Yes, I've assigned them for what I call 'outside of class' assignments
(students in my intro classes must do 5 of these, including participation
in research and various alternatives, of which reading and critiquing
particular articles from this and other websites are included).
They have been variously met and dealt with by students. For example,
there is an excellent article on placebo effects of treatments (can also
be applied to clinical as well as chemo) which several students reviewed
with great skepticism about the skepticism!! Well, I guess that's ok
except theri skepticism is more gut-based.
another one that stands out in my memory was a critique a student did
from another source: he read the myth of self=esteem, and can to the
final conclusion that while the author's points were excellent, he
still believed we need high positive self=esteem to be successful.
Well, we can keep taking them to the well, whether or not they drink
is another matter.
annette
On Mon, 3 Apr 2000, Kirsten Rewey wrote:
> Dear TIPsters -
>
> After reading Mike Kane's post about twin coincidences I went to the Skeptical
> Inquirer website for a look-see. If you haven't been to the site, they do
> have quite a few articles on scientific literacy, identifying pseudoscience.
> Then I got to wondering; has anyone tried using articles from the Skeptical
> Inquirer in a General /Introductory Psychology class as a means for teaching
> what scientific inquiry is?
>
> Kirsten
>
> BTW, the Skeptical Inquirer URL is: http://www.csicop.org/
>
>
Annette Taylor, Ph. D.
Department of Psychology E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
University of San Diego Voice: (619) 260-4006
5998 Alcala Park
San Diego, CA 92110
"Education is one of the few things a person
is willing to pay for and not get."
-- W. L. Bryan
