Re: "first form an hypothesis..."

["David J. Hamilton" <djhamil@TELEPORT.COM>]

crawford j maccallum writes:

> I agree with Leigh that what's apparently always taught in high school is
> way too rigid.  Surely we often plan an experiment to "see how this varies
> with that" or just to "mess around"

Let's not over-generalize.  There's almost nothing that is "always taught
in high school."  However, I agree that the norm is to teach "rules" of
scientific inquiry which are way too rigid. Interestingly, in my
professional development activities with science teachers, I often find
middle school teachers adhering more to the requirement of having a
hypothesis (which usually means a prediction).

Dave

David J. Hamilton, Ed.D.          *  And gladly woulde he learn,
Portland Public Schools           *  and gladly teche.
djhamil@teleport.com              *        - Chaucer