Teaching science when you don't know diddly-squat: Do moms really have eyes in the back of their heads?
DOWNLOADMarch 6, 2017 - Michigan State University Extension
Purpose
Time required
Materials
- One or more mothers with their own children
- Adults who are not mothers
- Nonrelated children
- Lots of cookies
- Pencil
-
Paper
Science Practice:
Asking questions and defining problems
1. Ask the youth: Do moms know what their kids are doing without seeing them? It is something many children have suspected when their moms catch them doing something they shouldn’t. Is there a way to test this? Are moms better than other adults at knowing which children are engaged in bad behavior? Are they better at catching their own children?
Science Practice:
Planning and carrying out investigations
2. Tell the youth that they are not supposed to eat any cookies. Place the cookies on the table. Have the mother in a place where she cannot see the children or the cookies. (She could simply have her back turned.) Have both the related and nonrelated children try to sneak a cookie. If the mother calls out a specific child’s name when he or she sneaks a cookie, the child has to put the cookie back. Track who gets cookies and who gets caught using the table below.
Science Practice:
Analyzing and interpreting data
3. Run the experiment several times with different adults. Create the following chart on a piece of paper and fill it out:
Cookie Sneaking Experiment
Adult |
Mom’s children caught |
Other children caught |
Mom’s children not caught |
Other children not caught |
Mom 1 |
|
|
|
|
Non-mom |
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Science Practice:
Using mathematics and computational thinking
4. Can you calculate what percent of times moms caught their own kids?
Science Practice:
Constructing explanations and designing solutions
5. Were moms better at catching their own children? Were moms better than others at catching the cookie stealers?
Science Practice:
Engaging in argument from evidence
6. Would you say moms have an ability to know when their kids are misbehaving based on this experiment? Why or why not?
Other thoughts:
- Could you run this test to see if kids are good at catching adults misbehaving?
- Are certain professions better at being sneaky than others (such as private investigators, police detectives or other professions)? Could you test this question?
- Can moms predict bad behavior in adult children?
- Do grandparents have the ability to predict this behavior?
Science & Engineering Practices
These eight Science and Engineering Practices come from A Framework for K–12 Science Education (National Research Council, 2012, p. 42). These research-based best practices for engaging youth in science are connected to in-school science standards that all children must meet.
- Asking questions and defining problems
- Developing and using models
- Planning and carrying out investigations
- Analyzing and interpreting data
- Using mathematics and computational thinking
- Constructing explanations and designing solutions
- Engaging in argument from evidence
- Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information
Reference
National Research Council. (2012). A framework for K-12 science education: Practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.