Discussion 1

Review the news story that you chose to complete the topic exploration graphic organizer from Theme: Understanding the Scientific Process and complete the following:

• Explain the article in your own words, providing a brief summary.
• Why did you select this news story for scientific and personal study? In other words, what was it about the news story that interested you or made you curious?

Discussion 2

Learning how to ask good questions helps shape our learning. Science is constantly building on the work of those who came before. Review the news story you chose and respond to the question below.

What question related to the topic in the news story you chose would you, assuming the role of a natural scientist, like to study?

Use your response to this question and the list of questions that you posed in Project 1: Topic Exploration Graphic Organizer (submitted at the end of Theme: Understanding the Scientific Process) to select one question that interests you and that you would like to focus on as you continue your project work in the course.

As you complete this assignment, keep in mind that your answer to this question or closely related questions will be part of your Project 2 submission, the question development worksheet. It is recommended that, in addition to entering the answer to the question below, you save your answer in a Word document that you can refer to later when completing Project 2.

Discussion 3

Short answer: prior knowledge and assumption

Review the news story you chose and respond to the following:

What prior knowledge and assumptions about the science topic in your article did you have before viewing this news story? In other words, describe what you already knew about the topic.