To the Instructor

The exercises in this site have been constructed to help develop hypothesizing skills useful in diagnosing situations that arise in educational institutions.

The exercises are preceded by an essay titled, "How to Hypothesize" that explains what goes into scientifically constructing and evaluating hypotheses. This should be given to the students and gone over, if necessary, before the actual hypothesizing training begins.

Downloaded copies may be masked appropriately for recopying as an instructor's sheet or a student's sheet.

a. The instructor has the students read the Anecdote given in the shadowed box. S/he invites the students to formulate hypotheses addressing item A in the Student Directions. The hypotheses are written in a well-spaced column.

b. Item B in the student directions is addressed. The new hypotheses are added to or substituted for hypotheses already given.

c. Item C in the student directions is addressed. The information is noted in a column to the right of the previously obtained hypotheses

d. As item D in the student directions indicates, the instructor gives an item or items of additional information to the students.

e. Item A is readdressed in light of the additional information, with disconfirmed hypotheses noted and discarded from consideration. The cycle through items B through E continues until all additional information has been provided.

f. The final hypothesis is tested by addressing the Additional Student Questions. Other assumptions or supporting hypotheses needed to bring this part of the exercise to closure should be noted.

I hope these exercises will provide both substance and discipline to a process that tends all too easily to suffer from lack of both.