INTRODUCTION TO SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY embeds science in the technological and social

environments of the student.

STS Described:  STS instruction aims to help students make sense out of
“Interactions between science and technology and social, cultural, their everyday experiences, and does so in ways that
political, and economic context which shape and are shaped by support students' natural tendency to integrate their
them; specific examples throughout human history of scientific, and personal understandings of their social, technological and
technological developments.” -CHed CMO 20 s. 2013 natural environments.

STS Education: STS educational viewpoints:

 Its prominence in the school science curriculum

(Aikenhead,2003).
 Ensure the development of a broad – based science
curriculum, embedded in the cultural, socio-political
contexts in which it was formulated (Fensham, 1985).
 Student’s engagement with different perspectives on
societal issues concerning the impact of science and
technology on everyday life (Fensham, 1985).

Paradigm of STS Teaching & Learning (Aikenhead, 1992)

 Science, Technology and Society (STS) science is about

making sense of students’ social environment, their
artificially constructed environment (or Technology) and
their natural environment (Aikenhead, 1994).
 Teaching science through science-technology-society refers
to teaching about natural phenomena in a manner that
The research generally indicates that STS materials are best  “a sense of belonging to a broader community, beyond
organized in a sequence indicated by the arrow in Figure 5.2. The national boundaries, that emphasize our common humanity
arrow maps out a sequence of teaching events described here. and draws on the interconnectedness between local and
global, the national and the international.” (UNESCO, 2014)
A societal question or problem (the beginning of the arrow in Figure
 GCED’s 4 pillars: (UNESCO, 1996)
5.2) creates the need to know certain technological knowledge (the
o “learning to know”
donut area in Figure 5.2). But both create the need to know some
o “learning to do”
science content (the central circle in Figure 5.2).
o “learning to be”
The sequence of instruction suggested by the arrow in Figure 5.2 o “learning to live together”
begins in the domain of society, moves through the domains of
GCED & Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) (UNESCO,
technology and traditional science, and then out again to
2013)
technology. Students will make more sense out of the technology by
using the science they have just learned. Key conceptual dimensions of GCED & ESD
Cognitive knowledge and critical thinking skills necessary to
Finally, the arrow in Figure 5.2 ends in the domain of society. Here skills understand global issues and the
students often address the original key question or social problem interconnectedness of countries and different
and then make a decision (Aikenhead, 1985a, 1991a). populations
Socio- values, attitudes and social skills that enable
Example: GLOBAL WARMING emotional learners to develop affectively, psychosocially,
skills and physically and to enable them to live
TECH TO ADDRESS TECH LEADING TO together with others respectfully and peacefully
Behavioral conduct, performance (acts effectively and
skills responsibly), practical application and
SCIENCE CONCEPTS engagement
SCIENCE SKILLS
ABOUT GW

Global Citizenship (GC) & Global Citizenship Education (GCED)

Importance of STS
 Aims to empower learners of all ages to assume active roles,
The inadequacies of traditional science education (the "saber-tooth"
both locally and globally, in building more peaceful,
curriculum, chapter 2) define one over-arching theme. STS science is
tolerant, inclusive and secure societies.
expected to reverse the existing negative trends in enrollments,
achievement, and career choices. Specifically, STS science is
expected to increase general interest in and public understanding of
science, particularly for the bright creative students who are
discouraged by a boring and irrelevant curriculum (Bondi, 1985;
Eijkelhof, 1990; Kahle, 1988; Majumdar et al., 1991; Oxford
University, 1989; Science Council of Canada, 1984; Sj.berg and
Imsen, 1988; Solomon, 1988a, 1988b, 1993).

Examples of Societal Cases to be Resolved by STS

 UN’s Sustainable Development Goals

 Boracay closure and redevelopment
 Dengvaxia
CHAPTER I: HISTORICAL ANTECEDENTS IN THE COURSE OF o Weapons and armor - important in establishment of
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY new alliances
 Risk of conflict when:
To raise the quality of life, the driving force behind continuous  Meeting groups of different culture
progress is the desire.  Struggle to control resources
 Stronger groups invading weaker
Ancient Times
group
In ancient times, people were concerned with the development and  Conservation of Life (Health)
innovation of: o Their survival posed a great challenge due to:
 Diseases and illnesses, both man-made and
 Transportation – they were trying to go to places to find food natural
and better locations for settlement
 Aesthetics – improve their looks by decorations
o Navigation – allowed them to return home after
 Engineering – to build structures that would address specific
travelling and assisted them in their journey to
needs and wants
unfamiliar and strange areas in the world
o Better transportation
 Communication – to facilitate trade and prevent possible
o Establishment of structures for protection from
conflicts
attacks and natural disasters
o Record Keeping – documentation of history and
 Architecture – considered a status symbol of how advanced
culture (to identify their identities), trades, and
a nation was
places they’ve been to
o Elaborate designs were signs of technological
 Mass Production – incentivized by resources getting scarcer
advancement
as more people struggled to share necessities.
o Establishes the identity of a nation
o Increase in size and number of population required
an increase of production of food and basic “Out of necessity, people in ancient times were able to discover and
necessities. invent things that would impact the lives of the modern people.”
o Need for Technology – to increase food supply
without travelling more or working harder
 Security and Protection Sumerian Civilization
 Sumeria – located in ancient Mesopotamia  Developed irrigation systems to increase
 Sumerians – known for their high degree of cooperation and production of food (maintaining farmlands)
innovation  Considered as one of the world’s most
o not contented with the basic things that life can beneficial engineering works
offer o Sailboats – essential in transportation and trading
o developed many things connected to science and  Main mode of transportation was through
technology waterways
 Sumerian inventions:  The wheel wasn’t invented yet
o Cuneiform – first writing system  Boats were used to carry large quantities of
 Utilizes word pictures and triangular products and were able to cover large
symbols distances
 Carved on clay using wedged instruments  Invented to address increasing demands of
and then left to dry boars without much manpower
 Allowed the Sumerians to keep record of  Also essential in fostering culture,
things with great historical value of their information, and technology
everyday life o Wheel – were not made for transportation but for
o Uruk City – considered as the first TRUE city of the farm work and food processes
world  Invented in the latter part of the Sumerian
 Built only using mud and clay from the river history
which was mixed with reeds = sunbaked  The tools needed to create it already
bricks existed
 Used these bricks to make houses and to  Wheel and Axle: mass production was made
build a wall around the city easier
o Great Ziggurat of Ur – served as a sacred place for  Farmers were able to mill grains with less
their chief god, where only priests were allowed to effort
enter o Plow – invented to dig the earth in a faster pace
 Ziggurat – a.k.a. Mountain of God  Enabled farmers to dig the ground where
 Also built using sunbaked bricks the seeds would be planted at a faster pace
o Irrigation and Dikes – created to bring water to  Farmers could cultivate larger parcels of
farmlands and control the flooding rivers land faster, enabling them to mass produce
 food without taking so much effort and o Hieroglyphics – system of writing using symbols
time carved on the walls of the pyramids and other
o Roads – facilitated faster and easier travel structures
 Sumeria invented the first roads o Cosmetics – used for both health and aesthetic
 The flow of traffic became organized reasons
 Used the same technology in making  Kohl – applied around the eyes to prevent
sunbaked bricks that they laid down in the and cure eye diseases; made up of soot or
ground malachite
 Poured bitumen, a black sticky substance  Make-up – protected Egyptians from evil,
similar to asphalt, to smoothen the roads beauty was a sign of holiness
o Wig – worn for health and wellness rather than for
aesthetics
Babylonian Civilization  Used to protect the shaved heads of the
wealthy
 Babylonia – near Tigris and Euphrates rivers o Water Clock/Clepsydra – utilizes gravity to have
 Babylonians – great builders, engineers, architects waterflow from one vessel to another
 Hanging Gardens of Babylon – layers upon layers of gardens  Time keeping – amount of water
o One of the major contributions; one of the seven determined how much time has elapsed
wonders of the Ancient world since it was full
o Built by King Nebuchadnezzar II for his wife, Queen
Greek Civilization
Amytis
o Exact location is unknown  Greece – archipelago in southeastern Europe
o Birthplace of western philosophy
Egyptian Civilization
 Greek inventions:
 Located in North Africa o Alarm clock – told an individual when to start and
 Egyptian inventions: stop
o Paper (Papyrus) – thin sheets used for writing, plant  Made use of water or small stones that
that grew abundantly along the Nile River dropped onto drums
 Clay tablets – were used before paper was  Plato used alarm clocks to signal the start of
invented; fragile, heavy, and delicate his lecture (used four drums)
 o Water mill – a wheel like mechanism with small o Tea production – mechanisms that shredded tea
buckers attached; required flowing water leaves were created
 Considered one of the most important  A Chinese emperor drank the first tea.
Greek contribution o Great Wall of China – largest and most extensive
infrastructure of the nation
Roman Civilization  Once considered the only man-made
 Roman Empire – perceived to be the strongest political structure that could be seen from space
entity  Constructed to keep out foreign invaders
o Cradle of politics and governance and control Chinese borders
o Gunpowder – black powder that could generate
 Newspaper (Gazettes) – contained announcements
large amount of heat and gas
o Before paper, were written on metal or stone
 Originally invented by Chinese alchemist to
tablets
achieve immortality
 Bound Books (Codex) – used for record-keeping
o Julius Caesar started the tradition of stacking up Medieval/Middle Ages
papyrus to form pages of books
 Roman Architecture – could withstand time and harsh  Wars were prevalent so advancement in weaponry,
elements of the environment navigation, mass food, and farm production were needed
o Large churches, aqueducts, coliseums,  Also known as the Age of Exploration
amphitheaters, etc.  Inventions in the Middle Ages:
 Roman Numerals – standard counting method for increasing o Printing Press – wooden machines that extracted
communication and trade concerns juices from fruits, attached metal impressions of
letters
Chinese Civilization  Johann Gutenberg – inventor of the printing
press (Gutenberg press)
 The oldest civilization in Asia. Located on the far east of Asia
o Microscope – brought about by the increase in the
 Chinese inventions:
need for medical attention
o Silk – naturally produced by silkworms and
 Zacharias Janssen – developed the first
processed to create paper and clothing
compound microscope
 Connected China to the world
o Telescope – optical instrument that helped in the
observation of remote objects.
 o War weapons – incentivized by the widespread Philippine Inventions
wars in the Middle Ages
 Crossbows and long bows – used in open  Salamander Amphibious Tricycle – amphibious tricycle that
field combat can cross not only flooded streets, but also rivers and lakes
 Chainmail – less bulky than iron body armor o Invented by h2o Technologies
o Headed by Dominic N. Chung and Lamberto Armada
Modern Times o Chief Designer: Victor “Atoy” Llave
 Salt Lamp – lighting system that utilizes saltwater (abundant
 Massive industrialization resulted from the need for
in Ph)
production of medicine, food, transportation, etc. at a faster
o Aisa Mijeno – inventor
rate
o SAlt – Sustainable Alternative Lighting
 Inventions in the Modern Times o Poses no risk of fire and emits no toxic gas
o Pasteurization – the process of heating dairy
 Medical Incubator – made from indigenous and cheap
products to kill harmful bacteria. As a result, they
materials that did not run on electricity
could be stored and consumed for a longer period.
o Dr. Fe Del Mundo – devised the medical incubator,
 Louis Pasteur – French biologist who
is a Filipino pediatrician and first Asian woman
invented pasteurization
admitted into Harvard Medical School
o Petroleum Refinery – resulted from the demand for
o Specific details: Made by placing a native laundry
transportation and powering homes
basket inside a bigger one. Hot water bottles were
 Samuel M Kier – invented kerosene by
inserted between the baskets to provide warmth
refining petroleum
and a makeshift hollow to allow oxygen circulation.
 Kerosene – illuminating oil
 Mosquito Ovicidal/Larvicidal Trap System – a mosquito trap
 Animal oils, used before petroleum was
system made of natural ingredients that are safe for
invented, could not keep up demand
humans and the environment (better alternative than
o Telephone – resulted from the demand for
insecticides)
maintenance of connection in trade, exploration,
o DOST-ITDI (Department of Science and Technology-
and governance
Industrial Technology Development Institute) –
 Alexander Graham Bell, with one of the
introduced trap system
most important inventions of all time
 Ejeepney – utilizes electricity instead of the more expensive
o Calculator – resulted from the demand for a faster
diesel. Environment friendly jeepneys basically
way to compute more complex equations/
 CHAPTER II: INTELLECTUAL REVOLUTIONS  Freudian Revolution
o Psychology – was considered more of an art rather than
 Introduction a science.
o Chapter II tackles the Intellectual Revolution, a period o Sigmund Freud – the proponent of the revolutionary
where advancements in science and technology theory of Psychoanalysis (created in the 19thcentury).
changed perceptions and beliefs.  Psychoanalysis – study that explains human
 Copernican Revolution behavior.
o Claudius Ptolemy – stated that the planets, sun, and the o There are many conscious and unconscious factors that
moon moved in a circular motion around the Earth can influence behavior and emotions.
 Geocentrism – Earth at the center o Personality is a product f three conflicting elements:
o Nicolaus Copernicus – challenged the Ptolemic model.  Id
Stated that the earth revolved around the sun. To the  ego
public’s displease yieet  superego
 Heliocentrism – center was the sun o In time, people understood his theory on psychoanalysis
 He was persecuted as a heretic because of how which resulted in Psychology being classified as a science.
his theory goes against common religion
o Birth of Modern Astronomy – the period where people
accepted the fact that they persecuted the dude for the
telling the truth. Multiple works that supported the
model started to emerge.
 Darwinian Revolution
o One of the most controversial intellectual revolutions.
o Charles Darwin – biologist, geologist introduced the
theory of evolution in 1859.
 This was published in his book, On The Origin of
Species.
o Theory of evolution – populations pass through natural
selection where only the fittest survive.
o Viewed controversially as it was contradictory to the
church. The theory came out in a time where most of
the population of the world believed that the biblical
version of Earth’s creation.