Unit 1: Science as a Way of Learning

Objectives and benchmarks

A.  Define and properly use the terms hypothesis, law, theory, observation, experiment, evidence, and prediction.

• Differentiate between the everyday and scientific usage of the word “theory.”
• Compare and contrast the scientific meanings of “hypothesis, “law”, and “theory.”
• Make a concept map including these terms and others as appropriate.
• Explain the concept “testable prediction.”

B.  Describe how scientific knowledge is generated and refined.

• Explain the role of creativity in science.
• Explain the role of debate and disagreement within the scientific community.
• Identify benefits and drawbacks of peer review.
• Provide some reasons why a scientist would undertake an investigation.
• Describe the “tentative” or “provisional” nature of scientific truth.
• Describe the nature of scientific “proof” or “disproof” of an idea.

C.  Evaluate if an approach to obtaining an explanation is scientific.

• Identify if an explanation makes testable predictions.
• Identify if practitioners explore weak and uncharted areas of prominent theories.
• Identify if practitioners evaluate theories against evidence.
• Identify if practitioners own up to gaps, inconsistencies, and unknowns in their explanations.

D.  Employ a scientific approach to explain a process.

• Make specific, detailed observations of an object of study.
• Ask questions about an observed process.
• Propose explanations to account for observed phenomena.
• Figure out the observable implications of an explanation.
• Figure out observable points of difference between different explanations’ predictions.
• Propose an investigation to obtain new information predicted by a novel explanation or where different explanations disagree or where data are insufficient to make a prediction.
• Gather evidence to test an explanation.
• Evaluate if a proposed explanation is consistent with known phenomena.
• Accept, reject, or modify explanations based on evidence.