Dear Students: I didn’t write the course; I was just given the opportunity to teach it this semester for the first time, so I’m trying to figure it out, too. I’ve never had students turn in a video before, so I’m not sure what the videos are going to look like. I’m not sure exactly what the originator of this course had in mind with this video assignment– but since I’m the teacher now, I guess I get to decide. The way I read it, you’re supposed to create a video in which the characters, professional geologists or hydrologists, approach a problem to solve, and do so utilizing the steps of the scientific method. Here’s what I say. Your team of professional geologists can consist of just one team member– yourself. The problem you need to attack, just make something up. For example, here’s a possible real-world scenario. There’s a push to make the Gila River corridor around Gila Bend into a new national park, called Great Bend in the Gila National Park. Lets just say that the promoters want a geological survey of the area done. Google up “doing a geological survey,” see what’s involved, and, using your smartphone, record yourself for 2-3 minutes planning out the steps you’ll take to do a geologic survey of this newly proposed national park. Sounds good? Lets keep this as simple and uncomplicated as possible. Create a 3-5 minute video where your characters have to utilize the scientific method to solve a problem they come across. Include the following information:
- Steps of the scientific method.
- Brief description of each step in the scientific method.
- Deductive versus inductive reasoning.
- Differences between hypothesis, theory, and law.
- Provide real examples of hypothesis, theory, and law.
APA style is not required, but solid academic tone is expected.
