17th September 2015 - (Week 4 Reflection)

        In this week, I learnt what internal, external and virtues meant basically. Internal means inner part or features, external means the outward features of something whereas virtues means behaviour showing high moral standards (integrity). I also discovered the Features of Scientific Theory which are firstly, it must be reliable indicators of truth and secondly, we must be able to evaluate or access it. By these features, we are able to justify a Scientific Theory. I have also understood that Scientific Theory have different properties and they differ from one another in several different ways. For instance, the process of how the theory is discovered, by whom as well as the day and time. I have also learnt Internal and External Features. Talking about Internal Features firstly, these are features that can be evaluated without having to observe the world. It does not require observations in order to correlate a theory with what the world is like. It is economical as no experiments are needed to be carried out in laboratories in order to acquire a result. They can be evaluated by studying books and by looking at the structure of the theory and comparing it to other theories. An example of Internal Feature is Logical Consistency. It does not require any experiment. It is said that Logical Consistency occurs when a set of statements are all true as well as logical and there are no contradictory statements that goes against it. If there is, then the set of statement cannot be referred to as Logical Consistency. Here are a few set of statements that have contradictory statements in it.

                                     Picture 1 : A set of statements with contradictory statement in it.

To explain one of it, for instance the first example. "I am a man. I have brown hair." This is stated as logical consistency where the man says he is a man and he has brown hair. The contradictory statement here is the sentence "You have blonde hair." The man is trying to say that the person with blonde hair is not a man. There this statement shows contradiction and therefore this statement cannot be referred to as Logical Consistency. Next, I have also learnt about the 5 features of Internal Virtues which are entrenchment, explanatory cooperation, testability, generality and simplicity. Explanation for each feature can be read in the link below.
 https://www.edmodo.com/post/470288313

I have also understood that even though testability is known to be being part of experiments and laboratory work and it is suppose to be classified as an external feature, however, testability is also a part of the internal feature in the sense that a prediction is usually made before any experiment is carried out. Therefore the precision of the prediction made before an experiment is carried out explains the role of testability as one of the internal feature. Besides internal features, as mentioned above I have also learnt External Features. External Features require observations and in order for a test to be carried out, we would require knowledge from the external world, in other words we have to go out to fields and seas to carry out the experiment prior to its conditions and surroundings. By doing this, then only we are able to justify the External Features. For instance, Darwin's Theory of Evolution are still being falsified by biologists as they are carrying out experiments trying to prove that apes did not transform into humans and we, humans are not form of apes once upon a time ago. External Features consist of two parts which are the explanation and the testing and confirmation. 
Explanation
- theories should be able to explain an observed phenomena
- the more the phenomena that can be explained, the more likely the theory is to be true.
- a good theory should explain a wide variety of things.
Testing and confirmation
- accomplished by looking at new evidence as predicted by the theory
-doesn't explain why something happened but that it does happen according to predictions made.

          The one thing that I would need help in is to understand the internal and external features more precisely so I would be able to use them in the future and I am a little confused whether Internal Virtues and Internal Features have the same meaning in context or they do they differ from one another.

       I could use this knowledge to teach Science in the future by examining these values when experiments are being conducted in laboratories as well as teaching my students to be able to make predictions before a test is carried out. I will also encourage my students to understand all these virtues when learning Science or during laboratory activities.

10 September 2015 (Week 3 Reflection)

          First of all, to
day's lesson was indeed interesting as we had the presentation about Scientific Theory and Law. I have learnt that Scientific Theory and Scientific Law differ from one another. To begin with a few similarities between the two, they are supported by facts and both Scientific Theory and Law can be used to make predictions. When it comes to differences, Scientific Law explains what happens and it has already been tested and proved numerous times. For example, Boyle's Law (gas law) which states that the pressure and volume are inversely proportional when the temperature is held constant. Scientific theory however explains why and how a phenomena occurs and it is tested repeatedly and are confirmed through observations and experiments. For instance, The Big Bang Theory which postulates that the universe began almost 14 billion years ago with a massive expansion event. I have also understood a few misconceptions of Scientific Theory which are firstly, theories are not real and there is a connection between hypothesis theories and laws. I understood the difference between hypothesis, theories and laws where theories and laws are supported by experiments but not a hypothesis. I have also figured out that hypothesis is an educated prediction that can be tested by conducting experiments. I have learnt how to write a hypothesis using important key words like 'if' and 'then' in the statement.

                                         
                                        Picture 1 : Differences between Law, Theories and Hypothesis




          The one thing that I feel I need help in is writing a hypothesis from a given statement. I still find difficulty in using the right words in order to create a perfect hypothesis. For instance, the growth of the tomato plant depends on the amount of sunlight obtained. To identify the quantity of light that is obtained by the tomato plant in order to grow faster is the problem I am facing.

          As we saw the presentation earlier in class, the visuals and ideas used were very appealing and interesting. It also helped our understanding about the differences between the Scientific Theories and Laws. Therefore, I will apply these same ideas to teach my students in order for them to engage with the topic well as well as find it interesting and meaningful at the same time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsCHBPtqGE4