17-7
Instructor: Fine! Let’s say the fingerprints are a little blurred, but that after doing
the fingerprint test Mama is almost sure that one boy stole the jam.
What should she do next?
Students: Punish him!
Instructor: And after punishing him, how can she tell if she was right about who
did it, and if the punishment was effective?
A student: By seeing whether any more jam is stolen!
•
After the ‘detective story’ has been completed, the instructor helps the students
analyze the various steps that Mama took to find out who stole the jam. The steps
will be something like this:
1. Mama becomes aware of the problem.
2. She is uncertain about how it happened.
3. She guesses that one of her children is responsible.
4. She notices the details or ‘evidence’.
5. She asks questions.
6. She examines her children’s fingers.
7. She considers all possibilities.
8. She conducts tests to prove or disprove the different possibilities.
9. She decides who is probably guilty.
10. She provides punishment.
11. She sees the results: Whether or not punishment was effective.
12. She starts over again with step 1 if the punishment was not effective.
Put a
list of
steps
on the
blackboard,
leaving
room for
2 more
lists next
to it.