31 October 2015

Science as a Human Endeavour: Science and technology contribute to finding solutions to a range of contemporary issues; these solutions may impact on other areas of society and involve ethical considerations.

Australian Curriculum: 
Science as a Human Endeavour: 
Science and technology contribute to finding solutions to a range of contemporary issues; these solutions may impact on other areas of society and involve ethical considerations. 

STEM and Ethics

You may have seen the Volkswagen scandal or read about it in the last few weeks.
http://www.9jumpin.com.au/show/60minutes/stories/2015/october/das-liars/
image from link http://spectrum.ieee.org/cars-that-think/at-work/education/vw-scandal-shocking-but-not-surprising-ethicists-say
Volkswagen installed a software “defeat device” in 11 million Volkswagen and Audi diesel vehicles sold worldwide. An algorithm was installed in the emissions-control module that detects when the cars were undergoing emissions testing. It ran the engine cleanly during tests and switched off emissions control during normal driving conditions. The cars produced up to 40 times the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s maximum allowed.
Who discovered this questionable practice?
What evidence was required to show there was an artificial intelligence incorporated into the software of the diesel emissions testing? Why did Volkswagen accuse the US engineers of fabrication –making up data? How did they show falsification- distortion of the data?
Australian Curriculum General Capability Ethical Understanding
• Recognise and analyse behaviours that exemplify the dimensions and challenges of ethical concepts
• Reason and analyse inconsistencies in personal reasoning and societal ethical decision making

• How does this scenario highlight ways that personal dispositions and actions had consequences for global citizens?
What Does “Responsible Innovation” Mean?
Does the Volkswagen scandal point to a need for a code of ethics for the creators of software applications?
Issac Asimov a scientist and science fiction author first brought the issue of software ethics to public attention in a 1942 magazine article.
He developed the Three Laws of Robotics, a primitive code of behaviour for robots, one applicable to today's software as well:
First Law: A robot may not injure a human being, or through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
Second Law: A robot must obey the orders given by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
Third Law: A robot must protect its own existence, as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. (Asimov subsequently developed a Fourth Law that superseded the first three laws: A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm. Volkswagen egregiously violated this law.)
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/comment/volkswagen-scandal-software-developers-need-a-code-of-ethics-20151007-gk3w6m.html
What do you think about Issac Asimov’s three laws of robotics?
Should engineering graduates be taught engineering ethics so they have an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility?
How much control can a design engineer have over his or her product once it has reached the market?
Do you believe we have a compliance mindset when we purchase products internationally?
“Who is better equipped to understand the possible far reaching effects of these innovation processes than the engineers themselves?” What do you think about this statement?

27 October 2015

Biological Sciences and Cross Curriculum Priority Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures.

Australian Curriculum/ Year 6/ Biological Sciences and Cross Curriculum Priority Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures.
Yesterday I travelled to the beautiful Riverland where I worked with teachers in the Berri partnership. Our day started off with Kirralee Baldock sharing stories about places to learn and she described the significance of the ‘ring trees’ at Lake Bonney. Lake Bonney is also known as Nookama by Aboriginal people. While listening to Kirralee it got me thinking scientifically, and many questions were coming to mind… using the Science Bringing it to Life tool questions for year 6 biological sciences - the growth and survival of living things are affected by physical conditions of their environment, together with the Cross Curriculum Priority: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures key ideas to helped my thinking about this.

What type of tree is it in the photo?
What do you notice? Where is the tree growing? How big is the tree? What kind of Australian trees can live in rivers? How can trees live in water? What special features do these trees have that enable them to survive when the lake is full?
If you look at the trees along the western side of ‘Lake Bonney’ / ‘Nookama’, what do you notice? What does it make you think?
How did the scars get there? Why are some of them called ring trees? How many rings can a tree have? How are the rings made?

These scarred trees are evidence of bark and wood being removed. What do you think the Aboriginal people might have removed the wood or bark for? What clues might a ring tree hold about the past?
What can trees tell us about us the ways Aboriginal people lived before the arrival of Europeans?
Why do you think this area was so significant to Aboriginal people?
What is the special connection to Country/Place by Aboriginal people that is unique to their belief system that connects them physically and spiritually to this place?
Can you explain why the trees were not killed through the removal of bark and wood? What can we learn about the lives of Aboriginal people before the arrival of Europeans by looking and thinking about the environment?

By asking students to start with observations of their local environment to think deeply about connections to other cultures, the past and investigate form and function of trees adapting to their changing environment, we are challenging them to achieve high standards with appropriate support. (TfEL 2.4)
‪#‎science‬ ‪#‎ringtree‬

20 October 2015

Science as a Human Endeavour: Science knowledge helps people to understand the effect of their actions and Cross Curriculum Priorities: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures

Australian Curriculum/ Year 4/ Science as a Human Endeavour/
Science knowledge helps people to understand the effect of their actions
e.g. We want students to explore how science can contribute to a discussion, about how human activity has changed the local environment, such as causing the loss of habitat for living things.
Cross Curriculum Priorities/ Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures/ Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have unique belief systems and are spiritually connected to the land, sea, sky and waterways.
Australian Curriculum/ Year 4/ Science Understanding Biological Sciences/ We want students to understand that living things depend on each other and the environment to survive.
Mopoke's
Image http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/15830130
What do you notice?
How many different kinds of birds can you see? What might help you to find the birds? What actions might you need to take to observe the birds? How might you identify the birds living in this wetland?
What are the birds doing? What is the same and what is different about how the different birds get their food and water?
What do you think?
Where do the birds get their water from? Where do they go when it rains? What do the birds get from the plants in the wetlands? What do the plants get from the birds?
What do you think might happen if a cat lived nearby? Or if more trees were added nearby? What do you think would happen if the water dried up? How might a fire affect the birds? How might night affect the birds? What would the birds do if the wetland was filled with dirt and turned into a soccer field?
What is the connection of the Kaurna people and the birds in this wetland? Did they connect with all the birds you have identified? Which of the birds are native? Which of the birds were introduced? How could you investigate what happened when the introduced species of bird had to share the wetland with the native species? What impact did this have on the Kaurna people? Who else might have been affected? What animals and plants would have been affected?
Does the dreaming story of the Mopoke give you any clues on how it provided information on the environment for the Kaurna people? What messages did the Mopoke bring?
How can you review and share what you found?
What tools (list, table, graph, and drawing) might you use to identify patterns and share this information?
Did other people find something different to you? Was what you found the same or different from what you predicted? How? How could you improve your investigation?
So what? What next?
Who might be interested in or need to know about the dependence relationships in the tree? Why? What else might you investigate?
(This example is based on Warriparinga Wetlands, Marion South Australia, if you were using this science conceptual narrative for another wetland you would need to research the dreaming story and bird life relevant to that place.)