Photo © M. Hettwer
Science stories in the news – especially
stories about dinosaurs - are a terrific opportunity to
help students practice critical questioning skills. Often
press and news stories focus on how the discovery is the “biggest,” “baddest,” “fastest,” “meanest,” etc.
These attributes may be exaggerated; they may not even
be based on scientific evidence. Students can learn to
ask critical questions about the stories they read in the
paper or online by beginning with a basic question: “What
is X based on?” (Show me the evidence!) Getting
past the “biggest” and the “baddest” to
the science in the story (or the lack of it) will take
some practice.
Sample Questions to Pose to Media Stories about
Dinosaurs and Other Discoveries
What was actually found?
- Isolated bones? A partial disarticulated skeleton?
One individual? Evidence of more than one individual?
A bone bed? Sometimes a story about a big discovery doesn’t
even identify what the discovery consisted of!
What is the interpretation based on?
- What evidence is the scientist basing their interpretation
on? Is it related to what they found specifically? Is
it related to analogies in the living animal world? What
evidence are they using to connect the living and fossil
world?
Is the article about a discovery? Fieldwork? An
announcement or publication in a scientific journal?
- There are big differences between a publication
in a scientific journal and a press story. Publication
in a scientific journal usually requires a peer review
process prior to publication. Announcing a discovery
without publication in a scientific journal may mean
that there has not been a chance for other scientists
to review the findings, ask important questions, or critique
the interpretations.
Critical Thinking Is A Skill That Can Be Developed
With Practice. Here Are Some Ways To
Help Students Learn – And Practice – Questioning
Skills:
- Give students TIME to observe and
practice observation with note taking.
- Encourage students to describe what they see
with as many specific details as possible. Being
able to give a detailed description should become a habit.
Encourage students to “be as specific as they
can", use the “best words” they
can, make comparisons to thingswith witch they are familiar, come
up with an analogy. Encourage the students who are listening
to someone offering a description to ask for more information – and
to learn to specifically compliment “effective
descriptions” - that is, compliment descriptions
that help others see and observe what the student notices
- Ask students to literally “show you” where
their idea (or the detail they’re bringing attention
to) came from - have them point to it, draw
it, underline the specific words in the text. Ask, “What
is that idea based on?” “Where is your evidence
for that idea, specifically?”
- Be attentive to your own questions: broad
questions let students explore and choose for themselves;
specific questions will cue them to understand there is
something particular you want them to focus on. Decide
beforehand what your goals are when you are asking questions
- Help students to see that whatever they are studying
fits into a larger context; encourage them to
ask questions about how things are connected; practice
brainstorming connections between things that might not
seem connected at all.
Need An Article To Get Started? Try This One:
“Dinosaurs Hunted in Packs” http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1036004.stm
Begin by asking students to circle all the adjectives. What
do they notice about the words they circled? Are these
descriptive words actually referring to something scientific? What
evidence has actually been found in this piece?
Want to explore more about media literacy? Visit http://www.pbs.org/teachers/media_lit/
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