Atlas of Science Literacy, Volume 2

Ted Willard

About AAAS

• The American Association for the Advancement of Science was founded in Philadelphia in 1848 and it is the world's largest general science organization.

• 138,000 members and 262 affiliated societies

• Bridges gaps among scientists, policy-makers, and the public to advance science and science education.

• Authoritative source for information on the latest developments in science and publisher of the peer-reviewed journal Science

About Project 2061

In 1985, the AAAS launched a long-term effort to reform science, mathematics, and technology education for the 21st century.

That same year, Halley’s Comet was approaching the sun, prompting the project’s originators to consider all of the scientific and technological changes that a child entering school in 1985 would witness before the return of the comet in 2061—hence the name, Project 2061.

Project 2061 believes ...

• Science literacy is important for all students, not only those electing science careers.

• “Science” includes natural science, social science, mathematics, and technology.

• There are no quick fixes.

• Curriculum should cover less material but at greater depth.

• Reform must be structured around powerful, meaningful goals.

Science for All Americans

• Presents the knowledge and skills that make up science literacy goals

What is Science Literacy?

• Familiarity with the natural world and respect for its unity

• Awareness of important ways in which mathematics, technology, and the sciences depend upon one another

• Key concepts and principles of science

• Capacity for scientific ways of thinking

• Knowing that science, mathematics, and technology are human enterprises and what that implies about their strengths and limitations

• Ability to use scientific knowledge and ways of thinking for personal and social purposes

Criteria for Inclusion in SFAA

• Utility Will the proposed content—knowledge or skills—significantly enhance the graduate's long-term employment prospects? Will it be useful in making personal decisions?

• Social Responsibility Is the proposed content likely to help citizens participate intelligently in making social and political decisions on matters involving science and technology?

• The Intrinsic Value of Knowledge Does the proposed content present aspects of science, mathematics, and technology that are so important in human history or so pervasive in our culture that a general education would be incomplete without them?

• Philosophical Value Does the proposed content contribute to the ability of people to ponder the enduring questions of human meaning such as life and death, perception and reality, the individual good versus the collective welfare, certainty and doubt?

• Childhood Enrichment Will the proposed content enhance childhood (a time of life that is important in its own right) and not solely for what it may lead to in later life?

Criteria for Inclusion in SFAA

• Utility

• Social Responsibility

• Intrinsic Value of Knowledge

• Philosophical Value

• Childhood Enrichment

What do you currently teach that would not pass these criteria?

Table of Contents

1. The Nature of Science

2. The Nature of Mathematics

3. The Nature of Technology

4. The Physical Setting

5. The Living Environment

6. The Human Organism

7. Human Society

8. The Designed World

9. The Mathematical World

10. Historical Perspectives

11. Common Themes

12. Habits of Mind

Paragraph from SFAA (page 43)

Chapter 4—The Physical Setting

Section B—The Earth• The cycling of water in and out of the atmosphere plays

an important part in determining climatic patterns—evaporating from the surface, rising and cooling, condensing into clouds and then into snow or rain, and falling again to the surface, where it collects in rivers, lakes, and porous layers of rock. There are also large areas on the earth's surface covered by thick ice (such as Antarctica), which interacts with the atmosphere and oceans in affecting worldwide variations in climate.

“Steps Along the Way”

• Defining the final objectives of science literacy is not enough

• Students will work towards achieving scientific literacy incrementally

• Therefore, incremental objectives are necessary

Benchmarks for Science Literacy

• Provides a set of learning goals for the ends of grades 2, 5, 8, and 12

Benchmark Teams

Benchmarks are based on SFAA

Student’s Growth of Understanding

The Project 2061 staff prepared this message to convey to the teams its concern with students’ growth of understanding:

If we invest our energies in selecting or inventing activities and pacing them intuitively at different grade levels, we will fall short of the quality of innovation that Project 2061 intends. The job is rather to think through the entire flow of learning, including major connections among ideas, so as to identify the kinds of learning experiences that would optimally contribute to students growing along those lines.

Atlas of Science Literacy, p. 137

Benchmarks from BSL (pages 67-70)

K-2 Water left in an open container disappears, but water in a closed container does not disappear.

3-5 When liquid water disappears, it turns into a gas (vapor) in the air and can reappear as a liquid when cooled, or as a solid if cooled below the freezing point of water. Clouds and fog are made of tiny droplets of water.

6-8 The cycling of water in and out of the atmosphere plays an important role in determining climatic patterns. Water evaporates from the surface of the earth, rises and cools, condenses into rain or snow, and falls again to the surface. The water falling on land collects in rivers and lakes, soil, and porous layers of rock, and much of it flows back into the ocean.

9-12 Life is adapted to conditions on the earth, including the force of gravity that enables the planet to retain an adequate atmosphere, and an intensity of radiation from the sun that allows water to cycle between liquid and vapor.

Table of Contents

1. The Nature of Science

2. The Nature of Mathematics

3. The Nature of Technology

4. The Physical Setting

5. The Living Environment

6. The Human Organism

7. Human Society

8. The Designed World

9. The Mathematical World

10. Historical Perspectives

11. Common Themes

12. Habits of Mind

Table of Contents

1 The Nature Of Science 3A The Scientific World View 5B Scientific Inquiry 9C The Science Enterprise 14

2 The Nature Of Mathematics 23A Patterns and Relationships 25B Mathematics, Science and Technology 30C Mathematical Inquiry 34

3 The Nature Of Technology 41A Technology and Science 43B Design and Systems 48C Issues in Technology 53

4 The Physical Setting 59A The Universe 61B The Earth 66C Processes That Shape the Earth 71D Structure of Matter 75E Energy Transformations 81F Motion 87G Forces of Nature 93

5 The Living Environment 99A Diversity of Life 101B Heredity 106C Cells 110D Interdependence of Life 115E Flow of Matter and Energy 118F Evolution of Life 122

10 Historical Perspectives 237A Displacing the Earth from

the Center of the Universe 239

B Uniting the Heavens and Earth 242

C Relating Matter & Energyand Time & Space 244

D Extending Time 246

E Moving the Continents 247

F Understanding Fire 249

G Splitting the Atom 252

H Explaining the Diversity of Life 254

I Discovering Germs 256

J Harnessing Power 258

11 Common Themes 261A Systems 262

B Models 267

C Constancy and Change 271

D Scale 276

12 Habits Of Mind 281A Values and Attitudes 284

B Computation and Estimation 288

C Manipulation and Observation 292

D Communication Skills 295

E Critical-Response Skills 298

6 The Human Organism 127A Human Identity 128

B Human Development 131

C Basic Functions 135

D Learning 139

E Physical Health 143

F Mental Health 147

7 Human Society 151A Cultural Effects on Behavior 153

B Group Behavior 157

C Social Change 161

D Social Trade-Offs 164

E Political And Economic Systems 167

F Social Conflict 171

G Global Interdependence 175

8 The Designed World 181A Agriculture 183

B Materials and Manufacturing 187

C Energy Sources and Use 192

D Communication 196

E Information Processing 200

F Health Technology 204

9 The Mathematical World 209A Numbers 210

B Symbolic Relationships 215

C Shapes 222

D Uncertainty 226

E Reasoning 231

No linear presentation of topics can satisfactorily represent the connectedness of ideas and experiences that would be essential in an actual curriculum or textbook.

Science for All Americans, page xxi

The Need for Maps

Atlas of Science Literacy

• Illustrates the relationships between individual learning goals and shows the growth-of-understanding of ideas

Dedication

This publication is dedicated to Andrew (Chick) Ahlgren (1936-2006)

who brought map making and cartoons— like his own cartoon here—to Project 2061 and changed forever how we think about

science learning and teaching.

Most Boxes are Based on Benchmarks

Distribution of Benchmarks

1 The Nature of Science

• Scientific World View (1A)

• The Scientific Community (1C)• Science and Society (1C)

• Evidence and Reasoning in Inquiry (1B)• Scientific Investigations (1B)• Scientific Theories (1B)• Avoiding Bias in Science (1B)

Revised Benchmarks

Old Version

Science can sometimes be used to inform ethical decisions by identifying the likely consequences of particular actions but cannot be used to establish that some action is either moral or immoral. 1A/M4c

New Version

Science can sometimes be used to inform ethical decisions by identifying the likely consequences of particular actions, but science cannot be used by itself to establish that an action is moral or immoral. 1A/M4c*

Revised Benchmarks

Old Version

Two types of organisms may interact with one another in several ways: They may be in a producer/consumer, predator/prey, or parasite/host relationship. Or one organism may scavenge or decompose another. Relationships may be competitive or mutually beneficial. Some species have become so adapted to each other that neither could survive without the other. 5D/M2

New Version

Interactions between organisms may be for nourishment, reproduction, or protection and may benefit one of the organisms or both of them. Some species have become so dependent on each other that neither could survive without the other. 5D/M2**

Revised Benchmarks

Old Version

Middle School

Because the earth turns daily on an axis that is tilted relative to the plane of the earth's yearly orbit around the sun, sunlight falls more intensely on different parts of the earth during the year. The difference in heating of the earth's surface produces the planet's seasons and weather patterns. 4B/M4

New Version

High School

Because the earth turns daily on an axis that is tilted relative to the plane of the earth's yearly orbit around the sun, sunlight falls more intensely on different parts of the earth during the year. The difference in intensity of sunlight and the resulting warming of the earth's surface produces the seasonal variations in temperature. 4B/H3** (BSL)

Revised Benchmarks

Old Version

High School

There are two kinds of charges--positive and negative. Like charges repel one another, opposite charges attract. 4G/H3ab

New Version

Middle School

A charged object can be charged in one of two ways, which we call either positively charged or negatively charged. Two objects that are charged in the same manner exert a force of repulsion on each other, while oppositely charged objects exert a force of attraction on each other. 4G/M5** (BSL)

But some come from SFAA

S C I E N C E

F O R A L L A ME R I C A N S

A ME R I C A N A SSO C I A T I O N F O R T H E A D V A N C E ME N T O F SC I E N C E

P R O J E C T 2 0 6 1

S C I E N C E

F O R A L L A ME R I C A N S

A ME R I C A N A SSO C I A T I O N F O R T H E A D V A N C E ME N T O F SC I E N C E

P R O J E C T 2 0 6 1

And some some from NSES

NSES

The atmosphere is a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, and trace gases that include water vapor. The atmosphere has different properties at different elevations.

Atlas 2

The atmosphere is a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, and trace amounts of water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases. 4B/M15** (NSES)

Comparing BSL and NSES

• Nature of Science• Natural Science• Social Science• Mathematics• Technology

• Science Education System• Science Education Program• Science Assessment• Professional Development• Science Teaching• Content 90%

OVERLAP

From the

National Science Education Standards

The National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences gratefully acknowledges its indebtedness to the seminal work by the American Association for the Advancement of Science's Project 2061 and believes that use of Benchmarks for Science Literacy by state framework committees, school and school-district curriculum committees, and developers of instructional and assessment materials complies fully with the spirit of the content standards.

National Academy of Sciences, p. 15

Curriculum

Teacher Preparation

Instruction

Materials Development

Assessment

Literacy Goals

Learning Goals

Connections

Supporting the Goals

Map Key

Map Key

BENCHMARKS

are specific learning goals derived mostly from Benchmarks for Science Literacy but also from Science for All Americans and National Science Education Standards. Colored boxes indicate knowledge goals; bordered boxes indicate skill goals. Some benchmarks have been split into two or more ideas which appear in separate boxes.

Map Key

BENCHMARK CODES

indicate chapter, section, grade range, and number of the corresponding goal statements in Benchmarks for Science Literacy.

Letters, asterisks, and acronyms following the code provide additional information about the benchmark.

What’s in a Benchmark Code?

Map Key

CONNECTING ARROWS

indicate that achieving one benchmark contributes to achieving the other. The exact meaning of a connection is not indicated explicitly, but connections can be based on the logic of the subject matter or on cognitive research about how students learn.

What does an Arrow mean?

• One idea “contributes to the understanding of the other”

• Knowing one idea can be “helpful in learning” the other idea.

• The idea may be an essential prerequisite, but does not have to be.

Map Key

GRADE RANGES

suggest when most students could achieve these benchmarks. A benchmark’s position within a grade range does not indicate the grade in which it should be taught, nor does its position indicate that it should be taught before or after another benchmark unless there is an arrow connecting them.

Map Key

STRAND LABELS

help the reader find things in the map and get a sense of the map’s content. Strands loosely suggest ideas or skills that develop over time. Strands often interweave and share benchmarks.

Map Key

CROSS-REFERENCES

TO OTHER MAPS

indicate that the benchmark also appears on the maps that are listed.

Map Key

OFF-MAP CONNECTIONS

show links to the codes of closely related benchmarks when it is not possible to include the full text of the benchmark on a map. Arrows in off-map connections imply the same relationship between benchmarks as they do when they connect boxes to boxes.

Use the Index of Mapped Benchmarks to search for maps on which a benchmark appears in its full text.

Index of Mapped Benchmarks

• The index entries are not terms or topics.

• Each index entry is for a unique benchmark statement identified by its benchmark code.

• The index is organized according to the structure of the chapters and sections in Benchmarks for Science Literacy.

• Each index entry provides the names of the maps, along with the volume and page numbers, on which the benchmark can be found.

Map Key

Curriculum Topic Study

• The Curriculum Topic Study (CTS) project is developing a set of tools and professional development processes for science and mathematics teachers and professional development

• CTS involves a methodical process of using national standards and research on student learning to study, analyze, and apply the content and instructional implications of the science and mathematics topics they teach.

• CTS builds a bridge between state and national standards, research on students' ideas in science, and opportunities for students to learn science and mathematics through improved teacher practice.

Research References

Children's Ideas in Science

• Editors: Rosiland Driver, Edith Guesney, Andree Tiberghien

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis

• ISBN: 0335150403 (September 1985)

Making Sense of Secondary Science: Research into Children’s Ideas

• Editors: Rosiland Driver, Ann Squires, Peter Rushworth, valer Wood-Robinson

• Publisher: Routledge

• ISBN: 0415097657 (March 1994)