Part 1: CI Curriculum Topic Study Template

By: Meagan Flodeen

[10th Grade Science & Technology] Standards- and Research-Based Study of a Curricular Topic
Section and Outcome
I. Identify Adult Content Knowledge

Selected Sources and Readings for Study and Reflection Current Research on Topic
IA. Science for All Americans (Chapter 3, pg.26-28) The big ideas and major concepts that make up this topic are the use of science to improve technology, as well as using technology to improve understanding or application of science. From the text, the very first big idea that should be apparent to all Americans is that technology is derived from the knowledge of how things work, exist, or behave, which could also be called scientific knowledge or scientific understanding. If the behavior or patterns of things were not able to be understood then it would be essentially impossible to create technology based off the behavior or patterns of such things. The other major concept to be mentioned is the incorporation of this technology in the realm of science to create new disciplines such as, Engineering. I have improved my understanding of the interrelations between science and technology by realizing the magnitude of various concepts such as that technology is not just a tool for science but is also a motivation for new theories or research. The fact that we have new systems to generate DNA mapping can propel scientists to dig even further into genomes, and into smaller sub-particulate matter with in the DNA. Furthermore, I had not connected the notion that when the technologies become more advanced the relationship to science becomes even stronger due to the fact that the new technology forces new issues to study which then creates more room for even more advancements in technology to aid in these new scientific discoveries. From reading this chapter, I developed new insights on the topic concerning the similarities between the nature of science and the nature of technology. For instance the reading mentioned all of these following things regarding the nature of technology: most to all of technologies involve control, technologies contain side effects, technology has been proven to fail, social systems create restrictions to the openness of various technology, and the designation of uses of technology are very complex. All of those facts about the nature of technology can also be true for science for example the fact that science too has been proven to fail with specific examples of various theories of the orbit of the sun which were proven to be incorrect or failed hypothesis. These various facts further suggest as to the closeness of the relationship between science and technology. Some long lasting understandings that all adults including teachers should know about this topic would be that there would simply be no technology without the proper understanding of science phenomenon. On the other hand there would be very little advancement in science without the use of technology to promote new investigation into unknown scientific principles. And lastly one should understand that the success of technology as well as science

is very dependent among the view of social systems. The rich interconnections within the topic that emerge from the reading are: technology relies on science, technology works to improve science, technology is frequently used in the construction or design of scientific experiments with specific relevance to ideas in engineering, and social behavioral modifications arise due to advancements in technology. This reading helps one visualize that K-12 education is aiming towards the incorporation of more technology in the learning of science to discover this rich relationship. The use of simulations and other technological components can help to promote inquiry in science that would be unimaginable otherwise. For instance, for chemistry there are simulations on the components of atoms to help the students understand the different characteristics of sub-particulate matter which without technology could have been observed at that age by students. IIA: Benchmarks for Science Literacy (3A, Technology and Science pg. 43-47) There are many suggestions provided for effective instruction of this topic, spanning all grade levels, however some generic ones are as follows. With the term, technology, being such a broad word it is imperative that the learning of this term be conducted over several years with the understanding of this term building each year on the preceding knowledge. A way to effectively begin instruction with students on this topic is to use different technological pieces or tools to explore various things in science as well as formulate solutions to practical scientific problems. Once the introduction of technology has commenced over the following years various different technological pieces will be introduced to solve other problems or explore other investigations promoting true inquiry skills of the student. Throughout these years students will encounter conflicts or issues with technology without quite understanding what technology is completely until the day where the relationship is revealed between science and technology. After mentioning this briefly in the question above, the student learning difficulties, misconceptions, or developmental considerations that were mentioned in the text were focused on the loose nature of the term technology. With many different definitions for the term technology it is understandable that students have confusion to what technology is or when the word technology is what definition that person is referring to. Most students have come to see technology as having to be: utensils, scientific equipment, medicine, or most commonly electronic devices. However there once was a time when technology was viewed as knowing how to do things or the practice of knowing behavior of things. And the last definition which is also fairly common is the view that technology is the military or institutional version of technology designed to yield new inventions or new found knowledge. With all of these definitions existing students tend to think that one is correct over another, and that in fact is a misconception. In fact all of the definitions of technology listed above happen to have validity, therefore it is important to acknowledge them all as correct, and not dwell on the weak elements of any of the definitions. Also another major developmental consideration is the view of

II. Consider Instructional Implications

society on the issue of technology concerning children. Many parents or adults are unaware of the positive use of technology to promote inquiry therefore many parents may be judgmental or skeptical of the inclusion of technology in experiments promoting inquiry. The reading suggests many contexts, phenomena, representations, as well as everyday experiences that are effective in learning ideas concerning technology. For instance having students create technology projects frequently to help engage the students use their problem solving abilities to find a solution to a wide range of real-world contexts, spanning across all disciplines of life science to physical science to biology or chemistry. Another effective learning idea is that there should be focus on the incorporation of scientific instruments to attempt to solve problems even before the underlying concepts or phenomena are fully understood. With this strategy the students will see the need for a scientific understanding in order to be able to use technology effectively. Some other new insights about this topic that have been introduced by reading this section include the various different levels of understanding of science and technology among grade levels. For instance, I always believed that all throughout elementary school students had the same views on science and technology in that they believed technology is the television or electronic devices. However this is not the case according to the text, where from kindergarten to second grade, students are able to realize that while electronic devices are technology, there are others, and these students at this age are various curious to who this technology works. Whereas in the later grades of elementary school, from third grade through fifth grade, the students are really able to appreciate technology in that it is something that helps us do stuff better and makes life easier. The general essay helps me gain the big picture view of technology and science by reinforcing the fact that it is important to build on the students knowledge of the topic from year to year. Starting from kindergarten to second grade with the students being exposed to what technology is, in that it is a way to do things better, and slowly have them realize that they are using it every day, for instance riding in their car to get to school. Now the big picture comes in where the students BUILD on this knowledge of technology in the following elementary grade years to understand that technology has had quite the history with many of tools being modifications of others, as well introducing technologys application to science in that it is very helpful in getting accurate measurements. And then yet again students in middle school BUILD on this prior knowledge to attain the knowledge that technology is essential to science and because of this new disciplines as well as careers develop. And then lastly it continues to BUILD as the students reach high school where they will just view science and technology as one, meaning that they are fully aware that they are interdependent as well as be aware of the effects that technology has on social systems, as well as how technology changes the various disciplines of science such as chemistry.

IIIB: National Science Education Standards (grades K-4: pg. 135-137, grades 5-8: pg. 161-165, grades 9-12: pg. 190-192) The essays and vignettes in this resource illustrate the central role that inquiry plays in understanding the relationship between science and technology. Even at a young age children can learn the relationship between science and technology through inquiry of earth science experiments as evidenced by the example of the wind experiment using the technology of a wind gauge to inquire as to what scientific weather phenomena was occurring. However this central role of inquiry is also evidenced at higher education levels as well, such as in high school with the heavy dependence on scientific inquiry in experimental design. At this point the students should realize that the relationship between science and technology is to a point that formation of new scientific knowledge without a concrete understanding of the technology used, the science would then be irrelevant. This further solidifies the concept of inquiry to understand different pieces of technology and their designed experiments, which will then further progress their inquiry in the scientific concept they are studying. IIIA: Benchmarks for Science Literacy (3A, Technology and Science, pg. 44-47) The learning goals that align well with this topic of technology and science are: students will be able to draw observations about patterns of science seen in technology, students will be able to use technology to accurately measure substances, students will be able to draw conclusions about various issues with technology, students will use technology to enhance their problem-solving skills to solve problems in reality, students will be able to communicate the problem, process, as well as finally the solution, students will feel comfortable engaging in inquiry, students will have a firm understanding of what technology is as well as how it relates to the science they are studying, and lastly students will be able to design as well as carry out an experiment using technology. There is a wide variety of concepts, specific ideas, and skills that make up the learning goals of this topic. First of all at the elementary education level, the students will be held accountable for making observations of uses of technology, therefore they should be well aware of what an observation is as well as how to conduct one. Another concept needed for the learning goals is the understanding of what a measurement is and what accuracy under the nature of science. In the higher education levels is important for students to know what conclusions are and how they are rationally drawn. Also in higher levels students should feel comfortable with the concept of inquiry and participating in inquiry of scientific subjects. And lastly, also in higher levels of education, students should know what types of experiments there are, how they are conducted, and how to work through an experiment. The ideas in the Benchmarks for Science Literacy compare very well with the ideas in the National Science Education Standards. However the Benchmarks for Science Literacy are more heavily focused on the building of previous years of knowledge about science and technology. With a different division of

III. Identify Concepts and Specific Ideas

elementary school of K-2 and 3-5, where the National Science Education Standards just have the division of K-5. Additionally, the National Science Education Standards are concerned with introducing higher levels of inquiry with each subsequent year. For example, in the Benchmarks put emphasis on technological advancement yielding motivation for further building of scientific understanding where in the National Science Education standards emphasizes technological design including inquiry as well as establishing the deep, firm understanding of the relationship between science and technology. IIIB: National Science Education Standards (grades K-4: pg. 138, grades 5-8: pg. 166, grades 9-12: pg. 192-193) There are a variety of facts, concepts, principles, or theories embedded in the standards. With most of them being mentioned in the questions above however the following are embedded in the standards: comprehension of the abilities of technological design, visualizing an problem or designing an investigation/opportunity, producing designs to then choose between previous existing solutions, implementing a produced solution or plan, determining consequences or effects of various solutions, being able to rationally communicate the problem/process/solutions, and lastly again have a firm understanding about science and technology. The organizers used in the standards help one think about how to organize the variety of ideas in the topic of science and technology. The organizers can help determine how to achieve these learning goals through a variety of different suggestive activity types. For example, the learning goal of being able to communicate the problem, process, and solution, can be achieved by first having them use technology to create the solution but also depict the solution via models, diagrams, or physical demonstrations. In addition the organizer of the standard alluded to having the students present these ideas in a variety of formats such as oral presentation, written form, visual demonstration, or hands on self-investigation. IVA: Benchmarks for Science Literacy (3A, Technology and Science, pg. 334) As mentioned before there are a few specific misconceptions or alternative ideas a student might have about this topic, which should be alleviated as earlier as possible because as the Benchmarks for Science Literacy emphasizes, knowledge builds. Never the less the two mentioned earlier were the broad term of technology and the social constraints of technology. However the other ones mentioned in this section of the reading concentrated on the relationship between science and technology, in that students make not easily see this relationship, especially across all disciplines. For example, it might be easy to see how technology is used and developed in the physics discipline, where as it might be harder to see instances where technology is used in biology or life science. Most of the suggestions as to the contribution to the students misconceptions or difficulties lie with the students prior knowledge from either school or social upbringing. As mentioned in the reading, up until recently the United States has been behind the other developing nations concerning the education of

IV. Examine Research on Student Learning

technology. Not until recently has technology even been considered a subject in school, even worse in some cases is not even the mentioning of technology in other courses. Its absence in elementary education and non-importance in higher education has led to older generations thinking of it as non-essential. Although we are attempting to alter this now, the family of the students may have already filled the students minds with the notion that technology is irrelevant, and that itself will be a difficult misconception to change due to the strong family ties. According to the Benchmarks for Scientific Literacy, there is no particular age or grade when students are more likely to learn certain ideas about this topic. Instead the reading suggests that students are likely to learn various ideas about the topic throughout school, starting with kindergarten. However with each grade the students should have a more concrete and detailed perspective on technology and its relationship to science. The research and inquiry elements of technology in relation to science draw a certain level of attention to important prerequisites. Some of these prerequisites though are not needed for the basic identification of technology at the lower elementary education levels. However for further understandings of the use of technology and its importance of science, basic knowledge of math, English, as well as some science is required. For instance it would be hard to measure the temperature outside if there was no knowledge of what various numbers meant. Or if one did not know how to write these findings down on paper, then learning and usage of the technological device of the thermometer would essentially be a waste. In the higher levels of education, depending on the discipline in which the technology belongs, calculus, chemistry, or physics might be needed as a prerequisite to fully understand the usage in its relation to science. The research outlined in the reading can be used both to clarify as well as support the benchmark ideas. With these benchmarks being originally produced by teachers whom of which had first-hand experience with the students learning the relations of science and technology, it serves as credibility for future replication. The research clarifies that the benchmarks are subject to change between grade levels thus further emphasizing the importance of the building of knowledge rather than the success at each grade level benchmark. V: Atlas of Science Literacy (Design Constraints: pg. 32-33, and Interaction of Technology and Society: pg. 36-37) This map helps to trace the concept of nature of technology from its very simple kindergarten beginning to the sophisticated interconnected idea in higher levels of high school. It does so by starting with the initial node of, Tools such as thermometers, magnifiers, rulers, or balances often give more information about things than can be obtained by just observing things unaided. To branching to various other tools which then link to concepts regarding measurements, the advancement of science, and the ability to change the world. Then branching gets more complex with sub-nodes of both science and technology which eventually all gets intermingled into complex broad nodes of scientific implications of technology as well as vice versa.

V. Examine Coherency and Articulation

There are plenty of connections to be made concerning concepts or skills in this topic of science and technology. The first one being the connection of tools to scientific measurement which is actually along the lines of structures to functions. However another basic connection would be scientific tools to scientists to science to scientific advancements. And an even deeper connection with the essential nature of technology to the severe implications of issues with technology. Or the further connection of design of an experiment to engineering related disciplines due the creation of various disciplines of science. There are also a many connections that can be identified to various other content areas both within and outside of the realm of science. On such connection that links computer science to mathematics to multiple other branches of science all in one node under the umbrella that technology services all three of those facets. Also again is the connection that although science does have an important role in creating the technology it can be used outside of the areas of science and technology, for example architects or construction companies that use a variety of technological tools to create their own products, is a fine example of other content connections. Since the grade level to my upmost concern is high school, most to all of the nodes are considered prerequisite ideas that are needed for learning about science and technology at a high school level. Starting with the knowledge of tools, measurements, scientific understanding, scientific disciplines, various forms of technology, implications of technology, and many more. However if the students do not have the correct prerequisite knowledge, then it may be beneficial to re-establish the correct knowledge before making more nodal connections. The storylines or conceptual strands in the concept map help to organize an evolution of the students developmental relationship of science and technology from start of concept to a firm understanding of the concept. The following is just one example of one storyline that could be seen on the concept map: with the start of technology being viewed as tools which serve the purpose of taking measurements which would lead to scientific findings which could lead to scientific theories which could lead to further investigation of similar scientific theories to which could create new disciplines to which could impact society. These storylines help one think about how science and technology are related along with other content areas to lead to further advancement of society, which draws the emphasis of teaching this material to the children who will become the people responsible for changing society in the near future. The map and its narrative section significantly improve my understanding of the complexity of this topic of science and technology in multiple ways. The first being that I did not realize that there would be so many engineering connections in the science and technology concept maps such as, Scientific laws, engineering principles, properties of materials, and construction techniques must be taken into account in designing engineering solutions to problems. The other way in which my understanding was improved by the

map was the node that insisted that there was a difference in the extent to which society is changed by either technology or science, specifically, Technology usually affects society more directly than science does because technology solves practical problems and serves human needs (and also creates new problems and needs). The skill benchmarks relate to the knowledge benchmarks in that the skill benchmarks are essential to the development of correct knowledge and on the other side as well where knowledge benchmarks have to be accomplished to execute skill benchmarks. A skill benchmark such as the using technology to measure various scientific processes could not occur without meeting the knowledge benchmark of how the technology works in order to obtain this measurement. There are plenty of suggestions from the other sections of the CTS that align well with both the State and District standards. For example, as mentioned before from the National Science Education Standards a skill that high school students should have by this point concerning science and technology is the ability to weigh various strategies to determine the best solution, which this is also illustrated in the State as well as District standards. Also as suggested numerous times in the previous sections of the CTS that is also addressed in the District standards is the notion of conducting observations regarding science and technology. As far as gaps in the CTS, there is only really one gap, being the specific aspect of the State standard concerning the relationship between moving charges in their application to modern technologies. The addition of cognitive performance verbs affect the learning of ideas in the topic by mandating that the information be learned, processed, and replicated for further use. For example, students will define a problem based on a body of knowledge in chemistry and do the following. The implication is that the students will take all measures to complete these actions. These performance verbs do seem to take away the focus on inquiry and put more emphasis on mastery of the topic. However the verbs are appropriate for the nature of the content on science and technology in that they are using key words or phrases that have been mentioned in the CTS such as: weigh, solving problems, explain the relationship, define a problem, conduct observations, pose questions, use tools, or etc. The research findings related to science and technology are constantly driving the State and District standards to be rewritten or corrected so that all the pertinent information collected from the research is included in the standards. From the research findings however the placements seem to be correct except for one standard that may need to be considered for a lower grade level due to the fact that the Benchmarks for Science Literacy considered it to be prerequisite knowledge for high school. This standard is the use of technology to share information or communicate new scientific ideas, which should have already been completed by the time of the arrival in high school so that the students can use technology to present to society their experimental designs or engineered products.

VI. Clarify State Standards, 21st Century Skills, and District Curriculum

The readings improve my understanding of what concepts or skills needs to be included in the science and technology standards or curriculum guide materials. By reading the various CTS materials, there are significant patterns of inquiry as well as connections between science and technology that cannot be ignored for success in this topic matter. Therefore it is important that these benchmarks include what information is outlined in the CTS for proper knowledge building. VIA: State Standards: SC.912.N.4.2: Weigh the merits of alternative strategies for solving a specific societal problem by comparing a number of different costs and benefits, such as human, economic, and environmental. SC.912.P.10.16: Explain the relationship between moving charges and magnetic fields, as well as changing magnetic fields and electric fields, and their application to modern technologies. The learning goals in the state standard chose regarding the nature of science that is integral to the ideas of science and technology are: being able to identify examples of technologies, objects, and processes that have been modified to advance society. And also being able to explain for what reason and how the modification occurred. In addition the other state standard also contains learning goals such as: students will be able to explain that moving electric charges produce magnetic forces and that students will be able to recognize chemically related technology such as mass spectrometers. Reading sections one through four helped me gain a better understanding of science and technology so that I could have a better understanding of the standards or frameworks. For example, knowing that students across all grade levels should be responsible for making observations about science and technology, allowed me to ensure that the standards mentioned this practice of making observations. The results from the CTS helped bridge the lack of knowledge between a broad content standard and a learning goal. With information presented from the Benchmarks, the student should continually build on the knowledge they acquire to achieve the broad content standard to then meet the more highly specific learning goals. For example, a broad content standard of posing questions about the natural world could then with the help of the content building knowledge over the year make the student able to meet the learning goal of posing specific questions about chemical processes that occur regularly in the natural world. The results can improve the K-12 articulation of the standards by aligning learning goals with the importance of inquiry and what has been proven to be effective by many educators over many years teaching the concepts of science and technology. As the benchmarks states, the best way to learn how to effectively instruct students on a topic is to hear suggestions from the experts which in this case are the educators. With the educators collaboration the standards can be realistic and more easily met, than previous standards.

The end points in the 9-12 section of the standards relate fairly close to the adult literacy ideas in Section 1. The only difference lies within the specificity, as the students now have hopefully progressed in their development of the concept of science and technology, so therefore they should know specifically what the relationship entails. Whereas the average adult should know main points or big ideas regarding the relationship between science and technology. The results of sections 1-5 improve my understanding of the students opportunities to learn and demonstrate which is addressed in the sunshine state standards. As mentioned in multiple resources the best way for students to learn is to be given opportunities in which they design their own inquiry experiment or conduct observations about specific technologic phenomena and then presenting the information to the class. These inquiry-type activities prepare the students for the standards that are assessing these skills. VIB: 21st Century Skills and District Curriculum Guide (Chemistry Pacing Guide): SC.912.N.1.1: Define a problem based on a specific body of knowledge, for example: biology, chemistry, physics, and earth/space science, and do the following: 1. Pose questions about the natural world. 2. Conduct systematic observations. 3. Examine books and other sources of information to see what is already known. 4. Review what is known in light of empirical evidence. 5. Plan investigations. 6. Use tools to gather, analyze, and interpret data. 7. Pose answers, explanations, or descriptions of events. 8. Generate explanations that explicate or describe natural phenomena. 9. Use appropriate evidence and reasoning to justify these explanations to others. 10. Communicate results of scientific investigations. 11. Evaluate the merits of the explanations produced by others. LACC.1112.WHST.2.6: Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information. There are many concepts or skills that are essential to developing coherent understandings of topics included in the District curriculum. Some of these skills include: using technology to share scientific information, pose questions, conduct observations, plan inquiry, use evidence to justify various theories, complete literature reviews, and most importantly communicate results of scientific inquiry. The gaps that I would fill based on the CTS would be the knowledge of the creation of disciplines in science due to technology. For example engineering is large discipline of science that would not have arose without the use of technology and thus should be recognized, as well as thought processes in this discipline should be encouraged during the high school time period.

After conducting the CTS, it is clear that certain lessons in the curriculum program such as the nature of science and more specifically science/technology need to be taught rather than skipped over. It is important to teach science and technology in school so that students are aware of the relationship as well as take away valuable scientific inquiry skills from these lessons. The results deem the appropriate sequence of instructional opportunities for science and technology in the curriculum. For example, technology should be used and taught in most lessons with some component of presentation or simulation. Moreover technology could definitely be implementing in scientific labs not matter what discipline due to the fact that there are so many scientific instruments (technology) used in labs. The results allow teachers to realize that some topics such as specific connections within science and technology need to be revisited within different grade levels to allow an increase in sophistication of the topic throughout further grade levels. For example following the examples provided in previous sections using the benchmarks resource, if in K-2 the students do not learn to observe examples technology that are apparent in reality then in third grade before any new more sophisticated concepts can be introduced the teacher must first have students learn to observe examples of technology so that the students have more of an idea of what technology is. This similar pattern is essential across all grade levels to achieve success in the evolution of the concept maps from the one original node to many subsequent nodes at each grade level.