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Interactive Teaching of Key Social Science Concepts

Interactive Teaching of Key Social Science Concepts. Leanne C. Powner University of Michigan APSA TLC, 18-20 Feb 2006. Science in the Social Sciences: The Perils of Unobservables. When we can’t observe our variables directly, we must look for observable effects. Power? Political culture?

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Interactive Teaching of Key Social Science Concepts

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  1. Interactive Teaching of Key Social Science Concepts Leanne C. Powner University of Michigan APSA TLC, 18-20 Feb 2006

  2. Science in the Social Sciences: The Perils of Unobservables • When we can’t observe our variables directly, we must look for observable effects. • Power? • Political culture? • Globalization? • Some have few directly observable effects.

  3. Simulating Unobservables • Dollar-store objects in opaque fabric bags can simulate unobservables. • Ask students to theorize about the object without touching the bag. • Allow students to explore the object without opening the bag and ask them to characterize the object as much as possible. • What is it? What is it used for? What is it made of? What does it look like?

  4. The Scientific Method • In the process of characterizing their objects, students will complete the major steps of the scientific process: • Hypothesize • Collect data • Test hypotheses • Revise hypotheses in light of conclusions • Role of the group recorder

  5. What Can Emerge? • Carefully selected objects can provoke discussions of • Falsifiability • Parsimony • The role of assumptions • Support on CD: • Complete lesson plan • Instructor guide • Student group handout

  6. The Scientific Method in Action: Shakespeare’s Hamlet • Hamlet tests his hypothesis about the cause of his father’s death. • Theory • Hypothesis: Act II, end of scene 2 • Test and Data Collection: Act III, scene 2 • Analysis • Evaluation: theory confirmed

  7. Measurement: Comparing Apples and Oranges • Ask students to compare several pieces of fruit. • Organize resulting dimensions into types of scales: • Nominal • Ordinal • Interval

  8. From Measurement to Causality • Select several fruit of the same color (red, yellow, etc.). • Establish ‘measurements’ for these fruits on 3-4 dimensions (‘variables’). • Include color as a dimension. • Basic principle: you can’t explain a variable with a constant, and vice versa. • Can ‘yellow’ cause medium levels of sweetness, or 3.4 oz, if yellow also causes low sweetness and/or 2.6 oz?

  9. Information Literacy: Moving Beyond Google • American Library Association’s Association of College and Research Librarians • Law and Political Science Section: Information Literacy Research Guidelines

  10. The ACRL’s Standards The information literate PS student… • Determines the nature and extent of needed information. • Accesses needed information effectively and efficiently. • Evaluates information and its sources critically…. • Uses information effectively to accomplish specific purposes. • Understands ethical use of information; legal and social issues related to information access and retrieval.

  11. What Sources Do I Need? • Students are presented with hypothetical arguments and asked what kind of source would provide useful information. • Encourages strategic searching: what kind of information do I want? Where is a likely place to find this? • Places to look other than a blanket Google search

  12. Research Library Scavenger Hunt • “What’s available? Where do I get it?” • Asks students to locate particular useful sources • Electronic sources, including databases • Primary sources • Secondary sources • Citation • Introduction to library layout, call numbers

  13. Exploring Primary Sources • “What do I do with it?” • Students rarely have experience with using primary sources • Introduces a range of primary sources (memoirs, documents, etc.) and potential problems/biases in them • Asks students to examine primary sources from the National Security Archive and comment on source angles

  14. Facts and Evidence • “What do I do with it?” part 2 • …or, ‘why every piece of information you gathered does not belong in your term paper.’ • Presents students with potential paper arguments and asks them to select which piece of information is not useful as evidence for that argument

  15. Support on CD • Instructor Support • ACRL/LPSS Guidelines • Instructor Guide • Classroom-Ready Worksheets • Research Library Scavenger Hunt • What Source Do I Need? • Exploring Primary Sources • Facts and Evidence

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