Understandings+about+Science+and+Technology

Pre-K-2
Students recognize that people have always engaged in science and technology and that there is a difference between the natural and designed worlds.

a. Recognize that people have always had problems and invented tools and ways of doing things to solve problems. b. Distinguish between objects that occur in nature and objects that are man-made.

3-5
Students describe why people use science and technology and how scientists and engineers work.

a. Describe how scientists seek to answer questions and explain the natural world. b. Describe how engineers seek solutions to problems through the design and production of products

6-8
Students understand and compare the similarities and differences between scientific inquiry and technological design.

a. Compare the process of scientific inquiry to the process of technological design. b. Explain how constraints and consequences impact scientific inquiry and technological design.

9-Diploma
Students explain how the relationship between scientific inquiry and technological design influences the advancement of ideas, products, and systems.

a. Provide an example that shows how science advances with the introduction of new technologies and how solving technological problems often impacts new scientific knowledge. b. Provide examples of how creativity, imagination, and a good knowledge base are required to advance scientific ideas and technological design. c. Provide examples that illustrate how technological solutions to problems sometimes lead to new problems or new fields of inquiry.