Study Design Simulator: An In-Class Activity Focused on the Scientific Method

lt;p style=quot;margin-bottom:11pxquot;gt;lt;span style=quot;font-size:12ptquot;gt;lt;span style=quot;line-height:115%quot;gt;lt;span style=quot;font-family:Aptos,sans-serifquot;gt;The documents attached are the Study Design Simulator to give students and an example that you can share with the class before or after they complete the activity. lt;/spangt;lt;/spangt;lt;/spangt;lt;/pgt; lt;p style=quot;margin-bottom:11pxquot;gt;lt;span style=quot;font-size:12ptquot;gt;lt;span style=quot;line-height:115%quot;gt;lt;span style=quot;font-family:Aptos,sans-serifquot;gt;As far as implementation goes, I used this activity for a full class period (75 min). I introduced the activity and related topics (related to graphs and graphing) and then gave the students the class period to work on the activity in small groups (3-5 students). This is the general structure of the activity:lt;/spangt;lt;/spangt;lt;/spangt;lt;/pgt; lt;p style=quot;margin-bottom:11pxquot;gt;lt;span style=quot;font-size:12ptquot;gt;lt;span style=quot;line-height:115%quot;gt;lt;span style=quot;font-family:Aptos,sans-serifquot;gt;lt;bgt;Choose Your Organism (Plants or Animals)lt;/bgt; amp;ndash; students will choose from a short list or choose their own study subject for their experiment. lt;/spangt;lt;/spangt;lt;/spangt;lt;/pgt; lt;p style=quot;margin-bottom:11pxquot;gt;lt;span style=quot;font-size:12ptquot;gt;lt;span style=quot;line-height:115%quot;gt;lt;span style=quot;font-family:Aptos,sans-serifquot;gt;lt;bgt;Make An Observationlt;/bgt; amp;ndash; what experience does the student(s) have with this chosen organism or what do they know? Where does it live? What does it eat? And so on...lt;/spangt;lt;/spangt;lt;/spangt;lt;/pgt; lt;p style=quot;margin-bottom:11pxquot;gt;lt;span style=quot;font-size:12ptquot;gt;lt;span style=quot;line-height:115%quot;gt;lt;span style=quot;font-family:Aptos,sans-serifquot;gt;lt;bgt;Form a Scientific Question and Hypothesislt;/bgt; amp;ndash; based on the observations what might be a question and subsequent hypothesis that is both testable and falsifiable?lt;/spangt;lt;/spangt;lt;/spangt;lt;/pgt; lt;p style=quot;margin-bottom:11pxquot;gt;lt;span style=quot;font-size:12ptquot;gt;lt;span style=quot;line-height:115%quot;gt;lt;span style=quot;font-family:Aptos,sans-serifquot;gt;lt;bgt;Identification of Variables and Treatment Groupslt;/bgt;lt;/spangt;lt;/spangt;lt;/spangt;lt;/pgt; lt;p style=quot;margin-bottom:11pxquot;gt;lt;span style=quot;font-size:12ptquot;gt;lt;span style=quot;line-height:115%quot;gt;lt;span style=quot;font-family:Aptos,sans-serifquot;gt;lt;bgt;Outline of Hypothetical Procedurelt;/bgt;lt;/spangt;lt;/spangt;lt;/spangt;lt;/pgt; lt;p style=quot;margin-bottom:11pxquot;gt;lt;span style=quot;font-size:12ptquot;gt;lt;span style=quot;line-height:115%quot;gt;lt;span style=quot;font-family:Aptos,sans-serifquot;gt;lt;bgt;Drawing or Rendering of Hypothetical Resultslt;/bgt; amp;ndash; I got my students to draw two properly labelled graphs. One that was if their hypothesis was supported and one that was if their hypothesis was refuted.lt;/spangt;lt;/spangt;lt;/spangt;lt;/pgt; lt;p style=quot;margin-bottom:11pxquot;gt;lt;span style=quot;font-size:12ptquot;gt;lt;span style=quot;line-height:115%quot;gt;lt;span style=quot;font-family:Aptos,sans-serifquot;gt;lt;bgt;Interpretation of Predicted Datalt;/bgt; amp;ndash; write up the results in a way that supports what the data showslt;/spangt;lt;/spangt;lt;/spangt;lt;/pgt; lt;p style=quot;margin-bottom:11pxquot;gt;lt;span style=quot;font-size:12ptquot;gt;lt;span style=quot;line-height:115%quot;gt;lt;span style=quot;font-family:Aptos,sans-serifquot;gt;lt;bgt;Limitations and Considerationslt;/bgt; amp;ndash; what are things that could be potentially confounding in this study design? Any limitations? This gets students to think practical road blocks in their design.lt;/spangt;lt;/spangt;lt;/spangt;lt;/pgt; lt;p style=quot;margin-bottom:11pxquot;gt;amp;nbsp;lt;/pgt; lt;p style=quot;margin-bottom:11pxquot;gt;lt;span style=quot;font-size:12ptquot;gt;lt;span style=quot;line-height:115%quot;gt;lt;span style=quot;font-family:Aptos,sans-serifquot;gt;There are many possibilities to expand this activity or alter the mode of implementing it. This could very easily be an individual assignment to use as amp;ldquo;homeworkamp;rdquo; rather than it being an in-class group activity. Something that Iamp;rsquo;d wished I had time to do was allow each group to present their project to the rest of the class. Unfortunately I didnamp;rsquo;t have the time, so I would encourage anyone who may try this activity out to be able to give their students an opportunity to share their work. lt;/spangt;lt;/spangt;lt;/spangt;lt;/pgt; lt;p style=quot;margin-bottom:11pxquot;gt;lt;span style=quot;font-size:12ptquot;gt;lt;span style=quot;line-height:115%quot;gt;lt;span style=quot;font-family:Aptos,sans-serifquot;gt;As far as assessment goes, I use this as a way to see what students were in attendance and were participating in class that day. But if this were implemented as a homework activity, a simple rubric could easily be built and used. amp;nbsp;Please share any comments or feedback on this activity if youamp;rsquo;re able to use it!lt;/spangt;lt;/spangt;lt;/spangt;lt;/pgt;