"Just a Theory": 7 Misused Science Words

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=just-a-theory-7-misused-science-words  

"Just a Theory": 7 Misused Science Words From "significant" to "natural," here are seven scientific terms that can prove troublesome for the public and across research disciplines.

1. Hypothesis
The general public so widely misuses the words hypothesis, theory and law that scientists should stop using these terms, writes physicist Rhett Allain of Southeastern Louisiana University, in a blog post on Wired Science. [Amazing Science: 25 Fun Facts]

2. Just a theory?
Climate-change deniers and creationists have deployed the word "theory" to cast doubt on climate change and evolution.

3. Model
However, theory isn't the only science phrase that causes trouble. Even Allain's preferred term to replace hypothesis, theory and law -- "model" -- has its troubles. The word not only refers to toy cars and runway walkers, but also means different things in different scientific fields. A climate model is very different from a mathematical model, for instance.

 4. Skeptic
When people don't accept human-caused climate change, the media often describes those individuals as "climate skeptics."

5. Nature vs. nurture
The phrase "nature versus nurture" also gives scientists a headache, because it radically simplifies a very complicated process, said Dan Kruger, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Michigan.

6. Significant
Another word that sets scientists' teeth on edge is "significant."
"That's a huge weasel word. Does it mean statistically significant, or does it mean important?" said Michael O'Brien, the dean of the College of Arts and Science at the University of Missouri.
In statistics, something is significant if a difference is unlikely to be due to random chance. But that may not translate into a meaningful difference, in, say, headache symptoms or IQ.

7. Natural
"Natural" is another bugaboo for scientists. The term has become synonymous with being virtuous, healthy or good. But not everything artificial is unhealthy, and not everything that's natural is good for you.

Science instruction should be designed to engage students in making and using models

http://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/models/Usefulness.html

 

 "Scientific practice involves the construction, validation and application of scientific models, so science instruction should be designed to engage students in making and using models."

 

In addition:

• Models provide an environment for interactive student engagement. Evidence from science education research shows that significant learning gains are achieved when students participate in interactive engagement activities. Thus, it is important that the learning environment/activity created around a model provide an interactive engagement experience.

• Working with models can enhance systems thinking abilities
• Models and model development are useful for helping students learn quantitative skills such as graphing, graphical analysis, and visualization; statistics; computational skills, mathematics,
  
• Many models allow one to perform sensitivity studies to assess how changes in key system variables alter the system's dynamic behavior. Such sensitivity studies can help one identify leverage points of a system to either help one affect a desire change with a minimum effort or to help estimate the risks or benefits associated with proposed or accidental changes in a system.
• Earth System Models such as those at Earth-System Models of Intermediate Complexity (more info) allow us to perform experiments related to the Earth System without altering and potentially harming the actual Earth. Many experiments, like understanding the future effects of atmospheric carbon dioxide increase, are taking place in the actual Earth System today but the results of these will not be know for 50 to 100 years. An Earth System model can run several such simulations using different assumptions in a matter of hours to days. The same is true for most models.
• The knowledge gained while using models and the understanding of model development and implementation are transferable to other disciplines related to the Earth system.

 

In MSED 252, Earth Science, Students are using M & Ms to model the earth.