Science in Personal and Societal Perspectives

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Science in Personal and Societal Perspectives
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National Science Education Standards
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CHANGING EMPHASES IN SCIENCE CONTENT

• LESS EMPHASIS ON
• Knowing scientific facts and information.
• Studying subject matter disciplines (e.g.,
  physics, earth sciences) for their own sake.
• Separating science knowledge and science process.
• Covering many science topics.
• Implementing inquiry as a set of processes.

• MORE EMPHASIS ON
• Understanding science processes and developing
  abilities of inquiry.
• Learning subject matter disciplines in the
  context of inquiry, technology, science in
  personal and social perspectives, and history and
  nature of science.
• Integrating all aspects of science content.
• Studying a few fundamental science concepts.
• Implementing inquiry as instructional strategies,
  abilities, and ideas to be learned.

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Science Content Standards K-4 5-8 9-12
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Science Content Standards

• Science as Inquiry
• Physical Science
• Life Science
• Earth Science
• Science and Technology
• Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
• History and Nature of Science
• above content applied to k-4, 5-8 and 9-12
  levels of instruction

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Content Standards also include Science in
Personal and Social Perspectives

• As a result of activities in grades 9-12, all
  students should develop understanding of
• Personal and community health
• Population growth
• Natural resources
• Environmental quality
• Natural and human-induced hazards
• Science and technology in local, national, and
  global challenges

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STS

• Science Technology Society

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Case Study
410

• Case studies enable students to learn about
  issues important to them, and also to develop
  high level thinking skills in a debate
  environment.
• You can combine this strategy with the Creative
  Controversy.
• Visit the National Center for Case Study Teaching
  in Science for other case studies.

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Action Projects
411-412

• Not theoretical but an actual action project.
  Possible topics
• Waste disposal
• Pollution problems and control
• Recycling efforts and conservation
• Zoning of land
• Energy issues
• Environmental protection
• Local endangered wildlife concerns

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STS Dilemma Sheet

• By use of a provocative statement (or
  illustration), an issue is raised that has
  implications for students to consider.

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Engineering Education

• Volcanoes versus Cars
• -Which gets most coverage?

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THE GREAT KAPOK TREE A TALE OF THE AMAZON RAIN
FOREST By Lynne Cherry
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Summary of Story

• In the dense, green Amazon rain forest, a man is
  chopping down a great Kapok tree. The animals who
  live among its leaves and branches watch him
  silently.
• Hot and weary, the man lies down to rest at the
  foot of the tree and falls asleep.
• Then, one by one, the forest creatures emerge to
  whisper in his ear. They beg him not to destroy
  their home and tell him how important every tree
  is in the rain forest. An anteater reminds the
  man, "What happens tomorrow depends on what you
  do today." Finally, a Yanomamo child of the rain
  forest pleads,
• "When you awake, please look upon us all with new
  eyes."
• The man wakes up with a start. All around him are
  monkeys, tree porcupines, frogs, bees,
  butterflies, anteaters, birds of many colors, a
  jaguar, and a three toed sloth. Their whispers
  echo in his ears. The man and the creatures stare
  silently at one another, and then he makes his
  decision. (By Lynne Cherry)

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What personal and societal perspectives?
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Personal and Societal Perspectives

• Personal health
• Characteristics and changes in populations
• Types of resources
• Changes in environments
• Science and technology in local challenges

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Themes/Big Ideas

• Environmental Interrelationships
• Biological diversity results from the interaction
  of living and non-living environmental components
  such as air, water, climate, and geological
  features
• Forest as well as other ecosystems, contain
  numerous habitats that support diverse population
  of organisms.
• Altering the Environment affects all life
  forms-including humans- and the
  interrelationships that link them
• Resource and Technological Interrelationships
• Resource management technologies interact and
  influence environmental quality the acquisition,
  extraction and transportation of natural
  resources all life forms and each one of us.
• While technological advances decrease the
  incidence of disease and death, the ever
  increasing world population is placing heavy
  demands on the finite resources of the Earth

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Themes/Big Ideas

• Societal and Cultural Interrelationships
• Human societies and cultures throughout the world
  interact with each other and affect natural
  systems upon which they depend.
• The quantity and quality of resources and their
  use- or misuse- by humans affect the standard of
  living of societies.
• Cultural and societal perspectives influence the
  attitudes, beliefs and biases of people toward
  the use of resources and environmental protection
• All humans consume products and thereby affect
  the availability of renewable and nonrenewable
  natural resources.
• The extracting, processing, transporting, and
  marketing of natural resources provide employment
  opportunities for many people.

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Bibliography/Resources

• Cherry, Lynne. GREAT KAPOK TREE A TALE OF THE
  AMAZON RAINFOREST.
• Orlando, FL Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1990.