12.2 Grill the Guest
From Sense & Sensibility & Science
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Learning Goals
After this lesson, students should
- Be able to critically examine a piece of contemporary research and pose meaningful questions to gauge the validity and limitations of its results.
- Be able to flexibly invoke and synthesize course concepts in a real world dialogue on science and society.
Context
This is the first of several lessons involving guests. We typically invite a social scientist to share a recent published study of theirs, to be read by students ahead of time and discussed in groups during section. Questions and comments generated during the section will then be collected, a few of which will be posed to the guest during the live plenary. Students are encouraged to base their questions on particular course concepts introduced thus far.
| We have a different guest and paper every year. So, the substance of this lesson can change quite substantially. |
| Blind analysis is a common and easy topic to criticize on, however the students should be reminded that it is not yet widespread in many fields of science, and perfectly valid scientific results can still be obtained without it. |
Recommended Outline
Before Class
- Invite a guest speaker at least one month in advance, consulting the whole teaching staff for ideas.
- Send the article by the guest to students several days in advance and remind them to read it before the discussion section. A briefly annotated version should be made to make it easier for students to skim it and pick out the important information.
- Prepare a seating chart.
- Review PlayPosit and discussion questions and ask faculty, Gabriel, or Emlen any questions you have.
- (Optional) Prepare a presentation.
During Class
- (5 min) Come up with some fun way to assign the roles of spokesperson and notetaker (e.g. earliest birthday in the year, lives furthest from campus). Remind them of the responsibilities of these roles.
- ([#] min) [Description of some module from #Lesson Content]
- (5 min) Collect questions for plenary.
After Class
- Pose any remaining questions to the guest in writing and send a thank you email.
- Collect answers from notetakers for the forum / plenary.
Lesson Content
Clicker Question
- Question
Correct answer. - First option
- Second option
- Third option
- Fourth option
Activity 1: Name
[Brief description of and motivation for the activity]
| Common misconceptions and any useful tricks, tips, guidelines, or other background |
Instructions
Discussion Questions
- Question 1
- Subquestion a
Possible misconception that may need to be corrected and clarified. Intended answer to the above question.
- Subquestion b
- Subquestion a