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Re: [Phys-l] Misuse/abuse of science assignment...



I teach a GenEd physics course for non-technical majors. I have given the research
projects in the past. These assignments were mostly to look for articles in peer-
reviewed journals. Often, they would submit references that included news stories,
congressional testimony, Wikipedia entries, and politcally-biased websites. Based on
my experience in these projects, I would be surprised if these kinds of students would
recognize abuse/misuse of science in articles. They tend to want to blindly accept
whatever they read, from whatever source. They cannot tell the difference between a
peer-reviewed primary source and the information you might find on any topic-
related website.

David Marx
Physics Department
Illinois State University

I am considering a short essay/research paper like assignment in which
students track down an abuse or misuse of science (most likely in the media,
but not necessarily). This would be for a general education, freshman-level
course.

In the interest of not reinventing the wheel I wanted to ask the member of
this list if they have done anything like this before. Is anyone willing to
share their assignment and experiences with it?

Thanks!

Jeff

--
Jeff Loats, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Physics
Fort Lewis College
650 Berndt Hall
970.247.7553
loats_j@fortlewis.edu
http://faculty.fortlewis.edu/loats_j/

"We are trying to prove ourselves wrong as quickly as possible, because only
in that way can we find progress."
- Richard Feynman
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