Teach your students not to fool themselves

In a world flooded with information—and disinformation—we constantly make choices about what to believe. Our ingrained biases make it easy to fool ourselves. Scientists have spent centuries perfecting techniques to minimize bias and help them avoid falling into cognitive traps. But these techniques can be learned and used by anyone. For too long, these thinking tools have been missing from high-school education.  That is why we have worked with a team of experts to create Scientific thinking for all: a toolkit.

Scientific thinking for all: a toolkit is a seven-unit curriculum for 14–18-year-old students. It will prepare your high school students for the challenges and opportunities ahead. It teaches a toolkit of cognitive strategies for real-world issues. But it will also provide a way for people with different opinions to establish a shared view of reality to allow people to solve problems collectively. By learning to view the world scientifically, students will develop skills in reasoning and collaborating, equipping them to deal with the challenges of the 21st century.

Scientific thinking for all: a toolkit is currently only available in English, but we plan to publish materials in other languages in future. Over the next three years, the full seven-unit curriculum will be developed. The first unit Evidence & iteration in science, focusing on clean water access, is now available and several more units are on their way or in field trials. The themes for the seven units are:

Tools for investigating the world                  
1. Evidence & iteration in science (AVAILABLE NOW)
2. Scientific modeling

Tools for evaluating data
3. Systematic scientific investigations (JOIN THE FIELD TEST)
4. Evaluating data (Uncertainty in data)
5. Human bias in science

Applying science to everyday life
6. Making group decisions (Available at the beginning of 2024. SIGN UP FOR NEWS)
7. The lens of science

Unit 1

Evidence & iteration in science

In this unit, students explore the nature of scientific evidence as they examine issues related to water quality and accessibility.

About

Find out more about this project and how scientific thinking techniques can empower students to make wiser decisions. 

Get involved

We are looking for teachers to pilot our materials.