USA National Science and Technology Education
Standards
The science and technology standards in the National Science
Education Standards establish connections between the natural and
designed worlds and provide students with opportunities to develop
decision-making abilities. They are not standards for technology
education; rather, these standards emphasize abilities associated
with the process of design and fundamental understandings about the
enterprise of science and its various linkages with technology and
engineering. As a complement to the abilities developed in the
science as inquiry standards, these standards call for students to
develop abilities to identify and state a problem, design a
solution--including a cost and risk-and-benefit analysis--implement
a solution, and evaluate the solution.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, GRADES K-4
CONTENT STANDARD E:
As a result of activities in grades
K-4, all students should develop:
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Abilities of technological design |
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Understanding about science and technology |
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Abilities to distinguish between natural objects and objects made by
humans |
DEVELOPING STUDENT ABILITIES AND
UNDERSTANDING
The science and technology standards connect students
to the designed world, offer them experience in making models of
useful things, and introduce them to laws of nature through their
understanding of how technological objects and systems work.
This
standard emphasizes developing the ability to design a solution to a
problem and understanding the relationship of science and technology
and the way people are involved in both. This standard helps
establish design as the technological parallel to inquiry in
science. Like the science as inquiry standard, this standard begins
the understanding of the design process, as well as the ability to
solve simple design problems.
Children in grades K-4 understand and
can carry out design activities earlier than they can inquiry
activities, but they cannot easily tell the difference between the
two, nor is it important whether they can. In grades K-4, children
should have a variety of educational experiences that involve
science and technology, sometimes in the same activity and other
times separately. When the activities are informal and open, such as
building a balance and comparing the weight of objects on it, it is
difficult to separate inquiry from technological design. At other
times, the distinction might be clear to adults but not to children.
Children's abilities in technological problem solving can be
developed by firsthand experience in tackling tasks with a
technological purpose. They also can study technological products
and systems in their world--zippers, coat hooks, can openers,
bridges, and automobiles. Children can engage in projects that are
appropriately challenging for their developmental level--ones in
which they must design a way to fasten, move, or communicate. They
can study existing products to determine function and try to
identify problems solved, materials used, and how well a product
does what it is supposed to do. An old technological device, such as
an apple peeler, can be used as a mystery object for students to
investigate and figure out what it does, how it helps people, and
what problems it might solve and cause. Such activities provide
excellent opportunities to direct attention to specific
technology--the tools and instruments used in science.
Suitable
tasks for children at this age should have clearly defined purposes
and be related with the other content standards. Tasks should be
conducted within immediately familiar contexts of the home and
school. They should be straightforward; there should be only one or
two well-defined ways to solve the problem, and there should be a
single, well-defined criterion for success. Any construction of
objects should require developmentally appropriate manipulative
skills used in elementary school and should not require
time-consuming preparation and assembly.
See the example entitled
"Weather Instruments"
Over the course of grades K-4, student
investigations and design problems should incorporate more than one
material and several contexts in science and technology. A suitable
collection of tasks might include making a device to shade eyes from
the sun, making yogurt and discussing how it is made, comparing two
types of string to see which is best for lifting different objects,
exploring how small potted plants can be made to grow as quickly as
possible, designing a simple system to hold two objects together,
testing the strength of different materials, using simple tools,
testing different designs, and constructing a simple structure. It
is important also to include design problems that require
application of ideas, use of communications, and implementation of
procedures--for instance, improving hall traffic at lunch and
cleaning the classroom after scientific investigations.
Experiences
should be complemented by study of familiar and simple objects
through which students can develop observation and analysis skills.
By comparing one or two obvious properties, such as cost and
strength of two types of adhesive tape, for example, students can
develop the abilities to judge a product's worth against its ability
to solve a problem. During the K-4 years, an appropriate balance of
products could come from the categories of clothing, food, and
common domestic and school hardware.
A sequence of five
stages--stating the problem, designing an approach, implementing a
solution, evaluating the solution, and communicating the problem,
design, and solution--provides a framework for planning and for
specifying learning outcomes. However, not every activity will
involve all of those stages, nor must any particular sequence of
stages be followed. For example, some activities might begin by
identifying a need and progressing through the stages; other
activities might involve only evaluating existing products.
GUIDE TO THE CONTENT STANDARD
Fundamental abilities and concepts that
underlie this standard include:
ABILITIES OF TECHNOLOGICAL DESIGN
IDENTIFY A SIMPLE PROBLEM. In problem identification, children
should develop the ability to explain a problem in their own words
and identify a specific task and solution related to the problem.
[See Content Standard A (grades K-4)]
PROPOSE A SOLUTION. Students
should make proposals to build something or get something to work
better; they should be able to describe and communicate their ideas.
Students should recognize that designing a solution might have
constraints, such as cost, materials, time, space, or safety.
IMPLEMENTING PROPOSED SOLUTIONS. Children should develop abilities
to work individually and collaboratively and to use suitable tools,
techniques, and quantitative measurements when appropriate. Students
should demonstrate the ability to balance simple constraints in
problem solving.
EVALUATE A PRODUCT OR DESIGN. Students should
evaluate their own results or solutions to problems, as well as
those of other children, by considering how well a product or design
met the challenge to solve a problem. When possible, students should
use measurements and include constraints and other criteria in their
evaluations. They should modify designs based on the results of
evaluations.
COMMUNICATE A PROBLEM, DESIGN, AND SOLUTION. Student
abilities should include oral, written, and pictorial communication
of the design process and product. The communication might be show
and tell, group discussions, short written reports, or pictures,
depending on the students' abilities and the design project.
UNDERSTANDING ABOUT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
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People have always had questions about
their world. Science is one way of answering questions and explaining
the natural world. |
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People have always had problems and
invented tools and techniques (ways of doing something) to solve
problems. Trying to determine the effects of solutions helps people
avoid some new problems. |
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Scientists and engineers often work in
teams with different individuals doing different things that
contribute to the results. This understanding focuses primarily on
teams working together and secondarily, on the combination of
scientist and engineer teams. |
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Women and men of all ages, backgrounds,
and groups engage in a variety of scientific and technological work. |
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Tools help scientists make better
observations, measurements, and equipment for investigations. They
help scientists see, measure, and do things that they could not
otherwise see, measure, and do. |
ABILITIES TO DISTINGUISH
BETWEEN NATURAL OBJECTS AND OBJECTS MADE BY HUMANS.
Some objects
occur in nature; others have been designed and made by people to
solve human problems and enhance the quality of life. Objects can be
categorized into two groups, natural and designed.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY,
GRADES 5-8
CONTENT STANDARD E:
As a result of activities in grades
5-8, all students should develop:
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Abilities of technological design |
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Understanding about science and technology |
DEVELOPING STUDENT ABILITIES AND
UNDERSTANDING
Students in grades 5-8 can begin to
differentiate between science and technology, although the
distinction is not easy to make early in this level. One basis for
understanding the similarities, differences, and relationships
between science and technology should be experiences with design and
problem solving in which students can further develop some of the
abilities introduced in grades K-4. The understanding of technology
can be developed by tasks in which students have to design something
and also by studying technological products and systems.
In the
middle-school years, students' work with scientific investigations
can be complemented by activities in which the purpose is to meet a
human need, solve a human problem, or develop a product rather than
to explore ideas about the natural world. The tasks chosen should
involve the use of science concepts already familiar to students or
should motivate them to learn new concepts needed to use or
understand the technology. Students should also, through the
experience of trying to meet a need in the best possible way, begin
to appreciate that technological design and problem solving involve
many other factors besides the scientific issues. Suitable design
tasks for students at these grades should be well-defined, so that
the purposes of the tasks are not confusing. Tasks should be based
on contexts that are immediately familiar in the homes, school, and
immediate community of the students. The activities should be
straightforward with only a few well-defined ways to solve the
problems involved. The criteria for success and the constraints for
design should be limited. Only one or two science ideas should be
involved in any particular task. Any construction involved should be
readily accomplished by the students and should not involve lengthy
learning of new physical skills or time-consuming preparation and
assembly operations.
See the example entitled "The Egg Drop"
During
the middle-school years, the design tasks should cover a range of
needs, materials, and aspects of science. Suitable experiences could
include making electrical circuits for a warning device, designing a
meal to meet nutritional criteria, choosing a material to combine
strength with insulation, selecting plants for an area of a school,
or designing a system to move dishes in a restaurant or in a
production line.
Such work should be complemented by the study of
technology in the students' everyday world. This could be achieved
by investigating simple, familiar objects through which students can
develop powers of observation and analysis--for example, by
comparing the various characteristics of competing consumer
products, including cost, convenience, durability, and suitability
for different modes of use. Regardless of the product used, students
need to understand the science behind it. There should be a balance
over the years, with the products studied coming from the areas of
clothing, food, structures, and simple mechanical and electrical
devices. The inclusion of some nonproduct-oriented problems is
important to help students understand that technological solutions
include the design of systems and can involve communication, ideas,
and rules.
The principles of design for grades 5-8 do not change
from grades K-4. But the complexity of the problems addressed and
the extended ways the principles are applied do change.
GUIDE TO THE
CONTENT STANDARD
Fundamental abilities and concepts that underlie
this standard include:
ABILITIES OF TECHNOLOGICAL DESIGN
IDENTIFY
APPROPRIATE PROBLEMS FOR TECHNOLOGICAL DESIGN. Students should
develop their abilities by identifying a specified need, considering
its various aspects, and talking to different potential users or
beneficiaries. They should appreciate that for some needs, the
cultural backgrounds and beliefs of different groups can affect the
criteria for a suitable product. [See Content Standard A (grades
5-8)]
DESIGN A SOLUTION OR PRODUCT. Students should make and compare
different proposals in the light of the criteria they have selected.
They must consider constraints--such as cost, time, trade-offs, and
materials needed--and communicate ideas with drawings and simple
models.
IMPLEMENT A PROPOSED DESIGN. Students should organize
materials and other resources, plan their work, make good use of
group collaboration where appropriate, choose suitable tools and
techniques, and work with appropriate measurement methods to ensure
adequate accuracy.
EVALUATE COMPLETED TECHNOLOGICAL DESIGNS OR
PRODUCTS. Students should use criteria relevant to the original
purpose or need, consider a variety of factors that might affect
acceptability and suitability for intended users or beneficiaries,
and develop measures of quality with respect to such criteria and
factors; they should also suggest improvements and, for their own
products, try proposed modifications.
COMMUNICATE THE PROCESS OF
TECHNOLOGICAL DESIGN. Students should review and describe any
completed piece of work and identify the stages of problem
identification, solution design, implementation, and evaluation.
[See Teaching Standard B]
UNDERSTANDINGS ABOUT SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY
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Scientific inquiry and technological
design have similarities and differences. Scientists propose
explanations for questions about the natural world, and engineers
propose solutions relating to human problems, needs, and aspirations.
Technological solutions are temporary; technologies exist within
nature and so they cannot contravene physical or biological
principles; technological solutions have side effects; and
technologies cost, carry risks, and provide benefits. [See Content
Standards A, F, &
G (grades 5-8)] |
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Many different people in different
cultures have made and continue to make contributions to science and
technology. |
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Science and technology are reciprocal.
Science helps drive technology, as it addresses questions that demand
more sophisticated instruments and provides principles for better
instrumentation and technique. Technology is essential to science,
because it provides instruments and techniques that enable
observations of objects and phenomena that are otherwise unobservable
due to factors such as quantity, distance, location, size, and speed.
Technology also provides tools for investigations, inquiry, and
analysis. |
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Perfectly designed solutions do not
exist. All technological solutions have trade-offs, such as safety,
cost, efficiency, and appearance. Engineers often build in back-up
systems to provide safety. Risk is part of living in a highly
technological world. Reducing risk often results in new technology. |
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Technological designs have constraints.
Some constraints are unavoidable, for example, properties of
materials, or effects of weather and friction; other constraints limit
choices in the design, for example, environmental protection, human
safety, and aesthetics. |
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Technological solutions have intended
benefits and unintended consequences. Some consequences can be
predicted, others cannot. |
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