SciFiEd: Science Fiction in Education 527471-LLP-1-CY-Comenius-cmp

The Toolkit

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

SciFiEd project outcomes: The Toolkit

PART I: The SciFi-Ed Approach PART II: Introduction to Science Fiction and its Subgenres PART III: Review of significant SciFi Texts PART IV: Guidelines and ideas for incorporating SciFi in various

Educational Areas PART V: Suggestions for utilizing film & ICT PART VI: Sample Cross-Curricular SciFi Units PART VII: SciFi-Ed Case Studies (in progress)

PART I: The SciFi-Ed Approach

This part presents the results of:

• a desk research: a bibliographic survey within each national literature • a field research: achieved through questionnaire and structured face-to-face interview, in all partner countries, namely in Cyprus, Ireland, Italy, Poland and Romania.

Results:• In all the participating countries (apart from Poland and Romania),

science fiction for children and young adults is at a developing stage.

• In all countries there is not much reference to teaching scientific facts, concepts or processes through SF.

• In all participating countries, the inclusion of SF in curricula is marginal and limited, if it exists at all and generally it is only included under Literature and never in relation to Science.

• However the majority of educators believe that SF could be of use in many areas such as Science, English & Communications, Maths, Social Studies, Environmental Education and History (interdisciplinary approach)

• SciFiEd project allows to use different didactic tools as Films, Comics, Multimedia and Web 2.0 technologies.

Specific recommendations 1. Teachers and schools have to be informed regarding the SF

genre and its potentials2. Guidelines and advice for teachers should be provided, as well as

teacher trainings and courses should be organized3. Develop age-appropriate lists of SF stories4. Develop activities that are of high quality and encourage

exploration, investigation and discovery 5. Adopt material to specific age-levels6. Match the SciFi-Ed material, stories, and activities to specific

areas of specific curricula and produce material that correlates to other materials (e.g. textbooks) currently being used

7. Utilize technology, produce relevant visual aids, and encourage the use of multimedia

PART II: Introduction to Science Fiction and its Subgenres

What is Science Fiction?

Discussion…

Main SF subgenres• Utopian Fiction:• Dystopian Fiction• Alien Invasion• Apocalyptic and Post-Apocalyptic Fiction• Cyberpunk and Post-Cyberpunk• Ecological SF• Planetary Romance• Space Opera• Post – Human SF• Time Travel Narratives• Alternative History• Steampunk

Main SF subgenres: UTOPIA

• A utopia is an imagined society, in which the social, economic, and political problems of our own world have been essentially solved, producing an optimum life for all of the citizens of the society. The term “utopia” is also sometimes used to describe a work of utopian fiction, that is, a fictional work whose principal goal is the description of such an ideal society. While utopias often literally dramatize the author’s idea of what would constitute an ideal society, they often also serve a satirical function that is designed more to highlight and critique aspects of the author’s world than to propose a literal alternative.

(ex: Utopia by Sir Thomas More (England, 1516)              Possibly the quintessential utopia, Utopia (the full Latin title is De Optimo Republicae Statu deque Nova Insula Utopia)

Main SF subgenres: DYSTOPIA

• If a utopia is an imaginary ideal society that dreams of a world in which the social, political, and economic problems of the real present have been solved, then a dystopia is an imagined world in which the dream has become a nightmare. Also known as anti-utopias, dystopias are often designed to critique the potential negative implications of certain forms of utopian thought. However, dystopian fiction tends to have a strong satirical dimension that is designed to warn against the possible consequences of certain tendencies in the real world of the present.

Ex. George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949).

Main SF subgenres: Alien Invasion

• A type of SF narrative in which the Earth is invaded by aliens, usually for purposes of conquest or colonization. The invaders typically come from outer space (Mars is a classic origination point), though there are variants in which the invaders come from other dimensions, other times, or even exotic locations on the Earth, such as beneath the oceans. Invading aliens are typically sinister, and alien invasion narratives often have paranoid or xenophobic qualities. In some cases, however, the invaders are benevolent and arrive with the purpose of helping humanity to overcome some important obstacle, such as its own self-destructive tendencies.

Ex. H.G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds (1898),

Main SF subgenres: Apocalyptic Fiction

A type of science fiction narrative dealing with the approach and arrival of a cataclysmic event that causes widespread destruction, leading to a dramatic change in the nature of human civilization on Earth. As opposed to the Biblical narrative of apocalypse, the SF apocalypse generally results from natural and scientifically explainable causes, such as environmental degradation, a cataclysmic cosmic event (such as the collision of Earth with a large asteroid), a catastrophic plague, a devastating nuclear or biological war, or an alien invasion.

Ex. P. Boulle’s Planet of the Apes (1963)

Main SF subgenres: Cyberpunk

A type of SF, first made popular in the mid-to-late 1980s, that focuses on the effects of near-future developments in technology, especially the technologies of computers, telecommunications, and virtual reality, though technologies such as genetic engineering are important as well.

Ex.  Alan E. Nourse’s Bladerunner (1974).

Main SF subgenres: Planetary Romance

A type of SF that involves the detailed imagination and elaboration of the culture and natural environment of a planet other than the Earth. The differences between such planets and the Earth create a potentially rich source of cognitive estrangement, asking readers to view familiar characteristics of life on Earth through the defamiliarizing lens of life on planets with different histories, climates, and social and political practices.

Ex. Brian Aldiss’s “Helliconia” trilogy (1982-1985)James Cameron’s Avatar (2009)

Main SF subgenres: Space Opera

A type of SF narrative involving stories of adventure, exploration, and conflict in outer space. Such stories were an especially prominent form of SF in the Golden Age of SF, but have remained important to the present day as well.

Ex George Lucas’ Star Wars franchise (1977…)Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 Space Odyssey (1968)

Main SF subgenres: Space Opera

A type of SF narrative involving stories of adventure, exploration, and conflict in outer space. Such stories were an especially prominent form of SF in the Golden Age of SF, but have remained important to the present day as well.

Ex George Lucas’ Star Wars franchise (1977…)Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 Space Odyssey (1968)

Main SF subgenres: Ecological SF

• A type of SF dealing with the projected consequences of changes to the natural environment. Most ecological SF depicts the negative consequences of the environmental decay.•Ex. Frank Herbert’s Dune (1965)

Main SF subgenres: Post Human SF

• A type of SF dealing centrally with developments that either produce fundamental changes in the Human Species or produce new species the outstrip or replace the human

Ex: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1823)Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies series (2005)

Main SF subgenres: Time Travel Narratieves

• Time Travel is the process of travelling through historical time, thus transporting the traveller either into the past or the future relative his starting point.

Ex: H. G. Well’s, The Time Machine (1895)

Main SF subgenres: Alternative History

• A type of SF narrative in which some major moment of the historical past (the point of divergence)is imagined as having occurred differently, leading to different future.

Ex. Stephen King’s 11/22/1963 (2011)

Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Main SF subgenres: Steampunk

•Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction that typically features steam-powered machinery, especially in a setting inspired by industrialised Western civilisation during the 19th century. Steampunk works are often set in an alternative history of the 19th century's British Victorian era or American "Wild West", in a post-apocalyptic future during which steam power has regained mainstream use, or in a fantasy world that similarly employs steam power

Ex. Barry Sonnenfeld’s Wild Wild West (1999)

PART III: Review of significant SciFi Texts

All the project partners were asked to select 10-20 SciFi texts for children and young adults that have been published in their language. The selected texts needed to fulfill the following criteria: 1.The story needed to comply with central characteristics of Science Fiction.2.The work told a fascinating story that could potentially engage students.3.Important scientific concepts were incorporated in the story.4.Scientific, environmental, civic and other concerns were addressed by the story.5.The work dealt with subjects and ideas that were relevant to national curricula.6.The story was appropriate for the ages that the project is targeting (9-15 and older).7.The text included female protagonists and/or addressed girls’ interests.8.Works by both local and international authors were included.9.Recent publications (digital or print) of the work were available (not out of print).10.The work should not in any way offend individuals or groups of people.

PART III: Review of significant SciFi Texts

PART IV: Guidelines and ideas for incorporating SciFi in various Educational Areas

1. Theoretical and empirical underpinnings of Science Fiction narratives in education: the importance of narratives in education, their benefits and challenges

2. Interdisciplinary teaching and learning: the interdisciplinary approach, its benefits and challenges

3. Practical guidelines and innovative teaching ideas: introducing Science Fiction in Science Education, Technology Education, Environmental Education, Language and Critical Literacy, and Civic Education

4. Teaching and activity ideas for Science Education, Technology Education, Environmental Education, Language and Critical Literacy and Civic education

Benefits and challenges of narratives in education:

• Enhance students’ critical thinking and environmental and civic sensitivity

• Provide opportunities to explore visions of the future and critique of the present

• Rise cognitive awareness and critical awareness about science• Increase students’ realization of the interconnections between

science, technology, culture, society, and the environment• motivate students and make learning more interesting• engagement and development of students’ imagination • Provide improvement in vocabulary and language skills• Provoke positive stances towards reading• encourage students to predict possible alternatives for the future

Benefits and challenges of interdisciplinary approach:

• Diversity in class.• No need to replicate work.• The cross curricular connections puts science at a historical level

and makes understandable what usually it's difficult to be acquire by pupils

• More pupils involvement and connection with others subjects.• The cross curricular setting allows the students to deal with the

learning process as a single process, as a distinct personal growth. • Interaction amongst pupils.• Chance to get more than one vision in several subjects. • Development of skills of how to figure out correlations between two

or more things. • Stimulates creativity in pupils. • Pupils could get a wide and whole vision of daily basic themes.

General practical guidelines

– Develop age-appropriate lists of SciFi stories.– Keep the storytelling process interactive.– Engage reluctant learners.– Publish on-line, free accessible material that will be interesting and

ready to be used by pupils.– Develop activities that are of high quality and encourage

exploration, investigation and discovery of new knowledge.– Adopt material to certain age-levels.– Match the SciFi-Ed material, stories, and activities to certain areas

of specific curricula and produce material that correlates to other materials (e.g. textbooks) currently being used.

– Utilize technology, produce relevant visual aids, and encourage the use of multimedia (sound, movement, video, etc.)

Teaching and activity ideas for Science Education • Students can be involved in many “think, pair, share” activities and

can also be working in smaller groups during a debate (grades for the debate activity and prior research will be given on an individual level to hold students accountable for their own work, and each student must verbally participate at least once during the actual class debate).

• Create a game based on the narrative - students create a board game, card game, or learning game using the events and experiences from the novel.

• Role-play: students as different scientists interact with each other, discuss their thoughts and ideas that will come up after reading the narrative and discussing it with the teacher.

• Students make Powerpoint presentations of different inventors and their inventions.

Teaching and activity ideas for Technology Education

– Students can be involved in many “think, pair, share” activities and can also be working in smaller groups during a debate (grades for the debate activity and prior research will be given on an individual level to hold students accountable for their own work, and each student must verbally participate at least once during the actual class debate).

– Create a game based on the narrative - students create a board game, card game, or learning game using the events and experiences from the novel.

– Role-play: students as different inventors interact with each other, show and discuss their inventions that will come up after reading the narrative and discussing it with the teacher.

– Critical thinking activities, brainstorming sessions, creative writing.– Students make Powerpoint presentations of different inventors and

their inventions.

Teaching and activity ideas for Environmental Education

– Innovative ideas of using science and technology to control people and overexploit the environment could be the theme for an interdisciplinary unit. At the same time, children should be encouraged to explore all the ways in which wise use of science and technology can contribute to the improvement of our lives and the environment.

– Students can be involved in many “think, pair, share” activities and can also be working in smaller groups during a debate (grades for the debate activity and prior research will be given on an individual level to hold students accountable for their own work, and each student must verbally participate at least once during the actual class debate).

– Create a game based on the narrative - students to create a board game, card game, or learning game using the events and experiences from the novel.

– Critical thinking activities, brainstorming sessions, creative writing.

Teaching and activity ideas for Language and Critical Literacy

– Classroom activities may include group projects, games, critical thinking activities, brainstorming sessions, writing poems, drawing or sketching, and more that will allow your students to interact with each other, be creative, and ultimately grasp key concepts from the text by "doing" rather than simply studying.

– Students can be involved in many “think, pair, share” activities and can also be working in smaller groups during a debate (grades for the debate activity and prior research will be given on an individual level to hold students accountable for their own work, and each student must verbally participate at least once during the actual class debate).

– Create a game based on the narrative - students create a board game, card game, or learning game using the events and experiences from the novel.

– Critical thinking activities, brainstorming sessions.– Creative writing, writing their own memoirs, discussing the plots, describing

people, places and events.

Teaching and activity ideas for Civic Education

– Students can be involved in many “think, pair, share” activities and can also be working in smaller groups during a debate (grades for the debate activity and prior research will be given on an individual level to hold students accountable for their own work, and each student must verbally participate at least once during the actual class debate).

– Create a game based on the narrative - students create a board game, card game, or learning game using the events and experiences from the novel.

– Critical thinking activities, brainstorming sessions, creative writing

PART V: Suggestion for utilizing film and ICT

Contents of the sections:• Introduction: overview of the use of technology in the

classroom• Technology affordances: affordances of tools and their

importance• Design and Development: The process of designing

learning activities and mapping them to pedagogy, task, and learning outcome

• Recommendations for mapping affordances, tools and Science Fiction in Education

• List of resources and useful websites

PART VI: Sample Cross-Curricular SciFi Units

A cycle of Cross-curricular SciFi teaching units has been designed, describing a series of interconnected lessons that utilize one or more science fiction texts in order to achieve educational objectives in several areas of the curriculum.

The teaching units contain:

• Technical data about the unit (e.g. title, who developed the unit, country, pupils’ age and grade, subject areas);

• Presentation of the SciFi stories used in the lessons (stories’ references and summaries);

• General Objectives per Subject;• Unit Panoramic View (with subjects and lessons);• Detailed lesson plans for different subjects (with lesson title,

objectives, activities, evaluation).

PART VI: Sample Cross-Curricular SciFi Units

Let’s have a look at the toolkit

PART VII: SciFi-Ed Case Studies (in progress)