Clara Vasconcelos

Teorias de aprendizagem e o ensino/aprendizagem das ciências: da instrução à aprendizagem

It is always a concern for research in the area of Educational Psychology, to understand the process of learning of the student, namely in a formal context of teaching. In this sense, the teaching of Sciences uses this area of knowledge in an attempt to ground theoretically conceptions of teaching/learning. Here, the authors attempt to underline the contribution of the learning theories in the process of learning/teaching of Sciences, specifying their influence in the perspectives of teaching that have been previously assumed. In this way, an historical description is started, referring perspectives of teaching supported in the behaviourist approach, and finish by referring cognitive-constructive theories that gave rise to teaching perspectives more focussed on the role of the student in the construction of knowledge, and for the recognition of the innate instrumental value of the curricular subjects.

Field trip activity in an ancient gold mine: scientific literacy in informal education

Considering informal education and field trips as important didactical elements that promote science and scientific literacy (to know, to understand, to apply science), this article presents the work carried out in the gold mines of Castromil (city of Paredes, Portugal), a region with an unquestionable richness in terms of geological heritage. The field trip involved 166 students, ranging from 10 to 21 years of age, and was organized according to Orion’s model. The evaluation of the field trip was observed in three aspects: i) the construction of scientific knowledge; ii) the quality of the activities performed; and iii) the promotion of environmental education. The results were obtained through a questionnaire applied to the participants, and interviews of the two monitors responsible for the field trip. The results allow us to conclude that Orion’s model was successfully applied in an informal field trip activity promoting scientific literacy.

Attitudes toward Animals: A Study of Portuguese Children

ABSTRACT In this study we analyzed the attitudes toward different animals in 210 Portuguese children: 107 boys and 103 girls, aged between 8 and 10 years, attending the 3rd and 4th years of primary school. We used a questionnaire with two distinct parts. In the first part, the children were asked about the degree to which they liked 25 different animals, using a scale ranging from −7 (strongly dislike) to 7 (like very much), and to give their reasons for the value attributed. In the second part, they were asked whether in the event of the animals being threatened with extinction, it would be important to save any of them. We also asked for the reasons for their opinion. The most popular animals were big mammals and also birds. Certain gender differences were present, with boys preferring predators and other animals with a traditionally bad image, like bats and sharks. The most disliked animals were insects, but also those that were thought of as a danger to humans. However, we found a moderate positive correlation between liking and saving an animal, although this was lower in the case of the girls toward several animals. This shows that a negative perception of an animal does not always mean a negative attitude toward it. In part, the reasons for liking an animal were different from the reasons for saving it. All the results are important for the design of primary school teaching activities involving animals, including the fact that some reasons that the children gave revealed a lack of knowledge about the meaning of certain behaviors of the animals and of their ecological role.

Non-anthropocentric Reasoning in Children: Its incidence when they are confronted with ecological dilemmas

This study used an individual structured interview to (1) verify the incidence of non-anthropocentric reasoning in 123 children attending the 3rd and 4th years in three primary schools in the Lisbon area (Portugal), when they are confronted with ecological dilemmas and (2) establish those places they frequented which permit animal contact. The results show a greater incidence of non-anthropocentric reasoning than that obtained in other international studies. This may be related to the focus of the questions asked, which invited children to imagine themselves as another animal or to present situations where human interaction is unfair. This incidence was found independently of gender, school origin and whether or not pets were owned, even with the more biologically complex animals. School year was the only variable proven to make a difference in conceptually more demanding questions. We also verified that the childrens general past experience of nature is essentially aligned to ‘controlled environments depending on ongoing human management’, confirming a decline in direct contact with ‘natural and semi-natural environments’. However, this type of experience does not seem to exert a negative influence on their non-anthropocentric reasoning.

Questions in Science textbooks: development and validation of a checklist

Questions require a thoughtful answer and can play diverse educational roles, such as stimulating the learning of new knowledge, as is the case in Problem-Based Learning (PBL) contexts. In this context, the student is placed at the center of the teaching and learning processes and plays an active role in the learning of new knowledge. Bearing in mind the influence that textbooks exert on teaching practices, it is worthwhile questioning to which extent questions included in school science textbooks promote a PBL oriented teaching approach. This paper describes the development and validation of a checklist for analyzing the questions included in science textbooks. After introducing the checklist, an example of its application to a science unit assigned to two junior high school science courses (8th grade) is given, approaching the two disciplines in the area.Questions require a thoughtful answer and can play diverse educational roles, such as stimulating the learning of new knowledge, as is the case in Problem-Based Learning (PBL) contexts. In this context, the student is placed at the center of the teaching and learning processes and plays an active role in the learning of new knowledge. Bearing in mind the influence that textbooks exert on teaching practices, it is worthwhile questioning to which extent questions included in school science textbooks promote a PBL oriented teaching approach. This paper describes the development and validation of a checklist for analyzing the questions included in science textbooks. After introducing the checklist, an example of its application to a science unit assigned to two junior high school science courses (8th grade) is given, approaching the two disciplines in the area.

Models in Geoscience Classes: How Can Teachers Use Them?

Scientific models are indispensable tools in scientific enterprise, having an essential role in scientific knowledge construction. Giving their relevance in science, it is currently advocated that models should be used in science classes. There are many studies which uncover the contributions models make to science education, highlighting different advantages of these tools. However, many studies also exhibit that students and even teachers do not reveal adequate views concerning models in science and for teaching. As a consequence, modelling activities are scarcely used in science classes, and when they happen to be, their use is limited, as the full potential of models is not taken into account. This chapter intends to analyse the relevance of models in science and for teaching and to provide some examples of activities which may be used to improve science teachers’ and students’ views about models. Some general results are also given towards the improvement of the views about models held by prospective science teachers in Portugal.

O recurso à modelação no ensino das ciências: um estudo com modelos geológicos

Integrating themes of geology that are included in the Biology and Geology curricula of secondary school (students age range 15-17), a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) study was developed using a modeling strategy. With the intention of investigating if modeling could promote meaningful learning in students, an intervention program using geological models was implemented during 5 weeks (24 hours). The Research & Development promoted was methodologically-based through triangulation and used many techniques and instruments to collect data. Modeling allowed students to be increasingly involved in elaborating explanations and formulating hypothesis, as well as in a broader search for explanations to solve problems. The collected data led to the conclusion that meaningful science learning was performed by students as shown by their increase in searching for evidence, in autonomy, and in a higher school assessment scores

What happens to the boats? The 1755 Lisbon earthquake and Portuguese tsunami literacy

In A.D. 1755, an earthquake destroyed Lisbon, Portugal. The region was then hit forcefully by a tsunami and engulfed by an enormous fire. Thefts and destruction followed, damaging emblematic places of irreplaceable historical and spiritual value, especially churches. The occurrence of the 1755 Lisbon earthquake remains known by the eldest, but it has been forgotten and even unheard of by younger generations. Over the last decade there has been a considerable increase in the research, involving geologists, seismologists, and oceanographers, so as to better understand the processes and the complexity of seismic risks and tsunamis. However, little has been done to inform the population and policy makers about the options available to them to better prevent and respond to earthquake disasters. The main aim of this study is to evaluate the Portuguese citizens’ scientific literacy regarding tsunamis and to analyze their knowledge related to the 1755 earthquake. For this purpose, we conducted 206 structured interviews in a public place, and asked the general public to collaborate. At the beginning of the interviews people were shown a previously drawn scenario showing a tsunami epicenter and three boats in different places of the ocean. The sample comprised 107 females (52%) and 99 males (48%) (ages ranged from 12 to 85). The interviews were conducted by two members of the research team and were audiotaped for a better and more reliable transcription. Content analysis was subsequently established with the help of the QSR International NVivo 10 qualitative data analysis software package (www​.qsrinternational​.com​/nvivo​-product). Results showed that there is a wide lack of knowledge regarding tsunamis, including those that occurred in the past, and the majority of interviewees recognized the need to know more about these issues. This evidence indicates the importance of including these historical and social and scientific issues in geosciences programs, giving more relevance to teaching seismic risks, their prevention, and possible responses.

Simulating an Earthquake and Its Effects on Soils and Buildings: A Practical Activity to Disseminate Geosciences and Its Evaluation

Model-based learning is a teaching methodology that facilitates the learning process through the construction of models, which represent the conceptual models taught in geosciences lessons, promoting the construction of students’ scientific knowledge and the development of a meaningful learning. It is crucial that teachers know how to apply it in schools in order to support students’ learning process, but also because models are important tools for dissemination of science concepts. Having this in mind, it becomes relevant, beyond the analysis of its importance for both teaching and disseminating geosciences in Portuguese high schools, to provide some guidelines and recommendations about the use of models in geosciences teaching, based on the literature, seeking to prepare teachers to apply the methodology in science lessons and for making them more informed about the importance of dissemination of science. To achieve this purpose, the attitudes of Portuguese high school students towards the importance of model-based learning in teaching and disseminating the dependence of earthquakes effects on soils and buildings were analysed. The data were collected through a scale for model evaluation named Seismological Models’ Evaluation Scale (SMES), applied to 126 students who participated in Faculty of Sciences’ Open Days to Schools. This instrument was validated by two experts in geosciences teaching, and its fidelity was also determined.

Education and Geoethics: Three Fictional Life Stories

It is undisputable that geology influences the economic growth and development of each country and thereby its cultural framework. If one acknowledges that geology influences these results, then one has also to recognise that fostering geoscience education may help to reduce regional disparities determined by geological specificities and with impacts on economic growth and social development. Geoethics may help to re-evaluate behaviours, to increase awareness for alternative human activities or even to redirect economic models of growth and development. Under this framework, three fictional stories were developed, describing different life experiences, educational discrepancies and modus faciendi of citizens from different fictional countries.