Unit 1.1: What is science and what do scientists do?

At the end of this module, students should be able to:

1. Distinguish between observations and interpretations
2. Identify different types of data and describe why they are useful
3. Make observations and interpretations using different data types

This activity is intended for use at the beginning of an introductory Earth Science course for college-level students. The activity could be used with any class size, and can be completed in approximately 60-75 minutes. Suggestions for shortening the lesson to 30-40 minutes are provided so that the lesson could be used on the first day of class, for example, after some of the class period is used to discuss course logistics.

Teaching Materials:

• Slides for guiding class activities: Unit 1.1 Slides (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 18.1MB Sep7 24)
• Homework assignment: Practice of Science Reflection Questions (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 1.7MB Sep10 24)

In class:

Part 1: Discussions about what science is and what scientists do (30 min)

• Students form small groups (turn to their neighbors) or work in pairs to discuss two questions (10 minutes):
  • What is science or what makes something science?
  • What do scientists do?
• Students are instructed to be prepared to discuss their ideas with the class and/or to enter their ideas in a word cloud (word cloud generators are available through free programs such as Mentimeter and through some polling software such as Poll Everywhere or iClicker)
• Each group shares an idea from their discussion of the first question and the instructor facilitates discussion, looking for opportunities to promote productive discourse. The discussion could be started by looking at a word cloud. (10 min)
• Each group shares an idea from their discussion of the second question and the instructor facilitates discussion. The discussion could be started by looking at a word cloud. (10 min)
• At the end of the discussion, if it has not already come up, the instructor can emphasize that science is for the good of society. The AGI Critical Needs document is helpful for highlighting many ways in which geoscience is important to society.

Part 2: Observations and interpretations (40 min)

• Students talk with a neighbor about the difference between observations and interpretations and then report their ideas to the class. A slide introduces definitions for observations, interpretations or inferences, and prior knowledge (5-10 min)
• Students practice making observations and interpretations with images, graphs, and maps in the class slides.
  • The slides start with a picture of a snowy outdoor scene. Students make two observations and two interpretations on their own, then share their ideas with a neighbor, and then a few groups report out to the whole class. The instructor should facilitate a discussion that helps students to distinguish observations from interpretations and to identify what prior knowledge led students to make their interpretations. For example, in the snow scene, there are tracks in the snow. One might interpret that those tracks were made by a cross country skier, but one would need prior knowledge to know what kinds of tracks are made by cross country skis. This process is repeated for a second photograph of a crowded indoor space (train station). (10 min)
  • Next, students make observations and interpretations of different types of data (x-y plots, time series, maps). For each data type, there are two slides, one of a general interest (non-geoscience) data set, and one with geoscience data. Students again make observations and interpretations from each dataset and also start to brainstorm questions that might be inspired by the dataset. These activities can be framed as a group discussion or as smaller group discussions followed by reporting out to the class and whole class discussion. (20 min)

Part 3: Exit Ticket (5 min)

• On an index card, students describe an example from their everyday life in which they made an observation and an interpretation

Homework Assignment:

All students read the Visionlearning article about the practice of science and answer Practice of Science Reflection Questions (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 3.2MB Aug12 24) about the reading.

Part 1: What is science discussion

This activity could be shortened to be about 10 minutes total by eliminating the small group discussions and having only a whole-class discussion (one could still use a word could generator) or by having small group discussions in which groups report their ideas only through a word cloud that is shared with the class and the whole-class discussion is removed or shortened.

If time allows, or depending on the instructor's goals, students could also be asked what Earth Science or Geoscience is and what Earth/geoscientists do.

Part 2: Observations vs. interpretations

To shorten the activity, instructors can decrease the number of example data sets that the students examine to make observations and interpretations.

To lengthen the activity, additional data examples could be included, or the data examples could be provided on a handout for students to look at in small groups and followed by a class discussion.

Instructors can customize the slides with different images or data sets to better suit their interests or the content of their course.

For online courses:

In a synchronous online course, student work in pairs or small groups could be facilitated through the use of breakout rooms.

In a fully online asynchronous course, students could share their place descriptions on a discussion board for peer feedback or questions.

LO 1: Distinguish between observations and interpretations

• Formative assessment through class discussions
• Summative assessment through evaluation of Exit Ticket responses

LO2: Identify different types of data and describe why they are useful

• Formative assessment through class discussions

LO3: Make observations and interpretations using different data types

• Formative assessment through class discussions

Carpi, A., & Egger, A.E. (2008). Comparison in Scientific Research, Visionlearning, Vol. POS-1 (5). https://www.visionlearning.com/en/library/Process-of-Science/49/Comparison-in-Scientific-Research/152

Carpi, A., & Egger, A.E. (2008). Experimentation in Scientific Research, Visionlearning, Vol. POS-2 (1). https://www.visionlearning.com/en/library/Process-of-Science/49/Experimentation-in-Scientific-Research/150

Carpi, A., & Egger, A.E. (2008). The Practice of Science, Visionlearning, Vol. POS-2 (1).
https://www.visionlearning.com/en/library/Process-of-Science/49/The-Practice-of-Science/148

Egger, A.E., & Carpi, A. (2008) Description in Scientific Research, Visionlearning, Vol. POS-2 (1). https://www.visionlearning.com/en/library/Process-of-Science/49/Description-in-Scientific-Research/151

Egger, A.E., & Carpi, A. (2008) Modeling in Scientific Research, Visionlearning, Vol. POS-2 (1). https://www.visionlearning.com/en/library/Process-of-Science/49/Modeling-in-Scientific-Research/153

Nyman, M., & St. Clair, T. (2016). A Geometric model to teach nature of science, science practices, and metacognition. Journal of College Science Teaching, 45(5)