1. Mentor Teacher Workshop July 15 – 17, 2009
Professional Learning Community Model for Entry into Teaching Science The Nature of Science
Mentor Teacher Workshop
July 15 – 17, 2009

2. Part 1: Interpreting (or Misinterpreting) the Nature of Science
How can you help novice teachers portray science in September and throughout the year?
Let’s do some investigating…

3. Yes or No? Science is a collection of facts _______
Science is complete ____
There is a simple scientific method ___
Science is analytical and not creative __
Scientific reasoning is either deductive or inductive ____
Without an experiment, a scientific study cannot be rigorous ________

4. No or Yes? Hard sciences are more rigorous than soft sciences_____
Scientific ideas are absolute and unchanging______
Because scientific ideas are tentative and subject to change, they can’t be trusted__
Scientists’ ideas are judged democratically based on popularity______

5. Yes or No?
Scientists’ observations directly tell them how things work (i.e. knowledge is “read off” nature, not built)__________
Science proves ideas_______
Science can only disprove ideas_______
If evidence supports a hypothesis, it is upgraded to a theory. If the theory then garners even more support, it may be upgraded to a law________
The job of a scientist is to find support for his or her hypotheses_________

6. Yes or No?
Scientists are judged on the basis of how many correct hypotheses they propose (i.e. good scientists are the ones who are “right” most often)_______
Investigations that don’t reach a firm conclusion are useless and unpublishable____
Scientists are completely objective-evaluating ideas/evidence_______
Science is pure. Scientists work without considering the application of their ideas____

7. Critical Science Language
Fact
Law
Observation
Hypothesis
Theory
Falsifiable
Uncertainty
Error
Prediction
Belief