2 Examples for Explaining the Relationship Between Science and Technology to Middle School Students

It can sometimes be a challenging task to impress upon students the relationship between science and technology. When working in a classroom setting, it is important to bring real world examples to the students because it helps to round out their education. Relating to students with real world examples is key in helping them grasp an understanding of this relationship. Understanding how science enables technological advancement will also give students insight into how the two, science and technology, can help society as a whole.

This post presents two solid examples you can present to students that will get them thinking about how important science is to the advancement of technology. Scientific findings have spurred much fantastic technological advancement. Impressing this upon students will help them have more respect for science as well as encouraging them to think about not only the scientific process, but the application as well.

Technological advances can be developed in many different areas of science such as environment, forensic, geological, physical, chemical, etc.

# Example 1

photo courtesy of  ColleenM

The first example of the relationship between science and technology I would like to explain is using heat produced by your body to create energy. “News in Science” has published an article by Will Dunham titled Knee Gadget Fires Up Your Mobile.

Arthur Kuo, a mechanical engineer developed a device that is the perfect blend of technology responding to scientific findings to invent a power generating knee brace. This brace harnesses the heat produced by the body when walking. This is the same idea behind hybrid cars; using heat produced by moving engine parts when the car is idling. The brace produces enough energy to power 10 cell phones.

This knee brace is not yet ready for mass production because it is currently too bulky and heavy. However, there are plans in place that will improve the design and produce even more energy. It is very important to impress upon students that new inventions start out awkward and are improved and tweaked as time goes on. One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced as a teacher is dispelling students’ believe that the final product currently available on store shelves, most likely did not start out the way they see it now.

They have a hard time grasping the amount of development and redesign that needs to go into a product before it hits the market. This is why stories such as this are so good for the students. They can see the product at the beginning of the design cycle and watch as the redesigns occur, giving them a better concept of the amount of development time that is necessary.

# Example 2

photo courtesy of Vincent Ma

The second example that will help students get an understanding of the relationship between science and technology is, believe it or not, sunscreen! Who knew that sunscreen could become part of a technology class? Some sunscreens are a result of nanotechnology.

Nanotechnology is a science focused on building extremely small objects or systems. In fact the objects or systems may be so small that they can be placed on a blind person’s retina to help them regain sight. Many sunscreens contain nanoparticles of zinc oxide. If not for the science of nanotechnology, zinc oxide would not have been able to be broken down into particles small enough to be used in sunscreen.

One activity I like to do with my students is to give them a few days to find hidden gems of science and technology. Once they start to questions why things are as they are and how science played a role in the development of objects, systems, etc. the light bulb goes on and they really get excited. Often, we can improve a student’s education by simply pointing out the relationship between objects, instead of merely giving them the information. Studying the relationship between science and technology is the perfect venue for getting a student excited about science.