Elementary course of practical science, part I.

Mode of access: Internet.

Preservice teachers’ memories of their secondary science education experiences

Understanding preservice teachers’ memories of their education may aid towards articulating high-impact teaching practices. This study describes 246 preservice teachers’ perceptions of their secondary science education experiences through a questionnaire and 28-item survey. ANOVA was statistically significant about participants’ memories of science with 15 of the 28 survey items. Descriptive statistics through SPSS further showed that a teacher’s enthusiastic nature (87%) and positive attitude towards science (87%) were regarded as highly memorable. In addition, explaining abstract concepts well (79%), and guiding the students’ conceptual development with practical science activities (73%) may be considered as memorable secondary science teaching strategies. Implementing science lessons with one or more of these memorable science teaching practices may “make a difference” towards influencing high school students’ positive long-term memories about science and their science education. Further research in other key learning areas may provide a clearer picture of high-impact teaching and a way to enhance pedagogical practices.

La luz del intelecto agente en los principios de la razón práctica según San Alberto Magno

Resumen: La Antigone de Sófocles y el Corpus Hippocraticum delinean ya los rasgos propios del derecho natural. La ética de Aristóteles, luego, ofrece una primera noción explícita del derecho natural, que San Alberto Magno comenta en Super ethica. Sin embargo, en De inventione de Cicerón el teólogo alemán encuentra su definición de derecho natural: “lo que cierta fuerza innata introdujo”. En De bono V q. 1 San Alberto determina los alcances de esta definición y completa una presentación acabada de la noción de derecho natural. También advierte San Alberto que el hombre, con respecto a la ciencia del intelecto práctico, se encuentra doblemente en potencia. Primero, está en potencia de conocer los principios primeros de esta ciencia y, segundo, una vez conocidos éstos, se encuentra en potencia de inferir a partir de ellos las conclusiones de la ciencia práctica. Poseídas estas conclusiones, finalmente, el hombre está en potencia de aplicarlas en la acción práctica. Intrigado por el modo en que los primeros principios son conocidos, San Alberto advierte que el conocimiento de las nociones correspondientes a estos principios sólo accidentalmente debe ser atribuido al descubrimiento o determinación de los nombres con los que llamamos a estos principios. En verdad, es necesaria la intervención de la luz del intelecto agente para llevar al acto el conocimiento de los principios. En este punto el discurso de San Alberto retorna a la definición ciceroniana: aquella fuerza innata que introduce el derecho natural no es otra que la luz del intelecto agente.

Sobre ciencia práctica y prudentia : aproximaciones desde las ideas de John Finnis

Resumen: En el presente trabajo, el autor ensaya una presentación de las contribuciones de John Finnis a los temas de la ciencia práctica y la prudentia. Respecto del primero, destaca el carácter analógico del concepto de ciencia y las particularidades de su aplicación al campo del saber práctico. Con referencia a la segunda, apunta su relevancia en el esquema clásico del pensamiento práctico, en especial en referencia a la determinación de los objetos de las virtudes y al papel de los absolutos morales en el razonamiento práctico-moral.

Les composantes du risque : une entrée par les acteurs et le conflit lors de la mise en place des solutions : le cas de Los Chorros, Guatemala

Ce travail présente une étude de cas post-catastrophe à San Cristobal, Guatemala, où un important glissement de terrain du nom «Los Chorros» (8-10 millions de m3 de roche) affecte depuis 2009 diverses communautés et une des routes principales du pays. Les gestionnaires des risques, sur la base de leur propre évaluation, ont décidé de répondre d'une manière qui ne correspond pas aux intérêts de la population affectée. Les communautés locales ont évalué le risque de catastrophe et ont établi une autre solution suivant une conception du risque différente. Les conflits sociaux et la concurrence entre les différents acteurs du territoire, pour la définition des priorités et des solutions, révèlent les aspects sous-jacents de la société, utiles pour identifier et comprendre ce qui constitue le risque de catastrophe dans un contexte donné. Ce conflit montre que le risque de catastrophe n'est pas univoque mais un concept complexe, constitué par un grand nombre de composants. En termes de gouvernance, il met également en évidence la confrontation des savoirs et la tension qui peut exister entre les différentes approches du risque. Depuis une approche où le risque de catastrophe est considéré comme une construction sociale (les vulnérabilités étant historiquement générées par des processus sociaux, politiques, économiques et culturels), ce travail évalue d'autres modes d'interprétation, de traitement et d'intervention qui peuvent aider à améliorer les méthodes d'évaluation et de gestion des risques. Enfin, la proposition de gestion qui découle de l'exemple guatémaltèque invite à une autre manière de concevoir la gestion des risques en intégrant les différentes conceptions du risque et en visant une coordination stratégique entre les acteurs des politiques publiques, les échelles d'intervention, les experts en charge des différents aléas et la société civile, afin d'obtenir une solution acceptable pour tous les acteurs impliqués dans un territoire. -- This work analyses a post-disaster case study from San Cristobal, Guatemala where a large landslide named "Los Chorros (8 millions cubic meters of rock) affects several communities and one of the country's main west-east access highways. Risk managers, starting from their own assessment, decided to respond in a way that does not correspond to the interests of the afected population. Local communities assessed the risk disaster situation and establised another solution from a different conception of risk. These social conflict and competition for priorities and solutions for risk management reveal that disaster risk is not unequivocal but a complex and holistic concept, constituted by a large set of components. From a social constructivism approach, where disaster risk is considered as the results of social, political, economic and historic process, this thesis evaluates other modes of interpreting, shaping and managing risk that can help improve methods of risk assessment and management. Studying the logic of action of actors, who mobilize to establish a solution, enables to identify as to what constitutes a disaster. For this reason, the study focus, in particular, on the analysis of practices (practical science) implemented by all actors in San Cristobal Altaverapaz. Finally, it puts into perspective the risk management in terms of an integrative approach for policy experts that find compromise between different conceptions of risk in order to obtain a solution acceptable to all those involved.

O ensino de ciências nas séries iniciais do ensino fundamental: compreendendo discursos de professoras-alunas do curso pedagogia-cidadã

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

AIDS x vida: a doença como uma possibilidade de transformação para o sujeito

Pós-graduação em Psicologia - FCLAS

Os princípios e limites metafísicos do estado jurídico em Kant

A presente dissertação configura-se em pesquisa bibliográfica de cunho analítico, crítico e reflexivo sobro o universo epistemológico que engloba os princípios e limites metafísicos do Estado Jurídico em Kant, o qual aborda os fundamentos racionais, enquanto arquétipos imutáveis e universais, do Estado Jurídico, a partir daquilo que Immanuel Kant leciona em sua Doutrina do Direito. Com essa diretriz e considerando as equivocadas interpretações dos princípios fundamentais do Direito, preliminarmente, esboçam-se algumas concepções destoantes da mencionada obra, as quais são ‘rechaçadas’ no transcurso desta dissertação. Em seguida, explana-se a função exercida pela razão nos usos teorético e prático, com o fito de fixar o locus ocupado por um Sistema Moral na Filosofia Prática. Sistema esse constituído por duas subdivisões, quais sejam a Ética e o Direito. Assim, estabelece-se o Direito como uma ciência prática, apresentando seu conceito. E ainda, discute-se o tema da liberdade, o qual permeia todo caminho trilhado no desenvolvimento, sua relação com a razão prática, bem como a distinção que há entre vontade e arbítrio. Essas considerações permitem, posteriormente, caracterizar o Direito, porém, sem olvidar de distingui-lo da Ética. Explica-se, também, o princípio e a lei universal do Direito enquanto critérios de legitimação e de justiça, princípio e lei esses que se referem à liberdade do arbítrio, dentro da qual a coação se apresenta como elemento integrante. A imputabilidade é outra questão abordada, a qual pressupõe a ideia de liberdade, cuja ausência destituiria o Direito de todo sentido. Deste modo, segue-se ao Direito Privado, discutindo-o até se chegar ao seu postulado, segundo o qual é possível ter direito sobre qualquer objeto exterior ao arbítrio. Examina-se, outrossim, os institutos do Direito Privado, a dizer, o Direito Real, o Direito Pessoal e o Direito Pessoal de caráter Real. Adentra-se, em seguida, no Direito Público, apresentando o Estado Jurídico como garantidor de direitos que lhe são pré-existentes. Nessa esteira, passa-se às condições formais desse Estado, qual seja a tripartição dos Poderes e suas relações. Outros pontos ligados ao Estado Jurídico são, também, enfrentados, como a cidadania e sua relação aos poderes estatais, o pretenso direito de revolução, o dever de reforma da Constituição Civil, o Direito de Punir. Vale ressaltar que tentamos superar uma dificuldade que não é solucionada em nenhum escrito consultado – a responsabilidade dos agentes públicos. Não obstante, a forma do Estado Jurídico é, igualmente, abordada. Ademais, tecem-se algumas linhas aos direitos individuais e sociais e sua relação aos fundamentos do Direito. Enfim, depois de todo percurso trilhado, infere-se que Estado Jurídico é um dever imposto pela razão prática - um fim em si mesmo que decorre de princípios metafísicos - únicos que podem nos oferecer um modelo imutável e insubstituível de Estado.

Aristotle on the economy

From seemingly outdated passages of Aristotle on oikonomikè, this paper tries to select and separate what is old-fashioned from what is valid for today. From these latter elements –which may be abridged in the intrinsic ethical and political character of economics– we can extract useful lessons. These lessons refer to the impact of Ethics and Politics on Economics. They stress the relevance of personal virtues and institutions for a suitable functioning of the economy. From an epistemological point of view, these lessons highlight the inexact character of Economics and the necessity of firm reliance on data. Current economics does not deal with ends, but only with means. The Aristotelian perspective would specially deal with ends. This concern with ends leads to prudential, not technical analysis and decisions. This calls for broadening the scope of Economics and consequently should provoke changes in its instruction. The paper concludes that a closer attention to Aristotle’s thought would have a high impact on current economy and Economics.

The raccoon,

Includes bibliography.

Practical considerations for integrating alternate reality gaming into science education

In this article, I present my experience with integrating an alternate reality gaming (ARG) framework into a pre-service science teacher education course. My goal is to provide an account of my experiences that can inform other science education practitioners at the tertiary and secondary levels that wish to adopt a similar approach in their classes. A game was designed to engage pre-service teachers with issues surrounding the declining enrolments in science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines (i.e., the STEM crisis; Tytler, 2007) and ways of re-engaging learners with STEM subjects. The use of ARG in science education is highly innovative. Literature on the use of ARG for educational purposes is scarce so in the article I have drawn on a range of available literature on gaming and ARG to define what it is and to suggest how it can be included in school science classrooms.

Australia at the crossroads : a review of school science practical work

In Australia we are at a crossroad in science education. We have come from a long history of adopting international curricula, through to blending international and Australian developed materials, to the present which is a thoroughly unique Australian curriculum in science. This paper documents Australia’s journey over the past 200 years, as we prepare for the unveiling of our first truly Australian National Curriculum. One of the unique aspects of this curriculum is the emphasis on practical work and inquiry-based learning. This paper identifies seven forms of practical work currently used in Australian schools and the purposes aligned with each form by 138 pre-service and experienced in-service teachers. The paper explores the question “What does the impending national curriculum, with its emphasis on practical inquiry mean to the teachers now, are they ready?” The study suggests that practical work in Australian schools is multifaceted, and the teacher aligned purposes are dependent not only upon the age of the student, but also on the type of practical work being undertaken. It was found that most teachers are not ready to teach using inquiry-based pedagogy and cite lack of content knowledge, behaviour management, and lack of physical resources and availability of classroom space as key issues which will hinder their implementation of the inquiry component of Australia’s pending curriculum in science.

Practical insights into curricula integration for primary science

As indicated in a previous Teaching Science article, effective planning for curricula integration requires using standards from two (or more) subject areas (e.g., science and English, science and art or science and mathematics), which also becomes the assessment foci for teaching and learning. Curricula integration of standards into an activity necessitates pedagogical knowledge for developing students’ learning in both subject areas. For science education, the skills and tools for curricula integration include the use of other key learning areas (KLAs). A balance between teacher and student-centred science education programs that draw on democratic processes (e.g., Beane, 1997) can be used to make real-world links to target students’ individual needs. This article presents practical ways to commence thinking about curricula integration towards using Australian curriculum standards.

Group interactions in science practical work

This study explored the interactions of a highly motivated group of students doing traditional practical work in science. Interest focussed on the social construction of understanding and how this could be described. Despite considerable collaboration in constructing an understanding of the task the students rarely focussed on the concepts the practical work was intended to illustrate. Collaboration was described in terms of social behaviours and discourse moves which supported the use of cognitive strategies.