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		OVERVIEW
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			Scientists often engage in debates about their hypotheses and approaches. These can be verbal or on paper, and are often called &quot;peer review&quot;. This type of constructive criticism is very important and helps scientists see how they might improve their work to get more definite answers, or to see things they might have overlooked.</p>
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			This is a short activity for students.</p>
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			<a name="TOC-ACTIVITY-PROCEDURE"></a>ACTIVITY PROCEDURE</h2>
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			Engage the students in a type of peer review by having different groups review each others&#39; hypotheses and study designs. Discussions should focus around questions such as:</p>
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				Why do you think that?</li>
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				Have you considered &hellip;. ? (For example, a competing explanation for how a system might work.)</li>
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				When you are collecting data, won&rsquo;t it be confusing if &hellip; (A good example of this would be a student proposing to look at the relationship between fish weight and mercury burden without paying attention to differences between species.)</li>
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				Couldn&rsquo;t you also measure &hellip;.? (For example, suggesting that students collecting insects also keep track of the kind of terrain that the insect is captured in, just in case it might matter.)</li>
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			A key objective in this kind of exercise is helping students learn a different kind of discourse&mdash;one that is not personal, but is instead focused on leading to general improvement.&nbsp;You can help students see the importance of this by reminding them that the results will be used by others. Some students may have to play the role of &quot;devil&#39;s advocate&quot; - sometimes making an argument that they are not sure of, but that they think needs exploring. This type of thinking and healthy debate can lead to better projects and new ways of working.</p>
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			<a name="TOC-Communication-with-Other-Teachers"></a>Communication with Other Teachers</h3>
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			It would be useful to have the students prepare their hypotheses in a form that you can easily share with other teachers. You might also want to notify the cooperating scientist(s) that the materials are on the shared website if you would like an external review of what the students are proposing before the work begins.</p>
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