Training Resources - coe.int · PDF fileEditor: Olga Ferreira Training Resources ... At the end it is important to pin a well visible sheet of paper on a board where the group's opinions

Pestalozzi

Diversity of World Views and World Knowledge in the Classroom (VIEWS)

Diversity and Evolution

by

Author: Daniela Beuran - Romania Editor: Olga Ferreira

Training Resources

The Pestalozzi Programme Council of Europe Training Programme for education professionals

Pestalozzi Training Resources

Diversity of World Views and World Knowledge in the Classroom (VIEWS)

Diversity and Evolution

by

Author: Daniela Beuran - Romania Editor: Olga Ferreira

Last edition: April 2012

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The opinions expressed in this work are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the Council of Europe.

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Theme: Diversity and Evolution Genaeral aims

To create and develop positive attitudes towards diversity of world views and world knowledge; To develop critical thinking skills in our learners; To enhance teachers’ competences to use and deal with the relevant concepts.

Target group

Brief description of the unit The training unit focuses on the way in which the Sciences (Physics, Chemistry and Biology) taught and learnt in high school, can shape/change the students’ world views. It will also show how world knowledge can ensure that a lot of new, controversial, issues (e. g. cloning, trans-gene organisms) are correctly understood. Moreover, the training unit will highlight complex approaches to phenomena that lead to a greater responsibility of scientists regarding their discoveries and the way these breakthroughs can be used for the benefit of humankind. The multidisciplinary potential of the material also relates to how world views are constructed regarding the following two features:

° «evolution»: the perception of the necessity of progressing continually, of changing things for the better (although more often than not, other needs or more complicated needs are created in the process);

° «diversity» types: biodiversity, geodiversity, social, cultural diversity, etc.

Type of training School level Subject area Initial and in-service teacher

training Upper Secondary Sciences

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Such world knowledge may help us to take a first step in the elaboration of a world view that connects the geological, the biological and the cultural environments in a coherent, optimal relationship. Methods/techniques used Active and collaborative methods. (including the use of ICT) Time 240 minutes

Preparatory activity 15 minutes Activity 1 75 minutes Activity 2 50 minutes Activity 3 85 minutes Final debriefing/ reflecting, evaluation 15 minutes

Resources The Basic Assumption Document (BAD) of the trainer training module series on world views pp.1,2; Ropes of adequate length (1,5 m - 2 m); Boxes/objects with an undefined basis form, 1 - 1,20 sqm; History Channel admits that GMO food is poisoning the public http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HF5tIeJ8lz8 PowerPoint presentation on the topic of Biodiversity – Cloning; PowerPoint presentation :Einstein’s letter(August,2 1939) to US President F.D. Roosevelt requesting authorisation for research in the

atomic field (The Manhattan Project); Paper sheets for posters, markers, wall pins.

Tips to trainers on the overall unit The trainer introduces the unit with a preparatory activity (15 min):

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General presentation of the training unit and the activities prepared by the trainer; Self-presentation (expectations, personal resources shared: experience, curiosity and so on).

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Activity 1 The world and I (1+ 1=1) 75 minutes

Notes

General aims: To develop an awareness of the differences between subjective and objective points of view; To introduce the concepts of world view and world knowledge.

Specific aims: To develop an awareness of the existing differences between a real object and the way it is perceived; To develop an awareness of the changes a message undergoes in the reception process as a result

of personal experience; To develop an awareness of the diversity of ways in which a message/object/concept is perceived.

Methods/techniques used: Game; Group activity; Pair activity.

Resources: The BAD pp.1, 2; Ropes of adequate length (1,5 m - 2 m); Boxes/ objects with an undefined basis form, 1 - 1,20 sqm; Paper sheets (for posters), markers, wall pins.

Practical arrangements: A large room allowing to perform practical exercises; The trainer has already prepared 6 or 7 ropes with which participants can easily play.

Instructions/Procedure: Part I (10 min)

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The perception of an object (group activity) 1. Participants are divided into 4-5 groups; 2. Each group receives:

° a rope of adequate length (1,5 m - 2 m); ° a box/ an object with an undefined basis form (1 - 1,20 sqm);

3. The object is presented to the members of each group and then it is taken out of the room. The participants are asked to reproduce the shape of the object using the rope, trying to replicate as closely as possible its size and form. For each group there will be an observer monitoring the whole activity;

4. The object is then brought into the room again and the correspondence between the copy and the real object is checked. (In some cases, the copy will be larger, in others smaller, sometimes its dimensions will be quite similar to those of the real object);

5. In the end the participants and the observers are asked to reflect upon the result, but only later they will be allowed to share their impressions;

Part II (a - 10 min; b - 10 min; c - 45 min). a) The perception of the self (group activity)

6. Participants form groups of three; 7. Two of each group take turns to represent the circumference of their own waist using the rope but

without actually tying it around themselves and marking the length with the help of a paperclip; 8. When the participants think that they have obtained an accurate representation, the third member of

the group (the observer) measures the circumference of each one’s waist; 9. The participants and observers are asked to keep their impressions to themselves and not share

them until later.

b) The perception of the other one (pair activity); 10. The participants are asked to choose a partner to work with. 11. Each participant is then asked to represent the circumference of the partner’s waist in a circle

shape. 12. Then, they have to check the similarity of the representation with the real person. 13. The participants are asked to keep their impressions themselves and not share them until later.

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c) World view and world knowledge 14. Introducing concepts by individual reading – BAD pp1, 2. (10 min) 15. Group activity - Participants are divided into 4 - 5 groups (25 min): Each group will prepare a poster

answering the questions below: ° How do the differences between reality and perceptions contributecontrubute to building a

world view? ° How does the experience of change affect the relation between world views to world

knowledge? ° What is the link between the diversity of ways in which a message is perceived and the

formation of a world view? In what way do you think that world views are linked to world knowledge?

° How can you link your experience from the exercises you just performed with your educational work?

16. Feedback on the group work (10 min).

Tips to trainers: The trainer thanks both the participants and the observers, collects the materials and asks everyone

to take a seat in a circle or semicircle.

Debriefing/reflecting: Participants are invited to express their thoughts, impressions and feelings during each of the three

phases of the exercise; then they are invited to generalise their conclusions, explaining concepts such as world view and world knowledge;

Participants discuss how to use these conclusions in the work with the youth, in the classroom, as science teachers - brainstorming, etc.

Activity 2 Debating bioethics issues 60 minutes

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Notes General aims:

To gain awareness of the differences of modeling and being modeled; To develop critical thinking skills.

Specific aims: To face bioethical issues in today’s world; To become aware of the impact of scientific research and of its limits in view of bioethics.

Methods/techniques used: Watching a video; Work in small groups; Role-play; Debate.

Resources:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HF5tIeJ8lz8; Roles (Appendix 1).

Practical arrangements:

Access to the internet; A large room allowing the participants to work in small groups and to perform a role-play.

Instructions/Procedure:

Part I – (10 min) 1. Participants first watch the video about GMO food;

Part II - (20 min) 2. Participants are asked to form groups of 3-4 and discuss the video; 3. Then, each group receives a card identifying a character to be interpreted in a role-playing activity

(Appendix 1); 4. Each small group prepares the arguments and the character identified on the card and chooses a

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HF5tIeJ8lz8


group member to perform the role-play;

Part III - (10 min) 5. Role-play activity of a TV programme: “The food quality and public health”.

Part IV - (10 minutes) 6. Final debate.

Tips to trainers:

The trainer must manage time and lead the whole-group discussion, be prepared to approach other bioethical issues under debate and provide a critical perspective;

At the end it is important to pin a well visible sheet of paper on a board where the group's opinions and their conclusions about what it means to live in a world modified as a consequence of scientific research are summarised.

Debriefing/reflecting:

During the debate, participants should be invited to share knowledge and discuss today’s bioethical issues. The challenge involves reflecting upon different world views, becoming more aware of the impact of scientific research and of its limits.

Activity 3 Modeling and be modelled: “The world is not a testing laboratory” * 120 minutes

* Greenpeace International Organisation

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Notes General aims:

To raise awareness of how science teachers can contribute to the formation of a scientific world view of young people, teaching them how to deal with the concepts.

Specific aims: To reflect on the responsibility for and the consequences of one’s deeds; To develop awareness of the moral dimension of human intervention; To reflect on the differences between the perception of the subject and the object of an act of

creation - making a change and being changed; To stimulate students’ world views about the necessity of a continuous development, of changing

things for the better (although often other needs or more complicated needs are created during the process);

To link “world views” with “world knowledge”, emphasising the responsibility of scientists regarding their discoveries.

Methods/techniques used: Game, practical exercises; Group work; Brainstorming; Debates; Posters created in groups.

Resources: PowerPoint presentation on the topic of Biodiversity – Cloning; PowerPoint presentation: Einstein’s letter (August,2 1939) to US President F.D. Roosevelt requesting authorisation for

research in the atomic field (The Manhattan Project); Paper sheets for posters, markers, wall pins.

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Practical arrangements:

The room should be prepared for the practical activity with the whole group; later it should be reorganised for the debate and the activities in small groups.

Istructions/Procedure:

Part I - Practical exercise, group activity “LABORATORY” (15 min). 1. The participants are asked to count from 1 to 3. 1s will be the observers; 2. The others are divided in two groups (numbers 2 and 3); 3. Each group will choose:

° an art director, ° two models;

4. Participants receive explanations about this game called "lab", and the art director of each group ("artist"/ "the sculptor") will be asked to position their models ("statues").The director of the first group (clones) will place the statues exactly in the same position or shape; the director of the second group (diversity) will arrange the statues in different positions;

5. The observers will watch the whole process; 6. The statues are ready when the artist says so; 7. After the sculptors finish modeling the statues, they are allowed to walk around for 2-3 min to

observe them; each director will observe its own group and also the other group; 8. While working with the statues and during the observation time, all participants are asked to keep

their thoughts and impressions to themselves; 9. The observers will be asked to detect all the similarities and differences of each pair of statues in

the two groups (in spite of standing in similar positions, they will have differences too!).

Part II – Cloning (30 min) 10. After finishing the activity above the participants are invited to take a seat in a semicircle in order

to see one another without effort; 11. They are asked to talk about their impressions and thoughts kept to themeselves until then

(brainstorming); 12. Then, the trainer presents the PowerPoint on the topic of Biodiversity – Cloning,

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13. Brainstorming: Cloning – pros and cons (group activity) - some of the groups may be in favor of cloning, others may be against it; General question: how can world views possibly change our ideas about cloning and how does each of us relate to the ethical issues invovled;

14. Participants explain their choices and the way in which they worked and used consciously the issues they learned during the previous exercises.

Part III - Responsibility for and consequences of scientific discoveries: Einstein’s letter (40 min).

15. PowerPoint presentation related to the greater responsibility of scientists regarding their discoveries, and the way these breakthroughs could be used to benefit mankind: Einstein’s letter (August,2 1939) to US President F.D. Roosevelt requesting authorisation for research in the atomic field (The Manhattan Project);.

16. Groups of 4-5 persons are organised; 17. Participants are asked to jointly create posters to illustrate their opinion on the message and the

information provided by the PowerPoint presentations; 18. Each group will present their own poster; 19. Correlations are made between the concepts of world views and world knowledge; 20. Feedback on the groups’ work.

Tips to trainers:

The trainer could promt reflection on the way in which this representation expresses the trainees’ points of view on the world and their personal values and initiate observations about the group work and the joint achievement of a task (the poster);

Make correlations between the concepts of world views, world knowledge and diversity;

Final debriefing, evaluation and assessment 15 minutes

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Final debriefing/reflection:

Participants are invited to express their thoughts, impressions and feelings during each of the phases of the activity; then they are invited to generalise their conclusions, perceiving and acknowledging the role of a science teacher as a structuring element to the students’ world views based on scientific grounds and connecting it with the world knowledge;

Participants will discuss how to use these conclusions in their work with young people, in the classroom, as science teachers - brainstorming, debates;

It is also possible to focus on the implications for science teachers working with teenagers, and highlight the importance of identifying strategies to avoid the impression that the information taught is forced upon and consequently at risk of being rejected by the teenagers.

Evaluation and assessment:

Assessment by direct observation and conversation; Evaluation by questionnaire:

1. What are the three most important things you have learned? 2. Do you believe that the things you have learned will change your way of thinking and teaching? 3. Can you think of specific examples?

References M. L. Rantala, Arthur J. Milgram: Cloning:for and against, 1999 - Health & Fitness Leandro Castelani, Luciano Gigante:”6 Agosto Storia della bomba atomica”, Vallchi Editore di Firenze1964, translated in Romanian

language – Ed. politica Bucuresti,1968;

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Otto Nathan, Heinz Norden: ”Einstein on peace” Simon and Schuster, New York,1960,p.297; Leslie R. Groves „Now It Can Be Told.The Story of the Manhattan Project”, Harper and Brothers Publishers, New York, 1962, p.417. Appendix 1 Characters of a role-play on a TV program focusing “The food quality and public health”:

1. A biologist concerned with public health who resigned from his post in a food corporation.

2. A politician who feels the need to increase food production to meet the needs of the population.

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3. A mother of a family worried about the health of her children and the monthly expenses.

4. A genetic engineering research scientist who believes in the potential of science research and the human capacity to

overcome challenges.

5. A shareholder of an industrial food corporation worried about the price of cereals and the company’s profit.

6. A journalist committed to disclose the detailes of today’s food problems.

7. An expert in law who explains how to ensure food security in our societies.

8. A doctor who carries out voluntary work near disadvantaged populations. Appendix 2

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SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH LOOKS TOWARD

POLITICAL POWER

The first and the most important official document in the history of the atomic

bomb:

On 2nd August 1939 A. Einstein warns U.S. President Roosevelt about “some recent work of E. Fermi and L. Szilard” concerning uranium, “as a new and important source of energyin the near future”, but he also envisages the development of a new bomb with unmatched destruction power.

Five years later, when he learned about Hiroshima, Einstein said: “ If I had known, I would have never signed that letter.”

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History Warns:

DISTRUST IN SCIENCE LEADS TO POLITICAL MELTDOWN

President Roosevelt okays the atomic research, persuaded by an anecdote about Napoleon’s lack of foresight in matters of science.

Alexander Sachs reminds Roosevelt that Napoleon had dismissed as absurd Fulton’s proposal of building steamships without sails.As a result, the emperor

failed to conquer Britain, and history took another course, driven by … the steam power.

President Roosevelt takes the hint and…… the rest is history.

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Set sail to history: a steamship in 1819

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Resources:

• Leandro Castelani and Luciano Gigante, 6 Agosto - Storia della bomba atomico, Vallchi Editore di Firenze1964, translated intoRomanian, Ed. Politica, Bucuresti,1968;

• Otto Nathan and Heinz Norden, Einstein on peace, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1960, p.297;

• -Leslie R. Groves, Now It Can Be Told. The Story of the Manhattan Project, Harperand Brothers Publishers, New York,1962, p. 417.

Appendix 3

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• Duplicating a person e.g. identical twins. This is called “Reproductive” cloning.

• Duplicating part of a person e.g. a heart or liver, or even just a few cells. This is called “Therapeutic” cloning.

What is cloning?

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• Usually we get half our genetic information from each of our parents.

50% 50% = 100%

What does this mean?

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• 100% of genetic information comes from one individual. E.g.

In cloning …

Could produce

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Almost – but not quite.

Even identical twins are different due to the slight differences in environment they experience.

Clones would be even more different as they would live in a very different environment and time as a form of “delayed identical twin”.

Is a clone genetically identical?

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• Made in the same way as reproductive cloning except the embryo is not implanted;

• Stem cells are harvested from the embryos which kills it;

• The stem cells are used to grow different types of cells.

Therapeutic cloning

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Stem Cell Research

The hot debate

Embryonic Adult

When do you believe life begins?

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• Replacing organs and other tissues• Infertility• Replacing a lost child • Creating donor people• Gene therapy• Saving endangered species• Reversing the ageing process

Potential uses of cloning

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• Low success rate (Dolly took 276 attempts)• Tumors• Genetic defects • Over-growth syndrome• Pre-mature ageing (genetic age)• Massive quantities of human eggs required• Reduction in adaptability – genetic uniformity• Insertion of genes• Lack of knowledge

Problems with cloning

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Different countries have different laws for the different types of cloning.

Some countries want a global ban on all types of cloning, while others want a ban on certain types.

Is cloning allowed?

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• Do you think cloning is ethical for humans?

• If you had a clone would it be your child or your delayed twin?

• Does a clone have a soul?• What about creating clones for organs?• Who should decide who is cloned?

Ethical questions

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• Who should have access to cloning technology – only people with good genes?

• Who should pay for the cloning?• Should we be able to use this technology to

design our children?• Who does genetic information belong to?• Should people with genetic diseases be

cured? Should they have children?

Ethical questions cont …

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• Brave New World

Movies that deal with cloning

• Gattaca• The Island

• Jurassic Park

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References

• http://www.pub.ac.za/resources/docs/present_cloning.pdf

• http://www.pacpac.eu/news/totul_despre_clonare/2010-11-30-805#ixzz1AlVhUxH9

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloning• http://www.humancloning.org/movies.htm

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Documents

Training Resources - coe.int · PDF fileEditor: Olga Ferreira Training Resources ... At the end it is important to pin a well visible sheet of paper on a board where the group's opinions