The VISTA Scientific Reasoning Curriculum

Project Status

The VISTA Scientific Reasoning Curriculum is in its early stages. We received funding from The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation to design the curriculum, and to this end held an initial design meeting in the late summer of 2006, attended by Roger Schank (Engines for Education), Tammy Berman (Engines for Education), Chris Riesbeck (Northwestern), Ron Barfield (Rutgers University), David Cohen (Columbia University), David Helfand (Columbia University), Tom Poon (Claremont College), Bill Purves (Harvey Mudd College), and Anatole Gershman (Accenture), resulting in the description and project list below. We are currently seeking funding to continue design and development work on this project.

Curriculum Overview

Scientific reasoning lies at the core of many of our daily activities. Decision-making, interpreting a claim in the news, fixing a household item, and even planning a household budget all require reasoning from evidence, understanding what constitutes evidence, and drawing conclusions. Scientific reasoning isn’t just for scientists; those students who may never see or practice science after high school still need experience in this critical approach to problem-solving and to understanding the world around them.

The Scientific Reasoning Curriculum, the first in the VISTA four-year program, lays the groundwork for scientific thinking by presenting students with a series of challenges that require students to address problems with a systematic, scientific approach. In each project, students face problems that relate to issues encountered in daily life or to issues of global import.

Following is a list of preliminary project ideas, to be refined through further design work.

Project 1 -- On the Move: Analyze the probability of natural disasters near selected, highly-populated areas

Project 2 -- Pop Science: Reason scientifically against unjustified, commonly-held beliefs

Project 3 -- Mass Extinction: Determine the most likely natural events that could lead to the extinction of the human race

Project 4 -- Zoo Crazy: Architect a “better zoo” that improves the mental well-being of its animals

Project 5 -- No Bark and No Bite: Plan a breeding strategy to produce desirable behaviors in dogs

Project 6 -- Snake Eyes: Develop new technology based on the biological function of a selected animal

Project 7 -- Come Heat or High Water: Predict the impact of environmental changes on our ecosystem

Project 8 -- Sub Mission: Design a submarine with upgraded capabilities

Project 9 -- Let the Music Play: Design technology to bring music to deaf listeners

Project 10 -- Can You Hear Me Now?: Analyze the cause of cell-phone drop-out and propose systemic solutions

Project 11 -- Going to Waste: Estimate long-term waste production for a country and develop a treatment plan

Project 12 -- High Fever: Develop an international response to a new disease being spread across continents

Project 13 -- The Student’s Court: Defend a scientific or historic stance against rising opposition

Project 14 -- You Make the Call: Articulate a real-world problem and draw conclusions about proposed solutions

Project 15-- Advise the United Nations: Prioritize U.N. initiatives based on their costs and quantifiable benefits