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joycetheriot's picture

Science teaching Stories

In my opinion, science is a search for reasonable explanations to observable phenomena. Best explanations are founded on sound bodies of evidence and logical process. Others constantly test the explanations and may deliver one better. We use the best at the time for practical purposes. I tell my students that any one of them has the ability to find a better explanation as long as the evidence can be tested and survive. I would resist using the word “story” to my students. The word gives some suggestion of a lie. “This is my story and I’m sticking to it” is a favorite reason given by my students for some aberrant behavior. “Explanation” is a better word that I like to use because it conveys the idea that science is never finished and that we are all responsible for working at it. “Explanations” can be considered without first immediately thinking that this probably is a lie. Stories are often embellished to make them interesting. Though enjoyable, it’s not good science. Interesting stories are remembered over generations however whereas few people enjoy reading science. The merger of the two in education would be to wrap science content around an interesting story and have the students investigate to find the evidence and the embellishments.

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