SEEING THE 'NATURE OF SCIENCE' - INVESTIGATING IN SCIENCE

 · Use the Nature of Science: Investigating in Science statements below to think about what you have been seeing/experiencing in your host placement. Have you seen these aspects? Where were you at the time, what happened, what were you or the scientists doing/saying? Make a note about this.

Investigation has been a large part of my placement so far. In fact, most of what I’ve experienced has been investigation; whether in the field or in the lab.

→ Being curious.

Curiosity underpins all scientific investigations. From what I’ve gathered so far, you can’t have an investigation without curiosity. Every PhD student began their project with an idea, something they were curious about and wanted to know more about. Curiosity drives them, their research, their reviews, their projects. Curiosity has also driven me to learn more, seek out opportunities within my placement, and ask further questions.

→ Making careful observations, asking questions and exploring ideas.

This is seen at AUT all the time. Every PhD student is making careful observations to use within their review or their research, asking questions to further themselves and their research, and exploring new or old ideas that could be relevant to what they’re doing. If they weren’t making careful observations, there would be no investigation or data. You can’t have science without observation.

→ Using a variety of investigative approaches.

As detailed in a previous blog, there are many investigative approaches seen at my placement, as many projects require more than just one approach to gather evidence to test an idea.

→ Gathering evidence to test an idea.

Not too long ago, I made a passing comment in the lab about how, “there are never really many people in the lab.” 

I found that super interesting, as I came into the placement expecting the lab to be bustling. Now I realise that there are a few different labs within the building, or the University even, each with different uses. The lab for DNA testing sounds to be like the lab I expected to see, but there are also so many people out in the field gathering their data for testing. Most of my first two weeks at AUT was also spent out in the field, gathering data. A lot of science actually takes place outside the lab, again something I didn’t entirely realise before now.

→ Carrying out repeat tests during an investigation

This is a huge one, one that I’ve seen and experienced. While working with a PhD student, we did many repeat tests where the conditions had to be exactly the same each time. Soil sample collecting, for example. When we collected soil samples from 12 separate plots, we needed to make sure we did the exact same thing for each plot. Taking two cores every 10 metres along a 50 metre stretch, washing the corer between plots, and repeating. Similarly with DNA extraction, each sample needed to be extracted in the exact same way, with a rigorous washing process between extraction.

→ Developing explanations based on evidence.

I haven’t really seen this in action too much, as no one really wants a random person sitting and watching them write their reviews or papers, but I have partially witnessed the initial development of explanations as the evidence was being discovered. I have also been privy to ‘work-in-progress’ reviews PhD students are writing, where they are in the middle of putting all of the pieces together.

→ Discussing ideas with others while being open-minded and honest.

At AUT, it’s very common to see PhD students discussing their research and ideas they have with others – whether they’re fellow students, research assistants, lab supervisors, lecturers etc. A weekly SEG (Spatial Ecology Group) meeting is also set up where PhD students can bounce ideas from one another, and lecturers or supervisors are usually in attendance to offer help. These meetings give a great insight into the support network that AUT School of Science has set up. The meetings take a rostered format where they’re student-run, giving autonomy and ensuring that their needs are being met – a meeting can even consist of looking over someone’s review and giving feedback.

→ Critiquing the methods of investigation being used.

This has been seen recently, where a PhD student collected soil and froze it, but their supervisor questioned and critiqued them for that, as they thought the nematodes inside the soil may not survive being frozen. This essentially caused the student to go back a couple of steps with their project, creating a lot more work. Critiquing can also be seen in the aforementioned SEG meetings, especially when students put forth reviews to be checked – a lot of constructive criticism is given as feedback.

→ Looking for trends and patterns in data.

Living Labs does this through looking at what tree species live/grow in our forests, specifically looking into which tree species grow where the best and use this data to help their native forest restoration project. From the patterns in the data collected, they look at species of trees, planting configuration, and environmental context to decide what is going to work best for their project.

→ Being creative.

Being creative is a huge thing in science, because I think that creativity is needed to even come up with ideas and investigative approaches and different methods that will even work. Creativity is up there with curiosity, it underpins science and everything to do with science. I have seen so much creative thinking, ingenuity, and innovativeness displayed by scientists while on placement, where problem solving skills have been put to the test and they’ve just come with another way around it that still works.

· Think about the range and extent of the NoS you have just noted personally from your time in your host placement and try to connect it to your classroom. In what ways could students have opportunities to experience and develop these things? 

Write a sentence or two about these opportunities.

Through experiencing different types of investigations and actively engaging with them, getting them to conduct their own scientific investigations and explore their curiosity and creativity within science. Again, bringing science outside the four walls of the classroom – but alongside that comes barriers, too; time, and resources. I guess it’s time we don our scientist hats and use creativity to come up with a solution!