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This document provides notes on Science and Technology Studies, as well as an overview of various civilizations and their historical development. It details the social and cultural aspects of civilizations including the Inca, Mayan, and Aztec.
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STS Calendar based on the sun and moon Very skilled artisans...
STS Calendar based on the sun and moon Very skilled artisans Highly organized government Science and Technology Irrigation systems It is easy to overlook the fact that science is always the System of language product of human activity. Domesticated the llama and alpaca We are all familiar with terms such as the “progress of Used for clothing science” or the “onward march of technology,” and we tend to forget that all scientific knowledge has been produced Mayan Civilization by people thinking, believing, arguing, and sometimes Located in Central America and southern Mexico making mistakes Based on trade and agriculture Human beings can always decide what research is done, Architecture – step pyramid and what is done with the results. Hieroglyphics Science and Technology are NOT the product of some Fully developed written language unstoppable force, but are human products that both shape, Astronomy and are shaped by, the society from which they emerge. Mayans were skilled mathematicians. Invented a 360-day calendar – very similar to the one we Civilization use today. civility/civilitas: the character of people who are citizens, Their calendar did not predict the end of the world. The who live in cities, in organized slates and societies, as calendar cycle simply ended. (Calendar: The Mayans did opposed to primitive, barbarous peoples who do not not predict the end of the world in 2012) civilization existed even before the Romans coined the word civilitas Aztec Civilization ➔ The GREEKS, who did more to make modern Located in Central and Southern Mexico civilization possible than any people before or Based on agriculture, fishing, and trade since, and who themselves had one of the greatest Tenochtitlan: Capital city – was built on an island in the civilizations in history, had that thing... though they middle of a lake had not the name. Credited for the discovery of chocolate ➔ The Greeks described that thing by the word tame. - Cacao beans were more valuable than ➔ In their eyes, a civilized man was tame, a tame gold–acquired through trade creature as opposed to a wild or savage one Advanced political system with an emperor When the Romans wanted to express the term civilitas, they Introduced the concept of mandatory education used the word cultivation ○ They believed that just as the land needed to be Mesoamerican Civilization cultivated to be productive, so too did the human They had remarkable architecture and art mind and character need cultivation to contribute However, their intellectual pursuits were more closely tied to to the greater good of society religion, cosmology, and ritual 3 metaphors: While city-states and empires existed, political participation 1. We are civilized in so far as we are tame rather by the general populace was limited, and the political than savage systems were heavily intertwined with religious authority. 2. Cultivated soil rather than wild nature While Mesoamerican civilizations made impressive 3. Sort of people who can live in societies rather than advancements in astronomy, mathematics, and calendar the sort that, do not and cannot systems, their scientific inquiry was generally more practical and closely tied to religious and ritualistic purposes. Civilizations Literacy in Mesoamerica was generally confined to the elite, 1. Inca Civilization such as priests and scribes, who were responsible for 2. Mayan Civilization recording religious texts, historical events, and 3. Aztec Civilization administrative matters. 4. Mesoamerican Civilization 5. Indian Civilization Indian Civilization 6. Chinese Civilization Indian civilization first developed on the Indus River. 7. Asian Civilization The geography of India includes high mountains, great 8. Norse Civilization rivers, and heavy seasonal rain. Harappan civilization developed along the Indus River. Inca Civilization The Aryan invasion of India changed the region’s At the height of its existence the Inca Empire was the civilization. largest nation on Earth and remains the largest native state The people of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa lived in sturdy to have existed in the western hemisphere brick houses with as many as three floors. The houses had Located in the Andes Mountains–from Ecuador to Chile bathrooms that were connected to sewers. Their elaborate Based primarily on farming drainage system was centuries ahead of their time. The Andes are some of the tallest, starkest mountains in the This shows that the people of the Indus Valley civilization world valued art and traded with other cultures. Yet the Incas, and the civilizations before them, coaxed The Aryans brought with them their own language, called harvests from the Andes’ sharp slopes and intermittent Sanskrit and religious and cultural beliefs. waterways through a system of terrace farming. The Indus Valley people eventually became intermixed with The Inca had a very advanced road system the Aryan people and the two cultures together make up The people traveled by foot from village to village what is now much of the culture of modern India. Hinduism, Lived in clans the major religion of India, was a mixture of Aryan and Indus Valley beliefs. The caste system, which keeps people in Asian Civilization strict social classes, was brought to India by the Aryans. They are exemplars of art, scientific and technological Indian society divided into distinct groups under the Aryans. inventions, and social order (collectivism, filial piety, social The Aryans practiced a religion known as Brahmanism. harmony) Hinduism developed out of Brahmanism and influences However, the systematic development of scientific theories from other cultures. based on experimentation and empirical evidence was less The Jains reacted to Hinduism by breaking away to form emphasized their own religion. Their civilizations were characterized by monarchies, One social custom brought to India by the Aryans was the empires, or other forms of centralized authority. While these caste system. systems often provided stability and long-term governance, - This system put every person in society into a they did not foster public participation in governance. certain class from which they could never advance. - The caste system was very effective in keeping Norse Civilization social order but it was rigid and strict. The Vikings came from the three countries that make up - Those in the lowest caste were looked down on by Scandinavia: upper caste members and could never change 1. Denmark 2. Norway 3. Sweden castes. AD 700 to 1100 – that’s over 1000 years ago Indian artists created great works of religious art. Many Vikings left Scandinavia and travelled to other Sanskrit literature flourished during the Gupta period. countries, such as Britain and Ireland. The Indians made scientific advances in metalworking, Some went to fight and steal treasures. Others settled in medicine, and other sciences. new lands as farmers, craftsmen, or traders. Vikings were brave sailors and explorers Chinese Civiliziation Vikings were ‘Norsemen’ Trade introduced new foods such as grapes, walnuts, and Traders, Boat-builders, blacksmiths, potters and garlic leather-workers This trade created a new route called The Silk Road which Most Viking men knew how to handle a boat and most could ran from China to the Mediterranean Sea fight. Most travelers did not travel the entire Silk Road. Viking women looked after the children, made the family's Goods were passed from trader to trader; the price rose at clothes and cooked the two meals a day most families ate. each trade. On the farm, women milked the cows and made cheese. Silk was created from the silk worm; this was a closely Viking children didn’t go to school but helped their parents guarded secret. at work and were adults by the age of 16 The Silk Road got its name from silk – a valuable cloth Norse or Scandinavian Mythology originally made only in China. So again we should call the world revealed in the Norse and Han Dynasty farmers developed new methods for raising Icelandic sagas civilized, though it had neither art nor silkworms. architecture nor science. Workers could dye the silk and weave it into clothing. It had, however, a remarkable literature and it had an The penalty for revealing this secret was death. organized social system. Confucianism and Buddhism were both worshipped. Confucianism was used as a test for the members of civil Civilization service. Civilization is always cultivation: The arts and learning grew under the Han Dynasty - All civilizations are governed, but the flower they During the Han Dynasty, ancient China became the most contain differently, according to the natural powers advanced civilization in the world. and tastes of their creators. Advances in farming and farming tools What then is a perfect civilization? What does the ideal Invented paper garden grow? In medicine, acupuncture was invented. What tests should we apply if we wish to judge a - Discovered the circulatory system. civilization? In technology, We should observe what it makes of the savage animal, - they invented an iron plow, the wild nature, - rudder for steering ships, which it tries to tame and cultivate- Man. - the seismoscope for detecting earthquakes, Civilization is concerned especially with three sides of him: - a compass, 1. Man as a being with an intellect, capable of - a wheelbarrow for hauling goods. knowing and understanding, able to create Chinese first used wooden scrolls and bones to keep philosophy and science and all that we records. compendiously call thought; and civilization takes Later they wrote on silk. the savage in hand and produces Plato and Then, around 105 AD, the Chinese invented paper. Aristotle, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Whitehead, They made the paper from tree bark, hemp, and old rags. Archimedes, Newton, Faraday, Darwin, Pasteur, The materials were soaked in water, beaten into a pulp, and Einstein. dried flat on screens. 2. Man as a being possessing imagination and the gift of creating art; again it takes the savage and in due time produces Raphael and Michelangelo and Leonardo, Homer and Dante and Shakespeare: this being, who once was a half-naked wanderer in the forest or by the lakeside, builds the Parthenon or St. Paul’s, paints the Sistine Chapel, writes the Iliad or King Lear. 3. Man as a being with the gift of creating states - Science as Knowledge and civilization finds man living a savage life and 1. Science as empirical knowledge teaches him how to make city-states, nations, - All knowledge comes from sensory experience empires, to knit continents together with organized - Science is based on evidence transport and trade, to create these vast - Aristotle, Bacon, Hobbes are all associated with organizations, political, social, commercial, and empiricism financial. 2. Science as theoretical knowledge - Scientific theory is a well substantiated explanation The highest civilization is the one that reaches the highest of some aspect of the natural world, based on a point in each of them — a perfect civilization of the human body of facts that have been repeatedly confirmed garden. Where none of them are present, there is no through observation and experiment civilization. - Construction of theory is one of the major goals of research Science - A scientific theory may be wrong which will be The most effective way of understanding the natural world modified or discarded A systematic and organized knowledge 3. Science as practical knowledge Scientific evidence comes from experiments; to explain the - Application of science to increase human welfare evidence, theories are put forward; and further evidence is 4. Science as validated knowledge often sought, to see whether the theory accords with - The theories should have predictive power additional observations - Bias can’t be avoided, but the possible source has ★ Principles and Characteristics of Science: to be studied 1. Objectivity - Depends upon objective methods and Technology produces objective results Many people regard technology as simply applied 2. Progressive science–scientists produce scientific knowledge and then - Scientific knowledge leads to new technologists turn it into important products and devices. concepts Broadly, we regard technology as a body of skills and - Progressive nature of allows us to discard knowledge by which we control and modify the world certain theories 3. Universal basic ideas Research and Development - Basic rules apply everywhere ( ex. Law of Refers to all activity concerned with developing new motion) scientific knowledge, and new products and processes 4. Empirically based For nations, it is a measure of the effort being put into - Based upon observations of the natural science and technology world R&D activities are not done in isolation—they are all carried - Empirical information forms the basis of out in social, political, and economic contexts scientific knowledge 5. Reliable and tentative knowledge Society - Scientific ideas may change over time Scientists do not work in isolation - Sometimes it remain unchanged They work in universities, firms, or research groups, and the 6. Observation and inference functioning of these groupings is also a legitimate focus of - Information gained through senses is study interpreted logically Questions about ethics and conduct within these groupings, 7. Laws and theories are different how they should be financed, and how they are best - Law: a description of generalized pattern organized, are also a focus of STS based on many observations, describes Society here can have two meanings – scientific and what happens in the natural world and are technological communities and the wider society expressed in mathematical terms, do not The driving forces of the different kinds of sciences provide any explanation for the 1. Selection of different scientific problems to study occurrence of the phenomenon 2. Funding of R&D - Theory: explanations for scientific phenomenon, offer explanation for the The different sectors of science phenomenon 1. Academic science 8. Scientific methods - driven by the “publish or perish” system: they are - Variety of methods are used rewarded for producing original work, published in - Descriptive studies, correlation, refereed academic journals experimental method 2. Industrial science 9. Science explains and predicts - the firm’s financial position is the key factor; - Connects various phenomena and managers ensure that most of the work done is explains the relationship applied in nature, directly related to the firm’s 10. Science cannot answer all questions interests–as a consequence, by academic - It has limitations standards, the work may not be pursued to the - No cure for certain diseases same level or depth - No explanation for many phenomenon 3. Government science - research done because it contributes to the ”public goods”–goods and services which the public value, but which cannot be necessarily bought and sold in the normal commercial manner; political interests Precolonial Science and Technology Developments in Science and Technology During the American By the first century A.D., Filipinos were Regime ○ weaving cotton ○ smelting iron The Americans introduced a system of secularized public ○ making pottery school education as soon as civil government was set up in ○ glass ornaments the islands. ○ engaged in agriculture. ○ English – the medium of instruction Lowland rice was cultivated in diked fields, and the interior Because of their almost 400 years of colonial experience mountain regions as in the Cordillera, in terraced fields under the Spaniards, middle-class Filipinos had developed which utilized spring water. a general disdain for manual work and a preference for the Filipinos also learned to build boats for the coastal trade. prestigious professions of the time, namely, priesthood, law, This had become a highly developed technology. These and medicine. became warships that were well-suited for inter-island trade It wasn't easy to get students to enroll in courses that raids. required field work such as, for example, agriculture, The Spaniards later utilized Filipino expertise in veterinary medicine, engineering and other applied boat-building and seamanship to fight the raiding Dutch, sciences. The government thus offered scholarships to Portuguese, Muslims, and the Chinese pirate Limahong as attract a sufficient number of students to enroll in courses well as to build and man the galleons that sailed to Mexico. that were needed to fill up the technical positions in the These communities exhibited uneven technological government service. development. Selected graduates of the schools of medicine and nursing Settlements along the coastal areas that had been exposed were also sent on government scholarships to universities to foreign trade and cultural contacts such as Manila, in the United States for postgraduate courses and training in Mindoro, Cebu, Southern Mindanao and Sulu, seem to have special fields. attained a more sophisticated technology In 1921, the Rockefeller Foundation provided for six fellowships for qualified Filipinos in universities in the United Developments in Science and Technology During the Spanish States and Europe, two each in the fields of Regime ○ public health (preventive medicine), The direction and pace of development of science and ○ public health laboratory work and technology were greatly shaped by the role of the religious ○ teacher training in nursing education. orders The old Laboratorio Municipal was absorbed by the Bureau Reduccion - it required the consolidation of the far-flung, of Government Laboratories created by the Philippine scattered barangay communities into fewer, larger, and Commission in 1901. more compact settlements In 1905, the latter was reorganized and renamed the The net result of reduccion was the establishment of the Bureau of Science. It remained the principal government lowest form of government research establishment until the end of the Second World ○ Spaniards took control of the ruling class of the War. It had a biological laboratory, a chemical laboratory, a native Filipinos – the Rajas and their hereditary serum laboratory for the production of vaccine viruses, successors serums and prophylactics, and a library. ○ They were called the cabeza de barangay Most of the senior scientists in the Bureau were initially Cabeza de barangay collected: Americans but as Filipinos acquired the necessary training, ○ Tribute tax they gradually took over their positions. ○ Enforcement of compulsory labor services The American colonial authorities organized other offices The Filipinos naturally resisted reduccion as it took them which, by the nature of their operations, contributed further away from their rice fields, the streams and the forests to the growth of scientific research. These were the which were their traditional sources of livelihood Weather Bureau (1901), the Board (later Bureau) of Health Spaniards brought serious socio-economic dislocation and (1898), Bureau of Mines (1900), Bureau of Forestry (1900), a decline in agricultural production and traditional crafts in Bureau of Agriculture (1901), Bureau of Coast and Geodetic many places. Survey (1905), Bureau of Plant Industry (1929) and Bureau In the region surrounding the walled city of Manila, Filipinos of Animal Industry (1929) migrated from their barangays to the city in order to serve in Educational and science policy during the American regime the convents and thus avoid compulsory labor services in was not coordinated with colonial economic policy. While the shipyards and forests Filipinos were provided opportunities for higher education in Various decrees were issued in Spain calling for the the sciences and engineering, the economy remained establishment of a school system in the colony but these basically agricultural. were not effectively carried out To a great extent, Philippine economic development was Primary instruction during the Spanish regime was generally determined by free trade relations established in 1909 taken care of by the missionaries and parish priests in the between the Philippines and the United States, and these villages and towns. continued long after independence was achieved in 1946. Owing to the need for more qualified teachers, textbooks As a result of this policy, the Philippine economy became and other instructional materials, primary instruction was tied to that of the United States, remaining primarily an mainly religious education. exporter of agricultural crops and raw materials and an importer of American manufactured goods. Undoubtedly this delayed Philippine industrialization Education Developments in Science and Technology During the American ➔ Education - derived from 4 latin words Regime 1. Educare - means to "bring up" or "nourish" In 1935, the Philippine Commonwealth was inaugurated 2. Educere - means to "draw out" and ushered in a period of transition to political 3. Educo - means to "lead out of" independence. 4. Educatum - means to "train" The Constitution acknowledged the importance of Education means to develop the latent faculties of a person promoting scientific development for the economic development of the country by incorporating a provision Curriculum (Article XIII, Section 4) declaring that "The State shall ➔ Curriculum - derived from the latin word currere menning promote scientific research and invention, Arts and Letters ➔ Curriculum is a "Course" or a "Track" to be traversed to shall be under its patronage..." reach a certain goal or destination ○ In spite of all these efforts, the Commonwealth government was unable to achieve its goal of The Ultimate Goal of Science Education economic self-reliance. Scientific Literacy- the ultimate goal of science education ○ This was primarily because foreign trade and tariff ➔ Literacy - the ability to read and write policies remained under the control of the ➔ Scientific literacy - the ability to read and write American government. about science ○ Free trade relations also continued and thus perpetuated the preferential treatment of exports of agricultural raw materials. ○ Moreover, the Pacific War broke out in 1941 and the Philippines was occupied by Japanese troops. The occupation of the Philippines by the Japanese during the War brought educational and scientific activities practically to a halt as able-bodied citizens joined the resistance movement. Worse still, much of the country was reduced to ruins during the battles fought for liberation in 1944-45. Manila, which was the center of all educational and scientific activities, A. Vision II was razed to the ground, destroying everything that had - science is not viewed as an lolated discipline, but rather a been built up before. subject that is influenced by social and curtural connotations It was in this condition that the Philippines became an B. Science, Technology, Soclety, and Environment independent state. The government had to contend with Education (STSE) economic reconstruction, normalization of operations as - studies the interconnected nature of science, well as the task of planning the direction of economic technology, society, and environment development. C. Extending Beyond STSE Nation Building - Nation-building refers to developing a - Moving beyond the mere contextualization of nation-state by organizing social groups within a defined science lessons territory under common political institutions and an effective D. Vision III of Sclentilic Literacy: Science for government. Transformation - Science for Transformation, Crifical Scientific Science Education Uteracy. Emancipatory Scientific Literacy Philosophies of Education Scientific illiteracy and science education should not be thought of When we define the philosophy of education, it provides a basis for as neutral sectors but as a political agenda that tackles macro-and understanding the nature and purpose of education microaggressions of oppression evident in issues that ar from 1. Essentialism scientific and technological advancements. ➔ we should focus on the essential skills and subjects that all students should learn in their formative years. We should prepare children for adulthood 2. Progressivism ➔ the antithesis of traditional education, focuses on exploratory and experiential learning. Progressivists believe that individuality, progress, and change are fundamental to one’s education. They argue that people learn best from what they consider most relevant to their lives, so Science Education Curriculum Development in the Philippines progressivists center their curricula on the needs, A. 1990s experiences, interests, and abilities of students. ➔ New Science Education Curriculum 3. Social Reconstructionism ➔ DO 11, S. 1989 - Implementation of the New ➔ focused predominantly on social problems such as Secondary Education Curriculum under the 1989 climate change, racism, poverty, and violence and Secondary Development Program educating children so that they are equipped to 1. The introduction of S&T from first to fourth tacklo and solve those problems year with different areas to focus 2. TV programs were developed to further aid science learning (sineskwela) B. 2000s and 2010 ➔ ➔ Basic Education Curriculum, Secondary Education Curriculum ➔ Focus on disciplinary sciences in 1* to 4th year high school C. 2015-present ➔ K to 12 Science Curriculum ➔ The addition of two years of basic education Sciences are taught in spiral progression Standards in Science Education 1. Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCI) ➔ They are fundamental scientific ideas forming the basis of each of the four domains: Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space Science, and Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science. 2. Scientific and Engineering Practices (SEP) ➔ scientific and engineering practices, or SEPs. ➔ SEPs are the skills and practices that scientists, and by extension, students of science, use as they add knowledge to their chosen field. ➔ This includes asking questions and defining problems, developing and using models, planning and carrying out investigations, analyzing and interpreting data, using mathematical and computational thinking, constructing explanations and designing solutions, engaging in argument from evidence, and obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information. 3. Crosscutting Concepts (CCC) ➔ Crosscutting concepts have applications across all domains of science. As such, they are a way of linking the different domains of science. They include patterns, similarity, and diversity; cause and effect; scale, proportion and quantity, systems and system models; energy and matter; structure and function; stability and change. Issues in Science Education Lack of qualified science teachers and teacher workload Equipment and infrastructure Language barriers Brain drain Lack of Curriculum Assessment and Evaluation