Title: How Society Affects Science and Technology

Overview & Outcomes:

The nature for science, technology and society were explored contextually in Foundations/Awareness Lesson 1. In this lesson students will explore how science and technology are affected by society. In particular, they will examine how the actions of elected officials affects science research and development (technology) through the decisions they make. To impact these decisions citizens need to get involved in the political process. In Foundations/Awareness Lesson 3 students will interview that senior citizen about technologies, examine how technologies have changed, explore the nature of those changes, and consider whether technology is positive or negative.

This lesson helps learners:

• use a histogram to examine budgetary expenditures.
• evaluate current governmental budgetary expenditures in different research areas.
• understand that society affects science and technology through budgetary decisions made by elected officials.

The concept map found in Foundations/Awareness Lesson 1 shows model relationships among concepts Foundations/Awareness Lessons 1 through 7 plus 9 and 10 seek to develop.

Background Notes for the Teacher:

The word "development" as used in science research and development budget, in many cases includes, refers to the development of technological items (e.g., applications of virtual reality in training pilots). The word "research" as used in science research and development budget, refers to pure (e.g., Research on the Origins of the Universe) and applied research (e.g., studies of the impact of diet on health) activities.

Additional Teacher References

Materials:

For the class.

1. Science Research and Development Appropriations

For each group.

1. Used file folders (for committee signs)
2. _________ COMMITTEE BUDGET FORM

For each student.

1. Committee Appropriations Graph

Preparation:

Prepare committee signs, handouts and overheads.

Instructional Procedures: (1 Day, 40 minutes)

1. Review and discuss the homework assigned from Foundations/Awareness Lesson 1 in which student classified examples as either science and/or technology and provided a rationale.

2. Divide class into cooperative learning groups, assign each member of the group a role (e.g., reader, recorder, speaker, math checker), and assign each group a committee name (i.e., House Republican Finance Committee, House Democratic Finance Committee, Senate Republican Finance Committee, Senate Democratic Finance Committee) -- there may be more than one of each committee. Use a folded file folder to make a committee sign.

3. Explain that each year the Congress appropriates money to different areas of science research and development. Name the eight majors for the students and clarify what is included under each by gaining student input, and providing explanation and examples. (See eight areas listed on worksheets.) Note that in the most recent year, the U.S. Congress appropriated $70 billion to Research and Development.

4. Distribute a _______ COMMITTEE BUDGET FORM to each group, and provide each group with 70 tokens (e.g., pennies, poker chips, small circles cut from construction paper). Explain that each token is worth $1 billion.

5. Allow groups 10 to 15 minutes to appropriate the $70 billion across the eight science research and development areas by stacking them in the columns on the _________ COMMITTEE BUDGET FORM.

6. Instruct each student to construct a histogram (bar graph) of the appropriations on the COMMITTEE APPROPRIATIONS GRAPH.

7. Have each committee report on how they decided to distribute the $70 billion and why the money was distributed in that way. The teacher should prepare a summary graph or chart on the chalkboard/overhead and facilitate a comparison of budget figures across the committees.

8. Present the actual amounts appropriated by the President and Congress by displaying the SCIENCE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT APPROPRIATIONS as an overhead. As an option, these figures may be added to any or all of the following: a) students' individual COMMITTEE APPROPRIATIONS GRAPH, b) the summary chart or graph the teacher produced, or c) separately ask students to develop a PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS APPROPRIATIONS GRAPH.

9. Students should compare their committee's figures with the actual amounts by responding to the following questions. This should be as a total class discussion and may be done prior to this within groups.
   1. What areas (i.e., defense, health) did your committee spend more/less on than the President and Congress?
   2. Why did your committee spend more/less?
   3. Where do you think the President and Congress should spend more/less? Explain your answer.
   4. Who would you talk or write to about changing the amount of money being spent by the U.S. Government for science research and development?
   5. What other actions could you take in order to influence the amount of money appropriated for science research and development?

Optional: Present U.S. Science Research and Development Data for a number of years as an overhead (See overhead Federal R&D Funding -- 1984, 1989, 1994 and the Accompanying Pie Graph for 1994). Ask students to explain why the appropriations vary from year to year.

Homework Assignment. In preparation for Foundations/Awareness Lesson 3, students should identify a senior citizen who they can interview about the nature of technologies in areas, such as clothing, transportation, and communications, when they were the age of the student. The name and age of that senior citizen should be brought to class the next day. (The teacher may want to contact a local senior citizen center for additional names in the case that some students cannot locate someone to interview.)

Assessment/Portfolio Items:

Journal Entry. Have each student select one area of science research and development in which the committee's budget recommendation differed from that of the President and Congress. Ask students to write to their congressmen explaining why Congress should spend the amount of money the student's committee recommended for the area.

Committee Members: _________________________________ _________________________________

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Area of Science Research and Development	Committee's Recommended Appropriation	Actual Appropriation
Defense	$	$
Health	$	$
Space	$	$
General Science	$	$
Energy	$	$
Transportation	$	$
Natural Resources and the Environment	$	$
Agriculture	$	$
Total	$70 Billion	$

In 1994, the President and Congress appropriated (set aside) the following amounts of money for science research and development in the areas listed below:

Note: Figures are approximations.

Source: Science and Engineering Indicators, National Science Board, 1993.

Label and complete the graph for the amount of money your committee appropriated for the different areas of science research and development.

Click Here to go to Lesson 3: Technology Over Time