Science Cumulative Progress Indicators (CPIs) for the end of the designated grade span

Place a "+" for an expectation that represents a strength & a "-" for a weakness

+ or -

STANDARD 5.4     (NATURE AND PROCESS OF TECHNOLOGY)     ALL STUDENTS WILL UNDERSTAND THE INTERRELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND DEVELOP A CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE NATURE AND PROCESS OF TECHNOLOGY.

A.     Science and Technology

By the end of Grade 2, students will:

 1.         Indicators for this strand are introduced at a higher grade level.

Building upon knowledge and skills gained in preceding grades, by the end of Grade 4, students will:

 1.         Distinguish between things that occur in nature and those that have been designed to solve human problems.

Building upon knowledge and skills gained in preceding grades, by the end of Grade 6, students will:

Reinforce indicators from previous grade level.

Building upon knowledge and skills gained in preceding grades, by the end of Grade 8, students will:

 1.         Compare and contrast science with technology, illustrating similarities and differences between these two human endeavors.

Building upon knowledge and skills gained in preceding grades, by the end of Grade 12, students will:

1.           Know that scientific inquiry is driven by the desire to understand the natural world and seeks to answer questions that may or may not directly influence humans, while technology is driven by the need to meet human needs and solve human problems.

B.     Nature of Technology

 1.         Select and use simple tools and materials to complete a task.

 1.         Demonstrate how measuring instruments are used to gather information in order to design things that work properly.

Reinforce indicators from previous grade level.

 1.         Analyze a product or system to determine the problem it was designed to solve, the design constraints, trade-offs and risks involved in using the product or system, how the product or system might fail, and how the product or system might be improved.

1.           Assess the impacts of introducing a new technology in terms of alternative solutions, costs, tradeoffs, risks, benefits and environmental impact.

C.     Technological Design

 1.         Make a plan in order to design a solution to a problem.

 2.         Describe a toy or other familiar object as a system with parts that work together.

 1.         Describe a product or device in terms of the problem it solves or the need it meets.

 2.         Choose materials most suitable to make simple mechanical constructions.

 3.         Use the design process to identify a problem, look for ideas, and develop and share solutions with others.

 1.         Select a technological problem and describe the criteria and constraints that are addressed in solving the problem.

 2.         Identify the basic components of a technological system:

·        input.

·        process.

·        output.

·        feedback.

 1.         Recognize how feedback loops are used to control systems.

1.           Plan, develop, and implement a proposal to solve an authentic, technological problem.