1. Biology
Mr. Baker
Room 131A

2. Some Quick Rules
NO food or drink (except water in a closable container)
Be respectful
Clean up after yourselves!!!
Don’t write on the tables unless asked to do so
“No” cell phones

3. What this course is (and not) about
It’s NOT about memorizing facts (although you will memorize some)
It IS about you: thinking, participating, taking risks, collaborating, asking questions
It will be challenging

4. Your preparation for the Real World is not in the answers you’ve learned, but in the questions you’ve learned how to ask yourself - Rainer Maria Milke

5. What this course is (and not) about
You will need a binder and a notebook
I will give you an Objective Sheet for each unit
Test and quizzes are based on objectives
Our units DO NOT follow the book’s units

6. ½ Sheet of Paper Name (nickname) What Middle School?
What you would like to learn this year
What you think you want to do in life
What you like to do in your free time
Best/neatest/coolest experience so far

7. Take a ‘quick’ walk around the room… OBSERVE
Observations are different that “just looking around”!!!!

8. Observations?

10. Mike Wifall (Flickr)

11. Okay, time to ‘Science’
What IS science? Not a ‘book’ definition, what is it to YOU?
How do you ‘KNOW’ things? Ways of knowing?

12. Take out your
homework

13. Ways of Knowing Empirical Knowledge – YOU saw, touched, DID, etc.
Repeatedly established by others?
Reasoned argument?
Some bald guy in front of the room said so?

14. Right Now…
Read!!!!!!!! Pages 4-9
Why is “the scientific method” important?
How does one generate a hypothesis?
Give an example of how YOU used scientific methodology in the past week

15. Questions?

16. Main points of Sci Methodology
Hypothesis –
Null Hypothesis
Explanatory Variable (“Independent” Var.)
Response Variable (“Dependent” Var.)
“Controls”

17. Main points of Sci Methodology
Hypothesis –
Plausible Explanation for your observation
Contains a “mechanism” for how the system works

18. Main points of Sci Methodology
Null Hypothesis
What you’re “really” testing
You try to disprove your null hypothesis

19. Main points of Sci Methodology
Explanatory Variable (“Independent” Var.)
What you manipulate to test your null hypothesis
Response Variable (“Dependent” Var.)
How you measure the response to the explanatory variable

20. Main points of Sci Methodology
“Controls”
Additional experimental set ups that remove the effect of potential variation
You may have multiple controls

21. Your turn
5 min – come up with an idea (observation) you would like to test
Develop a hypothesis
Design the test (variables, control(s), WHAT will you measure?)

22. Your turn
5 min – come up with an idea (observation) you would like to test
Develop a hypothesis
Criterion
Accomplished
10 Pts
Sufficient
7 pts
Developing
4 pts
Minimal
0 pts
Formulation
Hypothesis is testable as formulated (question is answerable); null included
Hypothesis lacking testable components or null not included
Not testable
Mechanism
Hypothesis demonstrated plausible understanding of how the system might work
Hypothesis demonstrated some understanding of how the system might work
No/little understanding of the system
No mechanism included

23. Criterion
Accomplished
10 pts
Sufficient
7 pts
Developing
4 pts
Minimal
0 pts
Formulation
Hypothesis is testable as formulated (question is answerable) ; null included
Hypothesis lacking testable components or null not included
Not testable
Mechanism
Hypothesis demonstrated plausible understanding of how the system might work
Hypothesis demonstrated some understanding of how the system might work
No/little understanding of the system
No mechanism included
Variables
Variables allowed for measurable results that could reject a null
Variable(s) would not allow for rejection of null
Variables not included
Design
Design follows hyp; demonstrates mastery of design (control, sample size, etc.
Design follows hyp; demonstrates some understanding of design
Design might follow hyp, or shows limited understanding of design
Design doesn’t follow hyp and shows no understanding of design

24. Homework Finish writing out hypothesis, variables and design
Bring it in with you tomorrow