Re: PHYS-L Digest - 4 Oct 1999 - Special issue

[Linda Meichle <LSMSPS@RITVAX.ISC.RIT.EDU>]

> I wonder what Albert would think of contemporary
> science fairs where "science demos" are banned, and the poor kids have to
> twist their presentation into hypothisis/experiment/result, rather than
> just replicating an odd phenomenon and then explaining how it works?
>
> Kids are always wanting to use the demos on SCIENCE HOBBYIST as science
> fair projects... but they have no idea of how to get them past their
> teachers who insist that the demos be bent and distorted to adhere to the
> mythical "Scientific Method" taught in grade school.
Worse yet... my small son, 5th grade, was memorizing the "scientific
method" for his science class in grade school.  He asked me to quiz him,
and with a sigh, I began.  To my horror, he corrected me:  I was doing it
wrong, because I wanted him to know the steps IN ORDER.  Sure enough, when
I read the instructions from his teacher ... they were supposed to learn
the names of the steps, and were SPECIFICALLY instructed NOT to memorize
them in order.

Thus we had  "Conclusion.. Gather Data... Hypothesis" and "Analyze
Results... Gather Data.. Propose Question" in this type of nonsense order.
I have forgotten, mercifully, the names of the 7 steps in her "scientific
method".  Her exam was, however, to give them a first letter and have them
remember the name of the step, NOT in order.  H means hypothesis, G means
gather data, etc.

- L. Meichle