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Using a pre-service teacher science lesson scenario about students building a survival tower, the authors analyze roles of science, technology, society, and environment alongside engineering and mathematics. Habermas’ knowledge theories are proposed to connect ethical frameworks with both perspectives, strengthening science pedagogy.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/the-tower-builders-a-consideration-of-stem-stse-and-ethics-in-science-education/594501/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/the-tower-builders-a-consideration-of-stem-stse-and-ethics-in-science-education/594501.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Aldword","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-21","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":19},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What classroom scenario is used to support the authors’ discussion?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"Pre-service teachers build the tallest, most stable tower from card stock and masking tape after their airplane crash on an island, then discuss how they would live there until rescue arrives.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How do the authors frame STEM versus STSE in science education?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"STEM is linked to substantial corporate funding and engineering-mathematics integration, while STSE is an ethics-influenced Ontario curriculum initiative that situates learning in society and the environment.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"Why do the authors emphasize ethics in teaching science?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"They argue that science and technology education should address ethical implications that arise from scientific research and new technologies, and that many teachers feel unprepared to handle these controversial discussions.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},594501,1792170965,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":19,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145},2336478940917,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_6f874abed73319feea01a86fa6f0fab8","Australian Journal of Teacher Education  \n\n| Volume 37 | Issue 10 | Article 8 |\n| --- | --- |\n| 2012\u003Cbr>The Tower Builders: A Consideration of STEM, STSE and Ethics in Science Education\u003Cbr>Astrid Steele\u003Cbr>Nipissing University, North Bay, [astrids@nipissingu.ca](astrids@nipissingu.ca)\u003Cbr>Christine R. Brew\u003Cbr>Nipissing University, North Bay and La Trobe University, Melbourne, [christineb@nipissingu.ca](christineb@nipissingu.ca)\u003Cbr>Brenda R. Beatty\u003Cbr>University of Melbourne, [bbeatty@unimelb.edu.au](bbeatty@unimelb.edu.au) |  |\n\nRecommended Citation  \nSteele, Astrid; Brew, Christine R.; and Beatty, Brenda R. (2012) \"The Tower Builders: A Consideration of STEM, STSE and Ethics in Science Education,\"Australian Journal of Teacher Education: Vol. 37: Iss. 10, Article 8.  \nAvailable at: [http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol37/iss10/8](http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol37/iss10/8)  \nThis Journal Article is posted at Research Online.  \n[http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol37/iss10/8](http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol37/iss10/8)  \nAustralian Journal of Teacher Education  \nThe Tower Builders: A Consideration of STEM, STSE and Ethics in Science  \nEducation  \nAstrid Steele  \nChristine R. Brew  \nNipissing University, Canada  \nBrenda R. Beatty  \nUniversity of Melbourne  \nAbstract: The call for the integration of ethical considerations in the  \nteaching of science is now firmly on the agenda. Taking as illustrative a  \nscience lesson in a pre-service teacher class, the authors consider the  \nroles of STSE (science, technology, society and environment) and the  \nincreasingly influential heavily funded STEM (science, technology,  \nengineering and mathematics) education initiatives. The origins and foci  \nof both initiatives are discussed, as are their disparate ontological  \nfoundations. The use of Habermas’ knowledge theories in conjunction  \nwith ethical frameworks is posited as a way of considering both STSE  \nand STEM perspectives and their implications for strengthening science  \npedagogy.  \nIntroduction  \nScience Teacher Reflection:  \nEvery semester I (Note: Whenever the pronoun ‘I’ is used, this refers to author 1. Whenever the pronoun ‘we’ is used, this refers to all three authors) have pre-service teachers in my science education class build a tower from apiece of card stock and some masking tape. In brief, the scenario is that their airplane has crashed on an island inhabited by a small, friendly, indigenous population and crash survivors need to signal a passing ship for rescue. The students compete to build the tallest, most stable tower as a way of demonstrating and participating in an integrated science, technology, engineering and mathematics activity. It is an engaging problemsolving task that develops an understanding of the structural limits of materials, an understanding of forces acting on structures, and it incorporates elements of teamwork and competition. Once the students are working on their towers, I ask them to discuss in their groupshow they would live on the island until their tower is completed and help arrives. Invariably, the students assume that they would use whatever resources are available. I ask, “What impact do you think your stay on the island will be?” They acknowledge some degradation to the flora and fauna but it is a rare group that takes into account the impact on the indigenous population. The tower building exercise provides a starting point for discussions surrounding the place and importance of technology, engineering, and mathematics in the science curriculum and how those endeavors impact societies and environments. The discussions become a gateway into a consideration of the preservice teachers’ ethical and moral choices within a broader social context.  \nVol 37, 10, October 2012 118  \nAustralian Journal of Teacher Education  \nThis teaching approach is consistent with recent and urgent calls to broaden the focus of science and technology education as two interrelated subject areas to examine the ethics underpinning ","cbCaigLvfNuMVlBA","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaigLvfNuMVlBA","pdf",151598,17,"English","# Introduction\n## Science teacher reflection and classroom scenario\n## Ethics in science and technology education","[{\"question\":\"What classroom scenario is used to support the authors’ discussion?\",\"answer\":\"Pre-service teachers build the tallest, most stable tower from card stock and masking tape after their airplane crash on an island, then discuss how they would live there until rescue arrives.\"},{\"question\":\"How do the authors frame STEM versus STSE in science education?\",\"answer\":\"STEM is linked to substantial corporate funding and engineering-mathematics integration, while STSE is an ethics-influenced Ontario curriculum initiative that situates learning in society and the environment.\"},{\"question\":\"Why do the authors emphasize ethics in teaching science?\",\"answer\":\"They argue that science and technology education should address ethical implications that arise from scientific research and new technologies, and that many teachers feel unprepared to handle these controversial discussions.\"}]","The Tower Builders: A Consideration of STEM, STSE and Ethics in Science Education | PDF",1792079277,43]