A few days ago, the Leaders Letter for May was sent out to those on the distribution list and it included a report about the Third National Climate Assessment and What Science Teachers Need to Know.  While current information is always a positive for sharing with students, there  is no doubt that the topic of climate change has received more than its fair share of press – and the leading information that seems to be available are the broadcasts and articles that call climate change a myth or inaccurate.  Included in the Leaders Letter is a resource from  Skeptical Science which examines the myths that are commonly used to refute climate change.  Readers are provided different levels of information on the topic in order to make an informed decision (if it were only that easy).
Climate change is not the only topic that finds itself on the “hot topic” list which includes those that have scientific evidence in favor of the topic but still continues to have those naysayers who argue their own beliefs rather than the scientific evidence.  Skeptical Science provides as a resource The Debunking Handbook which is available for download and provides some interesting communication strategies for debunking myths.  The focus of the strategy present is communication and the patterns that people who engage in discourse find themselves facing.
Since using evidence is a big part of The Next Generation Science Standards, continue the conversation for May asks teachers for strategies or your favorite resources for debunking pseudoscience.