Integrative Ecology Education
Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience are practices, theories and methods that claim to be scientific but do not meet the standards of the scientific method, otherwise known as 'fake science'. The importance of students understanding and making judgements as to what is reliable science and what is ‘Fake news ‘or ‘Pseudoscience’, is an extremely useful skill not only in making everyday judgements about the information around you but in all subjects of learning.
Victorian Curriculum Links
Levels 7/8 & 9/10
Science Understanding:
Science as a Human Endeavour
​Scientific knowledge and understanding of the world changes as new evidence becomes available; science knowledge can develop through collaboration and connecting ideas across the disciplines and practice of science (VCSSU089)
Scientific understanding, including models and theories, are contestable and are refined over time through a process of review by the scientific community (VCSSU114)
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Science Inquiry Skills:​
Construct and use a range of representations including graphs, keys and models to record and summarise data from students’ own investigations and secondary sources, and to represent and analyse patterns and relationships (VCSIS110)
Use scientific knowledge and findings from investigations to identify relationships, evaluate claims and draw conclusions (VCSIS111)
Communicate ideas, findings and solutions to problems including identifying impacts and limitations of conclusions and using appropriate scientific language and representations (VCSIS113)
Introduction to Pseudoscience by CrashCourse
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-X8Xfl0JdTQ&t=112s
How To Spot Pseudoscience by Seeker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaDvroATyjw&t=3s
Part A: Spotting Pseudoscience
It is recommended that teachers go through the provided videos and articles, these are only examples for teachers to use and additional resources should be added to the activity to adapt for the class context and students.Â
A discussion post the completion of this activity should consolidate the judgement making process students followed, an answer sheet is not provided as this task encourages students to make their own judgements.
Pseudoscience involves statements, beliefs and methods or practices that claim to be factual and scientific but are unreliable and do not follow the correct scientific method. A good example of a Pseudoscience is astrology.
Can you think of any other pseudosciences?
What problems arise with people believing in other pseudosciences?
What impact would this have to the scientific community?
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Pick one of the following videos or articles and answer the following questions to determine whether they are accurate and reliable:
https://www.healingcrystals.com/Do_Crystals_Really_Work__Articles_13060.html
https://www.livescience.com/24310-flat-earth-belief.html
https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2001/ast24may_1
https://gshypnosis.com/does-hypnosis-work-understanding-the-science-of-hypnotherapy-2/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBkVCpbNnkU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5ACN9iF8Jw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bspqlf7fgnw
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Is the article or video published by a reliable source? (Ie. scientific website or journal)
What motive does the publisher have? (are they trying to sell products)
Do they list any scientific references, experiments or studies?
In your educated opinion is the article or video reliable or accurate? How can you tell?
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Research data collection from the Australian Wader studies Group (www.awsg.org.au) showing the examples of catching, tagging, studying and releasing of migratory shore birds in Darwin.
Part B: Migratory Shorebirds and Disease
Please ensure students have access to the above video before or during filling out the worksheet. Student will also need to access the last 10 minutes of Prof Klaassen's Symposium Presentation
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Article link- https://theconversation.com/why-we-shouldnt-be-too-quick-to-blame-migratory-animals-for-global-disease-87438
In the the following activity students are asked to read and analyse an article published by The Conversation and written by Prof Klaassen and fellow researchers.
Task for students:
1. Watch video below titled 'Shorebirds Darwin'
2. Watch the last 10 minutes of Prof Klaassen's Symposium Presentation.
3. Read the attached Article
4. Once you have watched the videos and read the article, complete the attached worksheet.
By answering questions on the accuracy and implications of a published article, students learn to judge and make your own conclusions on the scientific accuracy of articles and media posts like this one. The importance of students understanding and making judgements as to what is reliable science and what is ‘Fake news ‘or ‘Pseudoscience’, is an extremely useful skill. The second part of the worksheet involves an analysis of method and data collection and answering questions based on a primary source- a video of research data collection from the Australian Wader studies Group (www.awsg.org.au) which shows examples of catching, tagging, studying and releasing of migratory shore birds in Darwin.
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