4.8 Content Societal Impact

4.8 Content Societal Impact: During the lesson, there was discussion about the content topic’s role in history, current events, or relevant “real-world” problems.

Concepts in mathematics and science are continuously being developed, validated, revisited, and modified based on human society’s changing body of knowledge, as events unfold in the world. This indicator assesses the degree to which the teacher discusses or helps students develop their thinking about the historical development of concepts in mathematics and science, as well as how concepts from mathematics and science are important to current events, current human activity, and current decision-making.

For example, an introduction of the Pythagorean Theorem could include a discussion of whether Pythagoras should have truly been credited with this discovery, or if there is evidence that Babylonian mathematicians understood the relationship previously. Or in a science classroom unit on Evolutionary Theory, students are introduced not only to Darwin’s research that led to his concept of natural selection but also to the ideas of other scientists who proposed alternative mechanisms for speciation and adaptation. A lesson about calculating the area of irregular shapes in geometry could incorporate a discussion about map projections and issues of social justice that arise when determining whether to preserve size or shape of countries when flattening a globe onto a two-dimensional map.

Students could also use mathematics to understand current issues and decisions; one example would be investigating debt, interest, and amortization when discussing exponential functions during an economic downturn. In the study of both science and mathematics, students need to understand that the body of knowledge representing these disciplines is the work of human beings who have conducted research while being influenced by their personal habits of mind, the culture in which they lived, recognition of the needs of their society, and the technologies available to them to solve problems.

This indicator also assesses whether the teacher connects mathematics or science concepts to non-school (i.e., “real world”) contexts. For example, a lesson on linear functions might be framed in terms of the students examining different cell phone plans. A biology lesson on energy production from carbohydrate metabolism might open up a discussion about the pros and cons of using artificial sweeteners or the rise in obesity in children due to nutritional choices.

Although it may seem inappropriate to penalize a teacher for not incorporating these connections into every single lesson, it is important that we identify the degree to which these behaviors are present. If absolutely no connections between mathematics/science concepts and human events are made during the class period, this indicator should be rated as a 1. The indicator should be rated a 1 in this situation even if you feel such connections would not be appropriate or possible for this particular lesson. If there was some mention of history or current events during the lesson, this indicator should be rated between a 1 and a 5, depending on the quality of the discussion, the depth of knowledge of the teacher about these issues, the timeliness and relevance of the discussion, and the level of student interest.

General Rubric

1. This item should be rated a 1 if there was no discussion about the content topic’s role in history, current events, or relevant real-world problems during the class period, or if there was a discussion, but it was inappropriate or incorrect.
   
    
2. This item should be rated a 2 if a connection was made to history, current events, or relevant real-world problems that the teacher did not specifically mention or call attention to (i.e., it was written on a worksheet), or if the teacher made a general and brief comment about a possible connection to history or current events that was not expanded upon.
   
    
3. This item should be rated a 3 if the teacher explicitly called attention to how the content was specifically connected to history, current events, or relevant real-world problems but did not fully expand upon this idea with the class that led to student learning.
   
    
4. This item should be rated a 4 if the teacher explicitly called attention to how the content was connected to history, current events, or relevant real-world problems and engaged the class in an extended discussion of this connection.
   
    
5. This item should be rated a 5 if, throughout the class period, the students were doing activities and/or having discussions related to the content topic’s role in history, current events, or relevant real-world problems and if the teacher clearly demonstrated deep knowledge about how this topic was connected to history or current events or in the solution of real-world problems.

Specific Examples of Supporting Evidence

Science

1. In this lesson, the teacher wrote the chemical reaction for the Haber-Bosch process for the industrial production of ammonia and then demonstrated how to balance the equation. No mention of the historical significance or economic impact of this process was made.
   
    
2. In this lesson, the teacher wrote the chemical reaction for the Haber-Bosch process on the board and asked the students to balance the equation, mentioning that it is used for the commercial production of ammonia, a component of fertilizers. No further mention of the historical significance or economic impact of this process was made.
   
    
3. The teacher began the class with a short video showing the many commercial and military uses for ammonia, the end product of the Haber-Bosch process. The teacher then wrote the chemical reaction on the board, asked the students to balance the equation, and then challenged them to calculate how much of each reactant would be required to produce the 131 x 10⁶ metric tons of ammonia that were produced in 2010.
   
    
4. The teacher began the class with the video showing many uses for ammonia produced by the Haber-Bosch process and then broke the class up into groups for further investigations about the impact of this economically significant product, historically and in current times, for military (explosives) and agribusiness (fertilizers) uses. For example, some groups were to collect information on all the chemical reactions required to produce ammonia (beyond just the Haber-Bosch process) and to describe how these resources have been located, mined, harvested, or otherwise produced throughout the last century up to today.
   
    
5. The teacher conducted the class in much the same manner as item 4 above describes but added that student groups had to also conduct research on the scientists who developed these chemical processes and how their socio-political circumstances influenced their work. For example, one student group researched how Fritz Haber’s initial studies were or were not influenced by World War I British embargo on German shipping access to and from Chile, then the main supplier of guano, which was the raw material for ammonia production at that time.

Mathematics

1. The connection of the content to history or current events was not explicitly discussed by the teacher at all; the topic was multiplying matrices.
   
    
2. The teacher mentioned to the class how proofs are used by mathematicians even today to build new knowledge in their field, connecting this to the proofs the students were doing in class. However, it was just a passing comment, not a focus or a discussion.
   
    
3. This was an algebra lesson on comparing cell phone plans and making an advertisement for a cell phone company. Thus the activity was connected to the ads students see in the media regarding different cell phone plans, and the teacher explicitly called attention to this fact at one point. However, this idea was not expanded upon.
   
    
4. The teacher began a lesson on exponential growth by showing population growth rates for the surrounding county, which had experienced sharp increases over the past several years. The teacher discussed the data with students, and then the class moved into unrelated activities.
   
    
5. The project the students were working on throughout the class period focused on a current event in the students’ city—a large charity event. Students were taking on roles of various people involved in organizing the event, from salespeople to lighting technicians to caterers, using math and science concepts as part of their role in this event.