Azure Jane Lunatic (Azz) 🌺 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
azurelunatic) wrote2012-02-07 01:14 pm
azurelunatic) wrote2012-02-07 01:14 pm
Being Wrong
From one of my infrequent Facebook comments.
I have long thought that there should be a 3rd-grade-ish class on Being Wrong.
My vague lesson plan for it involves giving students outdated literature, having them read it, and having them summarize it to the class. After all of them have done this, the new material on the same subject is introduced, with a "What you just looked at was the pinnacle of scientific knowledge from $DATE. Since then, the following has been discovered: ___" - with the idea that if you are given incorrect or incomplete information, this is Not Your Fault, but one of the first steps after trying to understand something is seeing if there's any more recent information that changes things. And that it takes a while for new information to get spread around. Perhaps with a game involving human-to-human transmission of information, with information represented by marbles or something.
The aim of the lesson would be to help the students lessen their ego-involvement with being found wrong, encourage them with pride in productive effort, and reward them for searching for updated information.
I have long thought that there should be a 3rd-grade-ish class on Being Wrong.
My vague lesson plan for it involves giving students outdated literature, having them read it, and having them summarize it to the class. After all of them have done this, the new material on the same subject is introduced, with a "What you just looked at was the pinnacle of scientific knowledge from $DATE. Since then, the following has been discovered: ___" - with the idea that if you are given incorrect or incomplete information, this is Not Your Fault, but one of the first steps after trying to understand something is seeing if there's any more recent information that changes things. And that it takes a while for new information to get spread around. Perhaps with a game involving human-to-human transmission of information, with information represented by marbles or something.
The aim of the lesson would be to help the students lessen their ego-involvement with being found wrong, encourage them with pride in productive effort, and reward them for searching for updated information.
no subject
So I honestly don't imagine teaching it earlier would change anything.
Teaching it differently, however... Which is why I think your class is a good idea, as the living process of research and the changing understanding of concepts in science is really fun. I *got* it once I started working in a research lab at the age of 19. But not before then.