Science students don't get experiment variables? Try causal diagrams instead

In schools, it is common for students to be tasked with creating lists of variables with peculiar names: independent variable, dependent variable. Teachers often decry the failed efforts in helping students remember which is which.

What is the cause of this problem? In my view, the list is the problem. Behind the list is a set of causal relationships the teacher understands and can mentally map. For the student, however, it is just a list of terms that they don't fully understand.

This caused another problem; they found it boring.

Influenced by the science of cause and effect (Pearl and Mackenzie 2019), I created a causal diagram suitable for experiment design in schools; an alternative to list-making.

🚨 Update: I've moved to a new home! You can read the newest, updated version of this article on my new website here: https://christianmooreanderson.com/causal-diagrams-for-teaching-experimental-variables/