Title: Examining STS Issues

Overview & Outcomes:

In Foundations/Awareness Lessons 4, 5 and 6 students examined the relationship between technology and society. In this lesson students examine the origins of STS issues and the influence viewpoints have on STS issues. It is important for citizens to understand that an issue differs from a problem mainly in that an issue includes the idea of opposing viewpoints. Personal beliefs also impact our actions toward resolving social issues. Several issues are identified that are concerns of developed countries, but not of developing countries. This lesson is followed by Foundations/Awareness Lesson 8, which is designed to sensitize students to differences between developed and developing nations, a perspective that will be helpful to students later in the unit when they begin to make decisions and take actions.

This lesson helps learners:

• understand the nature of an STS issues.
• distinguish between examples and non-examples of STS issues.
• name current STS issues.
• explain how personal beliefs influence STS issues.

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:

Content. This lesson is composed of two activities. The first activity (Lottery) should be done individually. The second activity (Issues) can be done individually, but is better suited as a small group activity. This lesson is intended to develop the concept of an issue -a social problem with opposing viewpoints.

Other Sections as Needed. ....... [Add illustrations if necessary. Integration of different science fields and/or integration of science and disciplines outside of science.]

Materials:

For class.

1. Flip chart paper (or poster paper) and markers for ISSUES activity

1. 1 sheet flip chart paper (or poster paper)
2. 1 marker

For each student.

1. 1 sheet of tablet paper for each student for LOTTERY activity.

Preparation:

Instructional Procedure: (2 Days, 40 minutes each)

Day 1. Lottery Activity (15 minutes)

1. Introduce activity by telling students that they have just won 1 million tax-free dollars in a lottery. Have each student take out a sheet of paper and make a list of what they would do with their winnings. They may spend, save, or donate winnings in any manner they wish. The students list should be detailed-containing a description of each item and the amount of money appropriated for that item.

   Description	amount $$
   car (state model e.g., BMW)	$35,000
   Music system(list components if possible)	3000
   TOTAL should equal
   $1,000,000

   NOTE TO STUDENTS: Any unspent money becomes the property of the teacher.

2. Allow ten minutes for completion of this activity. At the end of allotted time have students save their papers for use later in this lesson.

Day 1&2 or Day 2. Issues Activity (40 minutes)

ISSUES	STS	IMPORTANCE	KNOWLEDGE	ACTIONS
acid rain	yes	5, 4, 3, 4	4, 4, 5, 3	1, 2, 2, 1
child abuse	no	5, 5, 5, 5	4, 5, 5, 4	2, 2, 2, 3

1. Divide class into groups composed of three or four students.

2. Hand each group of students a piece of flip chart/poster board paper with five vertical columns drawn. (Notebook paper can be used if necessary, but this hinders sharing results with the entire class.)

3. Have students label the first column "ISSUES."

4. Have each group generate a list of the most important issues that people on this planet face today. (Allow 10 minutes.)

5. Have students label the second column "STS."

6. Have them decide, as a group, whether each issue is related to Science/Technology. Mark "YES" or "NO" in the second column beside each issue.

7. The third column is to be labeled "Importance." In that column each student is to rank each issue in terms of how important (s)he feels it is personally (1=not important, 5=very important). Each issue should be ranked by all group members before moving on to the next issue.

8. In the fourth column, labeled "Knowledge," each student marks how much they feel they "know" about each issue. (1=very little, 5=very much) Repeat procedure as in step 5.

9. The fifth column is labeled "Actions." Each student is to rank their current personal involvement trying to reduce the impact of each of these issues. (Stress that it is a subjective rating. You may want to give some examples of the various activity levels.) (1=do nothing, 5=done a lot)

   *Note- For a "5" rating have student give examples.

10. When entire chart is complete, have each group read their list of issues. Encourage the groups to check those issues on their chart that other groups listed as well. (This will give students a frequency chart for issues). After all groups have presented their list of issues, ask students which issues were listed most. Provide students with a definition for an issue "a social problem that has opposing viewpoints. Earthquakes may be a social problem but they typically don't have opposing viewpoints (i.e., there are not people for earthquakes and others against them).

11. Ask students for opposing viewpoints for some of the issues they have selected.

12. Ask groups to count the number of issues they felt were related to science and technology (the "YES" issues in column 2) and report that number to the class. Were there more YES or NO's? Note that since so many issues are related to science and technology, that it is important for science classes to study about STS issues.

13. Have students look at the numbers recorded in columns 3, 4, and 5. If students were to add up all the numbers in those columns, which column would have the highest number? Which column would have the lowest number? (Note: typically the IMPORTANCE column will have the highest number and the ACTIONS column the lowest.)

14. Ask students why there is a difference between the numbers in each column. (Students are likely to say that they are not old enough to vote, they don't have enough time or money to spend helping to resolve those issues.)

15. Following class discussion, have students get out their "Lottery" papers and talk about how they spent their money. Possible questions might include:
    1. "What kinds of things did you do with your money?"
    2. "Would the things you did with your money help resolve any of the issues listed?"
    3. "Would the things you do with your money worsen any of the issues listed?"
    4. "How much of your money did you spend trying to resolve any of the issues you listed?"

Points to discuss: personal and societal values influence our behavior. In a society that gives status to those with an abundance of material possessions, members strive to accumulate material goods. Not all societies have the same social values. In some societies, status is given to those who are able to give away (e.g., potlatch) material goods.

In theory, if somebody had $1 million, they could invest that money and live off of the interest. This would provide them with enough time and money to devote their entire life to helping resolve societal problems. Yet this is a rare event. Instead, people in our society spend that money to live luxurious lifestyles that impact those issues rather than resolving them.

Assessment/Portfolio Items:

Journal entries.

1. To which STS issues are you most committed? Why?
2. What actions have you taken to help reduce the impact of the issue cited above?

Click Here to go to Lesson 8: First World Issues Often Are Not Third World Concerns

This unit was produced by the editors listed on the masthead.