A Collaboration with Generation Skeptics
Are you looking for a way to incorporate more critical thinking and nature of science content into your classroom but your curriculum is already full? We have a solution: Bellringers!
I’ve been creating short videos for social media on topics like pseudoscience, science denial, conspiracy theories, fact checking, ghosts, homeopathy, etc. My brilliant colleague Bertha Vazquez, the Director of Education for the Center for Inquiry, organized the videos into a logical sequence with simple reflection questions on a downloadable powerpoint available for free here.
With just 3 to 5 minutes at the beginning (or ending) of class, students can learn how to think well, protect themselves from misinformation, and make better decisions.
The Bellringers are available at Generation Skeptics . If you use them in class, we would love to hear from you!
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As a retired teacher, I wonder how much backlash will come from school communities, administrators, etc…from sharing these videos. Sadly, there are far too many closed minded people in so many areas. I retired early because I just couldn’t take it any longer. I was silenced from sharing important lessons so often, and told to “stick to the curriculum.” I ended up getting set up, and cut from a 17 year teaching position because I spoke up and reported cheating, lying, preaching, etc… I was a whistle blower. That followed me when I went to another school district.
Administrators aren’t supposed to talk bad about teachers to other districts, but they do. The second school district cut me simply saying that I “didn’t fit in.” Twenty years later, I had had enough! I am now enjoying retirement, even if I am quite poor again. Good luck to all educators still trying to instill better thinking!
Thanks for the kind words. I’m so sorry to hear about your experiences, and I know you’re not alone. I teach at a college, so I don’t deal with parents, but I have a lot of colleagues around the country in middle and high school and they’re facing a lot of pressures right now.
Best
Melanie