"Understanding Science," a Web site funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), offers a window to a better understanding about how dynamic and creative the scientific process really is.
"Understanding Science" Web site, University of California Museum of Paleontology

Not Just a Guy in a White Coat
News story originally written on February 26, 2009

Can you tell the difference between anecdotes and tested ideas? Do you know what science is and what it is not?  To make sense of the world today, it’s important to understand science.

You may have heard that scientists follow a defined process called the scientific method when they go to tackle a problem: Ask a question, form a hypothesis, conduct an experiment, collect data and draw a conclusion. But science is much more than those steps. It’s dynamic and creative. That’s what a new Web site called Understanding Science seeks to explain.

Instead of the five-step scientific method, there is an interactive chart showing how science works: the many motivations leading to exploration and discovery; the ways that ideas are tested out; the role of teamwork, analysis and feedback; and possible benefits and outcomes that result from making science happen.

The Web site illustrates what science is and how it works using real-life examples--from the structure of DNA to advances in fueling technology to the discovery of insulin. The site even offers a chance to consider whether pursuits like astrology are, or are not, science.

Understanding Science is designed for the general public and educators. Links to teacher resources include resources targeted to primary, middle school, high school and undergraduate-level educators.

Last modified April 13, 2009 by Lisa Gardiner.

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Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA