. . . the scientific method is the greatest technology humans have ever developed. It allows us to understand not only what works but why it works. And with that knowledge our future is determined, not by luck, but by our ability to manipulate reality to our advantage.”[1]

 

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What is The Capstone Investigation? 

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The Capstone Investigation is a big culminating project in which you will either

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1. Conduct an original scientific investigation or

2. Solve a problem with an original engineering design.

 

Whichever you choose, you'll present your work to this class, the colleagues that you’ve spent the last semester investigating science with.

 

Um, Original Investigation. . . I’m Scared . . . What’s That Mean?

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As you’ve seen over and over in our class. Science isn’t always laboratory experiments. This project is no different. There are many possibilities. You could . . .

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• Do library/textual research

• Gather and record real-world observational evidence

• Argue for a new model as an alternative to one that our class has already developed (maybe yours will be better)

• Argue for revisions to model that we already have.

• Provide a skeptical look at popular scientific or pseudoscientific claims

• Develop a mathematical expression to explain patterns that we’ve observed (like E = mc2)

• Develop a prototype of something that could solve a technological problem

• Test a design solution

• Submit several design solutions to a cost-benefit analysis

• Develop your own computer simulation

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Conducting a controlled experiment is always good too.

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What’s important is not what you do. What’s important is that your work

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1. begins with a question about a specific phenomenon or a specific design problem and

2. advances the scientific work that we’ve built together this semester.

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Um . . . Still Scared . . . What’s That Actually Look Like? Examples Please.

 

Sure. Here are some options. You could. . .

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• write a paper about your work. That’s pretty much the standard choice. If you’re not sure what to do, do that. It would be about 5-10 page.

• make a traditional science fair, tri-fold poster. These are great. It should have almost as much text as a paper, but won’t need quite so much because you’ll have more space for illustrations.

• show us a physical model or prototype of an engineering design solution

• deliver a presentation with a slide show

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This isn’t a complete list of course. If you have another idea, just ask and we’ll figure out how to make it work.

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OK . . . now I’m just overwhelmed . . . how am I supposed to do this?

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Relax. You’ve actually done all the science before. You just haven’t had to put it together yourself yet. And while there is no real recipe that you can just follow, there are some guidelines, that, as long as you’re willing to be flexible with them, can get you started in the right direction. More on that here (link).

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So what does a good job look like?

Original

This is not a fourth-grade book report. It is not a summary of what someone else did. Even if you’re doing library research, your job is to ask your own question, and use your own reasoning to arrive at your own conclusion. If you arrive at the same conclusion as some expert, tell us how you got there.

 

Scientific

The heart of this project is to use the science and engineering practices (SEPs) that we’ve developed all semester to explain phenomena and solve problems. You don’t have to use them all. But you should be engaged in at least one of them throughout.

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Relevant

Don’t just pick some random topic. This project should grow out of the work that we’ve done together. It should be connected to the guiding questions of this course and incorporate the models that we’ve developed when appropriate.

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Reflective

You should be able to explain why your work matters. Does it develop skills that will help you advance toward a career you’re interested in? Will it make us better consumers of scientific information? Will it advance discussion about scientific issues? Will it allow you to delve deeper into something that is beautiful or wonderful?

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Humble

You must know and be explicit about the limitations of your work.

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Honest

This goes without saying, I hope. But you must be very clear and truthful about where all your ideas came from. Give credit where credit is due, whether it is a published writer or one of your classmates.  

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What's the Point of this Capstone Investigation? 

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Your ability to get a job you don’t hate, to make the world a better place, and to avoid getting taking in by hucksters and charlatans—all of these will depend on how well you can actually do science.

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*Bonus points that scientific thinking will increase your chances of supporting a functioning democracy for all of us.

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**Bonus bonus points for the fact that doing science is AWESOME and the world it explores happens to be beautiful and mysterious.

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That’s why . . .

 

[1] Muller, D. [Veritasium]. (2019 July 17). How a Fish Saved the Vikings. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtCNBh0AsWM