Consumers should be able to trust the consensus of the relevant scientific experts.
But who is an expert? --And how do we know?
This pair of inquiry activities helps students reflect on the nature of expertise and the criteria for ascertaining expertise, from the position of being a non-expert
(See NGSS Science & Engineering Practice #8: "assess the credibility, accuracy, and possible bias of each publication" [Vol. 2, p. 65].)
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- Game: To Tell the Truth
- Who is the scientist?
- Who is the relevant scientific expert?
- Who speaks for the scientific consensus?
Who's the Expert? [inquiry activity]
- Engage
- [in small groups] Identify a handful of occasions where you depend on others who know more than you do. Discuss how you know to trust the information they provide.
- Explore
- Extend the problem more broadly. Who in our culture do we depend on for expertise? What exactly makes them an expert? Is science a form of expertise?
- Explain
- How do we know (generally) to trust an expert? What criteria would you use?
- Elaborate
- How is trust in someone's expertise different from other forms of trust (loyalty, morality, commitment)? What specific challenges might apply for consumers interpreting scientific experts?
- Evaluate
- Choose a contemporary scientific issue relevant to some social issue. Individually, find two expert sources you feel can be trusted, and identify two others that you regard as non-expert and non-trustworthy. Record your reasoning. Then, compare your results with others.
Go to full "Targeting Misinformation" series
© Douglas Allchin, 2019
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