The Evidence Base for Science: Science and Technology

The fields of science and technology are interrelated. Students learning to participate in a community of scientists and engineers must be able to use technological tools effectively and understand technology design. To address societal needs, people and societies make decisions about technology used in agricultural, energy, and transportation systems. Students must be scientifically and technologically literate to anticipate and assess the risks and the benefits of these technological decisions.

Dugger and Naik (2001) clarify that educational technology refers to technical tools used to enhance teaching and learning. Educational technology includes computers, graphing calculators, microscopes, and digital devices (e.g., motion sensors, cameras), as well as resources and software (e.g., multimedia, simulations), and the Internet. The Scientific Inquiry Standard and Scientific Ways of Knowing Standard of the Ohio Academic Content Standards, K - 12 Science incorporate educational technology for students doing and understanding scientific inquiry but place greater emphasis on technology education rather than on educational technology. The technology design process is infrequently taught in grades K-12. The focus traditionally has been on using technology tools to improve education rather than on educating students about technology design. The National Science Education Standards (NSES) (1996) present the technology design process, in the context of engineering, as parallel to inquiry in science. Technology and engineering education incorporate the knowledge and processes necessary to engineer, operate, and redesign technological products and processes. In addition, students should understand the limitations of technology and engineering to solve society’s problems, as well as the potential for society’s technological decisions to contribute to creating problems such as pollution and destruction of habitat (Bybee, 2000; Gorham, 2002; Dugger and Naik, 2001). (For more information on scientific inquiry, see Scientific Inquiry.)

Failing to educate students about technology and design gives rise to a number of misconceptions regarding science and technology. For example, many people think that technology is little more than computers or the application of science. According to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1993) when asked to differentiate between technology and science, students demonstrate a common misunderstanding, indicating that science is helpful in solving human problems but that technology is destructive. Aikenhead (1987) adds that students perceive scientists and engineers as all-knowing individuals, capable of making decisions relating to science and technology that affect others without personal bias and without being influenced by public opinion. These beliefs persist through the high school years, at which time students may begin to believe that the primary purpose of science is to create things or solve problems, rather than to investigate and understand the natural world.

To enhance science education, teachers must receive support to create student-centered classrooms and provide students opportunities to participate in the community of scientists and engineers. Students who are guided in their investigations and explorations of technology design problems increase their knowledge of science and technology and their understandings of the interdependence of these fields. The Science and Technology Standard incorporates content from technology education to help guide students’ opportunities to learn the science that underlies the designed world. These opportunities range from helping students understand applications of school science to their communities, to helping students apply their understandings of science and technology to make working models of useful things. Students can also engage in designing and evaluating working technological systems (e.g., model fish farm, solar heated dwelling, self-propelled vehicle). To develop students’ scientific and technological literacy, teachers must integrate opportunities to learn scientific inquiry and technology design with opportunities for students to learn concepts and principles from the fields of science including biological sciences, physical sciences, and Earth and spaces sciences (American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1993; National Research Council, 1996, 2006, 2007).

What is the connection between science and technology?

The National Science Education Standards note that "the relationship between science and technology is so close that any presentation of science without developing an understanding of technology would portray an inaccurate picture of science" (National Research Council,1996, p. 190). The Venn diagram depicts a comparison of scientific inquiry and technology design.

The NSES define technology and its relationship to science in the following way.

As used in the Standards, the central distinguishing characteristic between science and technology is difference in goal. The goal of science is to understand the natural world, and the goal of technology is to make modification in the world to meet human needs. Technology design is included in the Standards as parallel to science as inquiry (NRC, 1996, p. 24).

The NSES indicate that by the end of the eighth grade students should understand that "... scientists propose explanations for questions about the natural world, and engineers propose solutions relating to human problems, needs and aspirations" (NRC, 1996, p. 166). Technology design and scientific inquiry are processes, not ends. These processes result in tangible knowledge, products, and other processes. These artifacts are often related. For example, achievements in the fields of Earth science and biology may lead to advancements in technologies that help people manage and protect the environment and agricultural resources (e.g., forest management). Technological tools such as remote sensing systems can be used by scientists to project the percent of a forest that may be destroyed by an invasive organism or measure changes in soil content over time.

The NSES suggest that while students in grades K-4 understand and can carry out technology design activities earlier than they can carry out inquiry activities, students may not begin to differentiate between science and technology until grade five or later. Moreover, some informal school science activities (e.g., building a balance to measure mass) can support students’ development of science concepts, inquiry skills and technology design skills, seamlessly blending science and technology when appropriately facilitated by the experienced teacher. (For more information on elementary school science, see Science in the Early Grades.)

Hurd (2002) postulates that today’s scientist more typically engages in technological problem-solving rather than in pure scientific investigations. Consequently, scientists are required to consider benefits, risks and trade-offs associated with the use of technology. Aware of this dichotomy, Yager (2000) proposes that by constructing meaning under the guidance of a knowledgeable teacher, students may begin to understand the relationship between technology and science, and anticipate and assess risks and benefits of technological decisions. Kruger and Sutton (2001) propose that the study of technology enriches the range and quality of science investigations by showing multiple perspectives on abstract scientific ideas and existing real-world problems.

How can teachers incorporate the technology design process into science in school?

Teachers can help students recognize that science and technology are interconnected and that using technology involves the assessment and management of risks, benefits, and trade-offs. Real-world problems associated with agricultural, energy, and transportation systems are directly connected to technological development, as well as to scientific investigations and research. When students understand and apply scientific concepts, principles and theories and appreciate the historical development of ideas in science, they are able to apply technological knowledge and skills to design, construct, use, and evaluate products and systems that satisfy human and environmental needs. The Ohio Academic Content Standards, K-12 Technology (2003) provide guidance for incorporating the technology design process into a science curriculum. The Standards depict technology design as shown in the graphic below.

The National Science Education Standards (1996) provide suggestions for developing students’ understanding of technology connections. They suggest that students can design and build technological products and systems to solve problems within the students’ realm of experience. Product and system design tasks should be straight-forward and have clearly defined criteria for success, and when possible, students should modify designed products based on the results of evaluations. Teachers can also lead students to examine and evaluate historical or everyday technological products appropriate to their experiences. Students can determine the product’s function; identify the problem it solves; identify materials used in creating and using it; and determine how well the product does what it is supposed to do.

Welch and Lim (2000) found that novices doing technology design activities often follow steps in their design process differently from prescribed models for the technology design process. They note that novices use three-dimensional modeling before moving to two-dimensional modeling and tend to make evaluations of their design proposal from the earliest points in the design process. As students move beyond the novice level, they progress from identifying simple problems to engaging in engineering and evaluation tasks such as evaluating societal energy demands, along with the risks and benefits of various means of energy production and transmission. This more sophisticated performance includes the ability to redesign technological solutions as system performance data, personal and societal needs, constraints, and trade-offs require.

Students’ comfort and confidence with scientific knowledge may increase when they are able to discover and implement solutions to technological and scientific problems. This leads students to think about and explore solutions to real-world problems beyond the classroom. When students understand the cultural, social, economic, and political effects of technology, they can begin to play a role in the development of future technologies through invention, innovation and experimentation in problem-solving. According to Davies and Gilbert (2003) there are several compelling, potential links between students doing scientific inquiry and technology design while learning science concepts and principles. Students have the opportunity to:

Reflect on their skills and understanding in science and technology;
Develop the capacity to visualize science and technology thinking and strategies;
Relate science concepts and principles in producing technological solutions; and
Develop practical science understanding and skills within a technological context.

(For more information on scientific inquiry, see Scientific Inquiry.)

To help students obtain appropriate science and technology knowledge and skills, teachers must purposefully structure learning experiences to help students reflect on the science questions, concepts and principles in the context of a technology design activity. For example, students might engage in an activity to create and test a self-propelled vehicle that satisfies specified design goals and constraints. To determine whether or not students understand why or how frictional force contributes to force and motion relationships for the vehicle, teachers should facilitate individual and group discussion that focuses students on the related science concepts and principles (Stein, McRobbie, Campbell & Ginns, 2002). By doing so, the teacher will facilitate a direct and accurate connection between science and technology.