Essay: Using Science Fiction in the Science Classroom

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Years ago fellow teachers and I presented a paper at AAAS about using science fiction in science classes. That paper was included in the archives of O. A. Kuhn Library Science Fiction Research Collection. This essay refers back to that paper. Some of the teaching suggestions in that paper will be the topic of future essays/lessons to be listed on the essays page.--Valerie, '09

Using Science Fiction in the Classroom

Check this out: search for Prophets of Science Fiction

Authors of Prophecy

Much is currently being made about the role of science fiction in our society. From the prophecies identified in the links above and below, one can conclude that either what we imagine someone will try to make, or that some futurists can project what technology will grow out of current knowledge. Probably both positions are accurate, to an extent.

Much science fiction is written by authors trained in the sciences or engineering. Asimov, Clarke, Crichton, Bova and Brin immediately come to mind. Elizabeth Moon was a military medic. Doctors, environmentalists, sociologists, historians and journalists have all written great science fiction that examine cultural themes, ethics, lifestyles, and technologies. Read on.

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A few interesting places to visit:

scifi.com, the SciFi Channel home page, now SyFy.
Korval.com, the Liaden Universe home page.
Baen for free sf book downloads from Baen, publisher of paperbacks.
Memes Say It All for a partial list of science fiction networks on Ning social networks, where I am Multifaceted Val.
PC Magazine's The Science Fiction Files and there's more.
Futurismic.com a set of blogs, short stories and more.
Reading for the Future Info and links for reading science fiction, student projects, lesson for science fiction readings, and more. Members of this group hosts teacher workshops at science fiction conventions.

More about PC Magazine and Science Fiction

The article retrieved by the link above is not complete. There are 21 technologies listed in the actual printed magazine copy. (PC Magazine, Aug. 8, 2006)

Not only that, but a search of the site using the keywords science fiction brings up a list of more articles relating science fiction to technology. Have fun reading!

Classroom Reading

. Most science fiction books written for the general adult audience have an advanced high school reading level, making it accessible to the practiced reader in science classes. I found that discussing the worlds imaged in the story and the motives of the characters helped clarify the story for my high school students. I found that using the English teacher's questions about the plot helped, too.
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As a science teacher, I was interested in how the science and technology of the world of the story drove the action and influenced the characters. Of secondary interest, to me, was whether the "science of the world" was true; I did want to know if it was consistent, since that gets into topics like the nature of science. I developed a set of book report questions to be answered if students wanted the credit for reading the book.

My reasons for requiring a book report on science fiction was three-fold: get students to read; share my enthusiasm for reading for fun; and to provide students with mental images of science-related memes that could be used in class discussion of the science lesson of the day.

Reference

Teaching the Science in Science Fiction by Valerie Smith, Jessica Scott, and Wayne Coskrey. A paper presented to the 1990 Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, New Orleans, Louisiana, 15-30 February, 1990.

Read more in Why Read Science Fiction?and other SciFi articles.

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Barnes and Nobel recently purchased Fictionwise, an ebook store online. Fictionwise carries ebooks of classic sci fi authors, including some works of H. Beam Piper I found nowhere else. Fictionwise also carries back copies of Amazing Stories and other sci fi magazines.
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$fractal flame Line of Fire by V. Coskrey (c)2009$ High School Science Class Book Report for Science Fiction

Answer these questions. Be prepared for oral discussion.

1. Describe the world(s) and/or ship(s) on which the action takes place.
2. Describe the culture(s) that affect the story. Be sure to mention the particular points that are different from the culture of today's USA.
3. Describe at least 5 of the technologies in the story that do not yet exist--or are not yet in common use.
4. Explain at least 3 of the fictional "science principles" that make the story science fiction as completely as possible based on what is expressed in the book. (Example: If one technology is a positronic brain of a robot, explain the science behind the "positronic" nature of the robot's brain.) (In some books, magic or ESP is a science principle.)
5. Tell how the "science" or technology drives the story.
6. Summarize the story. (optional)