Ação comunicativa na organização do primeiro encontro de ex-alunos de licenciatura em física

In this paper, we aim to understand the discourses of public school teachers who were former students of an Undergraduate Physics Education course, when they are perceived as actors speakers a public sphere concerned about teacher eduaction. So, we focused virtual dialogues occurred between these former students and a professor of the same course during the organization of the First Meeting of Ex-students inserted in an annual event called Meeting of the Teaching Practice in Physics of Ilha Solteira (ENPEFIS). Thus, we analyze these dialogues according to concepts of public sphere, communicative action and teachers as intellectuals according to elements of the content analysis of these virtual dialogues. Therefore, we envision in this work an important discussion for science teaching , since it reflects briefly on Physics Education committed to discussing science teaching in order to overcome the dogmatic and instrumental science education.

Adherence to standard precautions from the standpoint of the Health Belief Model: the practice of recapping needles

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Multidisciplinary approach in the teaching of dental sculpture and anatomy

The purpose of the Dental Sculpture and Anatomy discipline is to introduce undergraduate students to the study of the anatomic and morphological characteristics of permanent and primary human dentition, through classes, books and cognitive and psychomotor activities. This discipline supports the teaching of specific knowledge necessary for a more extensive education, involving interdisciplinarity as a means of knowledge exchange among several areas of dentistry, to achieve comprehensive professional education. Students must recognize the dental morphology from samples of preserved teeth, and reproduce the morphology through three-dimensional models made of stone or wax blocks. In this article, the authors describe the process for producing teeth collars and macro dental models made of stone, their importance and benefits of utilization. The purpose of the study was to encourage the teaching of Dental Sculpture and Anatomy toundergraduate students of the Bauru School of Dentistry, University of Sao Paulo, through activities that would associate theory, practice and the development of manual skills.

Comparing the Teaching-Learning Process With and Without the Use of Computerized Technological Resources

Computerized technological resources have become essential in education, particularly for teaching topics that require the performance of specific tasks. These resources can effectively help the execution of such tasks and the teaching-learning process itself. After the development of a Web site on the topic of nursing staff scheduling, this study aimed at comparing the development of students involved in the teaching-learning process of the previously mentioned topic, with and without the use of computer technology. Two random groups of undergraduate nursing students from a public university in São Paulo state, Brazil, were organized: a case group (used the Web site) and a control group (did not use the Web site). Data were collected from 2003 to 2005 after approval by the Research Ethics Committee. Results showed no significant difference in motivation or knowledge acquisition. A similar performance for the two groups was also verified. Other aspects observed were difficulty in doing the nursing staff scheduling exercise and the students' acknowledgment of the topic's importance for their training and professional lives; easy access was considered to be a positive aspect for maintaining the Web site.

Spatial and temporal population interactions between the parasitoids Cotesia flavipes and Tachinidae flies: considerations on the adverse effects of biological control practice

Biological control of Diatraea saccharalis is regarded as one of the best examples of successful classical biological control in Brazil. Since the introduction of the exotic parasitoid Cotesia flavipes, the decrease of D. saccharalis infestation in sugarcane fields has been attributed to the effectiveness of this agent. Recently, the native tachinid fly parasitoids (Lydella minense and Paratheresia claripalpis) have also been implicated in the success. Here, we investigated the spatial and temporal population interactions between C. flavipes and the tachinid flies, and provide a critical analysis of the biological control practice, focusing on the undesirable effects of introductions of exotic natural enemies. To investigate these questions, a large data set comprising information from two sugarcane mills located in the state of São Paulo, Brazil (Barra and Sao Joao Mills), was analysed. Analysis of the correlation between C. flavipes and tachinid fly population densities through time revealed that such populations were inversely correlated in the Sao Joao Mill and not correlated in the Barra Mill. Logistic regressions were computed to investigate the proportion of sites occupied by the parasitoid species at both mills as a function of time. An increasing trend in the proportion of sites occupied by C. flavipes was observed, with a concomitant decrease of the sites occupied by tachinid flies. This effect was more intense in the Sao Joao Mill. Thus, there is a convincing possibility that constant releases of C. flavipes decreased the tachinid fly populations, resulting in an undesirable effect of biological control practice.

A multimedia environment for supporting the teaching of robotics systems

This paper aims at describing an educational system for teaching and learning robotic systems. Multimedia resources were used to construct a virtual laboratory where users are able to use functionalities of a virtual robotic arm, by moving and clicking the mouse without caring about the detailed internal robot operation. Moreover through the multimedia system the user can interact with a real robot arm. The engineering students are the target public of the developed system. With its contents and interactive capabilities, it has been used as a support to the traditional face-to-face classes on the subject of robotics.. In the paper it is first introduced the metaphor of Virtual Laboratory used in the system. Next, it is described the Graphical and Multimedia Environment approach: an interactive graphic user interface with a 3D environment for simulation. Design and implementation issues of the real-time interactive multimedia learning system, which supports the W3C SMIL standard for presenting the real-time multimedia teaching material, are described. Finally, some preliminary conclusions and possible future works from this research are presented.

Analysis of the ethical aspects of professional confidentiality in dental practice

From the point of view of deontological ethics, privacy is a moral right that patients are entitled to and it is bound to professional confidentiality. Otherwise, the information given by patients to health professionals would not be reliable and a trustable relationship could not be established. The aim of the present study was to assess, by means of questionnaires with open and closed questions, the awareness and attitudes of 100 dentists working in the city of Andradina, São Paulo State, Brazil, with respect to professional confidentiality in dental practice. Most dentists (91.43%) reported to have instructed their assistants on professional confidentiality. However, 44.29% of the interviewees showed to act contradictorily as reported talking about the clinical cases of their patients to their friends or spouses. The great majority of professionals (98.57%) believed that it is important to have classes on Ethics and Bioethics during graduation and, when asked about their knowledge of the penalties imposed for breach of professional confidentiality, only 48.57% of them declared to be aware of it. Only 28.57% of the interviewees affirmed to have exclusive access to the files; 67.14% reported that that files were also accessed by their secretary; 1.43% answered that their spouses also had access, and 2.86% did not answer. From the results of the present survey, it could be observed that, although dentists affirmed to be aware of professional confidentiality, their attitudes did not adhere to ethical and legal requirements. This stand of health professionals has contributed to violate professional ethics and the law itself, bringing problems both to the professional and to the patient.

The USAID and the teaching of mathematics in Rio Grande do Norte

In the 1960s occurred great changes in the general education and, specially in the mathematical teaching, throughout Brazil. Besides the Law Diretrizes e Bases for Education (law 4024/1961), such changes also was occurred by opposite educational movements. In one side, those ones that valorized the popular education and culture and, for the other side, the international agreements between universities and government organs, like SUDENE and MEC, with United States Agency for International Development (USAID). These agreements purposed the cultural alignment. In this article we will expose some of these agreements and their interference in two courses for teachers' education. These teachers taught mathematics for the elementary school, in Rio Grande do Norte.

Experiencing Manipulative Material for the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics

This paper presents some outcomes from research based on classroom experiences. The main themes are the use of mirrors, kaleidoscopes, dynamic geometry software, and manipulative material considering their possibilities for the teaching and learning of Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometries.

Constraints on the teaching work: the use of experimental activities in a Municipal Public School System

O trabalho escolar pode ser concebido como o resultado de complexas relações entre as prescrições legais, os diversos atores e as condições materiais da realidade objetiva de determinada escola, apresentando diferentes dimensões que condicionam seu desenvolvimento, envolvendo aspectos de natureza organizacionalestrutural e de natureza político-ideológica. O presente trabalho é resultado do curso de extensão realizado com professoras de ciências naturais de uma rede escolar pública municipal. Utilizando a abordagem de pesquisa qualitativa do tipo estudo de caso, objetivamos identificar os principais condicionantes que atuam sobre o trabalho docente e que são responsáveis pela baixa frequência de utilização de atividades experimentais. Os condicionantes identificados no estudo realizado se enquadraram em quatro fatores: relacionados à organização da escola e das aulas; ligados às condições estruturais e materiais; relacionados ao professor; e relacionados ao comportamento do aluno.