Teaching and testing about the Nature of Science: problems in attempting to determine students' perceptions

Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 4, Issue 1, Article 1 (Jun., 2003)
John LOUGHRAN, Amanda BERRY, Pamela MULHALL and Dick GUNSTONE
Teaching and testing about the Nature of Science: problems in attempting to determine students' perceptions

Previous Contents

Appendix
Extract from The Age 1711/98

New clue to insomnia and jet lag
Biological timer ticks behind knees
Sandra Blakeslee
NEW YORK, Friday

In an experiment from the strange but possibly true category, scientists have shone a bright light on the backs of human knees and, in some mysterious way, reset the master biological clock in the human brain.

Those treated with the light had their biological clocks advanced or delayed up to three hours, enough to overcome the fatigue associated with familiar forms of jet lag or insomnia. Why shining light on the knee would have this effect is a mystery.

The finding is so surprising that many experts said they were withholding judgment until the experiment was done again. But those who heard the study described at a meeting last year said it was carefully done.

"We were all flabbergasted," said Dr Michael Menaker, a biologist at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. "For three days we tried to find flaws in the experiment and we couldn't."

Dr AI Lewy, an expert on circadian rhythms at the University of Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, said: "We have taken it as received wisdom that such effects would have to be mediated through the eyes. 1 am very surprised. It is so revolutionary." This sentence means that it is generally believed that only the eyes can detect light.

Dr Thomas Welir, chief of the clinical psychobiology branch at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland, said: "There are more biological mechanisms underlying the uman response to light than was dreamt of in our original ypothesis. Still, until others repeat the experiment. The findings have to be regarded as preliminary."

If the finding holds up, the experts say it will have profound mplications for basic biology overturning conventional ideas of how biological clocks are set.

It may also lead to new treatments for seasonal depression sleep disorders and jet lag. Airline passengers could wear a knee brace with a light source that would reset their biological clocks as they slept during the flight.

The study which is being published today in the joumal Science, was done by Dr Scott Campbell and Dr Patricia Murphy of the aboratory of Human Chronobiology at Comell University Medical College in hite Plains, New York. -New York Times

Questionnaire Part 1:

Name:

Part 1: Please read the article on the back of this page about the results of some scientific research.

(a) Can you link anything in this article about how this scientific research was done with any of your experiences in Year 10 Science? Yes or No.

(b) If you answered Yes, please indicate what the Year 10 Science experiences were and how they link.

If you answered No, please indicate why the article do not link with your Year 10 science experiences.

Questionaire Part 2:

Name:

Part 2: Now we would like you to comment on some specific things from the newspaper article.

Question 1: Read the sentence labelled 1:
(a) Why do you think the finding was "so surprising"?

(b) Do you think experts often react like this to new discoveries? YES/NO
Why do you think so?

Question 2: Read the sentence labelled 2:
(a) What do you think "if the findings hold up" means?

(b) How do you think scientists will go about seeing "if the findings hold up"?

(c) Have you ever done anything like (b) in any or your science classes? YES/NO
If yes, please briefly tell us about it.

Question 3: Read the sentence labelled 3:
(a) Explain in your own words what this sentence means (NB: "flaws" means "mistakes").

(b) How do you think scientists would have tried to find flaws in the experiment?

Question 4: Read the sentence labelled 4:
This article was printed in The AGE newspaper and many others around the world. Why then would it also be published in the journal Science? (NB: "journal" means "magazine")

Question 5: Read the sentence labelled 5:
This seems to suggest that the scientists who did the research had some sort of ideas about the research before they started.
(a) What ideas do you think these scientists might have had?

(b) Do scientists usually have ideas before they start an experiment? YES/NO
Why do you say this?

Copyright (C) 2003 HKIEd APFSLT. Volume 4, Issue 1, Article 1 (Jun., 2003). All Rights Reserved.

The finding is so surprising that many experts said they were withholding judgment until the experiment was done again. But those who heard the study described at a meeting last year said it was carefully done.
"We were all flabbergasted," said Dr Michael Menaker, a biologist at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. "For three days we tried to find flaws in the experiment and we couldn't."
Dr AI Lewy, an expert on circadian rhythms at the University of Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, said: "We have taken it as received wisdom that such effects would have to be mediated through the eyes. 1 am very surprised. It is so revolutionary."		This sentence means that it is generally believed that only the eyes can detect light.
Dr Thomas Welir, chief of the clinical psychobiology branch at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland, said: "There are more biological mechanisms underlying the uman response to light than was dreamt of in our original ypothesis. Still, until others repeat the experiment. The findings have to be regarded as preliminary."