a second time.

[tkingdoll]

Actually, I was doing my best to keep the thread related to the original post.

You seem obsessed with the thought that my students come away from the post-TAM clip presos with the singular thought that, "Wow, our teacher totally bootlegged this intellectual property from an academic conference, so now I'm going to camcord a movie at a theater and sell it to make money!"

Let me put your fears to rest. I know my students well enough to know that out of 100 different thoughts they might have after the presos, that isn't any of them. Not even close. And as far as the students know (or care), I have piles of signed, dated, notarized permission forms on file.

One reaction they did have was to write a full page spread on skepticism and Randi's $1M for the school newspaper. A whole page! And yet no mention of the possible copyright infringement. Perhaps it speaks poorly of them that this issue was nowhere on their radar.

I'd pay a dollar for every TAM speaker you could get to show shock or dismay at the news that someone in the audience of several hundred was capturing the event and showing it to schoolchildren. But you should give me a dime for each one whose reaction runs counter to that.

Bragging? Boasting? Are you commenting on this thread? The only bragging I found was the comment "I've done better than that..." But that was your comment. If you saw something you thought was me bragging or boasting, please identify it. All I did was offer curriculum materials to educators free of charge.

I'm not sure what I did to offend you to such disproportionate magnitude, but you're clearly resistant to any attempt at tact on my part. Perhaps the best place for me is on your ignore list lest I unwittingly offend you a second time.

If you really want to know, I will PM you. I'm not personally offended, but I do vehemently believe it is not OK to film speakers without their knowledge and then use the footage without permission, for any reason at all.

[articulett]

I love the Fleet Science Museum. The spinning disk optical illusion that makes the wall move is freaky. Last Spring my GF and I spent four months building a tornado machine like the one they have. I'm working on a second one now.

http://www.grand-illusions.com/pinwheel.htm

There's one for your computer....they have little ones for sell at Tam.

Phys, you can use it on your class...tell them you are hypnotizing them to turn them into brilliant students who love science! The bigger a screen you can put it on the better...

[RecoveringYuppy]

Thanks. I'll pay you back with this link.

http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~moraes/illusion.html

[articulett]

Thanks. I'll pay you back with this link.

http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~moraes/illusion.html

I love that one...and it's easy to download. But I don't know how to download this one: http://www.johnsadowski.com/big_spanish_castle.php

And this is one of my favorites. I could probably make something in photoshop pretty similarly. You'd just take a color photo and amp up the saturation on the negative and then make a black and white copy... but I'm lazy.