I loved my high school physics class, but looking back, we didn’t do physics in a very scientific way. I remember learning about “g” – the acceleration of any object due to gravity, which is 9.8 m/s2 – and then doing an experiment in which we dropped objects from various heights and used stop watches to see how long it took them to hit the ground.
So, you've managed to face up to your misconceptions of science. You've acknowledged that you need accurate information in order to teach kids correctly. Good for you! Now the question is, how can we actually help kids learn about science in a way that doesn't lead to their own wrong conclusions?
In my last post, I talked about Shattering Common Science Myths, and how it can be difficult to understand (and then teach) scientific principles correctly. This raises the obvious question: how can we be sure we are teaching scientific principles correctly?
Humans are always looking for explanations. From infancy onward, we are drawing conclusions about the things we see around us. The trouble is, our conclusions about how the world works are often wrong.