Article by Chuck Lunsford

The scientific method is not just something that you learn in grade school in order to pass science class. The scientific method is something that all of us use on a daily basis in order to make sense of the world around us. The scientific method is basically the process that we go through in our minds to ask questions and find answers. The scientific method roughly follows the following pattern:

1. The first step is to make an observation and description of a phenomenon or group of phenomena. In other words, you observe a problem or a question and define exactly what the issue is in order to make more sense of it.

2. Formulation of a hypothesis to explain the phenomena. A hypothesis is a theory or an idea of how something can be worked out or how a problem can be solved. Through the process of the scientific method you will work to prove that your hypothesis is in fact true.

3. Use of the hypothesis to predict the existence of other phenomena. In some cases your hypothesis is part of a sequence of events and you are curious to see how altering a specific occurrence will alter the overall result of a process. Your goal is to predict quantitatively (meaning with physical evidence) the results of new observations.

4. Now you take action. You perform a series of experimental tests of the predictions/hypotheses. With more complicated scientific experiments (not necessarily anything that your child will encounter in their schooling) several independent experimenters and properly performed experiments are meticulously planned and carried out. In the case of a child’s science project or simple day-to-day use of the scientific method, the process of experimentation is much cruder. You can test your ideas in a matter of seconds in some cases and many of the testing that we all do is done mentally and in our homes, schools, or workplace, not in a laboratory.

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until there are no discrepancies between theory and experiment and/or observation. In other words, ‘If at first you don’t succeed, try again.’ Many times our initial theories or predictions of what might happen in an experiment are wrong. There is no shame in guessing wrong. What is important is that you continue trying to formulate new ideas and solutions until you find a hypothesis that works.

The scientific method is not as complicated as you may think, and it is important that your child be using the basic outline of the scientific principle in his or her daily life. For example, say that your child is drinking juice from a plastic cup and notices that a puddle has formed under the cup. What should your child do? A child without an understanding of the scientific method is stuck and may call on a parent to just solve the problem for them. On the other hand, when a child understands how to solve problems the situation can be controlled without parental intervention. A child with an understanding of the scientific method may follow the following steps:

1. Identify the problem: There is a puddle of juice underneath my cup.

2. Form a hypothesis: Maybe there is a hole or crack in my cup.

3. What other phenomena are present with this hypothesis: If there is a hole or crack in my cup it should still be leaking until the juice is gone.

4. Take action: lift the cup off the table and see where the drips are coming from, find the location of the crack.

5. Repeat the process if hypothesis is not proved: I didn’t see a hole or a crack, maybe it is just water condensing on the outside of the cup.

6. Repeat the process to see if water is in fact forming on the outside of the cup.