NARRATIVEEXPOSITIONOFSTSCOURSEOBJECTIVESANDGUIDELINES FORSUBMISSION
For thebenefitof SantaClarafacultywho aredeveloping,or thinkingaboutdevelopingScience, Technologyand Societycoursesfor thenewcore,thisdocumentdefinesthetwocourse objectivesfor STSanddescribesgeneralpedagogicalapproachestomeetingtheseobjectives, alongwithexamplesof suchapproachesinvariousdisciplines.Eachlearningobjectiveis illustratedwithexamplestofollow.
GuidelinesforSubmission
Proposalsfor STScorecoursesshoulddescribehow thatcoursewillsatisfythetwoSTS
objectivesfor studentachievement,andhow suchachievementwillbeassessed.Withregardto eachof theobjectives,acourseproposalshouldidentifyanddescribe:
A. Thoseexercises,units,or themesthattheinstructorbelieveswillbeparticularly successfulinmodeling/encouragingstudentachievementof theobjective,
B. How someonelookingatthecourseproductscouldtellhow wellthisgoalwas achievedinthecaseof anygivenstudent.
Finally,inordertoensurethatSTScoursesprovidestudentswithsubstantialexposuretoboth thescientific/technologicalandsocialdimensionsof theirsubjectmatter,theSTSFacultyCore Committeedevelopedthefollowingruleof thumb:
•A minimumof 30% of thecoursecontentshouldaddressthescientific/technological dimension.
•A minimumof 30% of thecoursecontentshouldaddressthesocialdimension,each taughtatalevelappropriatefor theexpectedstudentaudience.
•Ideally,thesedimensionswillbeintegratedwithinthecourseratherthantreated separately,andthustheFCCdoesnotregardprecisequantitativeassessmentsof such percentagesasfeasible.
•However,theminimumsreflecttheoverarchingaimof theSTScomponent:atrue intellectualunionof theseperspectivesinthemindsof our students.
CourseObjective#1 Comprehendtherelevantscienceand/ortechnologyand explainhow scienceand/ortechnologyadvancethroughtheprocessesofinquiryand experiment.
Definition:Expressestheneedfor studentstoacquireagreatercapacityfor understandinghow scientificinquiryand/ortechnologyactuallyprogress.
GeneralApproaches:Developcoursecontentthathelpsstudentsdevelopagreatercapacityfor understandingbasicscientific/technologicalmethodologies,concepts,principles,standards,and techniques.
Examples:A courseofferedinthehumanitiesmightmeettheobjectiveby presentingstudents withcasestudiestakenfromthehistoryof scienceinwhichtheevolutionof aparticulartheory or scientificconceptisanalyzed;thismightincludeexaminingthetheoreticalor experimental backgroundusedtoselectanddefinethespecificresearchquestion;thespecificpatternsof scientificreasoning(deductive,inductiveor abductive)usedtoadvancethediscovery;the specifictechniquesusedfor datacollectionandanalysis,thestagesby whichthescientists arrivedattheirconclusions,and/orhow thevalidityof thoseconclusionswasultimately confirmedby theresearchcommunity.For example,onemightteachacourseinevolutionary theorythatexploredtheconceptualdifficultiesindealingwithnon-experimental,non-predictive science.In ahistoryclass,attentionwouldbepaidtothedevelopmentof thetheoryinthe contextof changesingeologyearlyinthetwentiethcentury,thedevelopmentandvalueof statisticaltools,andfinallythesynthesisbetweenevolutionarytheoryandgenetics.
A coursetaughtinthenaturalsciencesor engineeringmightmeetthisobjectiveby focusing
on aparticularscientificdiscovery,developmentor sub-disciplineandexamining:theunderlying
scientificprinciples;theideasthatwererevised,replacedor removedasunderstandinggrew;and thescientifictechniquesusedanddevelopedthatprovidedthetoolsfor thediscoveries.The theoreticalandquantitativecomponentsof thistreatmentmaybeanalyzedon adeeperlevelthan wouldbethecaseinahumanitiesSTScourse,inaccordancewiththeskillsandbackground knowledgeof theexpectedstudentaudience.A canonicalcaseherewouldbethemovefroma NewtoniantoanEinsteinianworldview—onecoulddiscussthisthroughreadingThomasKuhn on thestructureof scientificrevolutionsandtheroleof anomaliesinscience(whichcouldbe coveredinanexplorationof theemergenceof quantumtheoryandgeneralrelativity).
CourseObjective#2 Analyze and evaluate the mutual influence between science and/or technology and society.
Definition:Thisobjectiveteachesstudentsthatscience,technologyandsocietyarenot threeseparateislands,butthattheymutuallyinterpenetrate:socialchangesprecipitatescientific andtechnologicalchangesandviceversa.
GeneralApproaches:
Courseworkshouldhelpstudentsrecognizethatscience,technologyandsocietyare,andhave alwaysbeen,fundamentallyinter-relateddimensionsof humanexistenceandhelpthemintegrate theirunderstandingof thesethreeregionsof humanactivity.
Example:Therearemanywaystoplaythisoutindifferentdisciplines.Wewillgivejustone examplecoveringclimatechangefromdifferentdisciplinaryangles.
A historianteachingaclimatechangecoursemightwanttolookatthehistoryof therelationship betweenpeoplesandclimatechangeoverthepastseveralthousandyears(thedesertificationof Africa;thelittleIceAgeintheearly1800s whentheThamesfrozeover)andso forth.So they wouldlearnthatclimatechangeisanongoingphenomenon.Theyshouldlearnaboutthe evidencefor anthropogenicclimatechangedatingfromtheIndustrialRevolution.Theyshould understandenoughof thesciencetobeabletofollowdebatesaroundnaturalvariation (Milankovichcycles;theroleof volcaniceruptionsandso forth)asopposedtochangecausedby our activities.Theyshouldlearnaboutscientificchangeson thisissue– inthe1970s the consensuspredictionwasfor animminentIceAge.And theyshouldlearnaboutthe
politicizationof climatechangescienceoverthepasttentotwentyyears.A cognatecourseinan
engineeringschoolmightlookatthevarioustechnicalfixesthathavebeenproposed:giant mirrorsinspace,increasingthealbedoof theoceanby dispersingreflectivesheets,burying carbondioxidefarbelowthesurfaceandso forth.However,towork inthenewcore,sucha coursemightalsocoveranexplorationof thetrade-offbetweenlifestylechanges(pollutingless) andtechnicalsolutions. Theymightlookathow ‘cleantechnology’isdevelopingnow – and how somecountrieshaveembracedthisasaneconomicboon andotherscontinuetopush for, say,theuseof coal-firedplants.A scienceclasscouldlookatthevariousmodalitiesfor measuringclimatechange(treerings,icecores,theimportanceof isotopevariationsandso forth). However,itcouldalsolookatthewaysinwhichtherulesof scientificevidencehave beendeployedpoliticallyon bothsidesof theequationby believersandunbelievers.