SkepticalScience.com Educates My Students
I teach MET295 – Global Climate Change to first and second year community college students. MET295 is a three credit lecture course that serves as a science elective for the general student population. Basic high school algebra is the only prerequisite. (See the course outline.)
I used John Cook’s SkepticalScience.com as the student resource for this semester’s research papers. As you will see from the four example papers highlighted on this blog, information found at SkepticalScience.com is accessible to the typical college student and likely to the general public.
The assignment:
Each student was randomly assigned a topic from Skeptic Arguments & What The Science Says.
Students were asked to carefully study all the information appearing in the Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced tabs.
Students were required to summarize, in their own words, the information learned from researching the topic. Students were also encouraged to use other resources, especially course notes, to help them complete the paper. Students were to use proper APA Citation Style formatting within the content (parenthetical citing) and in a Works Cited page appearing as the last page.
I asked all students to please refer to the Term Paper Grading Rubric to maximize their final paper grades.
Sample of Four Student Papers Debunking Skeptic Arguments:
Skeptic Argument: Antarctic Is Gaining Ice debunked by Angela Flanagan
Skeptic Argument: Oceans are Cooling debunked by Ryan Maloney
Skeptic Argument: Hurricanes are not Linked to Global Warming debunked by Nick Panico
Skeptic Argument: IPCC is Alarmist debunked by Jason Quilty
Note: Each of these students gave me permission to post their papers and names on this blog.
Good work!
Hunt Janin
May 19, 2011 at 6:31 am
Well done to all the students.
And yet another demonstration that SkS is not only a fantastic summary of scientific evidence but a valuable teaching tool. (My own feeling is that the presentations in the Advanced sections are a terrific example for students to see how technical writing can be both thorough and readable.)
adelady
May 19, 2011 at 8:52 am
Good idea Scott and kudos to the students. This is a great quote from Ryan’s paper:
“John Adams once wrote, “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”
One nit pick, there still seems to be some confusion as to the difference between a scientific hypothesis and a theory.
Albatross
May 19, 2011 at 10:29 am
Scott, in the “making work for other people” dept., have you considered making your course notes available, to help other profs. planning on teaching such a class?
The fewer hurdles they need to jump, the better… (or at least, if we can lower the height of some hurdles, the profs will have more time/energy for jumping others)
Anna Haynes
May 19, 2011 at 7:10 pm
(the *my* making work for other people)
Anna Haynes
May 19, 2011 at 7:11 pm
What nonsense!
Motl has done no research work whatsoever on climate science, so in terms of relevant qualifications he’s no better than John Cook. The emphasis being on “relevant”.
And the very fact that you call Cook’s website “partisan”, without bothering to explain why, shows that it’s you who have a political axe to grind.
— frank
frank -- Decoding SwiftHack
June 4, 2011 at 2:31 pm
[…] also see: Skepticalscience.com Educates My Students to read four student papers from the spring 2011 […]
SkepticalScience.com Helps Students Debunk Climate Myths « Global Warming: Man or Myth?
August 8, 2011 at 7:52 am
Dear Professor,
the student document’s links are not opening.
Thanks
Ankit Mittal
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
ankitml
August 21, 2011 at 5:39 am
Ankit,
The college Web server is currently down. Try back in the next day or two and they should work.
Scott Mandia
August 21, 2011 at 8:36 am
Prof Mandia here’s a link you might want to send to Angela Flanagan
http://nigguraths.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/skeptical-quote-surgery-pat-michaels/
Adam
February 11, 2012 at 9:35 am
[…] Other student papers from previous semesters may be viewed here and here. […]
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