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Lesson Plan: Pseudoscience Activity: A Study in the Scientific Method
Subject: Technology / Scientific Method
Classtime: Total: 5 class periods (50 minutes in length)
Grade Level: 11-12

Materials/Technology:

  • computer with Internet access
  • various materials for final presentation (see procedure)

Safety, Handling, Disposal:

Close supervision is strongly recommended when students are conducting searches on the Internet. Inappropriate sites are easy to access either by mistake or on purpose.

Due to the nature of this particular lesson, it is important for the teacher to preview the sites. Since this activity has students looking at pseudoscience sites, it is important to see if there are any personal, school district or local concerns in having students study such pseudoscience sites. This activity does not in any way try to tell the students that any of these sites are true or false or to be believed or not. The student is simply asked to apply the scientific method of proof to one of these topics.

Learner Outcomes:
Students should be able to:

  • Develop abilities necessary to understand and do scientific inquiry.
  • Look at issues critically.
  • Identify questions that can be answered through scientific investigations.
  • Design and conduct a scientific investigation.
  • Use appropriate tools and techniques to gather, analyze, and interpret data.
  • Develop descriptions, explanations, predictions, and models using evidence.
  • Think critically and logically to make the relationships between evidence and explanations.
  • Recognize and analyze alternative explanations and predictions.
  • Communicate scientific procedures and explanations.

Problem/Purpose:
The purpose of this activity is to give students the tools for studying pseudoscience topics critically. After doing some investigating, each student should be able to analyze the information available and develop a presentation. The presentation should address the questions stated under analysis.

Background/Inquiry:

Notes from the author:

With the onslaught of pseudoscience in the media and television programs like "The X-Files" or "Terra X", it is important to reinforce the nature of science in order to distinguish between science fact and science fiction. Students need the skills to differentiate between real science, pseudoscience and science fiction in order to question the validity of information presented within their environment. In this activity, explorations of pseudoscience topics will involve using the scientific method to question the validity of the topic and information found. This activity attempts to foster positive skepticism and creative thinking when looking at pseudoscience.

If statements or ideas cannot be tested using the scientific method, they cannot be considered credible science and must be taken as science fiction or opinion. As students explore the information about their chosen pseudoscience topic, they should keep the scientific method in mind and ask themselves if the information is scientifically reliable.

The steps of the scientific method need the following ingredients:

  1. Identifying a question or problem.
  2. Collect information, observation, research.
  3. Form a hypothesis to explain observations.
  4. Experiment and collect data.
  5. Analyze results.
  6. Draw a conclusion.

*Note: Different scientists and situations will dictate the order in which some steps are taken.

Some of the pseudoscience topics listed below lend themselves to more "credible" Internet sites than others. For example, students may be able to find more educational sites with links to Atlantis and UFO´s than topics such as the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot. It is difficult to find any educational sites dealing with topics such as these. A few sites, such as one for Healing Touch, give opposing views on the topic.

"The Scientific American Frontiers" (Show #802) that ran on PBS November, 1997 discusses the following pseudoscience topics: Dowsing, Graphology, Astrology, Roswell 1947, Perpetual Motion Machine, and Therapeutic Touch. The Internet site accompanying this program is full of applicable activities and good, credible information. Listed are examples of Internet sites for each topic. These are suggested as possible places to begin, not as the only, or most credible sites available.

The Lesson:

Prior to presenting this project the class will do several activities to review the steps involved in the scientific method. The following is an example.

Females have a lower center of gravity than males.

Design an experiment to test this statement:

Have a student stand facing a wall or closed door. The student should step back from the wall three full lengths of his or her own feet. Placing both feet together, the student should then lean forward until the top of his or her head is against the wall or door. The teacher places a chair between the student and the wall. The student tries to pick up the chair (both hands on the chair) and then stand up while holding the chair. Have each student in the class attempt this exercise and keep a tally of the number of females and males that could and could not stand up with the chair. People with a lower center of gravity should be able to pick up the chair.

What were the results?

Was this a statistically reliable number of trials to make a conclusion?

What could be done to test your conclusion?

Are there any variables that need to be changed to test the validity of the conclusion?

Does the size of the chair make a difference?

Does the angle of the student's body make a difference?

Is there another experimental design you could use to test this same statement?

Is this statement supported by research from other scientists?

Vocabulary List: Here.

Hypothesis:
Example: When analyzed, the explanation for missing people and planes in the Bermuda Triangle will prove to be pseudoscience and not the scientific method.

Procedure:

  1. Choose one of the following pseudoscience topics:

    2. UFO site1        Astrology Dowsing site 2
    UFO site 2 Healing Touch Palm Reading
    Loch Ness Monster Bigfoot Bermuda Triangle
    Atlantis, the Lost City Bigfoot2 Area 51, Roswell, New Mexico, 1947
    Graphology Dowsing site 1

  2. Collect information on your topic.

    3. Additional Internet Sites:

    Philadelphia Association for Critical Thinking, examining paranormal claims from a scientific point of view.

    Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, Skeptical Inquirer.

    Ufomind.

    Susan Stepney's links to pseudoscience.

    a. The information needs to be organized using note cards.

    b. The information should include:

    1) general information

    2) resources documented

    3) evidence given

Results/Analysis:

  1. Why do people believe in this topic?
  2. What, if any, scientific evidence is there to support this topic?
  3. What supportive scientific evidence is missing?
  4. What steps of the scientific method need to be completed to give credibility to this topic?
  5. What questions remain unanswered?
  6. As a result of your investigation, what are your thoughts on the validity of this topic?

Conclusions:

Presentation: Choose one of the following formats to present the information you have gathered about your topic. Presentations with formats a through g should incorporate the five analysis questions a through e given above.

  1. Video clip. Maximum time 10 minutes. The video format could be presented either as a special news report or talk show.
  2. Bulletin Board. Design an informational bulletin board covering your topic.
  3. Newspaper page. Design a newspaper page giving several different articles about your topic. At least one of the articles needs to point out the weaknesses in your topic.
  4. Comic strip. Design an informative comic strip. (The comic strip could be used as part of the newspaper page format.)
  5. Power Point. Design a computer presentation using Power Point.
  6. Board Game. Construct an informative board game.
  7. Format of Your Own Design. This should be approved by the teacher before beginning.
  8. Experiment. Design and implement an experiment to test the validity of claims made about your topic. Write up the experiment giving steps followed, data, and conclusion. This format will work best with topics such as Astrology, Dowsing, Graphology, and Healing Touch.

Assessments: (if included)

Evaluation:

The following criteria will be used to evaluate the research:

  1. References documented.
  2. Adequate number of sources used.
  3. Completion of Analysis questions.

The following criteria will be used to evaluate presentations a through g:

  1. Analysis questions addressed.
  2. Creativity.
  3. Time and Effort.

The following criteria will be used to evaluate the experiment format (h):

  1. Scientific method clearly followed.
  2. Variables controlled.
  3. Conclusion is valid.

Integration: (if included)

Reflections:

Share your thoughts on this lesson with the NTEN team.

Please send an e-mail to Patti Harrison.

Extensions: (if included)

References/Resources: (if included)

Credits
Contributing Teacher: Renée Rose
NTEN Course: Internet-Based K-14 Earth Systems Science Instruction
Instructor: Jerry Nelson
Assistant Instructor: Bill Ochs
Developing Team:
T.L. Buck Buchanan, Cathy Hensel, Patti Harrison, John Usher, Don Wilson
HTML Programmers: Christy Cousineau, John Usher, Ching-Kwong Chia

Copyright © 1998 - 2002, National Teachers Enhancement Network
Comments: pattih@montana.edu

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