A miniature guide for students and faculty to scientific thinking: based on critical thinking concepts & principles [Recurso electrónico] By Richard Paul and Linda Elder

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Contents
Why Scientific Thinking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
The Elements of Scientific Thought. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
A Checklist for Scientific Reasoning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4–5
Questions Using the Elements of Scientific Thought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Scientific Thinking Seeks to Quantify, Explain, and Predict
Relationships in Nature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7–8
Scientific Thinking Requires Precision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Experimental Thinking Requires Experimental Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Universal Intellectual Standards in Scientific Thinking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11–13
Analyzing the Logic of Scientific Articles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14–15
Analyzing the Logic of Science Textbooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Two Kinds of Scientific Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Analyzing the Logic of an Experiment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18–19
Criteria for Evaluating Scientific Reasoning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Scientific Reasoning Abilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Intellectual Dispositions Essential to Scientific Thinking . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22–23
What Scientific Thinkers Routinely Do . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Stages of Scientific Thinking Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
The Questioning Mind in Science (Newton, Darwin, and Einstein) . . . . . 26–27
The Logic of Science. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Logic of Scientific Disciplines
The Logic of Physics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
The Logic of Chemistry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
The Logic of Geology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
The Logic of Astronomy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
The Logic of Biology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
The Logic of Zoology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
The Logic of Botany. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
The Logic of Biochemistry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
The Logic of Paleontology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
The Logic of Animal Physiology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
The Logic of Archaeology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
The Logic of Ecology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
The Problem of Unscientific Thinking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
A Pseudo-Science: Why Astrology is Not a Science. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42–43
A Critical Approach to Scientific Thinking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44–45
Ethics and Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46–47

This guide is designed for students and faculty. It consists of the essence of scientific thinking concepts and tools. For faculty it provides a shared concept of scientific thinking. For students it is a scientific thinking supplement to any textbook for any science course. Faculty can use it to design science instruction, assignments, and tests. Students can use it to improve their perspective in any domain of science.

Generic scientific thinking skills apply to all sciences. For example, scientific thinkers are clear as to the purpose at hand and the question at issue. They question information, conclusions, and points of view. They strive to be accurate, precise, and relevant. They seek to think beneath the surface, to be logical, and objective. They apply these skills to their reading and writing as well as to their speaking and listening. They apply them in professional and personal life.

When this guide is used as a supplement to the science textbook in multiple courses, students begin to perceive the application of scientific thinking to many domains in everyday life. And if their instructors provide examples of the application of scientific thinking to daily life, students begin to see scientific thinking as a tool for improving the quality of their lives.