Highly Confident but Slightly Uncertain: A Long Overdue Reinvention of the School Scientific Method, Teaching - Volume 4

Authors

• Stephen DeMeo, CUNY Hunter CollegeFollow

Document Type

Book

Publication Date

Summer 7-2026

Abstract

In Volume 4, the last book of the series, I continue the argument for greater parity between conceptual knowledge—the "what" of science—and methodological knowledge—the "how" of science—but in the context of teacher instruction. To this end, two literature reviews are presented: One on how students build confidence, specifically regarding the reliability or consistency of measurement or results, and the other on scientific uncertainty. Research studies focusing on student misconceptions are summarized and organized from the elementary to the college level. These literature reviews describe invaluable ways for teachers to improve their instruction, while providing examples of experiments that can be used with a variety of age groups.

A chapter following each literature review discusses instructional strategies for teaching the Confidence and Uncertainty/Error Indicators. The most important strategy is experiment-based inquiry structured as a long-term laboratory experience that gives students time to develop procedural skills, conduct multiple trials, and reflect on their experimental design in an effort to minimize uncertainty and error. The sciXpsy heuristic is offered as a way to organize and structure these types of project-based student investigations.

A significant portion of Volume 4 is devoted to assessing students' understanding of uncertainty and error through a variety of approaches, including word problems, essays, presentations, practical exams, and lab notebooks. The latter approach is ideal for instilling an ethical dimension into laboratory instruction while also emphasizing accurate and transparent record-keeping.

I also include case studies of teachers’ initial efforts to implement a data quality program, and in a journal format, I show how one student mediates her confidence and doubt in a chemistry laboratory course that emphasizes the collection of high-quality data.

I conclude this volume and the series by relating how rigorous laboratory education can inform citizenship, democratic participation, and the ability to critically evaluate non-scientific and pseudoscientific claims. I call for curriculum and textbook redesigns to integrate uncertainty/error and confidence-building processes at all grade levels.