climateadaptation:

In this popular and entertaining TED Talk, high school science teacher Tyler DeWitt makes the case that science should be fun.

Take his argument with a grain of salt. He uses (abuses) the ad hominen and straw man fallacies to make his points - e.g., by making fun of something else, his points become justified. He commits classical errors in rhetoric and argumentation. Politicians do this all the time. They point to something, make fun of it, and conclude that their position is the right one that you should support.

It may be true that “science is hard” to understand, and it may be true that “science is hard” to teach. And I agree, being a more creative educator is much more effective than rote learning strategies. But making the case that “science should be fun” by employing disparaging argumentation is, well, unscientific…

skeptv:

Tyler DeWitt: Hey science teachers — make it fun

High school science teacher Tyler DeWitt was ecstatic about a lesson plan on bacteria (how cool!) — and devastated when his students hated it. The problem was the textbook: it was impossible to understand. He delivers a rousing call for science teachers to ditch the jargon and extreme precision, and instead make science sing through stories and demonstrations. (Filmed at TEDxBeaconStreet.)

by TED Talks Director.

It’s Climate Science Communications Week at Climate Adaptation!   For the entire week of Feb. 18 - 23, I’ll cover how climate change is discussed by the media, scientists, researchers, academics, and politicians. If you have sources or ideas on communicating climate change, send to: http://climateadaptation.tumblr.com/submit