The Development of Science Education Research in Brazil and Contributions from the History and Philosophy of Science

Over the last 50 years a new research area, science education research, has arisen and undergone singular development worldwide. In the specific case of Brazil, research in science education first appeared systematically 40 years ago, as a consequence of an overall renovation in the field of science education. This evolution was also related to the political events taking place in the country. We will use the theoretical work of Rene Kaes on the development of groups and institutions as a basis for our discussion of the most important aspects that have helped the area of science education research develop into an institution and kept it operating as such. The growth of this area of research can be divided into three phases: The first was related to its beginning and early configurations; the second consisted of a process of consolidation of this institution; and the third consists of more recent developments, characterised by a multiplicity of research lines and corresponding challenges to be faced. In particular, we will analyse the special contributions to this study gleaned from the field known as the history and philosophy of science.

Establishing common elements among some science education references as a resource to design a Didactics of Physics program for teachers initial education

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Pedagogical practices carried out during an in-service teachers education project: approaching history and philosophy of science to physics teaching

We report here part of a research project developed by the Science Education Research Group, titled: "Teachers’ Pedagogical Practices and formative processes in Science and Mathematics Education" which main goal is the development of coordinated research that can generate a set of subsidies for a reflection on the processes of teacher training in Sciences and Mathematics Education. One of the objectives was to develop continuing education activities with Physics teachers, using the History and Philosophy of Science as conductors of the discussions and focus of teaching experiences carried out by them in the classroom. From data collected through a survey among local Science, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics teachers in Bauru, a São Paulo State city, we developed a continuing education proposal titled “The History and Philosophy of Science in the Physics teachers’ pedagogical practice”, lasting 40 hours of lessons. We followed the performance of five teachers who participated in activities during the 2008 first semester and were teaching Physics at High School level. They designed proposals for short courses, taking into consideration aspects of History and Philosophy of Science and students’ alternative conceptions. Short courses were applied in real classrooms situations and accompanied by reflection meetings. This is a qualitative research, and treatment of data collected was based on content analysis, according to Bardin [1].

Energy education: breaking up the rational energy use barriers

Human development is associated directly or indirectly with the energy use, and because of this the energetic sources were dealt with in the recent past, as fully available to human necessities. The reality shows that the energy availability, considering the nonrenewable sources, is limited, and beyond that, the exploration, the processing and the use of energy impose considerable impacts on the environment. There is not a system which operates with no losses and without imposing changes to the environment. Therefore, the energy conservation incorporates the concepts and the actions applied to the research of sustainable balance between nature and the energy availability and use. Such actions can be presented both in the short term, in which the energy system is close to a collapse, or in the medium/long term, in which those responsible for the energy policies are concerned with the structure of the socioeconomic development. Such a situation requires more responsibility in the treatment of energy questions, mainly through education, which represents long-term investments. This paper discusses barriers that are present in the projects applied to energy conservation, by making clear that education is one of the best ways to transform the human behavior in for the rational use of energy. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nothing too much: reflecting about the role of contextualization in science teaching

The contextualization and discussion about the science role in the social and economical development are unquestionably important for the science teaching process. It doesn't mean, however, that the scientific-theoretic knowledge and the strategies involved in its construction and application might be neglected. In this way, a dangerous situation is created when the contextualization is assumed as a unique and primordial target in science education. This paper presents a research carried out with 15 future chemistry teachers and the results show a worrying "supervalorization", of the contextualization beside other equally important aspects of the chemical knowledge.

VOICES FROM THE SOUTH: DIALOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS AND COLLABORATION IN MATHEMATICS EDUCATION

This chapter presents a collaborative experience between two neighbouring countries from South America: Argentina and Brazil. Our purpose is to share a model of international collaboration that we consider to be an alternative to the classical movement of early mathematical and scientific knowledge between East and West and between North and South. We start our chapter with a general discussion about the phenomenon of globalization considering some local examples. We characterize our collaboration exploring the tensions and difficulties we faced along our own professional development at the local as well as the international level. We describe the development of our prior collaborative work that established the foundation for our international collaboration portraying the local mathematics education communities. We refer to some balances that were created among our relationships, the expansion of our collaborative network, and how this particular collaboration allows us to contribute to the regional field and inform the international one. We discuss the way that the search for balance and symmetry, or at least a complementary asymmetry in our collaborative relationships, has led us to generate a genuine and equitable collaboration.

A formação no curso de pedagogia para o ensino de ciências nas séries iniciais

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Astronomia nos anos iniciais do ensino fundamental: repensando a formação de professores

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Indicadores da alfabetização científica nos anos iniciais do ensino fundamental e aprendizagens profissionais da docência na formação inicial

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Enfoque CTSA no ensino de astronomia: uma investigação de possibilidades por meio da astronáutica

Pós-graduação em Educação para a Ciência - FC

A História e Filosofia da Ciência: Contribuições para o Ensino de Ciências e para a formação de professores

This article integrates results from reflections on the importance of history and philosophy of science for science education and teacher training. Centrally, was based on results from reflections on the importance of this knowledge for teacher training and action planning of science teaching by the teacher, through a thematic approach. To address this latter topic, we attempted to do so by considering the action planning of science teaching in elementary schools. This option is due to the fact that in the discipline, be clearly stated the broad reach of its area, to integrate knowledge about nature, human beings and technology, among others, in a historical and philosophical perspective.

Um levantamento bibliográfico no período de 2008-2013 sobre a alfabetização científica nas séries iniciais para o ensino de física

This study aimed to review the publications in the area of Education Physics that has contributed to Scientific Literacy and STS - Science , Technology and Society , with students of elementary school in Basic Education , looking for understand the importance of an education that aims the formation of critical citizens, in opposition to passive recipients of technological influences of a modern society , but which are able to understand and reflect the importance and influence of science and technology in political, social and environmental to society . In this context , the Physics, is one of the areas of natural sciences with direct implications in daily life , we believe in the importance of introducing physical concepts in science education since the early years of basic education , either as a approach playful , experiment, study of books , magazines , papers , etc. . , so that the knowledge about physics can be built through experience and the analysis of daily phenomena, instead of only being addressed in the last three years of teaching average basic education

As atividades práticas como situações deflagradoras de discussões sobre fatos e modelos na formação continuada de professores de ciências

Pós-graduação em Educação para a Ciência - FC

Ensino de Ciências nos anos iniciais do ensino fundamental: o que dizem os professores

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Programa ReAção: uma análise das contribuições de uma pesquisa colaborativa com professores para a melhoria do ensino de ciências

The teaching of Science is one great challenge not only for educators but also for researchers in our country. In a globalized world where the social foundations, cultural and economic depend fundamentally on science and technology, science education is a basic requirement for the exercise of citizenship. Multiple initiatives have been taken to improve the quality of teaching of science practiced in our schools: the ReAction Program is the result of a set of actions developed by a public educational policy that invests in improving the Teaching of Science the elementary school. In this work, we present a history of this program and the search on the contribution and the actions developed, the collaborative research with a group of teachers-multiplier, and the evaluation of the teaching of science, measured from notes, frequency and speech teacher.