T HE A MERICAN

Guest Editorial

BIOLOGY TEACHER
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Editor: Randy Moore, Biology Department, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292 E-mail: randy.moore@louisville.edu Managing Editor: Christine Chantry Associate Editor: Kris Collum Publisher: Wayne W. Carley Editorial Staff: Kay Acevedo, Jo Marshall, Cheryl Merrill ABT Production Office: 12030 Sunrise Valley Drive #110, Reston, VA 20191-3409, Phone: (703) 264-9696, Fax: (703) 264-7778, E-mail: nabter@aol.com, Web site: www.nabt.org

Modeling the Whole Scientific Process for Nonmajors

There is virtual unanimity in reports from national societies and organizations (for example, American Association for the Advancement of Science, National Science Foundation, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and National Academy of Sciences) that our past approaches to science education need reform. Yet at least one of the key components of this reform is not new: modeling scientific processes with inquiry-based activities in the laboratory and field. Scientists and educators have long argued that the best way for majors and nonmajors alike to learn about science is for them to model (via inquiry) what scientists dothey ask questions of interest and carefully design investigations that will contribute relevant and valid data for answering their questions. For many students there is the misconception that data collection per se is the endall of the scientific process; scientists, however, know it to be far from the end. In fact, we know that experimental data take on meaning only once they have been appropriately evaluated. Only then is it possible to arrive objectively at some conclusion relative to our original questions, tentative though that conclusion may be. Of course scientists call this evaluative process statistical analysis, a phrase that strikes fear in the heart of many a student. As integral as statistics is to experimental methods, we tend to reserve teaching about statistical analysis for those students in more advanced courses. This is quite unfortunate, not only because it perpetuates a false understanding of the workings of experimental research, but especially because it deprives beginning students of getting to experience what research scientists would most likely agree is one of the intellectually exciting moments of the investigative processdiscovering, when a comparison is being made, whether or not there is statistical significance in ones data. Denying students the opportunity to participate in this phase is like denying the reader of a novel the opportunity to read the denouement of a complex plot. The investigative process builds to this moment of clarification which, for scientists, is surely every bit as satisfying as the data gathering effort. Although mathematical sophistication is necessary to understand the theoretical underpinnings of statistical analysis, it is nevertheless quite possible for less sophisticated students to learn some important basic principles, such as the variability associated with measurements, and confidence in ones estimates. This becomes possible if we avoid presenting complex formulas that a calculator can solve transparently (e.g. for standard deviation and standard error), and help students use approximation for confidence intervals. (See Toward Scientific Literacy for Nonscience Majors, pp. 276281.) I maintain not only that it is quite possible for nonmajors in science to engage in data analysis, but also that being so engaged is an essential component of science literacy. We recognize that students need to ask questions of interest to themselves and participate in experimental design and data collection. We need to finish the task and also engage them in the final number-crunching stages, though in appropriate fashion so as not to overwhelm them. Not engaging students in this part of the process denies them the fruits of their labor. To use another analogy, not helping students with data analysis would be like letting apprentice bakers gather the ingredients for a cake, but not letting them mix and bake the batter to see and enjoy the final product. In a 1996 editorial in The American Biology Teacher (Vol. 58, No. 7, p. 387), Randy Moore argued the need for meaningful laboratory experiences for nonscience majors. I argue further that we should provide laboratory opportunities for nonscience majors that develop awareness of normal variability in nature, and therefore in our sampling from nature, and awareness of how we express confidence as we make predictions based on our measurements. These concepts in particular extend beyond usefulness in the science lab. Individuals are always in need of tools to help them better evaluate evidence, claims and arguments; and these concepts relating to variability and confidence are among those intellectual tools. As we look to improve science literacy for all students, and in recognition that it is from the ranks of nonscience majors that most future elementary teachers come, I urge more opportunities for data analysis by all students. The individual will benefit, society will benefit, and young students will benefit by being under the wings of teachers who ask, Are the differences being observed any more than just normal variability, and how comfortable (confident) are you in that assessment? E. Annette Halpern California State University Bakersfield Bakersfield, CA 93311

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Letters
Observations on Theistic Evolutionists
Dear Editor: A line in the January 2000 Editorial prompts me to respond. Other creationists try to disguise their belief in the supernatural by euphemistically claiming to be theistic evolutionists. If they want to disguise their supernatural bent, they had best choose another name, as theistic is a clear reference to God. While this is not a unified group, theistic evolutionists see the physical/biological evidence for evolution as compelling while viewing it as the mechanism God has used to create. This would be consistent with a god who rules all of creation and uses what we would call natural processes to achieve his ends. One would think the evolutionists would view them as allies unless, as some creationists suspect, at least some of them really do have an anti-theistic agenda. This leads to my second observation. Why does the author feel theistic evolutionists would want to disguise their supernatural bent? The idea that science and religious beliefs are incompatible should have been put to rest long ago. The proposition that God exists is not scientifically falsifiable. Therefore, science has nothing to say about Gods existence. There are many thousands of practicing scientists who are people of faith. Their science and their faith complement each other, each enriching their understanding of the natural world in different ways: science in terms of immediate cause and effect; religious belief in terms of ultimate causes and values. The authors identification of theistic evolutionists as creationists is helpful. It appropriately broadens the definition to include more than the literalists. In fact, all Christians are de facto creationists. The doctrine of creation is one of the foundational tenets of the Church. It is at the level of mechanism (or process) that (1) we are in the domain of science and (2) because of a variety of presuppositions, Christians are not all in agreement. Sincerely, John Cruzan, Ph.D. Department of Biology Geneva College Beaver Falls, PA 15010 jcruzan@geneva.edu

244 THE AMERICAN BIOLOGY TEACHER, VOLUME 62, NO. 4, APRIL 2000

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