Celebrated every 10 November, World Science Day for Peace and Development highlights the important role of science in society and the need to engage the wider public in debates on emerging scientific issues. It also underlines the importance and relevance of science in our daily lives.The 2017 theme is “Science for Global Understanding”. Global Understanding is key to peace and sustainable development in that it promotes the commitment of individuals and local communities in sharing knowledge for actions and behavioral change. Science is thus central to global understanding as it not only helps understand the world but also it assists in designing, developing and implementing the change we aim for.
My proposal for your Secondary classrooms needs three sessions and is based on the following video:
Before starting viewing the video above, prepare a handout for students with the most difficult words which are key to understanding and check they know those words.
While watching the video, ask students to write down the name of each of the scientists who, according to the author of this video, changed the world. They should also try to understand the reason why he/she was essential for mankind. (Students can use this simple table to take notes while they listen).
Let students watch the video twice and after watching the video for a second time, ask them to share their notes in pairs for about 15 minutes. After that, proceed to check their understanding of the contents of the video by asking different pairs to tell you what they have written.
In the second session, group students in threes /fours and ask them to think about a STEM discovery/ theory that exemplifies the important role of Science in our society. Each group will have to write a paragraph about their favourite discovery and the reasons for their choice. This language support document will help them to express their opinion, agree and disagree with their partner. You can prepare copies of it and hand them out to students before they start talking in pairs. They will need about 45 minutes for this second task.
Help students with websites they can use to carry out this task:
Help students with websites they can use to carry out this task:
https://www.factmonster.com/science/general-science/life-changing-science-discoveries
http://list25.com/25-biggest-scientific-discoveries-in-history-of-mankind/
https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/scientific-experiments/5-scientific-breakthroughs-we-couldnt-live-without.htm
The third session that wraps up this micro-unit on the importance of Science and its impact on society will be aimed at listening to the different groups. Allow students to read their paragraph aloud for other students to listen and, if you feel like it, after all groups have been heard, you can ask students to vote for the "most important" discovery/theory/development.
http://list25.com/25-biggest-scientific-discoveries-in-history-of-mankind/
https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/scientific-experiments/5-scientific-breakthroughs-we-couldnt-live-without.htm
The third session that wraps up this micro-unit on the importance of Science and its impact on society will be aimed at listening to the different groups. Allow students to read their paragraph aloud for other students to listen and, if you feel like it, after all groups have been heard, you can ask students to vote for the "most important" discovery/theory/development.
I hope this simple proposal will raise awareness of the importance of Science in and for society.
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