Chapter 7: Science, Technology, and Society
Objectives:
1. Develop rationale for including technology and social
perspectives in science classroom
2. Explain how technology is related to science/society
3. Describe how studying technological devices can
become an integral part of science instruction
4. Describe strategies for teaching STS
5. Discuss teaching controversial topics such as evolution
I.
Rationale for teaching STS
A.
Science and Technology have profound effects on society
1.
2.
3.
4.
Provides products that increase quality of life
Negative effects of weapons, pollution, etc…
Students will live in an increasingly technological society and
therefore need to understand how these institutions interact
We can make science instruction relevant to students
a.
b.
c.
B.
The STS approach to science instruction
1.
2.
3.
C.
Personal experience and societal context for lessons
AIDS, obesity, water quality, national defense, etc…
Our students will have to make informed decisions about these issues
Science for meeting personal needs
Science for addressing societal issues and problems
Science for assisting with career choices
National and local standards
1.
2.
3.
National Science Education Standards
Benchmarks for Scientific Literacy
Kansas State Department of Education
II.
What is Technology
A.
Descriptions
1.
2.
3.
B.
Examples
1.
2.
C.
Simple tools for hunting, fishing, or farming
Computers, satellites, airplanes
Engineers
1.
2.
D.
Involves the design or products, systems, and processes that
affect the quality of life, using the knowledge of science when
necessary
An applied enterprise concerned with producing appliances, tools,
machines, and techniques
Products are called inventions
Design and produce products using science
Must know about the business they are working for as well as the
science to design products
Concerns
1.
2.
Mass production is often the goal
Depletion of natural resources and pollution
III. Incorporating STS into Science Instruction
A.
Design and Build
1.
Have students build working models of machines
a.
b.
c.
d.
2.
Build new machines for specific purpose
a.
b.
3.
Build a bridge using popsicle sticks that will hold a certain weight
Build a container to keep an egg from breaking when dropped
Benefits
a.
b.
c.
d.
B.
Series and parallel circuits
Water clocks
Radios
Robots
Design a solution to a real problem
Implement and evaluate designs
Communicate about their designs to other students
Leads to student initiated designs on problems important to them
Investigate and Improve
1.
2.
Library/Internet research on how technology was invented
Explain how it works, scientific principles, and diagrams
3. Give beneficial uses
4. Discuss limitations or potential dangers
5. Offer suggestions for improvement
C. Focus on current issues and problems
1. Major focus of most science standards
2. Issue = an idea on which people hold different beliefs and values
a. Should recycling be mandatory
b. Should we fine drivers for not wearing a seat belt
3. Problem = a situation that is a risk for a given population
a. Poisoning of fish downstream from industry
b. Lead poisoning in older homes from lead-based paints
4. Goal is conceptual enhancement rather than conceptual change
a.
b.
c.
d.
Confront students with alternative positions than their own
Challenge and enrich their understanding
Reconcile incompatible ideas by reorganizing current knowledge
Make judgments about science, technology, and society
D. Strategies
1. Inculcation = attempting to convince others of your value judgment
a.
b.
c.
d.
Not recommended because of inherent problems
May be perceived as coercion
Likely present only one side of a complex issue
Example: industry is bad because they pollute
2. Awareness of Issues and Problems
Clarification of student’s own personal values on complex issues
Allows confrontation issues of concern in a constructive way
Helps students become award of other students’ beliefs
Find a newspaper article to spark a discussion
List questions that make students define their values
“Four corners” of the classroom for strongly agree, agree, strongly
disagree, and disagree. Teacher makes statements and students
move to corner, where they must explain their position
g. “Vignettes” are short descriptions of a problem followed by questions
i. Can be done daily or weekly for as little as 5 minutes
ii. Students can keep a journal
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
3. Issue and Problem Investigation
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
Goes beyond awareness by increasing science content
Stresses organization of facts, presentation of evidence
Requires library, field, or internet research
Separates fact from opinion
Promotes scientific inquiry and higher level thinking skills
Structured controversy model (Johnson, 1988)
i. Identify and clarify the basic question
ii. Gather facts about the issue under study
iii. Evaluate the factual information
iv. Evaluate the relevance of the factual information
v. Propose a tentative decision
vi. Determine the acceptability of the solution
g. Reversing perspective of students helps them see all sides of an issue
h. Forces students to make a decision (sometimes they even act on it)
4. Action Learning
a. Extends learning beyond classroom by having students act in society
b. Community service project (adopt a stream)
c. Requires time, commitment outside of class
5. Project-Based Science
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Students work in teams to investigate and present findings
STS issues and problems are ideally suited
Criticized for not teaching enough content
Should include teacher directed lessons with student investigations
Easiest to incorporate when all project are on the same issue
E. STS Curriculum Programs
1. FACETS = Foundations and Challenges to Encourage Technologybased Science (American Chemical Society, 1996)
a. Middle school curriculum with physical, life, and earth science focus
b. Modules on growing older, changing shorelines, climate and farming…
2. Event-Based Science
a. Centered on real events beginning with media coverage
b. Students work toward producing a solution to the problem
3. Biology: A Community Context
a. Follows structured controversy model
b. Students keep logbooks containing data, ideas, etc…
4.
Concerns
a.
b.
c.
F.
May disadvantage students in college due to less traditional content
Ware (1992) has found this not to be the case
Student will likely have a better attitude about science, better lab skills
Considerations for STS instruction (p. 143)
1.
2.
3.
4.
Select topics directly related to curriculum
Select topics relevant to students’ lives
Select topics appropriate to the age group
Teacher must be knowledgeable about the issues
IV. Evolution, Creationism and Teaching Science
A.
Society influence how science is taught
1.
Scopes Trial, 1925
a.
b.
2.
3.
Tennessee teacher found guilty of “teaching evolution”
Sensational trial actually perceived as victory for evolutionists
1968 US Supreme Court allows evolution instruction
1982 Creationism is not a science and needn’t receive equal time
4. KSBE 1999 restricts emphasis of evolution in state standards and in
state assessments.
a. Did not prohibit teaching of evolution
b. Did not remove mention of evolution from standards
c. Later, these changes were revoked by KSBE
B. NSTA 1997 differentiated between science and nonscience
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Science is internally consistent and compatible with evidence
Science is based on evidence
Science has been tested against a diverse range of phenomena
Science has broad problem-solving effectiveness
Science explains a wide variety of phenomena
p. 145 recommendations for teaching evolution
C. Equal time for creationism?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Academic freedom issue for science teachers
All theories should not be treated equally
Can excuse students from evolution instruction if offended
Creationism is religion, not science US Supreme Court 1987
Evolution is not necessarily in conflict with religion