This lesson explores six criteria of science (Consistent, Observable, Natural, Predictable, Testable, and Tentative (CONPTT)), with definitions and self-check questions. It compares emerging science, non-science, and pseudoscience, with definitions and examples. The activity engages students in analyzing a collection of paragraphs to decide which category each fits into. Full description.

This lesson teaches students that scientific hypotheses are subject to being tested. A closed box is shown to the class. It can be seen that three wires run through the box lengthwise and three more run through it widthwise, creating a grid of six crossed wires. The class is told that there is a metal washer somewhere on one or two of the wires inside the box. The challenge is to propose a series ... Full description.

This lesson probes a discrepant event to help students become familiar with the process of science. A plastic bottle with three holes covered with tape is filled with water and capped. Students predict what may happen as the tape is removed from each hole in turn, and hypothesize about the cause of the observed results. Full description.

This lesson uses a discrepant event to pique curiosity and provide an excellent metaphor for a problem in science that can be addressed in a scientific way. Water is poured into a magic box, and out comes a much larger volume of water (or other liquid). Students will learn that science is uncertain because scientists can make more than one workable model to explain their observations. Full description.

This lesson teaches students that scientific knowledge is fundamentally uncertain. Students manipulate sealed mystery boxes and attempt to determine the inner structure of the boxes which contain a moving ball and a fixed barrier or two. The nature and sources of uncertainty inherent in the process of problem-solving are experienced. The uncertainty of the conclusions is reduced by student collaboration. ... Full description.

This lesson teaches students that interpretations of scientific data may be limited by the completeness of the data. The lesson is built around the poem by John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887): The Blind Men and the Elephant. Through small group activity and class discussions, the limiting influence of incomplete data and bias, along with the value of collaboration, are experienced. Full description.

In this lesson, students draw their perceptions of a typical scientist, evaluate stereotypes in their drawings quantitatively, and then discuss the origins of these stereotypes. The lesson objectives include considering that people like themselves can become scientists. Full description.

In this lesson, short deceptive problem stories are presented to the class and students are challenged to solve each problem by asking only yes/no questions. The key is for students to recognize: what the False Assumption is that makes the solution tricky; that many common problems are difficult to solve because we tend to assume a particular paradigm; and that science is a way to work around or through ... Full description.

This lesson simulates a crime scene for teams of students to solve, using clues received piecemeal, and adjusting their hypotheses as more clues are found and discussed. The elements of science are recognized through discussion of the crime solution metaphor. Full description.

In this lesson, each student team has an envelope containing a series of bank checks. A few are removed at a time, and the team attempts to construct a plausible scenario which involves those checks. With each subsequent removal of checks, appropriate revision of the scenario is done. Final scenarios are compared by the class. Class discussion is designed to show how human values and biases influence ... Full description.