C389 Science, Technology, and Society is a Western Governors University course for science educators on the two-way relationship between science, technology and the societies around them.
WGU describes it as exploring the ways science influences and is influenced by society and technology. Science is presented as a humanistic and social endeavor that serves changing societies by observing, questioning, discovering and communicating information about the natural world.
The course prepares educators to explain the nature and history of science, its applications, and the scientific and engineering processes used to investigate, decide and solve problems.
It appears across WGU's science education programs, including the middle grades and secondary biology, physics and Earth science tracks. Students find it challenging because it asks for argument and historical thinking, not just scientific facts.
Course at a Glance
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| University | Western Governors University (WGU) |
| Course code | C389 |
| Programs | Science education (middle grades and secondary tracks) |
| Level | Graduate, competency-based |
| Subject area | Nature of science, history of science, STS |
| Typical work | Case analyses, explanatory essays, teaching-focused writing |
What C389 Covers
| Topic | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Nature of science | Science as evidence-based, tentative and open to revision |
| History of science | How key discoveries happened in their social context |
| Applications of science | Medicine, energy, agriculture and everyday technology |
| Scientific and engineering processes | Investigating questions and designing solutions to problems |
| Science and society | How funding, ethics and public values shape research |
Key Concepts Explained
Science Versus Engineering Processes
Science asks questions about how the natural world works and tests explanations. Engineering defines problems and designs, tests and improves solutions under constraints such as cost and safety. Teachers need to explain both and how they feed each other.
Example: Understanding how bacteria cause disease is a scientific question. Designing a water filter for a village is an engineering problem. A good C389 answer shows how the science of microbiology informed the filter's design, and how field testing of the filter raised new scientific questions.
Tentativeness of Scientific Knowledge
Scientific ideas change with new evidence. Plate tectonics was once rejected and is now central to geology. This does not make science unreliable; it shows a self-correcting process.
Two-Way Influence
Society shapes science through funding, priorities and ethics, while science and technology reshape society. The printing press, vaccines and the internet each show both directions.
Typical Assignments and How to Approach Them
WGU assesses competency through performance assessments or objective assessments. Check your course page for the current format. Work in this subject typically looks like this:
| Task type | What it tests | How to approach it |
|---|---|---|
| Historical case analysis | Science in social context | Describe context, discovery and impact in order |
| Current issue analysis | Science-society interaction today | Separate evidence from values and policy |
| Nature of science explanation | Understanding how science works | Use a concrete example for each feature |
| Classroom application | Teaching the concepts | Show how students would explore the idea |
Choosing a Strong Case Study
A well-chosen case makes the rest of the task easier. Look for examples with clear evidence on both sides of the relationship:
- Germ theory and public health. Science changed sanitation and medicine; public health crises drove research.
- The space race. Political competition funded science, and the technology later reshaped daily life.
- Genetic engineering. New techniques raised ethical debates that now shape regulation.
- Renewable energy. Policy and markets drive research, and new technology changes policy options.
Teaching the Nature of Science
Because C389 prepares educators, it helps to know how the nature of science is usually taught. Science education commonly highlights a small set of features that students should understand:
- Scientific knowledge is based on evidence from observation and experiment.
- It is tentative and can change when new evidence appears.
- Creativity and imagination play a part in forming explanations.
- Scientists work within cultures and are influenced by them.
- Observations and inferences are different things.
Example: To show the difference between observation and inference, a teacher shows fossil footprints from two animals that converge and then become one set. Students observe the tracks, then propose different stories for what happened. The lesson shows how the same evidence can support several explanations until more data arrive.
Linking one historical case to these features is an efficient way to cover both the history and the nature of science in a single answer.
Where Students Get Stuck
- One-way stories. Show influence in both directions, not only how science changed society.
- Dates without analysis. A timeline is not an explanation. Ask why events unfolded as they did.
- Confusing science and technology. Define each and show how they interact.
- Forgetting the teaching angle. The course prepares educators, so link ideas to the classroom where the task allows.
Study Tips for C389
- Build a short table of three cases, noting how society influenced science and how science influenced society in each.
- Practice explaining the nature of science in a few sentences for a middle school audience.
- Use credible historical and scientific sources, and cite them consistently.
- Label each section of your work to match the rubric aspects.
How We Help with C389
Send the task instructions, rubric and any evaluator comments. A writer with a science and education background helps you choose a case, prepares a custom analysis, or reviews your draft for accuracy and argument. For help with sources and structure, our research paper help guide may also be useful.
GradeEssays is independent of Western Governors University. Our work is tutoring and reference material: use it to understand the approach, then write and submit your own work under WGU's academic integrity rules. We never log in to student portals. Revisions are free within the original scope.
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Frequently Asked Questions
It explores how science influences and is influenced by society and technology, and prepares educators to explain the nature, history and applications of science.
It appears in WGU science education programs, including middle grades and secondary biology, physics and Earth science tracks.
One with clear evidence of influence in both directions, such as germ theory, the space race or genetic engineering.
It combines both: you need accurate science, but the analysis is historical and social.
WGU uses performance and objective assessments. Check your course page for the current format.
No. We are an independent tutoring and writing service.