APPLICATIONS OF THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD IN TEACHING CRITICAL REASONING SKILLS IN HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE CLASSROOMS

The purpose of this action research project is to develop a program that will improve the critical reasoning skills of students through their science curriculum. The focus will be on using the scientific method as a tool to analyze works not necessarily connected to science class. In order to develop this program a study must be done to determine why and how students are lacking certain reasoning skills and what societal structures are in place to prevent or dissuade students from practicing these skills. I will make the case that students do not have the opportunity to learn or practice reasoning in an authentic way and teachers are not incentivized to teach reasoning skills. Therefore, the program is designed for a science teacher to implement within their class, as part of an existing unit, to use their student’s knowledge of the scientific method to analyze current events and make informed, evidence-based opinions about their world. Thus accomplishing the goal of producing better citizens who can critically analyze their world