Changing Your Mind with Evidence
Use observations to check a prediction. When the result differs, record it, check the test and reconsider the idea. Expected results can provide useful evidence too.
What a learner can do afterwards
- Distinguish a prediction from the result that was observed or measured.
- Use checked results to reconsider an idea without discarding surprises or making an always-rule from one test.
1 · Read
A prediction is what you think will happen before you check. Evidence comes from what you observe or measure. Keep your prediction separate from the result. You can learn from a result whether it matches your prediction or surprises you.
Ben predicts that an ice cube will stay solid for ten minutes outside. After ten minutes, he sees only water. He records the change. His prediction did not match this result. This observation alone does not tell him exactly what caused the melting.
Check that the tools worked and the test happened as planned. Repeat the test in the same way when you can. If checked results do not support your prediction, revise your idea. Record what this test showed. One test does not tell you what always happens.
Record the result, check the test and use the evidence to reconsider your idea.
This lesson, its questions and flashcards were written for this dataset.
Both readings were written for this dataset. Linked video: Why did it take so long to find giant squids? - Anna Rothschild, from TED-Ed. Video reuse terms are unverified.
More to read
Check what changed
Finn predicts that his toy car will reach the bottom of a ramp. It stops partway down. He marks the stopping place in his notes.
He looks along the ramp and finds a strip of tape sticking up. He presses it flat and tries again. The car reaches the bottom.
Finn keeps both results. He also records that he changed the tape between the tries. The two tests were not exactly alike.
Checking a surprising result includes checking the setup. Keeping a record helps you notice what changed.
A prediction for the next try
Mei makes a bridge from folded paper. She predicts that it will hold one block. It holds three before it bends.
Mei records the result. She makes another bridge using the same paper and folds. That bridge also holds three blocks before bending.
For her next bridge of this kind, Mei can use those results to revise her prediction. She has evidence about these bridges, not every paper bridge anyone could make.
A matching result would matter too. Each recorded try gives her evidence to compare with her prediction.
Explore more
2 · Watch
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Where it sits
Learn first
Where this leads
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.