Making Science Real

No. Just no.  When did we start teaching the “scientific method” to students? I think I remember learning it in maybe 8th grade, decades and decades ago. My subsequent years in research labs, however,  can verify that there is no one “scientific method.” 

What, then, should you teach students to do, for starters?

This. Data can be collected by students or can come from many sources. Students can analyze and write about the results using a straightforward method known as Claim-Evidence-Reasoning, or C-E-R. 

Here’s how that looks as students carry out and analyze an investigation:

1.  Students ask a question. The question is phrased so the answers are not Yes or No. The answer to this question,  after data are collected, will become the CLAIM.
2.  If students are to write an introduction or learn about the phenomenon they will investigate, they can examine some literature to get a background, and write about what they’ve learned.
3. If students are designing the investigation, they next develop a procedure to test the question. Be sure there is only ONE independent variable (the condition the students will change) and all other variables (conditions) are controlled (not changed,)
4. Students then carry out the investigation, collecting and recording detailed data. Measurements, colors, observations – not just yes, no, or checkmarks. These data will become their EVIDENCE.
5. The data likely will need to be organized into a chart, graph, or some other visual to find trends and become EVIDENCE.  
6. Based on the findings when organizing the data as evidence, students write  CLAIM – the answer to the question, The answer should be a short, sweet, summary of what students learned from their data. Example: Plants grow taller and have more leaves in warmer temperatures.
7.  Then, students will write about the EVIDENCE. They should NOT write “see the data table.” This is a summary of the data. An example description of data showing that plants grow taller and have more leaves when grown in warmer temperatures might be “Plants in 30 degree C temperatures grew an average of 5 cm taller than plants in a 22 degree C classroom.”
8. The REASONING brings together what students learned about plant growth Use what they learned in reading and writing about the background for the experiment to explain how the evidence supports the claim.