Science, technology, and their impact on society and environment were discussed. Key points include:
- Science is a body of knowledge that aims to explain nature, while technology applies science to solve problems and meet human needs and wants.
- The STS (science, technology, society) approach teaches these topics in cultural and socio-political contexts to engage students and make science relevant.
- Major technological developments like cities, industry, and modern conveniences changed how people live and work, both positively and negatively.
- Medical advances extended lifespans but issues like genetic engineering are controversial.
- Communication technologies from writing to the internet dramatically influenced societies over time.
- While progress through inventions improves lives, environmental
3. Science
? A body of knowledge or facts.
? A way of thinking about or
approaching a topic.
? Asks questions that aim to increase
our understanding of the physical
universe and our ability to explain
nature.
4. Technology
? Applied science.
? A topic involving the designing and
use of devices, processes, and
materials to solve practical problems
and to satisfy human needs and
wants.
5. Society
? A group, large or small, of people in a
particular place and time who are
linked by common goals and interests.
6. Environment
? The natural world or ecosystem.
? The area in which something exists or
lives.
? The complex of physical, chemical,
and biological factors in which a living
organism or community exists.
7. What is STS all about?
This is an outlook on science education that
emphasizes the teaching of scientific and
technological developments in their cultural,
economic, social and political contexts.
In this view of science education, students
are encouraged to engage in issues
pertaining to the impact of science on
everyday life and make responsible
decisions about how to address such
issues.
8. Goals of STS Education
? Engaging students in examining a variety of
real world issues and grounding scientific
knowledge in such realities.
? In today's world, such issues might include
the impact on society of: global warming,
genetic engineering, animal testing,
deforestation practices, nuclear testing and
environmental legislations.
9. Goals of STS Education
? Enabling students to formulate a
critical understanding of the interface
between science, society and
technology.
10. Goals of STS Education
? Developing students¡¯ capacities and
confidence to make informed
decisions, and to take responsible
action to address issues arising from
the impact of science on their daily
lives.
11. Science, Technology, and Society
Objectives:
1. Develop rationale 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
12. I. Rationale for teaching STS
A. Science and Technology have profound effects on society
1. Provides products that increase quality of life
2. Negative effects of weapons, pollution, etc¡
3. Students will live in an increasingly technological society and
therefore need to understand how these institutions interact
4. We can make science instruction relevant to students
a. Personal experience and societal context for lessons
b. AIDS, obesity, water quality, national defense, etc¡
c. Our students will have to make informed decisions about these issues
B. The STS approach to science instruction
1. Science for meeting personal needs
2. Science for addressing societal issues and problems
3. Science for assisting with career choices
C. National and local standards
1. National Science Education Standards
2. Benchmarks for Scientific Literacy
13. II. What is Technology
A. Descriptions
1. Involves the design or products, systems, and processes that
affect the quality of life, using the knowledge of science when
necessary
2. An applied enterprise concerned with producing appliances, tools,
machines, and techniques
3. Products are called inventions
B. Examples
1. Simple tools for hunting, fishing, or farming
2. Computers, satellites, airplanes
C. Engineers
1. Design and produce products using science
2. Must know about the business they are working for as well as the
science to design products
D. Concerns
1. Mass production is often the goal
2. Depletion of natural resources and pollution
14. III. Incorporating STS into Science Instruction
A. Design and Build
1. Have students build working models of machines
a. Series and parallel circuits
b. Water clocks
c. Radios
d. Robots
2. Build new machines for specific purpose
a. Build a bridge using popsicle sticks that will hold a certain weight
b. Build a container to keep an egg from breaking when dropped
3. Benefits
a. Design a solution to a real problem
b. Implement and evaluate designs
c. Communicate about their designs to other students
d. Leads to student initiated designs on problems important to them
B. Investigate and Improve
1. Library/Internet research on how technology was invented
2. Explain how it works, scientific principles, and diagrams
15. 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. Confront students with alternative positions than their own
b. Challenge and enrich their understanding
c. Reconcile incompatible ideas by reorganizing current knowledge
d. Make judgments about science, technology, and society
16. D. Strategies
1. Inculcation = attempting to convince others of your value judgment
a. Not recommended because of inherent problems
b. May be perceived as coercion
c. Likely present only one side of a complex issue
d. Example: industry is bad because they pollute
2. Awareness of Issues and Problems
a. Clarification of student¡¯s own personal values on complex issues
b. Allows confrontation issues of concern in a constructive way
c. Helps students become award of other students¡¯ beliefs
d. Find a newspaper article to spark a discussion
e. List questions that make students define their values
f. ¡°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
17. 3. Issue and Problem Investigation
a. Goes beyond awareness by increasing science content
b. Stresses organization of facts, presentation of evidence
c. Requires library, field, or internet research
d. Separates fact from opinion
e. Promotes scientific inquiry and higher level thinking skills
f. Reversing perspective of students helps them see all sides of an issue
g. 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
18. 5.Project-Based Science
a.Students work in teams to
investigate and present findings
b.STS issues and problems are
ideally suited
c.Criticized for not teaching enough
content (teachers)
d.Should include teacher directed
lessons with student investigations
e.Easiest to incorporate when all
project are on the same issue
19. 4. Concerns
a. May disadvantage some students in college due to less traditional
content
b. Student will likely have a better attitude about science, better lab skills
F. Considerations for STS instruction
Select topics directly related to curriculum
1. Select topics relevant to students¡¯ lives
2. Select topics appropriate to the age group
3. Teacher must be knowledgeable about the issues
IV. Evolution, Creationism and Teaching Science
A. Differentiated between science and non-science
1. Science is internally consistent and compatible with evidence
2. Science is based on evidence
3. Science has been tested against a diverse range of phenomena
4. Science has broad problem-solving effectiveness
5. Science explains a wide variety of phenomena
20. B. Equal time for creationism
1. Academic freedom issue for science teachers
2. All theories should not be treated equally
3. Can excuse students from evolution instruction if
offended
4. Evolution is not necessarily in conflict with religion
22. Science and technology have had both a
positive and negative impact on society,
especially in the following areas:
Community Life
Work
Communication
Health
23. The shift from nomadic life to farming led to
the development of the city.
? Networks of
transportation,
communication, and
trade systems
? Specialized labor
? Government and
religion
? Social class
Jerusalem, one of the world¡¯s first
cities, is still in existence today.
24. The nineteenth century witnessed the
Industrial Revolution.
? Invention of textile
manufacturing machines
? Division of labor
? Increase in production
? Crowded cities
? Unsafe and unhealthy
working conditions
(Continued)
Some of the negative aspects of the
Industrial Revolution included poor
working conditions and long hours.
25. The twentieth century saw the birth of
suburbs.
? Invention of the
trolley car and
automobile
? Status symbol
? Alternative to harsh,
crowded city
conditions
(Continued)
Many planned communities, such as
this one outside Cincinnati, OH,
sprang up around cities during the
first half of the twentieth century.
26. Technical innovations saved physical energy
and lessened people¡¯s workload.
The tractor
The refrigerator
The vacuum cleaner
The washing machine
27. The concept of leisure developed from labor-
saving technology. People use the money they
earn to take advantage of leisure time.
(Continued)
Television
Social Activities
Sporting Events
Movies
28. The greatest innovation of technology was
longevity. Estimated Life Expectancy of People in the
United States, 1900 - 2000
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
1900
1920
1940
1960
1980
2000
Year
Life
Expectancy
(in
years)
29. A large part of technology has been dedicated
to the advancement of medical science.
(Continued)
Sir Alexander Fleming
discovered penicillin, the
first antibiotic, in 1928.
In 1796, Edward Jenner
paved the way for modern
immunology by discovering
a vaccine for smallpox.
Dr. William Thomas Green
Morton (c. 1846) was one of the
first medical practitioners to use
anesthesia on a patient before
performing surgery.
30. Some current innovations could have a drastic
impact on society.
(Continued)
In 1997, scientists at the Roslin Institute in
Edinburgh, Scotland, introduced Dolly the
sheep, the first mammal ever to have been
cloned. Dolly quickly became the symbol of
the controversy over the ethics of cloning.
Embryonic stem cell research is another area
that is at the center of controversy. While
stem cells might be able to be used to
generate new organs for transplant, the use
of them has many ethical considerations.
31. Inventions and innovations in communication
have had a major influence on society.
? Egypt: papyrus and hieroglyphics
? Ancient Babylonia: cuneiform
? Ancient Greece: public speaking,
persuasive rhetoric, drama, and philosophy
? Ancient Rome: Roman alphabet
? Modern Europe: printing press
? World today: World Wide Web
32. Progress is a series of improvements in human
life marked by inventions and discoveries.
? Positive attributes of
technology must be
greater than negative
attributes
? Negative consequences:
destruction of environment
and loss of what it means
to be human
The Exxon Valdez oil spill off the
coast of Alaska in 1989 impacted
1,300 miles of shoreline and killed
an enormous amount of wildlife.
35. Exercise No. 1
?Select a partner
?Answer the following questions
?Be ready to discuss these in
the class on
36. Problems What I thought
about the Topic
What my partner
thought about
the topic
What we decided
to share
1. Why do you
think the society
readily accepts
the benefits of
science and
technology even
though negative
results also come
out from them?
2. How is science
and technology
affects the growth
of a nation?
3. As a student of
DVM, how can you
be a guardian of
the society? Cite
concrete
examples.