Think Like a Scientist (Middle school, one semester class with optional labs)

"The first rule of science is not to fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool." Science literacy is critical in the modern world. Science-literate citizens can spot scams and fake news, avoid dangerous health advice, and are better able to solve problems in daily life.

In Think Like a Scientist we learn good science practices by examining BAD SCIENCE. Through humorous and horrifying examples, students develop an intuitive understanding of how the scientific method works.

You probably know about the scientific method, but there’s more to it than going through a list of steps. Researchers are only human, with human brains, and it turns out that even the smartest human brains can make pretty disastrous mistakes! In this class we look at how science works -- and how it doesn’t.

Each week we will spot a different type of error that led to flawed experiments, spoiled results, misleading data, moral corruption, or even total nuclear meltdown. Then we’ll figure out where the researchers went wrong and what they should do next time to guard against this kind of mistake.