Frameworks
This page will list the Grade 6- 8 Learning Standards of strand four in the Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework. Additionally any information from the framework that has a significant impact on the Technology/Engineering classroom will be included. In the column to the right of the frameworks are links to lessons that address the standard and previous MCAS questions that addressed the standard. The linked words have definitions on the vocabulary/terminology page. All of the information on this page below the index is excerpts directly from the Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework. To download a copy of the framework go to http://www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/current.html. Please note this is a work in progress and some of the information will be filled in as the page and curriculum is refined.
Index
Grades 3-5 Technology/Engineering Curriculum Frameworks
Grades 6-8 Technology/Engineering Curriculum Frameworks
Steps of the Engineering Design Process
Purpose and Nature of Science and Technology/Engineering
The Nature of Technology/Engineering
The Relationship Between Science and Technology/Engineering
Guiding Principals
| Guiding Principle 1 | Guiding Principle IV | Guiding Principle V |
| Guiding Principle VII | Guiding Principle VIII | Guiding Principle IX |
| Guiding Principle X (Recommended teaching requirements for Tech ED) |
Strand 4 Introduction (this is an excerpt from the introduction) Additional recommendation of teaching requirements for Tech ED
Recommended class meeting amounts for students from the 6th through the 8th grade
Appendix IV Safety Practices and Legal Requirements
Learning Standards Column information setup
| Strand Number | Strand Content Information | Lessons That Address The Standard |
Previous MCAS questions based on this strand |
Learning Standards Grades 3-5
Please note: Suggested extensions to learning in technology/engineering for grades 3–5 are listed with the science learning standards. See pages 26–29 (Earth and Space Science), 46–49 (Life Science), and 64–66 (Physical Sciences).
1. Materials and Tools
Central Concept: Appropriate materials,
tools, and machines extend
our ability to solve problems and invent.
| Lessons | Past MCAS | ||
1.1 |
Identify materials used to accomplish a design task based on a specific property, e.g., strength, hardness, and flexibility. |
||
| Identify and explain the appropriate materials and tools (e.g., hammer, screwdriver, pliers, tape measure, screws, nails, and other mechanical fasteners) to construct a given prototype safely. | |||
| Identify and explain the difference between simple and complex machines, e.g., hand can opener that includes multiple gears, wheel, wedge, gear, and lever. |
2. Engineering Design
Central Concept: Engineering design requires creative thinking and strategies to solve practical problems generated by needs and wants.
| Lessons | Past MCAS | ||
2.1 |
Identify a problem that reflects the need for shelter, storage, or convenience. | ||
| Describe different ways in which a problem can be represented, e.g., sketches, diagrams, graphic organizers, and lists. | |||
2.3 |
Identify relevant design features (e.g., size, shape, weight) for building a prototype of a solution to a given problem. | ||
2.4 |
Compare natural systems with mechanical systems that are designed to serve similar purposes, e.g., a bird's wings as compared to an airplane's wings. |
1. Materials,
Tools, and Machines
Central Concept : Appropriate materials,
tools, and machines
enable us to solve problems, invent, and construct.
| Lessons | Past MCAS | ||
| 1.1 | Given a design task, identify appropriate materials (e.g., wood, paper, plastic, aggregates, ceramics, metals, solvents, adhesives) based on specific properties and characteristics (e.g., strength, hardness, and flexibility). | ||
| 1.2 | Identify and explain appropriate measuring tools, hand tools, and power tools used to hold, lift, carry, fasten, and separate, and explain their safe and proper use. | ||
| 1.3 | Identify and explain the safe and proper use of measuring tools, hand tools, and machines (e.g., band saw, drill press, sanders, hammer, screwdriver, pliers, tape measure, screws, nails, and other mechanical fasteners) needed to construct a prototype of an engineering design. |
2. Engineering
Design
Central Concept : Engineering
design is an iterative process
involving modeling and optimizing to developing technological solutions
to problems within given constraints.
| Lessons | Past MCAS | ||
| Identify and explain the steps of the engineering design process, i.e., identify the need or problem, research the problem, develop possible solutions, select the best possible solution(s), construct a prototype, test and evaluate, communicate the solution(s), and redesign. | |||
| Demonstrate methods of representing solutions to a design problem, e.g., sketches, orthographic projections, multiview drawings. | |||
| Describe and explain the purpose of a given prototype. | |||
| Identify appropriate materials, tools, and machines needed to construct a prototype of a given engineering design. | |||
| Explain how such design features as size, shape, weight, function, and cost limitations would affect the construction of a given prototype. |
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| Identify the five elements of a universal systems model: goal, inputs, processes, outputs, and feedback. |
3. Communication Technologies
Central Concept : Ideas can be communicated though engineering drawings,
written reports, and pictures.
| Lessons | Past MCAS | ||
| 3.1 | Identify and explain the components of a communication system, i.e., source, encoder, transmitter, receiver, decoder, storage, retrieval, and destination. | ||
| 3.2 | Identify and explain the appropriate tools, machines, and electronic devices (e.g., drawing tools, computer-aided design, and cameras) used to produce and/or reproduce design solutions (e.g., engineering drawings, prototypes, and reports). | ||
| 3.3 | Identify and compare communication technologies and systems, i.e., audio, visual, printed, and mass communication. | ||
| 3.4 | Identify and explain how symbols and icons (e.g., international symbols and graphics) are used to communicate a message. |
4. Manufacturing
Technologies
Central Concept : Manufacturing
is the process of converting
raw materials (primary process) into physical
goods (secondary process), involving multiple industrial processes (e.g., assembly, multiple stages of production, quality control).
| Lessons | Past MCAS | ||
| 4.1 | Describe and explain the manufacturing systems of custom and mass production. | ||
| 4.2 | Explain and give examples of the impacts of interchangeable parts, components of mass-produced products, and the use of automation, e.g., robotics. | ||
| 4.3 | Describe a manufacturing organization, e.g., corporate structure, research and development, production, marketing, quality control, distribution. | ||
| 4.4 | Explain basic processes in manufacturing systems, e.g., cutting, shaping, assembling, joining, finishing, quality control, and safety. |
5. Construction Technologies
Central Concept : Construction technology involves building structures
in order to contain, shelter, manufacture, transport, communicate, and
provide recreation.
| Lessons | Past MCAS | ||
| 5.1 | Describe and explain parts of a structure, e.g., foundation, flooring, decking, wall, roofing systems. | ||
| 5.2 | Identify and describe three major types of bridges (e.g., arch, beam, and suspension) and their appropriate uses (e.g., site, span, resources, and load). | ||
| 5.3 | Explain how the forces of tension, compression, torsion, bending, and shear affect the performance of bridges. | ||
| 5.4 | Describe and explain the effects of loads and structural shapes on bridges. |
6. Transportation Technologies
Central Concept : Transportation technologies are systems
and devices that move goods and people from one place to another across
or through land, air, water, or space.
| Lessons | Past MCAS | ||
| 6.1 | Identify and compare examples of transportation systems and devices that operate on or in each of the following: land, air, water, and space. | ||
| 6.2 | Given a transportation problem, explain a possible solution using the universal systems model. | ||
| 6.3 | Identify and describe three subsystems of a transportation vehicle or device, i.e., structural, propulsion, guidance, suspension, control, and support. | ||
| 6.4 | Identify and explain lift, drag, friction, thrust, and gravity in a vehicle or device, e.g., cars, boats, airplanes, rockets. |
7. Bioengineering Technologies
Central Concept: Bioengineering technologies explore the production of
mechanical devices, products, biological substances, and organisms to
improve health and/or contribute improvement to our daily lives.
| Lessons | Past MCAS | ||
| Explain examples of adaptive or assistive devices, e.g., prosthetic devices, wheelchairs, eyeglasses, grab bars, hearing aids, lifts, braces. | |||
| Describe and explain adaptive and assistive bioengineered products, e.g., food, bio-fuels, irradiation, integrated pest management. |
Steps of the Engineering Design Process
| 1. Identify the need or problem | 5. Construct a prototype |
| 2. Research the need or problem Examine current state of the issue and current solutions Explore other options via the internet, library, interviews, etc. |
6. Test and evaluate the solution(s) Does it work? Does it meet the original design constraints? |
| 3. Develop possible solution(s) Brainstorm possible solutions Draw on mathematics and science Articulate the possible solutions in two and three dimensions Refine the possible solutions |
7. Communicate the solution(s) Make an engineering presentation that includes a discussion of how the solution(s) best meet(s) the initial need or the problem Discuss societal impact and tradeoffs of the solution(s) |
| 4. Select the best possible solution(s) Determine which solution(s) best meet(s) the original need or solve(s) the original problem |
8. Redesign Overhaul the solution(s) based on information gathered during the tests and presentation |
From Inquiry, Experimentation, and Design in the Classroom
The Engineering Design Process
Just as inquiry and experimentation guide investigations in science, the Engineering Design Process guides solutions to technology/engineering design challenges. Learning technology/engineering content and skills is greatly enhanced by a hands-on, active approach that allows students to engage in design challenges and safely work with materials to model and test solutions to a problem. Using the steps of the Engineering Design Process, students can solve technology/engineering problems and apply scientific concepts across a wide variety of topics to develop conceptual understanding. The specific steps of the Engineering Design Process are included in the Technology/Engineering strand, on page 84 of this Framework.
Purpose and Nature of Science and Technology/Engineering
Purpose and Nature of Science and Technology/Engineering
Investigations in science and technology/engineering involve a range of skills, habits of mind, and subject matter knowledge. The purpose of science and technology/engineering education in Massachusetts is to enable students to draw on these skills and habits, as well as on their subject matter knowledge, in order to participate productively in the intellectual and civic life of American society and to provide the foundation for their further education in these areas if they seek it.
The Nature of Technology/Engineering
Technology/engineering seeks different ends from those of science. Engineering strives to design and manufacture useful devices or materials, defined as technologies, whose purpose is to increase our efficacy in the world and/or our enjoyment of it. Can openers are technology, as are microwave ovens, microchips, steam engines, camcorders, safety glass, zippers, polyurethane, the Golden Gate Bridge, much of Disney World, and the “Big Dig” in Boston. Each of these, with innumerable other examples, emerges from the scientific knowledge, imagination, persistence, talent, and ingenuity of practitioners of technology/engineering. Each technology represents a designed solution, usually created in response to a specific practical problem, that applies scientific principles. As with science, direct engagement with the problem is central to defining and solving it.
The Relationship Between Science and Technology/Engineering
In spite of their different goals, science and technology have become closely, even inextricably, related in many fields. The instruments that scientists use, such as the microscope, balance, and chronometer, result from the application of technology/engineering. Scientific ideas, such as the laws of motion, the relationship between electricity and magnetism, the atomic model, and the model of DNA, have contributed to achievements in technology and engineering, such as improvement of the internal combustion engine, power transformers, nuclear power, and human gene therapy. The boundaries between science and technology/engineering blur together to extend knowledge.
A comprehensive science and technology/engineering education program enrolls all students from PreK through grade 12.
Students benefit from studying science and technology/engineering throughout all their years of schooling. They should learn the fundamental concepts of each domain of science, as well as the connections across those domains and to technology/engineering. This Framework will assist educators in developing science and technology/engineering programs that engage all students.
All students in grades PreK–5 should have science instruction on a regular basis every year. Approximately one-quarter of PreK–5 science time should be devoted to technology/ engineering.
In grades 6–8, students should have a full year of science study every year. Students in grades 6–8 should have one year of technology/engineering education in addition to their three years of science. Schools may choose to offer technology/engineering as a semester course in each of two years; as a full-year course in grade 8; or in three units, one each year in grades 6, 7, and 8.
In grades 9 and 10, all students should have full-year laboratory-based science and technology/engineering courses. In grades 11 and 12, students should take additional science and technology/engineering courses or pursue advanced study through advanced placement courses, independent research, or study of special topics.
An effective program in science and technology/engineering addresses students’ prior knowledge and misconceptions.
Students are innately curious about the world and wonder how things work. They may make spontaneous, perceptive observations about natural objects and processes, and can often be found taking things apart and reassembling them. In many cases, they have developed mental models about how the world works. However, these mental models may be inaccurate, even though they make sense to the students, and inaccuracies work against learning.
Research into misconceptions demonstrates that children can hold onto misconceptions even while reproducing what they have been taught are the “correct answers.” For example, young children may repeat that the earth is round, as they have been told, while continuing to believe that the earth is flat, which is what they can see for themselves. They may find a variety of ingenious ways to reconcile their misconception with the correct knowledge, e.g., by concluding that we live on a flat plate inside the round globe.
Teachers must be skilled at uncovering inaccuracies in students’ prior knowledge and observations, and in devising experiences that will challenge inaccurate beliefs and redirect student learning along more productive routes. The students’ natural curiosity provides one entry point for learning experiences designed to remove students’ misconceptions in science and technology/engineering.
Investigation, experimentation, and problem solving are central to science and technology/engineering education.
Investigations introduce students to the nature of original research, increase students’ understanding of scientific and technological concepts, promote skill development, and provide entry points for all learners. Teachers should establish the learning goals and contexts for investigations, experiments, and laboratories; guide student activities; and help students focus on important ideas and concepts. Lessons should be designed so that knowledge and skills are developed and used together (also see Inquiry, Experimentation, and Design in the Classroom , pages 9–12).
Puzzlement and uncertainty are common features in experimentation. Students need time to examine their ideas as they apply them in explaining a natural phenomenon or solving a design problem. Opportunities for students to reflect on their own ideas, collect evidence, make inferences and predictions, and discuss their findings are all crucial to growth in understanding.
Students should also have opportunities in the classroom to replicate important experiments that have led to well-confirmed knowledge about the natural world, e.g., Archimedes’ principle and the electric light bulb. By examining the thinking of experts, students can learn to improve their own problem-solving efforts.
Students learn best in an environment that conveys high academic expectations for all students.
A high quality education system simultaneously serves the goals of equity and excellence. At every level of the education system, teachers should act on the belief that young people from every background can learn rigorous science content and solve tough engineering problems. Teachers and guidance personnel should advise students and parents that rigorous courses and advanced sequences in science and technology/engineering will prepare them for success in college and the workplace. After-school, weekend, and summer enrichment programs offered by school districts or communities may be especially valuable and should be open to all. Schools and districts should also invite role models from business and the community (including professional engineers and scientists) to visit classes, work with students, and contribute to instruction.
Regardless of whether students go on to an institute of higher education or to a workplace, they should be equipped with the skills and habits required for postsecondary success. Skills such as the ability to work through difficult problems, to be creative in problem solving, and to think critically and analytically will serve students in any setting. When students work toward high expectations in these areas, they develop the foundation they need for success after graduation.
Assessment in science and technology/engineering serves to inform student learning, guide instruction, and evaluate student progress.
Assessment reflects classroom expectations and shows outcomes of student learning based on established knowledge and performance goals. The learning standards in this Framework are a key resource for setting such knowledge and performance objectives in science and technology/engineering. Assessment assists teachers in improving classroom practice, planning curricula, developing self-directed learners, reporting student progress, and evaluating programs. It provides students with information about how their knowledge and skills are developing and what can be done to improve them. It lets parents know how well their children are doing and what needs to be done to help them do better.
Using assessment data, teachers can better meet the needs of individual students as those students work toward mastery of the Framework learning standards. Teachers should assess student progress toward desired outcomes on a regular basis through formative assessments. Formative assessments allow a teacher to benchmark progress, evaluate the pace of instruction, and determine the need for intervention support. Through formative assessments, students receive timely feedback regarding their accomplishments and needs.
Diagnostic information gained from multiple forms of assessment enables teachers to adjust their day-to-day and week-to-week practices to foster greater student achievement. The many types of assessment include paper-and-pencil testing, performance testing, interviews, and portfolios, as well as less formal inventories such as regular observation of student responses to instruction. In helping students achieve standards, assessments should also use a variety of question formats: multiple-choice, short-answer, and open-ended. Performance-based assessments should also be developed that allow students to demonstrate what they have learned in the context of solving a problem or applying a concept. This kind of assessment requires students to refine a problem, devise a strategy to solve it, apply relevant knowledge, conduct sustained work, and deal with both complex concepts and discrete facts.
An effective program in science and technology/engineering gives students opportunities to collaborate in scientific and technological endeavors and communicate their ideas.
Scientists and engineers work as members of their professional communities. Ideas are tested, modified, extended, and reevaluated by those professional communities over time. Thus, the ability to convey their ideas to others is essential for these advances to occur.
In order to learn how to effectively communicate scientific and technological ideas, students require practice in making written and oral presentations, fielding questions, responding to critiques, and developing replies. Students need opportunities to talk about their work in focused discussions with peers and with those who have more experience and expertise. This communication can occur informally, in the context of an ongoing student collaboration or on-line consultation with a scientist or engineer, or more formally, when a student presents findings from an individual or group investigation.
A coherent science and technology/engineering program requiresdistrict-wide planning and on-going support for implementation.
District-Wide Planning
An effective curriculum that addresses the learning standards of this Framework must be planned as a PreK–12 cohesive unit. Teachers in different classrooms and at different levels should agree about what is to be taught in given grades. For example, middle school teachers should be able to expect that students coming from different elementary schools within a district share a common set of experiences and understandings in science and technology/engineering, and that the students they send on to high school will be well-prepared for what comes next. In order for this expectation to be met, middle school teachers need to plan curricula in common with their elementary and high school colleagues, and with district staff.
To facilitate planning, t he district coordinator should be involved in articulating, coordinating, and implementing a district‑wide (PreK–12) science and technology/engineering curriculum. School districts should select engaging, challenging, and accurate curriculum materials that are based on research regarding how children learn science and technology/engineering, and research about how to overcome student misconceptions. To aid their selection, districts may want to consult this Framework’s Appendix VII, Criteria for Evaluating Instructional Materials and Programs in Science and Technology/Engineering.
When planning for the introduction of a new curriculum, it is important to identify explicitly how success will be measured. Indicators need to be determined and should be communicated to all stakeholders. Supervisors should monitor whether the curriculum is actually being used and how instruction has changed. Teacher teams, working across grade levels, should look at student work and other forms of assessment to determine whether there is evidence of achievement of the sought-for gains in student understanding.
On-Going Support
Implementation of a new curriculum is accomplished over multiple years and requires opportunities for extensive professional development. Teachers must have both content knowledge and pedagogical expertise to use curricular materials in a way that enhances student learning. A well-planned program for professional development provides for both content learning and content-based pedagogical training. It is further recommended that middle and high school courses be taught by teachers who are certified in their area, and who are therefore very familiar with the safe use of materials, tools, and processes.
Science and technology/engineering programs can be more effective when families and community members are involved in the selection of curricula and materials, the planning process, and the implementation of the program. Parents who have a chance to examine and work with the materials in the context of a Family Science Night, Technology/ Engineering Fair, or other occasion will better understand and support their children’s learning. In addition, local members of the science and engineering community may be able to lend their own expertise to assist with the implementation of curricula. Teachers and administrators should invite scientists, engineers, higher education faculty, representatives of local businesses, and museum personnel to help enrich the curriculum with community connections.
Strand 4 Introduction (This is an excerpt from the introduction)
Technology/engineering works in conjunction with science to expand our capacity to understand the world. Science investigates the natural world. The goal of engineering is to solve practical problems through the development or use of technologies, based on the scientific knowledge gained through investigation.
For example, the planning, design, and construction of the Central Artery Tunnel project in Boston (the “Big Dig”) was a complex and technologically challenging project that drew on knowledge of earth science and physics, as well as on construction and transportation technologies. Scientists and engineers apply scientific knowledge of light to develop lasers, fiber optic technologies, and other technologies in medical imaging. They also apply this scientific knowledge to develop such modern communications technologies as telephones, fax machines, and electronic mail.
The Relationships Among Science, Engineering, and Technology
(graphic from the framework is not included)
Science seeks to understand the natural world, and often needs new tools to help discover the answers.
Engineers use scientific discoveries to design products and processes that meet society’s needs.
Technologies (products and processes) are the result of engineered designs. They are created by technicians to solve societal needs and wants.
Although the term technology is often used by itself to describe the educational application of computers in a classroom, computers and instructional tools that use computers are only a few of the many technological innovations in use today. The focus of this Technology/Engineering strand is on applied technologies such as engineering design, construction, and transportation, not on instructional technology such as computer applications for classrooms.
Technologies developed through engineering include the systems that provide our houses with water and heat; roads, bridges, tunnels, and the cars that we drive; airplanes and spacecraft; cellular phones, televisions, and computers; many of today’s toys; and systems that create special effects in movies. Each of these came about as the result of recognizing a need or problem and creating a technological solution using the engineering design process, as illustrated in the figure on page 84. Beginning in the early grades and continuing through high school, students carry out this design process in ever more sophisticated ways. As they gain more experience and knowledge, they are able to draw on other disciplines, especially mathematics and science, to understand and solve problems.
- Even before entering grades PreK–2, students are experienced technology users. Their natural curiosity about how things work is clear to any adult who has ever watched a child doggedly work to improve the design of a paper airplane, or to take apart a toy to explore its insides. They are also natural engineers and inventors, builders of sandcastles at the beach and forts under furniture. Most students in grades PreK–2 are fascinated with technology. While learning the safe uses of tools and materials that underlie engineering solutions, PreK–2 students are encouraged to manipulate materials that enhance their three-dimensional visualization skills–an essential component of the ability to design. They identify and describe characteristics of natural and humanmade materials and their possible uses, and identify uses of basic tools and materials (e.g., glue, scissors, tape, ruler, paper, toothpicks, straws, spools). In addition, PreK–2 students learn to identify tools and simple machines used for specific purposes (e.g., ramp, wheel, pulley, lever). They also learn to describe how human beings use parts of the body as tools.
Learning standards for PreK–2 fall under the following two subtopics: Materials and Tools; and Engineering Design.
- Students in grades 3–5 learn how appropriate materials, tools, and machines extend our ability to solve problems and invent. They identify materials used to accomplish a design task based on the materials’ specific properties, and explain which materials and tools are appropriate to construct a given prototype. They achieve a higher level of engineering design skill by recognizing a need or problem, learning different ways that the problem can be represented, and working with a variety of materials and tools to create a product or system to address the problem.
Learning standards for grades 3–5 fall under the following two subtopics: Materials and Tools; and Engineering Design.
- In grades 6–8, students pursue engineering questions and technological solutions that emphasize research and problem solving. They identify and understand the five elements of a technology system (goal, inputs, processes, outputs, and feedback). They acquire basic safety skills in the use of hand tools, power tools, and machines. They explore engineering design; materials, tools, and machines; and communication, manufacturing, construction, transportation, and bioengineering technologies. Starting in grades 6–8 and extending through grade 10, the topics of power and energy are incorporated into the study of most areas of technology. Grades 6–8 students use knowledge acquired in their mathematics and science curricula to understand engineering. They achieve a more advanced level of skill in engineering design by learning to conceptualize a problem, design prototypes in three dimensions, and use hand and power tools to construct their prototypes, test their prototypes, and make modifications as necessary. The culmination of the engineering design experience is the development and delivery of an engineering presentation. Because of the hands-on, active nature of the technology/engineering environment, it is strongly recommended that it be taught by teachers who are certified in technology education, and who are very familiar with the safe use of tools and machines.
Learning standards for grades 6–8 fall under the following seven subtopics: Materials, Tools, and Machines; Engineering Design; Communication Technologies; Manufacturing Technologies; Construction Technologies; Transportation Technologies; and Bioengineering Technologies.
- In high school, students develop their ability to solve problems in technology/engineering using mathematical and scientific concepts. High school students are able to relate concepts and principles they have learned in science with knowledge gained in the study of technology/engineering. For example, a well-rounded understanding of energy and power equips students to tackle such issues as the ongoing problems associated with energy supply and energy conservation.
In a high school technology/engineering course, students pursue engineering questions and technological solutions that emphasize research and problem solving. They achieve a more advanced level of skill in engineering design by learning how to conceptualize a problem, develop possible solutions, design and build prototypes or models, test the prototypes or models, and make modifications as necessary. Throughout the process of engineering design, high school students are able to work safely with hand and/or power tools, various materials and equipment, and other resources. In high school, courses in technology/engineering should be taught by teachers who are certified in that discipline and who are familiar with the safe use of tools and machines.
Learning standards for high school fall under the following seven subtopics: Engineering Design; Construction Technologies; Energy and Power Technologies—Fluid Systems; Energy and Power Technologies—Thermal Systems; Energy and Power Technologies—Electrical Systems; Communication Technologies; and Manufacturing Technologies.
Appendix IV
Safety Practices and Legal Requirements
Safe practices are integral to teaching and learning of science and technology/engineering at all levels. It is the responsibility of each district to provide safety information and training to teachers and students, and the responsibility of each teacher to understand and implement safe laboratory practices. This section provides a description of the lab safety practices that are required by law, as well as resources that provide advice on general safety practices.
Legally Required Safety Practices
Safety Goggles
Wearing protective goggles in school laboratories is required by Massachusetts law .
Massachusetts G.L. Chapter 71, 55C reads as follows:
Each teacher and pupil of any school, public or private, shall, while attending school classes in industrial art or vocational shops or laboratories in which caustic or explosive chemicals, hot liquids or solids, hot molten metals, or explosives are used or in which welding of any type, repair or servicing of vehicles, heat treatment or tempering of metals, or the milling, sawing, stamping or cutting of solid materials, or any similar dangerous process is taught, exposure to which may be a source of danger to the eyes, wear an industrial quality eye protective device, approved by the department of public safety. Each visitor to any such classroom or laboratory shall also be required to wear such protective device.
Thus, all individuals in the lab are required to wear goggles if they are using any of the materials or procedures listed in the statute. It is critically important for teachers to make students aware of the hazards of working with chemicals and open flame in the laboratory and other settings, and to be sure they wear goggles to protect their eyes. (Wearing protective goggles is also an OSHA standard – 1910.133.)
