The basis of belief

1
The basis of belief

• A primary goal of many science educators is to
  help students learn to base beliefs (and the
  claims they make that correspond to those
  beliefs) on quantitative information.
• There are several skills that students must
  possess in order to achieve this goal.
• In this session, a lesson on global warming that
  incorporates many of these skills will be
  presented.

2
Session Outline

• Big picture goal (5 minutes)
• Break down the goal into more manageable
  objectives (5 minutes)
• Explanation of lesson structure to teach the
  objectives (5 minutes)
• Explanation of example activity (10 minutes)
• Perform example activity (25 minutes)
• Discussion on answers for activity (10 minutes)
• Discussion and feedback on implementing an
  activity with this structure (15 minutes)

3
Big Picture Goal

• Make students more knowledgeable.
• For students to become more knowledgeable, they
  must be able to acquire knowledge.
• Knowledge defined as justified true belief.
• Everyone holds some unjustified beliefs.
• Beliefs in some areas are impossible to justify.
• Make students learn to base their beliefs on
  information that justifies those beliefs (when
  possible) so they can acquire knowledge.
• Why justify beliefs?
• When we teach what we know, should we include how
  we know it?
• What qualifies as adequate justification?

4
Analyzing the goal

• Students will learn to hold justified beliefs.
• Skills are required to decide what information
  provides adequate justification for a belief.
• Interpret information
• Evaluate the relevancy/significance of
  information
• Evaluate the reliability/accuracy of information
• Source of information (credentials, biases)
• Type of information (quantitative, anecdotal)
• Determine what level of confidence is needed to
  regard information as true/ to believe it.

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Example

• Belief People almost always have two eyes
• Justification 1 Dogs almost always have four
  legs
• Justification 2 999 out of the 1000 dogs I
  observed had 4 legs
• Justification 3 Billy told me that people almost
  always have two eyes
• Justification 4 Almost all the people that I
  have seen have had two eyes
• Justification 5 99,999 out of 100,000 people I
  observed had two eyes.

6
Objectives relate to many standards

• GLCE on science inquiry process, analysis, and
  reflection standards
• S.IP.06.16 Identify patterns in data.
• S.IA.06.11 Analyze information from data tables
  and graphs to answer scientific questions.
• S.IA.06.15 Use multiple sources of information to
  evaluate strengths and weaknesses of claims,
  arguments, or data.
• S.RS.06.11 Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses
  of claims, arguments, and data.
• S.RS.06.12 Describe limitations in personal and
  scientific knowledge.
• S.RS.06.13 Identify the need for evidence in
  making scientific decisions.
• S.RS.06.14 Evaluate scientific explanations based
  on current evidence and scientific principles.

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Objectives relate to many standards

• HSCE science inquiry and reflection standards
• B1.1g Use empirical evidence to explain and
  critique the reasoning used to draw a scientific
  conclusion or explanation.
• B1.2A Critique whether or not specific questions
  can be answered through scientific
  investigations.
• B1.2B Identify and critique arguments about
  personal or societal issues based on scientific
  evidence.
• B1.2C Develop an understanding of a scientific
  concept by accessing information from multiple
  sources. Evaluate the scientific accuracy and
  significance of the information.

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Lesson Structure

• Take backward design approach to lesson
• Goals Assessment Instruction
• Use an active learning instructional technique
• Problem solving, discussion, think-pair-share,
  etc
• http//serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/gallerywalk/acti
  ve.html
• http//serc.carleton.edu/sp/library/index.html
• Can integrate scientific inquiry and reflection
  goals into lessons that cover content standards.
• Provide background information to students on the
  concept that they need to complete activity.

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Lesson Structure

• Explain an issue
• Present two or more competing claims with
  supporting information that deals with a
  specific aspect of that issue.
• Students perform a task that involves
• Interpreting and evaluating information.
• Deciding to support one of the claims based only
  on the information that was provided to justify
  each claim.
• Explaining what additional information would be
  needed for them to fully believe the claim they
  supported.
• What information would be needed for them to
  believe the claim they refuted

10
Session Outline

• Big picture goal (5 minutes)
• Break down the goal into more manageable
  objectives (5 minutes)
• Explanation of lesson structure to teach the
  objectives (5 minutes)
• Explanation of example activity (10 minutes)
• Perform example activity (25 minutes)
• Discussion on answers for activity (10 minutes)
• Discussion and feedback on implementing an
  activity with this structure (15 minutes)

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Example with Global Warming

• GLCE standards that could be covered
• P.EN.06.41 Explain how different forms of energy
  can be transferred from one place to another by
  radiation, conduction, or convection.
• L.EC.06.41 Describe how human beings are part of
  the ecosystem of the Earth and that human
  activity can purposefully, or accidentally, alter
  the balance in ecosystems.
• P.EN.07.62 Explain how only a tiny fraction of
  light energy from the sun is transformed to heat
  energy on Earth.
• E.ES.07.12 Describe the relationship between the
  warming of the atmosphere of the Earth by the sun
  and convection within the atmosphere and oceans.
• E.ES.07.13 Describe how the warming of the Earth
  by the sun produces winds and ocean currents.
• E.ES.07.42 Describe the origins of pollution in
  the atmosphere, geosphere, and hydrosphere, (car
  exhaust, industrial emissions, acid rain, and
  natural sources), and how pollution impacts
  habitats, climatic change, threatens or endangers
  species.
• E.ES.07.72 Describe how different weather occurs
  due to the constant motion of the atmosphere from
  the energy of the sun reaching the surface of the
  Earth.

12
Example with Global Warming

• HSCE standards that could be covered
• E5.4A Explain the natural mechanism of the
  greenhouse effect, including comparisons of the
  major greenhouse gases (water vapor, carbon
  dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone).
• E5.4C Analyze the empirical relationship between
  the emissions of carbon dioxide, atmospheric
  carbon dioxide levels, and the average global
  temperature over the past 150 years.
• E5.4D Based on evidence of observable changes in
  recent history and climate change models, explain
  the consequences of warmer oceans (including the
  results of increased evaporation, shoreline and
  estuarine impacts, oceanic algae growth, and
  coral bleaching) and changing climatic zones
  (including the adaptive capacity of the
  biosphere).
• E5.4g Compare and contrast the heat-trapping
  mechanisms of the major greenhouse gases
  resulting from emissions (carbon dioxide,
  methane, nitrous oxide, fluorocarbons) as well as
  their abundance and heat- trapping capacity
• B3.4C Examine the negative impact of human
  activities.
• B3.4d Describe the greenhouse effect and list
  possible causes.
• B3.4e List the possible causes and consequences
  of global warming.

13
Example with Global Warming

• A contentious debate exists surrounding the
  earth's climate since the industrial revolution.
• Some people believe the earth has been warming.
• Solar radiation powers the earth's climate
  system.

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• The radiation balance of the earth could change
  due to the
• Amount of incoming solar radiation (by changes in
  Earths orbit or in the Sun)
• Fraction of solar radiation that gets reflected
  instead of absorbed (by changes in cloud cover or
  atmospheric particles)
• Amount of thermal radiation sent from Earth back
  towards space (by changing greenhouse gas
  concentrations).
• People have made claims for each of these as the
  cause of global warming.

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Claims

1. Global warming has not occurred since the time of
   the industrial revolution.
2. The main cause of global warming from the time of
   the industrial revolution to the present has been
   natural changes in the amount of solar radiance
   from solar flares and the amount of aerosols in
   the atmosphere from volcanic eruptions.
3. The main cause of global warming from the
   industrial revolution to the present has been an
   increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
   during that time.

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Activity

• Consider three claims regarding global warming.
• Examine information as it relates to these
  claims, which includes
• Interpreting the information
• Evaluating the relevancy of the information
• Evaluating the reliability of the information
• Decide which claim to support based on the given
  information.
• Determine what additional information is needed
  (if any) to convince you to believe that claim.
• Class discussion at conclusion of activity

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Session Outline

• Big picture goal (5 minutes)
• Break down the goal into more manageable
  objectives (5 minutes)
• Explanation of lesson structure to teach the
  objectives (5 minutes)
• Explanation of example activity (10 minutes)
• Perform example activity (25 minutes)
• Discussion on answers for activity (10 minutes)
• Discussion and feedback on implementing an
  activity with this structure (15 minutes)

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Implementing this activity into the classroom

• Is this type of activity useful in your
  classroom?
• What general content areas could you apply this
  format to?
• How much time should the activity take up for it
  to be most useful?
• Detailed activity to be covered over multiple
  classes or quick activity similar to the Data
  Nugget format?
• What is appropriate for each grade level?

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Complexity of the task

• Easiest One piece of information is supplied to
  support each claim. The info is easily
  interpretable. One claim is clearly supported by
  the information provided with it while the
  information provided with the other claim does
  not relate to the claim at all. The reliability
  of the information is not in question.
• Mid-level Two pieces of info are presented.
  Students decide which piece of info supports
  which claim. The info is fairly easy to
  interpret. The relevancy of the information as it
  relates to the claims is easily distinguished.
  The reliability of the information is not in
  question.
• Hardest Several competing claims are provided.
  Students must interpret information that is quite
  complex. Some of the information will be
  directly relevant to a specific claim, some will
  be somewhat useful to one or more claims, and
  some will be irrelevant. The information will
  vary in its reliability. Students will have to
  support a claim based on the given information
  and determine how confident they are that the
  claim is true. Students must offer additional
  information that could totally convince them to
  believe the claim and explain why it would
  convince them.