Public and student awareness science: recreational science as a catalyst

When discussing the traditional and new missions of higher education (1996 Report to UNESCO of the International Commission on Education for the 21st Century) Jacques Delors stated that "Excessive attraction to social sciences has broken equilibrium of available graduates for workforce, thus causing doubts of graduates and employers on the quality of knowledge provided by higher education". Likewise, when discussing the progress of science and technology, the 1998 UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education concluded that "Another challenge concerts the latest advancements of Science, the sine qua non of sustainable development"; and that “with Information Technology, the unavoidable invasion of virtual reality has increased the distance between industrial and developing countries". Recreational Science has a long tradition all over the Educational World; it aims to show the basic aspects of Science, aims to entertain, and aims to induce thinking. Until a few years ago, this field of knowledge consisted of a few books, a few kits and other classical (yet innovative) ways to popularize the knowledge of Nature and the laws governing it. In Spain, the interest for recreational science has increased in the last years. First, new recreational books are being published and found in bookstores. Second the number of Science-related museums and exhibits is increasing. And third, new television shows are produced and new short science-based, superficial sketches are found in variety programs. However, actual programs in Spanish television dealing seriously with Science are scarce. Recreational Science, especially that related to physical phenomena like light or motion, is generally found at Science Museums because special equipment is required. On the contrary, Science related mathematics, quizzes and puzzles use to gather into books, e.g. the extensive collections by Martin Gardner. However, lately Science podcasts have entered the field of science communication. Not only traditional science journals and television channels are providing audio and video podcasts, but new websites deal exclusively with science podcasts, in particular on Recreational Science. In this communication we discuss the above mentioned trends and show our experience in the last two years in participating at Science Fairs and university-sponsored events to attract students to science and technology careers. We show a combination of real examples (e.g., mathemagic), imagination, use of information technology, and use of social networks. We present as well an experience on designing a computational, interactive tool to promote chemistry among high school, prospective students using computers ("Dancing with Bionanomolecules"). Like the concepts related to Web 2.0, it has been already proposed that a new framework for communication of science is emerging, i.e., Science Communication 2.0, where people and institutions develop new innovative ways to explain science topics to diverse publics – and where Recreational Science is likely to play a leading role

Autoconcepto académico y toma de decisiones en el alumnado de bachillerato. 'Academic self-concept and decision making of secondary school students'.

Resumen tomado de la publicación. Con el apoyo económico del departamento MIDE de la UNED. Contiene anexo de preguntas

Reacciona...Explota!

Amb els tallers Reacciona... Explota!, el Grup de Química Recreativa de la Càtedra de Cultura Científica i Comunicació Digital (C4D) i el Departament de Química han acostat el curs passat la química, la ciència, la recerca i la Universitat de Girona a més de dos mil estudiants preuniversitaris

Children's lives, children's futures: A study of children starting secondary school

This title presents a fascinating analysis of how children in their first year of high school feel about their schools, its place in their lives and its role in their futures. This highly topical monograph focuses on how children in their first year of high school feel about school, its place in their lives and its role in their futures. The theoretical context of the study is the focus in educational studies on children's voice and children's active role in education, together with the focus in the sociology of childhood on children as active constructors of their lives and childhood as a subject of serious study. The importance of young people's life plans and the alignment between education and ambitions was recognized in the Sloan Foundation study of American teenagers. In many Western societies there is concern that children from less advantaged social backgrounds have limited aspirations, and are disproportionately unlikely to go to university. This book is highly relevant to understanding the nature of children's engagement with education, the choices and constraints they experience and the reasons some young people fail to take advantage of educational opportunities. "Continuum Studies in Educational Research" (CSER) is a major new series in the field of educational research. Written by experts and scholars for experts and scholars, this ground-breaking series focuses on research in the areas of comparative education, history, lifelong learning, philosophy, policy, post-compulsory education, psychology and sociology. Based on cutting edge research and written with lucidity and passion, the CSER series showcases only those books that really matter in education - studies that are major, that will be remembered for having made a difference.

Nat Gold, Sheet Metal Graduate from the New York Trade School

Nat Gold graduated from the Sheet Metal program at the New York Trade School in 1942. He is represented here in the sheet metal shop he owns. Notice the blueprints for the White Plains Senior High School hanging on the wall behind him. Original caption reads, "Shop Owner, Brook Sheet Metal Inc. Nat Gold - Sheet Metal 1942, represents one of many Sheet Metal graduates who became owners of their own business." Black and white photograph.

Teaching Mathematics in English to Swedish Speaking Students : The Use of Second Language Teaching Practices in the Teaching of Mathematics in English to Swedish Speaking Students in Lower Secondary School

Over 20,000 Swedish lower high school students are currently learning mathematics in English but little research has been conducted in this area. This study looks into the question of how much second language learner training teachers teaching mathematics in English to Swedish speaking students have acquired and how many of those teachers are using effective teaching practices for second language learners. The study confirms earlier findings that report few teachers receive training in second language learning but indicates that some of the teaching practices shown to be effective with second language learners are being used in some Swedish schools

A intermediação da noção de probabilidade na construção de conceitos relacionados à cinética química

Este trabalho procurou identificar como estudantes do Ensino Médio se apropriam de conceitos e elaboram determinados modelos inseridos em cinética química, especificamente o modelo cinético de colisão de partículas numa reação (Teoria das Colisões). Esta análise e as reflexões que a seguiram foram baseadas, sobretudo, nos estudos realizados por Piaget, Piaget e Inhelder, Jun e Fischbein. Utilizamos como documentos as transcrições das entrevistas (pré e pós-testes) realizadas individualmente com cada aluno. Inicialmente, os estudantes foram entrevistados (pré-testes) com o intuito de identificar a familiaridade com a noção de evento probabilístico ou aleatório. Numa segunda etapa (pós-testes), esse conhecimento (ou a ausência parcial/total dele) foi posto à prova numa tentativa de se estabelecerem relações com um conteúdo específico da Química (Teoria das Colisões). Os resultados obtidos apontam para grandes discrepâncias entre o modelo cinético de colisões elaborado pelos estudantes e aquele cientificamente aceito.

O uso de modelos no ensino de química: uma investigação acerca dos saberes construídos durante a formação inicial de professores de Química da UFRN

In the past twenty years, there has been a significant increase of researches about teacher s professionalization. In that context, the investigations concerning teacher s knowledge represent an important contribution, as they aim to identify and to rescue the base of knowledge that sustains the teacher s profession. In particular, the reflections and propositions of Lee Shulman have been constitute a fundamental subsidy to the teacher s professionalization in the sense of harnessing the pedagogic knowledge to the content s knowledge, establishing the pedagogic knowledge of the content that characterizes and differentiates the teacher and the bachelor in a certain field of knowledge. Among the indispensable knowledge for the Chemistry teacher's professional practice, in this research we have pointed out the pertinence of the knowledge on the use of models in Chemistry classes in the middle and high school. Those knowledges regard the comprehension of students concerning the understanding and models elaborated in science and the models implemented in the Chemistry teaching, as well as the abilities to plan didactic situations that use models. In this research, we aimed to identify the contributions and barriers during the Chemistry teacher education, in UFRN, in relation to the construction of knowledge that subsidize training teachers in the elaboration of teaching activities that involve the use of models. The investigation was accomplished in UFRN, in the Course of Degree in Chemistry, along with 13 student teachers that studied the subject Practice of Chemistry Teaching. For this research, the following instruments were used: questionnaires with open and closed questions, elaboration of a plan of activities for the Chemistry teaching and an interview to answer the established study s questions. The data was analyzed in an established criteria, classified and tabled. The results showed that the student teachers representations regarding scientific knowledge contemplated, among other topics, the idea of a method for his/her construction. In some cases, the models role was emphasized in that construction, as well as the social dimension in the validation of that knowledge. The scientific models were highlighted by most of the student teachers, as a representation method to explain, understand and interpret the chemical phenomena. On the other hand, the didactic models stood out, in most of cases, as a method of aiding the Chemistry students of the Basic Education to understand the scientific models. The representations regarding those categories contemplated important aspects, although in a superficial way, reflecting the limitations of reflections during the formative process. In the elaboration of teaching activities that use models, difficulties were evidenced, in the process of plan construction, relative to the didactic structure and to the proposition of activities that contemplated models, although the student teachers have mobilized different elements regarding the pedagogic knowledge of the content. Such verifications evidence the urge for the teacher development programs to promote changes in the teacher education in order to propitiate, during this process, reflections, discussions and propositions of activities regarding categories highlighted in this research, contributing to the construction of initial elements regarding the pedagogic knowledge of the content that will be developed throughout teaching, therefore corroborating to the teacher s professionalization

Como vão se formando os professores em física e química: embates entre o ser, o ter e o fazer na formação de licenciandos da UFRN sob a perspectiva da teoria das representações sociais

The purpose of this work is to approach and understand the Social Representations (SR) (MOSCOVICI, 2003) about Physics and Chemistry from people who are major in these courses, as well as their Social Representations about teaching . We took as principle that approaching these representations it would be possible to relate their symbolic contents, in order to show how people who are following the first segments of bachelor degree courses in Physics and Chemistry become teachers, taking into account a psychosocial view. Two source of data was used during this research: Free-association Technique FA (ABRIC, 1994); and Multiple Classification Procedure (MCP) (ROAZZI, 1995). The analytical treatment of the collected data from FA was done according to the proposition of Grize, Vergés and Silem (1987 apud ABRIC, 1994, p. 66). MCP data were analyzed through MSA (Multidimensional Scalogram Analysis) and SSA (Singular Spectrum Analysis) methods associated with the Facet Theory (BILSKY, 2003). The discourses of MCP discussing groups at the moment of explanations were studied by Content Analysis as it was proposed by Bardin (1977) and Franco (2005). Indicative of an approach to the relations with knowledge (CHARLOT, 2000), the connections which aroused from the analyses showed that the group of future majors in Physics thought that this scientific field was based on a rationalist conception, influencing the idealization sense of the phenomena to be explained by Physics. Thus, Physics as school content started to require the student of the fundamental and high school to think abstractly as a cognitive skill of learning. The identifying elements observed in the relations between SR about Physics and Teaching aroused from the antagonism between future majors and their teacher, as well as from the speculation between their fundamental and high school students and themselves, mainly when they had to face the act of teaching due to the obstacles imposed by the own educational system, and by the weakness of the initial preparation. The group of future majors in Chemistry, through its discourses, showed these relations when they conceived empiricist Chemistry and said that teaching was the way of transmission of this knowledge, and didactics of Chemistry teaching was the direction to learning through pedagogic methods in order to lead the students to discoveries. The psychosocial contents which were built and showed from the symbolic relations in the studied SR achieved the relation of identity. This relation revealed identifying elements for these people, resulting from the traffic between their condition as students of Chemistry, and as teachers regarding their work, what placed the current relational contents in the teaching space, named as Knowledge changing and Adaptability . In order to study emerging questions in the discussing environment about formation and teaching professionalization, we focused the psychosocial view on this traffic and managed to observe epistemological practical and pedagogic obstacles that limited a configuration of the teaching work as a professional activity, especially from the particular conditions which led the relations of senses to Physics , Chemistry and Teaching ; and Chemistry and Physics as it was seen in this research. Generally speaking, we noted that these obstacles can denounce such obstacles concerning to the pedagogic doings which mainly impair the learning process of fundamental and high school students

Professores de ciências naturais: necessidades formativas para ensinar a medir em trabalhos práticos e experimentais

This paper presents a research realized with Physics, Chemistry and Biology teachers, and it aimed to evaluate: 1) the development level of those teachers regarding the abilities that make possible to teach high school students about how to measure in practical and experimental work; 2) the formatives necessities regarding those abilities; and 3) the order of priority for teacher´s formation regarding those abilities. The study is based on the activity theory, from A. N. Leontiev (1983), since we considerer the teacher´s formation a kind of activity for which the category necessity is source of motivation and in which is a necessary condition for professionality and for the professional development. A questionnaire with open and closed questions was applied to 116 teachers during three pedagogic workshops realized to dynamize the science laboratory. The instrument allowed us to obtain the personal and professional profile of the participants, as well as their development level, their formative necessities and their order of priority about the teaching of the abilities related to the work of testing measuring hypothesis, regarding: a) to operationalize variables of a hypothesis in experimental work; b) to measure in practical and experimental work; c) to estimate possible measuring mistakes and use proper procedures to minimize them; d) to estimate the validity of a measuring; and e) to estimate the confiability of a measuring. The research results indicated some limitations of the teachers about their development level in all the analyzed abilities. More than 90% of the teachers considered those deficiencies as necessities of the continuing formation. Most of them (about 54%) expressed immediate priority for formation in each one of the abilities. From a correlation, using the statistic chi-square test, between the development level and the formative necessities for the five abilities, the obtained results allow us to assure that, for all those teaching abilities, there is a strong correlation between the development level and the formative necessity. This situation is symptomatic of the importance of approaching more the science teaching and the teacher´s formation on practical and experimental work in high school as key-component of scientific education in basic education. The obtained results can contribute, as subsidy, for continuing formation courses, having as base the necessities that constitute motivation elements of the teachers for professional development

A tabela periódica: um recurso para a inclusão de alunos deficientes visuais nas aulas de química

Nowadays there are many reasons that aim to include people with special necessities, like those with visual deficiency, in the world of work, education, and in the society as a whole. However it is observed that when we talk about schooling inclusion, especially in High School, there is a huge gap between the theory and the practice. The lack of didactic resources, the inadequate installations, unprepared teachers, the families´ lack of information, are some of the factors that hinder the process of inclusion. Furthermore, the educators also have to deal with the roughness of the disciplinary contents and, refering to the study of Chemistry, with the use of signals related to this subject´s language. So, the objective of our research is to reflect about the apprehension of this language by the visually handicapped people, and try to contribute with their process of inclusion in the school life. On this perspective we work with the Periodic Table, which constitutes one of the indispensable tools necessary to the Chemistry learning. In order to acomplish it, the way followed by us happened in three passages. Initially, by means of a semistructured interview, we tried to get acquainted with the blind students opinion, who were participating in the research about the Periodic Table used by them throughout High School, as well as the dificulties felt when using it. After getting the answers, the Table was reelaborated to fill those students´necessities. Here, two new Tables were designed, one in Braille which shape is more compacted, and another made with high printed dots, built with sand and glue. On the third moment, the new designed Tables were tested by the students and, by means of a semi-structured interview, we tried to identify if this new resource would solve the problems concerned to the old Table. The students showed that the compacted Tables would facilitate the touch reading of the chemical elements simbols, making it clear and fast. We hope that, with the elaboration of this learning tools we can contribute with one of the elements to favor the effective participation of blind students in Chemistry classes, when studying the Periodic Table

Refletindo dificuldades de aprendizagem de alunos do ensino médio no estudo do equilíbrio químico

This research intends to identify the main conceptual mistakes committed by High School students when studying Chemical Equilibrium and also how the didactic books can influence in their formation. For the data - collecting we applied 150 questionnaires with 11 open questions e 4 restricted ones. Students from three different private schools in Natal-RN were used in this survey. The questionary about the book analysis tried to understand how the subject has been boarded, making it easier or not for the knowledge building. The books were chosen by being usually the most used ones at the chemistry classes in the schools in town. On the didactic book analysis we evaluated 12 items that tried to identify the clarity with which the books would bring up the subjects, the contextualization of the exercises, the analogies used, the amount and the quality of exercises, the connections between the subjects, and the retaken of important concepts. The questionary given to the students tried to get their knowledge about the concepts related to Chemical Equilibrium. The main mistakes found were: the definition of the state of equilibrium in a chemical reaction, the constant, the double headed arrow, confusions between mass and concentration, the representation of a microscopic reaction in equilibrium, partial pressure and total pressure, and the function of the catalyser. The results demonstrated a lot of insecurity or lack of knowledge about the subject when it was realized that there was a big number of blank questions and a considerable percentage of questions with conceptual errors. We concluded that those errors could be eased or even avoided if the didactic books and the teachers boarded the contents in a more conceptual form with the application of a largest number of good quality exercices, watching the building of definitions by the students, avoiding this way the formation of wrong concepts

Problemas de aprendizagem sobre ligações químicas para estudantes de graduação

This research aims at identifying the learning problems in newly undergraduate students at university, interpreting the nature and causes of these problems, offering subsidies to overcome these difficulties and enabling a meaningful learning through which students give meaning to their learning. As an object for this work was chosen the theme Chemical Bonds - where were studied the forces between atoms to form molecules, compound ions and ionic crystalline structures - and is characterized as one of the most important subjects of Chemistry. In research, it was used a questionnaire with five open questions, answered by 147 students from the early periods of degrees in Chemistry at Universidade Federal do f Rio Grande do Norte. The answers revealed uncertainty on the part of students, both conceptual and representation, with superficial justifications, always using the octet rule to describe models of chemical bonds. Results suggest that these students had inadequate training in high school and that the examinations for entrance into the ranks were made according to flexible criteria less demanding in terms of knowledge. These observations have led to the conclusion that for future changes, it is necessary for high schools and in the early periods in universities favoring the adoption of pedagogical approaches in context and applying strategies to overcome the teaching of superficial memorization on Chemical Bonds, which probably have applied to the teaching of other subjects of chemistry

Análise dos conteúdos termodinâmicos em livros de Química e Física do ensino médio

PNLEM came out in 2004 and modified the view about schoolbook in Brazil. New perspectives pointed towards constitution of a more critical citizen as of an interdisciplinary and more contextualized teaching, made schoolbook understand these changes.But not always these alterations are checked up on by all means,because what we notice are adaptation of works have already known on market, where texts that are placed reveal environmental, socioeconomic, historical facts or daily phenomenon, or then scientific relevancy examples.We thus offer to analyse contents of chemical thermodynamics and physics for high school which are shown on schoolbook of chemistry and physics validated by PNLEM 2012, now called PNLD, studying the facts if these works bring these scientific sociocultural standpoint as well as their historical context,considering as analysis categories the following criteria: presentation of introduction, content contextualizing,presentation of concepts, thermodynamics historical context, representation in microscopic level and proposal of experiments.Eleven books were analysed,being five of chemistry and six of physics.So was applied a questionnaire with physics and chemistry teachers of high school to have an impression of their opinion about their teaching strategies and about schoolbook.This work grounded in orientations of legal documents about high school in Brazil (LDB,PCN,PCN+,OCEM) and in research on science teaching that regards specifically schoolbook and physics and chemical thermodynamics teaching.Were eleven books in number, only four denoted much coherence with new perspectives for high school, being two of chemistry and two of physics,whose concern about contextualizing and with a much integrated view of science to student s reality,indicating much social and critical character.The rest, when don t overlook,regard cultural and historical,socioeconomic contexts in isolated manner from presented concepts,aside from content

Pistas orgânicas: uma atividade lúdica para o ensino das funções orgânicas

Educational games can work as a complementary tool in teaching and learning chemistry, playing an important role in the development of the students cognitive structures, familiarizing them with certain conceptual content, which may arouse interest in the study of such content. In this work, we made an analysis of organic chemistry textbooks recommended by Programa Nacional do Livro Didático 2012, for high school students in order to verify the existence of methodological proposals using educational games. From this analysis, we proposed an educational game to be developed for students on 3º year of high medium and undergraduate chemistry, that are in 1º semester of the course, which is constituted of a tray and 48 letters, which work various concepts concerning organic functions, such as: structural characteristics, physical properties, chemical and properties diverse of the compounds used for the confection of the letters. The game was applied to a class degree in chemistry, period 2012.1 to a Federal Education of Rio Grande do Norte and a group of students of the 3rd year of the state schools of Rio Grande do Norte, in the period the months of April and May 2012. The analysis of the performance of the game proposed was made using visual observations, photographic records and testimonials of students who participated in the games. The instrument used for the data collection was the student questionnaire, which was similar for both groups, differing only in the amount of questions, because one of them had one more question. During application of the game it was observed that it constitutes a dynamic strategy in the teaching and learning of chemistry concepts, given that students actively participated in the classes as well, demonstrated more motivation in the construction of concepts, furthermore, it was possible to observe evidence of other possibilities of the game. This could be verified through visual observations and testimonials at the end of each game, by reading the answers to the questionnaires