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Ann Kaiser akaiser@lasalle-academy Fulbright Distinguished Teacher 2013 La Salle Academy

THE USE OF ENGINEERING PROJECTS TO INCLUDE ETHICS, VALUES AND GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP ISSUES IN SCIENCE CURRICULUM. Ann Kaiser akaiser@lasalle-academy.org Fulbright Distinguished Teacher 2013 La Salle Academy Providence, Rhode Island USA. OVERVIEW. The Link between Engineering and Science

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Ann Kaiser akaiser@lasalle-academy Fulbright Distinguished Teacher 2013 La Salle Academy

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  1. THE USE OF ENGINEERING PROJECTS TO INCLUDE ETHICS, VALUES AND GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP ISSUES IN SCIENCE CURRICULUM Ann Kaiser akaiser@lasalle-academy.org Fulbright Distinguished Teacher 2013 La Salle Academy Providence, Rhode Island USA

  2. OVERVIEW • The Link between Engineering and Science • Values-Based Focus in Engineering • Active Science Curriculum • Specific Engineering Projects and Problems • How would you implement this in your classroom? • Q&A

  3. IT’S AN ENGINEERED WORLD Illustration by Matt Herring

  4. SCIENCE Dreamstime.com Hubble Extreme Deep Field NASA http://www.sizedoesntmatter.com/ http://www.dvice.com/

  5. ENGINEERING http://news.discovery.com http://water.org/ http://www.greencarreports.com http://news.illinois.edu http://www.dreamstime.com/

  6. A NEW WORLD Current world population - 7.2 billion Growth rate - 1.2% 95% of the growth is in developing or underdeveloped countries. (Statistics from the World Bank) Unprecedented demands for energy, food, land, water, transportation, materials, health care, communication and infrastructure. Engineers will be crucial in fulfilling those demands at various scales, ranging from remote small communities to large urban areas (megacities), mostly in the developing world.

  7. WORLD CITIZENS • “Globalisation, changing demographics and technological advancements are some of the key driving forces of the future. Our students will have to be prepared to face these challenges and seize the opportunities brought about by these forces.” • Learning Objective 8 of the CCE Syllabus : “Reflect on and respond to community, national and global issues, as an informed and responsible citizen.”

  8. 52.5 % of the world’s population live in urban areas (World Bank 2012) One-third of these urban dwellers—more than one billion people—resides in slums. The UN forecasts that the number of slum dwellers will double to 2billion people within the next 25 years.

  9. The worldwide refuge situation reached 5.9 million by mid-2013 (UNHCR)

  10. http://www.utoledo.edu http://www.businessinsider.com

  11. By 2025, an estimated 1.8 billion people will live in areas plagued by water scarcity, with two-thirds of the world's population living in water-stressed regions as a result of use, growth, and climate change. (United Nations)

  12. http://research.noaa.gov/

  13. ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE Scientists discover the world that exists; engineers create the world that never was." Theodore von Kármán We now live in a highly engineered world where much of our personal experience with science comes from our interactions with products, processes and systems that engineers have created. In developing solutions to problems by applying science,engineers face the questions of “What to do?” and “Should we do it?” on a regular basis.

  14. E=mc2 Scientific knowledge gives us power; engineering is how we apply that power.

  15. "I made one great mistake in my life... when I signed the letter to President Roosevelt recommending that atom bombs be made; but there was some justification—the danger that the Germans would make them." Albert Einstein

  16. THE PUGWASH CONFERENCE “There lies before us, if we choose, continual progress in happiness, knowledge, and wisdom. Shall we, instead, choose death, because we cannot forget our quarrels? We appeal as human beings to human beings: Remember your humanity, and forget the rest. If you can do so, the way lies open to a new Paradise; if you cannot, there lies before you the risk of universal death.” Russell-Einstein Manifesto

  17. VALUES-BASED FOCUS • “Citizen Engineers” are technologically, environmentally, economically and socially responsible. • They are the connection between science and society. They put scientific knowledge to use. • Engineers are idealists faced with the pragmatic need to design under constraints to meet criteria that often focus on issues of ethics, stewardship and sustainability.

  18. VALUES-BASED FOCUS • Creativity and compassion • Inspires students to embrace the principles of sustainable development, renewable resources management, appropriate technology, and systems thinking • Prepares students for social, economic, and environmental stewardship

  19. USING ENGINEERING TO PROVIDE A REAL WORLD CONTEXT FOR SCIENCE • Provides a way to keep science impartial; a pursuit to discover the natural world without judgment. • Moves science out of the textbook and into the real world. • Empowers young people with a vision for improving their world. • Provides a vehicle for active, problem and project-based learning. • Engineering “habits of mind” are 21st Century skills!

  20. MORE ACTIVE SCIENCE CURRICULUM • Often little recall of any learning that involved rote memorization or problem solving. • Many students complain that science has not been any “fun’ since elementary school. We need creativity and exploration. • Students are often intimidated by open ended activities—life’s problems do not come with instructions !!

  21. DO YOU EDUCATE TO INNOVATE? • Can your students use what they have learned to develop solutions? • Do students see connections or are they continually dealing with “new” information? • Are they big picture, systems thinkers? • Are they willing to fail? • Do they learn from their “mistakes”?

  22. WAYS TO FOCUS ON CHARACTER EDUCATION • Engineering Design Projects focused on appropriate and/or assistive technology, sustainability, impacts of technology. (Project-based learning) • Case Studies to enable discussion of ethical considerations. (Problem-based learning) • Failure Analysis (structural, systems and product) to learn what not to do and how to improve. (Problem-based learning)

  23. SPECIFIC PROJECTS • The use of appropriate technology to solve housing and water issues. • A case study approach to studying nanotechnology and engineered foods • A failure analysis approach to analyzing technological and infrastructureissues.

  24. Appropriate technology is small-scale technology. It is simple enough that people can manage it directly and on a local level. Appropriate technology makes use of skills and technology that are available in a local community to supply basic human needs, such as gas and electricity, water, food, and waste disposal. Three women in Gorom-Gorom, Burkina Faso with their CooKits. http://www.hipporoller.org/

  25. PROJECT: BUILDING A BETTER WORLD Goal: To develop housing for flood and wind prone areas Science Content: Forces, Buoyancy, Bernoulli’s Principle Engineering Focus: Constraints, Criteria, Scaling, Testing Values Focus: Sustainability, cultural imperatives, quality of life

  26. PROJECT: WATER FOR THE WORLD Goal: To engineer a solution to one of the water issues facing countries around the world Science Content: Water cycle, hydration needs, agriculture, water-borne disease, water footprint, water transportation Engineering Focus: Innovation, prototyping, public awareness, communication, systems thinking Values Focus: Environmental stewardship, empathy, responsibility

  27. PROJECT: WATER FOR THE WORLD • Some 1.1 billion people in developing countries have inadequate access to water • 2.6 billion people lack basic sanitation • 1.8 million children die each year as a result of diarrhoea • 443 million school days are lost each year from water-related illness

  28. PROJECT: WATER FOR THE WORLD • Access to piped water into the household averages about 85% for the wealthiest 20% of the population, compared with 25% for the poorest 20%. • Millions of women spending several hours a day collecting water • 12% of the world’s population use 85% of its water, and these 12% do not live in the developing world.

  29. http://www.tippytap.org/ The Tippy Tap

  30. The low-cost KB Drip system provides small time farmers in India with the ability to channel irrigated water, thus giving them the opportunity to work more efficiently and lift themselves out of poverty. The project was developed by International Development Enterprises, backed by the New York-based Acumen fund, which recruits machine shops to make the materials and enlists local retailers to distribute them, all for a profit. Blue Planet Run: The Race to Provide Safe Drinking Water to the World

  31. CASE STUDIES • Introduce the profession of engineering • Teach scientific principles via problem-based learning • Teach problem-solving approaches • Allow for the discussion of ethics and values • Enrich student/faculty relationships

  32. CASE STUDY: ENGINEERED FOOD Goal: To learn about the science behind and the ethical implications of engineered foods Science Content: Genetics, organic chemistry, nutrition Engineering Focus: Systems analysis, social and cultural views. Values Focus: Debate pros and cons, ethical and social responsibility

  33. CASE STUDY:NANOTECHNOLOGY Goal: To learn about the applications and techniques of nanotechnology Science Content: Molecules, quantum theory, materials science, computer science, biology Engineering Focus: Systems analysis, nano-scale manufacturing, quality issues, reactivity, toxicity Values Focus: Debate pros and cons, ethical and social responsibility

  34. Washington University School of Engineering and Applied Science

  35. FAILURE ANALYSIS:LEARNING FROM MISTAKES The primary causes of engineering disasters are usually considered to be: • human factors (including both 'ethical' failure and accidents) • design flaws (many of which are also the result of unethical practices) • materials failures • extreme conditions or environments • combinations of these reasons

  36. FAILURE ANALYSIS Goal: To analyze a structural failure; specifically the space shuttle Challenger and a bridge failure. Science Content: Materials science, forces, applied stresses, torque, thermal effects Engineering Focus: Civil engineering, microstructure, testing, safety factors, redundancies, constraints on quality, systems engineering, infrastructure design and maintenance Values Focus: Ethical decision making, public’s right to know, cost of quality

  37. CONCLUSION • Teaching science through real world applications takes learning out of the box of the traditional classroom. • Real problems can’t be solved without a nuanced, systems-based approach. • Education has always been a vehicle for improvement – in a globally connected, rapidly transforming and highly diverse world, ethics, values and global stewardship are more important than ever.

  38. Science has given us rich knowledge and wonderful tools… http://melissaoliva.blogspot.com/ How will our children use it ?

  39. www.QuotesHD.com That is our responsibility.

  40. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS • Thank you to the Ministry of Education and the staff at the Academy of Singapore Teachers and the Academy of Singapore Principals. The opportunity to share some of my work and to exchange ideas with my Singaporean and international colleagues is very much appreciated. • Thank you also to my colleagues and administrators at La Salle Academy for supporting my work and for facilitating my leave to attend TC2014.

  41. DISCUSSION Can any of these projects be adapted for your classes?Any ideas for projects/problems specific to Singapore?

  42. Q&A

  43. SOURCES • http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21569381-idea-innovation-and-new-technology-have-stopped-driving-growth-getting-increasing • http://listverse.com/2010/06/12/10-cases-of-appropriate-technology/ • http://neweconomy.net/publications/essays/fullerton/john/the-relevance-of-ef-schumacher-in-the-21st-century • http://dschool.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/BootcampBootleg2010v2SLIM.pdf • http://www.kaganonline.com/free_articles/dr_spencer_kagan/267/From-Lessons-to-Structures-A-Paradigm-Shift-for-21st-Century-Education • The National Academy of Engineering http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/ • http://www.livescience.com/19526-american-science-funding-future.html • http://research.noaa.gov/ • http://news.discovery.com/tech/gear-and-gadgets/high-tech-shoes-step-into-the-future-140228.html

  44. SOURCES, CTD • http://www.unhcr.org/52af08d26.html • http://www.sizedoesntmatter.com/ • http://www.dvice.com/2013-5-24/scientists-develop-worlds-most-complex-biological-computer • http://goingorganicmagazine.com/articles/the-world-water-crisis/ • http://thewaterproject.org/water_scarcity • http://content.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1724375_1552708,00.html • http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS/countries?display=graph • http://www.factor-tech.com/round-up/in-pictures-this-weeks-most-futuristic-designs/ • http://www.nnin.org/spotlights/responsible-research-action-laboratory-posters

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