Conclusions from education experiments

Chapter 11 Drawing Meaningful Conclusions from Educational Experiments Melanie M. Cooper... 

The scientific method is taught starting in elementary school. The first step in the scientific method is to form a hypothesis. A hypothesis is just an educated guess or logical conclusion from known facts. It is then compared against all available data and its details developed. If the hypothesis is found to be consistent with known facts, it is called a theory and usually published. The characteristics most theories have in common are that they explain observed phenomena, predict the results of future experiments, and can be presented in mathematical form. When a theory is found to be always correct for many years, it is eventually referred to as a scientific law. However useful this process is, we often use constructs that do not fit in the scientific method scheme as it is typically described. 

Finally, the education of data customers is essential in every discovery program. With the increased amount of data stored in databases, access by many more data users naturally occurs. The scientist who generated the data is no longer the only researcher to examine and interpret that data or otherwise draw conclusions from them. Most databases are merely an assembly of data with no information on how an experiment was performed or the conclusions drawn from the data. There is a responsibility associated with the development of discovery screens and that is the education of potential users of the information. 

Suggested experiments from the Journal of Chemical Education. Rather than including a short collection of experiments emphasizing the analysis of standard unknowns, an annotated list of representative experiments from the Journal of Chemical Education is included at the conclusion of most chapters. These experiments may serve as stand alone experiments, or as starting points for individual or group projects. 

Out of these experiences with a substantial number of partnership projects, I have drawn some personal conclusions about what works and what doesn t. With an appreciative nod to Ben Franklin and his Poor Richard s Almanac, I ll try to group my conclusions under four familiar adages or aphorisms or proverbs. They may seem simplistic, but I truly believe reflection on them by anyone, whether from the educational sector or the private sector, interested in developing a partnership can help avoid some serious pitfalls. 

For many hazards and the risks that derive from them, knowledge gained by safety practitioners through education and experience will lead to proper conclusions on how to attain an acceptable risk level, without bringing teams of people together for discussion. For the more complex situations, it is vital to seek the counsel of experienced personnel who are close to the work or process. 

In a modem and innovative educational system almost all the concepts must be provided with uncertainty flexibility (fuzzy) especially at the higher educational systems. It is fixed from the long history of science by experience that not only freedom of thinking, but also suspicion from scientific conclusions should be incorporated for better advancements. The very word of suspicion leads to expectation and even viewing scientific knowledge as uncertain. Hence, the basic principles in a modem and innovative educational system should include the following points, which are contrary to classical or traditional education. 

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