Name: Jody Kittell

Article: STS

Moore, R., Jensen, M., Hsu, L., & Hatch, J., (2003). , The American Biology Teacher, 65, 85-89.

SUMMARY:

This article describes how most science textbooks do a good job of presenting the basic concepts of science, but shy away from the human-interest side of biology as a profession. Students are often overwhelmed with definitions and facts, but seldom learn that science is a human activity that is strongly influenced by cultural and personal biases. Although ethical issues are seldom discussed thoroughly, questions involving ethical aspects of science are of interest to the public. A survey was conducted by Virginia Commonwealth University that provided insights into the public’s simultaneous interest in and skepticism of a variety of science related issues, as well as how people’s views of those issues are affected by their religious views, ethical concerns, and scientific awareness.

Many Americans believe that science has improved society on a whole. They believe that science and medicine have a greater potential to solve health problems than does society’s capacity to address other problems. On the other hand, there is also a large majority who feel that scientific research has created as many problems for society as it has created solutions.

Americans’ views of many science related issues are strongly influenced by religion. A big topic in the media today is stem cell research. Although medical research that uses stem cells from human embryos is favored by almost half the public, 79% believe that ethical concerns about stem cell research are serious. The extent of those concerns depends on the strength of one’s religious beliefs: 71% of those to whom religion is unimportant favor stem cell research, whereas only 38% of those to whom religion is extremely important favor stem cell research.

Americans’ concerns about the ethical issues associated with science are also influenced by their religious beliefs and scientific awareness. More than 70% of Americans believe that scientific research doesn’t pay enough attention to moral values. People’s ethical concerns also relate to their awareness of scientific discoveries. 78% of those who are relatively poorly informed and 73% who are somewhat informed about scientific advances believe that scientific research doesn’t pay enough attention to moral values, whereas only 55% of people who consider themselves to be very informed share that view.

REACTION:

I found this article to be quite interesting. I always steer clear of discussions on controversial issues, so it was fascinating to see the statistics of the beliefs of those who are more religious than others and the beliefs of those who are more informed on medical advances than others. The statistics do not really surprise me though. I did expect more religious people to not be in favor of certain research techniques.

Because this article focuses on societal current events related to science, I am thinking that it might be a good idea to have the students look through the newspaper, watch the news, or read a monthly journal, do a little research to be fully informed on a topic that interests them, and have one or two days a month to discuss the topic that was researched. I was not on top of current events of any sort when I was in high school, and I truly believe that hindered me in many aspects, one of which is having a debate with someone about a controversial topic.

This might be a good way for students to practice their research skills while investigating topics that interest them. This type of exercise could also be concluded with an intense debate on a topic of the students’ choice as to keep them at the highest level of engagement possible. Maybe they won’t find biology to be such a chore if they are given the freedom to read and research the aspects of science that interest them.