Science as a Human Endeavour Role of scientist in society

Albert’s legacy is alive and well 100 years later.

What science equation first comes to your mind?
Would the world now be different if Albert Einstein had never lived?

“The equations of general relativity,” wrote Stephen Hawking, “are his best epitaph and memorial. They should last as long as the universe.”

What might have happened if no one listened to Albert’s talk on the General Theory of Relativity at the Prussian Academy?
How did Einstein’s theory on General Relativity change the way we think about the universe?
Art and Literature were affected by Einstein’s theory on General Relativity. How?
Without realising it, we encounter Albert Einstein in different fields of everyday life. How many can you think of?

Science as a Human Endeavour:
• Sparked a new public perception of the role of the scientist in society.
• Einstein believed that the scientist has a moral responsibility to humanity.

In addition to his scientific publications, he published popular tracts on themes such as religion, human rights, economics, government, nuclear war, and personal development.

Einstein saw failure as the first attempt of learning. We know his successes, but what were some of his failures?

                       

the-art-and-beauty-of-general-relativity-

Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM) Design Thinking and Scientific Inquiry

Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM)

“The Martian” movie is fantastic. I wish it could be edited to PG classification for middle years students.

Image http://gizmodo.com/how-nasa-helped-make-the-martians-user-interfaces-reale-1734698612

Towards the end of the movie Mark Watney- the Martian describes the process that astronauts follow: “You solve a problem, and then you solve the next, and then you solve the next … and if you solve enough problems, you get to survive.”

Design thinking and scientific inquiry
Mark used problem finding to determine how he might survive until the next Mars mission.

Mathematics and Technologies computational thinking played a big part in this movie.
How did he use code to communicate back to Earth? How many types of code were used?
What mathematical algorithms did Mark create to survive for another four years on Mars? He calculated he would need 2,137,500 calories. How many potatoes did he need to grow? How much land would he need to grow these potatoes on?
NASA back on Earth needed to do the maths required to find how quickly they could get a supply rocket to Mars. Their calculations needed to consider the time to build and test the rocket and also the best time to send it. As Earth and Mars change positions there are times when the planets are closer together making the journey shorter.

Biological Sciences
- How did he stop his bleeding and fix up his wound?
- How did he grow food to survive? What did he grow? Why this food only?
- Do you know what food has been grown successfully away from Earth?

Chemical Sciences
– What is the composition of gases in the air on Earth? How does that compare to Martian air? How did Mark use his understanding of electrochemistry and electrolysis reactions to produce oxygen to breathe?
- How did he produce water to drink and water his plants?

Physical Sciences
- How was electricity produced?
- What was the temperature on Mars? How did Mark keep warm while in the rover?

Earth and Space Sciences
Why did he refer to his time in SOLs instead of days?
Do we know the minerals in the dust and rocks on Mars? How might you use these minerals to 3D print a shelter to survive on Mars?

Engineering
- How did NASA build a prototype back on Earth to guide Mark on designing his craft to leave Mars?
- How might you use a 3D printer to make tools that are required to
live on Mars? What materials would be required to do this?
Can you recycle tools made with a 3D printer? What else might you
use a 3D printer for on Mars?

Science as a Human Endeavour
What impact do you think this movie might have on society’s views on space travel and sending people to Mars?

Is the resource you are using to answer these questions credible? This link takes you to a checklist classification key to determine how credible the resource you are using is.
https://marsed.asu.edu/sites/default/files/stem_resources/Credible%20Sources%20Evaluation.pdf

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?

Read more: http://spectrum.ieee.org/…/vw-scandal-shocking-but-not-surp…

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-34324772

‪#‎science‬ ‪#‎ethics‬ ‪#‎STEM‬ ‪#‎Australiancurriculum‬

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

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.)

Science as a Human Endeavour: Science involves testing predictions by gathering data and using evidence to develop explanations of events and phenomena.

Australian Curriculum: Year 5: Science as a Human Endeavour: Science involves testing predictions by gathering data and using evidence to develop explanations of events and phenomena. 

“To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance in science."

(Albert Einstein and Leopold Infeld. The Evolution of Physics. London: Cambridge University Press, 1938.)

What do you wonder when you look at the night sky? What do you think exists beyond our Solar System? Have we finished exploring our Solar System? Take some time to think about how far space exploration has come in recent decades. Where do you think it might go in your lifetime? NASA’s Chief Scientist predicts that signs of alien life will be found by 2025. What questions do you have for the NASA scientist? What if we find there is alien life, what might that mean for Earthling’s?

http://www.space.com/29041-alien-life-evidence-by-2025-nasa.html

Recent observations by planetary probes and telescopes on the ground and in space have shown that water is common throughout our solar system and the broader Milky Way galaxy.
Credit: NASA

How do telescopes make distant objects seem closer? What kinds of information and data can telescopes provide about the universe?
With many different cameras and types of scientific instruments, the Hubble Space Telescope has provided scientists with invaluable data. Data includes both observations and measurements.
NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope helps scientists explore the universe to find the evidence to answer their questions. What observations are possible with this telescope? What measurements can be made with this telescope? In what way can a telescope be considered to be a time machine?
Are all telescopes on Earth?

Can you find or think of other ways scientists can explore if there are aliens? What data and evidence do scientists need to determine if there is life on other planets?

https://student.societyforscience.org/article/pluto-hosts-ice-mountains-data-suggest?mode=topic&context=60

‪#‎science‬ ‪#‎solarsystem‬ ‪#‎BITL‬ ‪#‎Australiancurriculum‬ ‪#‎aliens‬ ‪#‎data‬

Science as a Human Endeavour: Advances in scientific understanding often rely on developments in technology and technological advances are often linked to scientific discoveries

Australian Curriculum Science:
Science as a Human Endeavour:
Advances in scientific understanding often rely on developments in technology and technological advances are often linked to scientific discoveries

http://www.sciencealert.com/watch-self-styled-pilot-connects-54-drones-and-takes-them-for-a-spin

Image: gasturbine101/YouTube

This looks like super fun, and what creative thinking was used to think up this invention.

What do you think is happening and why?
How did someone come up with this idea?
What are the obvious safety concerns?
What safety precautions did the person flying ‘The Swarm’ take in this video?
Why do you think he had an umbrella on top?
How are the drones arranged? Why do you think they arranged them in this pattern? How many are there? How did they work out how many drones they would need?
Could you design a better frame?

How might technology contribute to our understanding of science?
What might happen if you removed two of the drones?
What is your hypothesis?
What do you already know that led to your prediction?
What other predictions might be plausible?

How as many different ideas can you come up with for using drones like this? Which is your most creative idea? Now think of every reason that it might not work? How many different factors did you think of? How could you over come each of these barriers? Are there any factors which might be too difficult? Can you work with others to see if they can help you to think how you can make your idea become a possibility?

How might you test your predictions?
What could you try? Do you think you could…?
What kinds of tests can you design to help you answer your questions?
What should you consider in planning?
How will you measure and record the data?
How will you ensure the data is reliable, representative?
Which variables will you keep constant? Why?
How would your hypothesis have differed from that of a scientist?

Why has Apple started stocking drones?
What other possibilities or new developments might this invention lead to? What new careers might be developed because of this technology?

‪#‎drones‬ ‪#‎australiancurriculum‬ ‪#‎technology‬ ‪#‎creativethinking‬ ‪#‎science‬‪#‎BITL‬ ‪#‎TfELtalk‬ ‪#‎scienceasahumanendeavour‬