So Your Student Believes the Earth Is Flat

Ten ways for teachers to address science denial

by Barbara Hofer and Gale Sinatra

This article originally appeared in the fall 2021 issue of Harvard Ed. magazine. Full story here

Science denial has become rampant and deadly in recent years, threatening individual health, community well-being, and the life of the planet’s environment. As educators, we know that teachers have a significant role in addressing this growing problem. Teachers can mentor the next generation of scientists, and they can also nurture an appreciation for science and instill regard for scientific expertise, regardless of students’ chosen careers. Science can contribute to contemporary problems great and small. Such work is enhanced when members of the public understand and trust the scientific expertise.

Why is it that some individuals reject vaccinations during a pandemic or deny the human role in climate change? As two research psychologists, we have identified key constructs that make all of us susceptible to science denial, doubt, and resistance, detailed in our new book Science Denial: Why It Happens and What to Do About It. We include copious suggestions for how to address these challenges. Here are our top 10 tips for teachers to address science denial with students in their classrooms:

1. First, teach your students to value science. Teach them that science is a systematic and reliable way to pose questions and seek answers about the natural world. Its strength lies in scientists’ collective willingness to trust the evidence from combined results of many tests, an accumulation that builds toward scientific consensus, through peer review of research findings. 

2. Cultivate a scientific attitude. At the heart of scientific thinking is an openness to new evidence and a willingness to change one’s mind in light of new evidence. Educators will also recognize it as a cornerstone of critical thinking, relevant in all fields and highly valued in classrooms. Acknowledge it when you see it expressed in discussions. “I see how you changed your mind when you found out that...”

3. Teach not only what scientists know but how they know. Students are often taught the scientific method as the sole means by which scientists test claims, through controlled studies in labs. This impression makes it difficult to understand how sciences such as astronomy may rely more on observations than experiments. Broaden their awareness of the various fields of sciences and the processes by which scientists know.

4. Address misconceptions about science. In our own research we have found that individuals often assume that unless scientists know something with complete certainty, the findings are dismissed as not trustworthy. For example, although 98% of climate scientists think that climate change is largely caused by human activities, only 57% of the public share that view.

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