Instructify

Whenever I hear of a new study connecting something terrible to something we used to think was safe, I think of the Wizard of Oz. Even after Dorothy reveals that old Oz is a fraud, he insists that she “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.” Though our imaginations may be eager to accept the latest hypothesis as scientific fact, we don’t always have the means to look behind the curtain for proof.

Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know? deals with the role evidence plays in establishing scientific truth. In the words of the site’s creators at the Exploratorium Museum, “this project uses case studies to examine how scientists construct a functional understanding of the world by gathering, assessing, and making use of scientific evidence.” The featured case study explores questions about human origins through a series of interviews with anthropologists and other scientists. The lesson begins with a comparison between humans and their primate relatives and ends with a discussion of what we can learn from mankind’s fossil record.

My favorite part of the site is called Can You Believe It? It’s a list of seven questions to ask about any scientific claim, which not only apply to the information found in the case study on human origins, but which can also be used to analyze and assess any science-based article. Best of all, you’re given the option to view the current day’s science headlines, allowing students and teachers alike to scan for evidence to decide for themselves if the latest discovery is science fact or science fiction. –JIMI RADABAUGH

Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?

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