Skepticism in the Classroom

[paddyrex]

The head at my daughter's school has asked me to talk to her staff about what constitutes critical thinking and why it's important. I've got some, hopefully, fun and informative of ways of illustrating this with them.
These are my first two:

1. Getting them to pick out their horoscope of the day before from 12 anonymised horoscopes. Leading on to discussing the Forer effect.

2. Getting them to design a clinical trial involving three types of cola. Leading on to discussion of the MMR situation.

I'd be interested in any suggestions from forum members of what I should include.

[catharine]

Wow sounds fun! What is the age group?

[paddyrex]

The school is a junior school, covering 7-11. The head wants me to talk to the staff though, not the kids. She wants to get them enthused on the subject so that they can build it into their practice. I want to amuse and challenge them so they don't feel patronised.

[Deleted]

Maybe you could get them to do a test similar to this?



I did this test (and created the video) at a conference I spoke at and it went down really well.

[trystan]

Paddyrex, if you don't mind me asking, is the headteacher keen for you to aim it at one part of the curriculum? Also, is it a community school or one that is faith aligned? I gave a talk at a Catholic private school last summer on the subject of skepticism and the evidence of life after death. It had an, umm, interesting response from the headteacher.

As for ideas, I never cease to be amazed how many children do not know the importance of a fair test in science. Likewise, they often never see how science at key stages one and two levels fits into their wider lives. They can do the test with guidance, write up the results and make the conclusion. But that is as far as it goes.

Good luck! Just don't mention God!!!!

[catharine]

Hi Paddy,

Dr Ben Goldacre’s book Bad Science includes a ‘theoretical’ experiment to demonstrate the pseudoscience of Aqua Detox footbaths, which apparently were promoted in the Telegraph, Mirror, Sunday Times, GQ mag and on other TV shows. Ben quotes one of the features which explains how it’s supposed to work:

“I place my feet in a bowl of water, while therapist Mirka pours salt drops in an ionising unit, which will adjust the bio-energetic field of the water and encourage my body to discharge toxins. The water changes colour as the toxins are released. After half an hour, the water’s turned red”.

Using an hypothetical experiment with a Barbie doll, Ben explains how the water in fact goes brown/reddish due to a very simple process of electrolysis; “iron electrodes rust, essentially, and the brown rust goes into the water”. Below is a diagram of the experiment:

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Theres a bit more to it than that, so if you want me to send you full details PM me. Otherwise the ideas you and others have suggested sound great.

[Mr. Jon Donnis]

I think you need to know the beliefs of the teachers.

You need to be very humble and as un-condescending as possible.

As long as you promote critical thinking and above all else simple common sense i think you will be fine.

[paddyrex]

Wow, so many great responses and suggestions. The head runs the school as secularly as she is able. Assemblies recognise that their are faiths but don't pander to them. She wants Teachers to encourage the kids in higher level thinking across the curriculum. I think that some of the ideas here are great and I may well use your vid Hayley. Many thanks all.

[paddyrex]

Catharine, I've got the Goldacre book and had totally forgotten that experiment. I've only got limited time so need to be selective. The school does run a special afternoon though where the kids do more creative studies for a block of 6 weeks. I taught sign language to a bunch of them for one block. Maybe I could compile a manual of possible experiments they could undertake and they could do a Myths Buster session.

[catharine]

Great idea (whether you include the Goldacre bit or not) - I love Mythbusters, and ususally there is congruence between what I like and what juveniles find amusing Good luck!