Scientific pedagogy at the end of the 19th century: Some readings and writings in the Portuguese debate

Through the text presented we intend to outline the debate that occurred in Portugal in the transition from the 19th to the 20th centuries. At the time, the imperatives of scientific development had reached education as a basis for the national prosperity. It was believed that Portugal had fallen behind in comparison to the other European countries because it was not capable of constructing a civilization directed by scientific criteria, through the expansion and spreading of culture. The debate over the extension of schools to increasingly broader segments of the population acquires a different meaning when the theorist of Education make use of language from several other areas of knowledge in order to create a mosaic of what has become known, since that time, as the Science of Education.

Víctor Mercante y la producción de un discurso científico sobre la educación

El artículo busca analizar el lugar de Víctor Mercante en la producción de un discurso científico sobre la educación, sobre todo con las asociaciones discursivas entre ciencia y pedagogía y entre pedagogía científica y reforma educativa. Partiendo de una revisión de las lecturas historiográficas sobre su obra, el texto se detiene en el proyecto epistémico-político de la Paidología como ciencia de la infancia escolarizada y del Laboratorio en la Universidad de La Plata como institución de producción y diseminación de saberes. Mercante se estableció firmemente en redes internacionales de conocimiento y sostuvo la idea de la ciencia como empresa cosmopolita de saber, ciencia que debía ser escrita con números, cuadros y citas a pie de página como criterio de legitimidad de sus enunciados. Finalmente, se destaca su importancia en el privilegio de la infancia y la adolescencia como sujetos pedagógicos, todavía apegados a categorías epistémico-políticas del siglo XIX pero enunciados con instrumentos, lenguajes y redes de saberes del siglo XX

Victor Mercante y la producción de un discurso científico sobre la educación

El artículo busca analizar el lugar de Víctor Mercante en la producción de un discurso científico sobre la educación, sobre todo con las asociaciones discursivas entre ciencia y pedagogía y entre pedagogía científica y reforma educativa. Partiendo de una revisión de las lecturas historiográficas sobre su obra, el texto se detiene en el proyecto epistémico-político de la Paidología como ciencia de la infancia escolarizada y del Laboratorio en la Universidad de La Plata como institución de producción y diseminación de saberes. Mercante se estableció firmemente en redes internacionales de conocimiento y sostuvo la idea de la ciencia como empresa cosmopolita de saber, ciencia que debía ser escrita con números, cuadros y citas a pie de página como criterio de legitimidad de sus enunciados. Finalmente, se destaca su importancia en el privilegio de la infancia y la adolescencia como sujetos pedagógicos, todavía apegados a categorías epistémico-políticas del siglo XIX pero enunciados con instrumentos, lenguajes y redes de saberes del siglo XX

Víctor Mercante y la producción de un discurso científico sobre la educación

El artículo busca analizar el lugar de Víctor Mercante en la producción de un discurso científico sobre la educación, sobre todo con las asociaciones discursivas entre ciencia y pedagogía y entre pedagogía científica y reforma educativa. Partiendo de una revisión de las lecturas historiográficas sobre su obra, el texto se detiene en el proyecto epistémico-político de la Paidología como ciencia de la infancia escolarizada y del Laboratorio en la Universidad de La Plata como institución de producción y diseminación de saberes. Mercante se estableció firmemente en redes internacionales de conocimiento y sostuvo la idea de la ciencia como empresa cosmopolita de saber, ciencia que debía ser escrita con números, cuadros y citas a pie de página como criterio de legitimidad de sus enunciados. Finalmente, se destaca su importancia en el privilegio de la infancia y la adolescencia como sujetos pedagógicos, todavía apegados a categorías epistémico-políticas del siglo XIX pero enunciados con instrumentos, lenguajes y redes de saberes del siglo XX

Víctor Mercante y la producción de un discurso científico sobre la educación

El artículo busca analizar el lugar de Víctor Mercante en la producción de un discurso científico sobre la educación, sobre todo con las asociaciones discursivas entre ciencia y pedagogía y entre pedagogía científica y reforma educativa. Partiendo de una revisión de las lecturas historiográficas sobre su obra, el texto se detiene en el proyecto epistémico-político de la Paidología como ciencia de la infancia escolarizada y del Laboratorio en la Universidad de La Plata como institución de producción y diseminación de saberes. Mercante se estableció firmemente en redes internacionales de conocimiento y sostuvo la idea de la ciencia como empresa cosmopolita de saber, ciencia que debía ser escrita con números, cuadros y citas a pie de página como criterio de legitimidad de sus enunciados. Finalmente, se destaca su importancia en el privilegio de la infancia y la adolescencia como sujetos pedagógicos, todavía apegados a categorías epistémico-políticas del siglo XIX pero enunciados con instrumentos, lenguajes y redes de saberes del siglo XX

Hybridized writing for scientific literacy : pedagogy and evidence

Disengagement of students in science and the scientific literacy of young adults are interrelated international concerns. One way to address these concerns is to engage students imaginatively in activities designed to improve their scientific literacy. Our ongoing program of research has focused on the effects of a sequence of activities that require students to transform scientific information on important issues for their communities from government websites into narrative text suitable for a lay reader. These hybridized stories we call BioStories. Students upload their stories for peer review to a dedicated website. Peer reviews are intended to help students refine their stories. Reviewing BioStories also gives students access to a wider range of scientific topics and writing styles. We have conducted separate studies with students from Grade 6, Grade 9 and Grade 12, involving case study and quasi-experimental designs. The results from the 6th grade study support the argument that writing the sequence of stories helped the students become more familiar with the scientific issue, develop a deeper understanding of related biological concepts, and improve their interest in science. Unlike the Grade 6 study, it was not possible to include a control group for the study conducted across eight 9th grade classes. Nevertheless, these results suggest that hybridized writing developed more positive attitudes toward science and science learning, particularly in terms of the students’ interest and enjoyment. In the most recent case study with Grade 12 students, we found that pride, strength, determination, interest and alertness were among the positive emotions most strongly elicited by the writing project. Furthermore, the students expressed enhanced feelings of self-efficacy in successfully writing hybridized scientific narratives in science. In this chapter, we describe the pedagogy of hybridized writing in science, overview the evidence to support this approach, and identify future developments.

Writing stories to enhance scientific literacy

In response to international concerns about scientific literacy and students’ waning interest in school science, this study investigated the effects of a science-writing project about the socioscientific issue of biosecurity on the development of students’ scientific literacy. Students generated two BioStories each that merged scientific information with the narrative storylines in the project. The study was conducted in two phases. In the exploratory phase, a qualitative case study of a 6th grade class involving classroom observations and interviews informed the design of the second, confirmatory phase of the study, which was conducted at a different school. This phase involved a mixed methods approach featuring a quasi-experimental design with two classes of Australian middle school students (i.e., 6th grade, 11 years of age, n=55). The results support the argument that writing the sequence of stories helped the students become more familiar with biosecurity issues, develop a deeper understanding of related biological concepts, and improve their interest in science. On the basis of these findings, teachers should be encouraged to engage their students in the practice of writing about socioscientific issues (SSI) in a way that integrates scientific information into narrative storylines. Extending the practice to older students, and exploring additional issues related to writing about SSI are recommended for further research.

Expert science teacher's notion of scientific literacy

This paper will report on the way expert science teachers’ conceive of scientific literacy in their classrooms, the values related to scientific literacy they hold and how this conception and the underpinning values affect their teaching practice. Three perceived expert science teachers who teach both at senior and middle school levels and across the range of sub-disciplines (one senior biology, one senior chemistry and one senior physics) were interviewed about their understanding of scientific literacy and how this influenced their teaching practice. The three teachers were video recorded teaching a junior science class and a senior science class. The data were analysed to identify values that underpin their conceptions of science and science education. The analysis focussed on the matching of the verbalised conceptions and values with their practice of teaching science. This paper will report on these data.

But does it work? Effectiveness of scientific visualisations in high school chemistry and physics instruction.

Scientific visualisations such as computer-based animations and simulations are increasingly a feature of high school science instruction. Visualisations are adopted enthusiastically by teachers and embraced by students, and there is good evidence that they are popular and well received. There is limited evidence, however, of how effective they are in enabling students to learn key scientific concepts. This paper reports the results of a quantitative study conducted in Australian physics and chemistry classrooms. In general there was no statistically significant difference between teaching with and without visualisations, however there were intriguing differences around student sex and academic ability.

Measuring the effectiveness of computer-based scientific visualisations for conceptual development in Australian chemistry classrooms

Visual modes of representation have always been very important in science and science education. Interactive computer-based animations and simulations offer new visual resources for chemistry education. Many studies have shown that students enjoy learning with visualisations but few have explored how learning outcomes compare when teaching with or without visualisations. This study employs a quasi-experimental crossover research design and quantitative methods to measure the educational effectiveness - defined as level of conceptual development on the part of students - of using computer-based scientific visualisations versus teaching without visualisations in teaching chemistry. In addition to finding that teaching with visualisations offered outcomes that were not significantly different from teaching without visualisations, the study also explored differences in outcomes for male and female students, students with different learning styles (visual, aural, kinesthetic) and students of differing levels of academic ability.

One approach to finding evidence for the effectiveness of scientific visualisations in high school physics and chemistry education

Enormous amounts of money and energy are being devoted to the development, use and organisation of computer-based scientific visualisations (e.g. animations and simulations) in science education. It seems plausible that visualisations that enable students to gain visual access to scientific phenomena that are too large, too small or occur too quickly or too slowly to be seen by the naked eye, or to scientific concepts and models, would yield enhanced conceptual learning. When the literature is searched, however, it quickly becomes apparent that there is a dearth of quantitative evidence for the effectiveness of scientific visualisations in enhancing students’ learning of science concepts. This paper outlines an Australian project that is using innovative research methodology to gather evidence on this question in physics and chemistry classrooms.

Positive emotional responses to hybridised writing about a socio-scientific issue

In order to understand better the role of affect in learning about socio-scientificissues (SSI), this study investigated Year 12 students’ emotional arousal as they participated in an online writing-to-learn science project about the socio-scientific issue of biosecurity. Students wrote a series of hybridised scientific narratives, or BioStories, that integrate scientific information about biosecurity with narrative storylines, and uploaded these to a dedicated website. Throughout their participation in the project, students recorded their emotional responses to the various activities (N=50). Four case students were also video recorded during selected science lessons as they researched, composed and uploaded their BioStories for peer review. Analysis of these data, as well as interview data obtained from the case students, revealed that pride, strength, determination, interest and alertness were among the positive emotions most strongly elicited by the project. These emotions reflected students’ interest in learning about a new socio-scientific issue, and their enhanced feelings of self-efficacy in successfully writing hybridised scientific narratives in science. The results of this study suggest that the elicitation of positive emotional responses as students engage in hybridised writing about SSI with strong links to environmental education, such as biosecurity, can be valuable in engaging students in education for sustainability.

Young adults’ accounts of scientific knowledge when responding to a television news report of contested science

This paper reports one aspect of a study of 28 young adults (18–26 years) engaging with the uncertain (contested) science of a television news report about recent research into mobile phone health risks. The aim of the study was to examine these young people’s ‘accounts of scientific knowledge’ in this context. Seven groups of friends responded to the news report, initially in focus group discussions. Later in semi-structured interviews they elaborated their understanding of the nature of science through their explanations of the scientists’ disagreement and described their mobile phone safety risk assessments. This paper presents their accounts in terms of their views of the nature of science and their concept understanding. Discussions were audio-recorded then analysed by coding the talk in terms of issues raised, which were grouped into themes and interpreted in terms of a moderate social constructionist theoretical framing. In this context, most participants expressed a ‘common sense’ view of the nature of science, describing it as an atheoretical, technical procedure of scientists testing their personal opinions on the issue, subject to the influence of funding sponsors. The roles of theory and data interpretation were largely ignored. It is argued that the nature of science understanding is crucial to engagement with contemporary socioscientific issues, particularly the roles of argumentation, theory, data interpretation, and the distinction of science from common sense. Implications for school science relate primarily to nature of science teaching and the inclusion of socioscientific issues in school science curricula. Future research directions are considered.

Scientific Research in Information Systems : A Beginner's Guide

- ​Covers entire research process from start to end - Places particular emphasis on motivational components, modes of inquiry in scholarly conduct, theorizing and planning research - Includes aspects such as publication and ethical challenges This book is designed to introduce doctoral and other higher-degree research students to the process of scientific research in the fields of Information Systems as well as fields of Information Technology, Business Process Management and other related disciplines within the social sciences. It guides research students in their process of learning the life of a researcher. In doing so, it provides an understanding of the essential elements, concepts and challenges of the journey into research studies. It also provides a gateway for the student to inquire deeper about each element covered​. Comprehensive and broad but also succinct and compact, the book is focusing on the key principles and challenges for a novice doctoral student.