The Effect of Examples and Gender on Third Graders' Ability to Distinguish Environmental Facts from Opinions

Abstract This article reports on the effects of using both specific examples and gender in distinguishing between environmental facts and opinions. Twenty-four third-grade students were randomly assigned to either a control or an experimental group. The control group received an explanation of the distinctions between environmental facts and opinions, whereas the experimental group received the explanation as well as specific examples. Both groups completed questionnaires comprising 10 statements of fact or opinion. The experimental group scored significantly higher than the control group on distinguishing fact and opinion; gender did not affect performance. The author discusses the need for studying additional teaching strategies in order to develop students' critical thinking in environmental education.