Evaluating Scientific Issues in Social Terms

Social Studies Review, Fall 2003 by Fogelman, Aimee L, Berson, Michael J

Within the social studies, teachers may explore science-based issues with their students to promote the development of their analytic skills and contribute to their civic role as critical decision makers. However, while many regard science as an authority, it is not infallible or without bias. This article outlines the skills students will need to develop in order to evaluate scientific issues in social terms. Once taught, the skills presented can easily be transferred to other areas outside the scope of scientific evaluation.

INTRODUCTION

What are the social implications of scientific issues, such as acid rain? What does acid rain do to buildings, how does it affect agriculture, and how does it affect society? A social studies class can explore these issues in a two-day lesson about acid rain.

To introduce this lesson, students observe what happens to vegetation when vinegar is poured on it. The teacher then tells them that in 1974 a rain in Scotland was found to be as acidic as vinegar. The class then learns what acid rain is and where it comes from, leading into a discussion about its possible affects on society. The next day the class dissolves Alka-Seltzer in hot water. This produces sulfur and water, the basic elements of acid rain. They learn that the Lincoln Memorial fizzes every time it rains in Washington, D. C. because the rain is eating away at it. The children brainstorm reasons this might happen. After this discussion, they are given maps of the United States and asked to hypothesize about which areas of the country have the highest amounts of acid rain and why. Another discussion about how acid rain affects society ensues.

Such a unit is not only interesting and engaging for students, but is also in keeping with the National Council for the Social Studies' 1989 recommendation that students be taught about the impact science, technology, and society have on a global scale and about the effects scientific advances have at various levels. The movement to integrate science-technology-society, or STS, as it is commonly called, into the curriculum is designed to help students learn about the social impact of our reliance on technology and science, while examining society's role in promoting or limiting scientific and technological advances through public policy, allocation of resources, and imposed regulations. Instead of developing courses focusing on STS, it is recommended that this area of study be integrated into all content areas and across all grade levels.

The responsibility to teach children to critically analyze and evaluate science no longer lies with science teachers alone, but also with social studies teachers. Social studies teachers need to learn about how science and technological advancements impact society, and teach students about that relationship.

This subject area interdependence is directly analogous to the world outside the classroom-the world in which students live and will grow to become a part of. Living in a society in which interdependence is increasingly necessary and commonplace, our children must understand and be able to participate in a democratic system. Yet the freedom that accompanies a democratic system is necessarily coupled with responsibility-responsibility that must be taught beginning in the early years and practiced often. As our world becomes more interdependent, the amount of responsibility children have will only increase.

From an early age it is ingrained in children to listen to authority. Historically, children have been trained not to question their parents, their teachers, or even their textbooks. Oftentimes, this allegiance to authority has carried over into adulthood. In 1963, Stanley Milgram led his famous experiment in which subjects were told they were to shock another person for answering questions incorrectly. Subjects sat in front of a control panel and were told by a man in a gray lab coat to increase the intensity of the shock for each incorrect response. Although the person strapped into the chair never actually received any shocks, they acted as if they did. As the intensity of the supposed shocks increased, the person in the chair banged on the wall, screamed in supposed pain, or stopped responding altogether. When these behaviors occurred, many subjects looked to the man in the lab coat for direction. Astonishingly, 65% of the subjects continued to shock the person when told to, demonstrating just how susceptible people are to the influence of authority.

Since science is based largely on objective measures, many view it as being an infallible authority. As demonstrated by Milgram's experiment, this authority can easily be utilized to get people to do things they normally would not. Given this power, and the presumed objectivity of science as a discipline, it is essential to remember, and to teach students, that scientists are human and are subject to personal as well as political bias. As a result, scientific work is also subject to these biases.