MAKING SENSE OF THE NATURE OF SCIENCE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO TECHNOLOGY: LEVEL 3

ACHIEVEMENT OBJECTIVES

Students can

recognise when simple investigations can be classified as a 'fair test' and make decisions about the worth of results;
investigate examples of simple technological devices and link these with some scientific ideas, e.g., can opener and levers, bicycle pumps and air pressure;
investigate the impact of some well-known technological innovation or scientific discovery on people and/or the local environment, e.g., penicillin, the aerosol can, portable audio systems, stretch fabric.

Students could be learning by:

interviewing an adult about the technology used in his or her job (M 3.4, P 3.4);
constructing a kete out of a variety of materials and testing it for durability and strength (M 3.2);
viewing old pictures, to work out how technology has changed the way we do things (E 3.2);
trying out different methods of preparing and cooking food, including using a microwave oven (M 3.3);
investigating the history and properties of materials such as soap and cement (M 3.4);
listening to a visiting Samoan parent describe how smoke can be used to ripen bananas (L 3.4, M 3.3);
making decisions about the best position for specific plants in the garden (L 3.4).

Teachers and students could assess the students':

understanding of the nature of a 'fair test' and the value of results, when the students write evaluations of other students' investigations;
recognition of the purpose of springs in a range of toys, when the students explain how the toys work;
knowledge of the impact of stretch fabrics in sports, when the students prepare a poster on these.