Norris underlines that the project challenged the students to see and understand science in a different fashion from what they learn inside the science curricula. He points out that high-school classroom scientific experiments are "proven" science and have been around for at least 300 years, in many cases. For the students to discover that real scientists often work with some assumptions that they know to be false in order to reach their conclusions was certainly an eye-opening realization for them, he says.

"There's no way out of the fact that the knowledge you gain from science is imperfect; it's tentative and subject to change," said Norris. "I think that's what struck the students between the eyes."

Both researchers agree that this form of collaborative, interdisciplinary learning can take place across all subject areas. De Vries and Norris are currently working on another project that focuses on population genetics that will fit into Grade 12 biology and math courses.

"It's mathematics in the real world. Kids are always asking, 'why am I learning this,'" she said. "All of a sudden the mathematics that kids have learned comes together in a project like this."

Source: University of Alberta