Improving science education for sustainable development

In recent issues of noteworthy journals, natural scientists have argued for the improvement of science education [1–4]. Such pleas reflect the growing awareness that high-quality science education is required not only for sustaining a lively scientific community that is able to address global problems like global warming and pandemics, but also to bring about and maintain a high level of scientific literacy in the general population. There is no doubt that effective education can serve as a vehicle for solving global problems. The problem centers on how to achieve more effective education. We believe that science education would greatly benefit from incorporating the lessons of cognitive science and contemporary ethology to provide a framework for explaining human behavior grounded in evolutionary theory. According to such a perspective, humans collectively produce and reproduce their environment through their actions and are therefore capable of acting responsibly for a sustainable future. In order to design education that will effectively contribute to a sustainable future, we argue for a learning framework that is consistent with contemporary ethology and represents human beings as self-determined yet integral parts of their environment. Such an epistemology is more holistic than traditional and often reductionistic frameworks in education and draws on the central paradigm of the life sciences—evolution. Furthermore, this framework approaches collective human activity as the pivotal unit of analysis in which individuals transact with the social and natural world. Drawing on data from an environmental education project, we demonstrate how this epistemology allows us to contribute both to the improvement of education and to a sustainable future of life on earth

Improving science education for sustainable development

In recent issues of noteworthy journals, natural scientists have argued for the improvement of science education [1–4]. Such pleas reflect the growing awareness that high-quality science education is required not only for sustaining a lively scientific community that is able to address global problems like global warming and pandemics, but also to bring about and maintain a high level of scientific literacy in the general population. There is no doubt that effective education can serve as a vehicle for solving global problems. The problem centers on how to achieve more effective education. We believe that science education would greatly benefit from incorporating the lessons of cognitive science and contemporary ethology to provide a framework for explaining human behavior grounded in evolutionary theory. According to such a perspective, humans collectively produce and reproduce their environment through their actions and are therefore capable of acting responsibly for a sustainable future. In order to design education that will effectively contribute to a sustainable future, we argue for a learning framework that is consistent with contemporary ethology and represents human beings as self-determined yet integral parts of their environment. Such an epistemology is more holistic than traditional and often reductionistic frameworks in education and draws on the central paradigm of the life sciences—evolution. Furthermore, this framework approaches collective human activity as the pivotal unit of analysis in which individuals transact with the social and natural world. Drawing on data from an environmental education project, we demonstrate how this epistemology allows us to contribute both to the improvement of education and to a sustainable future of life on earth

Aula de ciências em laboratório de informática: uma construção discursiva do monopólio participativo = Computer collaborative work in the elementary science classroom : the making of monopolization

In the present study, we articulate how the nature of students’ interactions during computer collaborative work (CCW) is not only mediated by their physical arrangement within the group, but it also contributes to the emergence of monopolization. Using a socio-cultural theoretical approach to learning in conjunction with discourse analysis to investigate the verbal and non-verbal exchanges amongst members of a working group in an elementary science classroom, we discuss the negative implications of this unique type of group dynamic to group cohesion and science teaching and learning in such computer-based school environments

Left ventricular mass increases with deteriorating glucose tolerance, especially in women: Independence of increased arterial stiffness or decreased flow-mediated dilation - The Hoorn Study

OBJECTIVE - Type 2 diabetes and impaired glucose metabolism (IGM) are associated with an increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Increased left ventricular mass (LVM) is thought to increase CVD risk through several unfavorable cardiac changes. Type 2 diabetes and IGM are associated with increased LVM, but the underlying mechanism is unclear. We investigated the association between glucose tolerance status (GTS) and LVM and explored whether any such association could be mediated through increased arterial stiffness, impaired endothelial function, or the presence of atherosclerosis. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS - We used ultrasound to measure LVM, carotid and femoral stiffness, carotid-femoral transit time, and flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD) and tonometry to estimate compliance and augmentation index. The study population (n = 780) consisted of 287 individuals with normal glucose metabolism (NGM), 179 with IGM, and 314 with type 2 diabetes, and the mean age was 68.4 years. RESULTS - In women, after adjusting for age, height, BMI, and mean arterial pressure, LVM increased significantly with deteriorating GTS (LVM 157 g in NGM, 155 g in IGM, and 169 g in type 2 diabetes, P for trend <0.018). Additional adjustment for arterial stiffness, FMD, or the presence of atherosclerosis did not materially alter the results, even though these variables were significantly associated with both GTS and LVM. Indexes of hyperglycemia/-insulinemia or insulin resistance explained at most 7% of the association between GTS and LVM. In men, no statistically significant associations were observed. CONCLUSIONS - Our data expand the conceptual view of the pathogenesis of GTS-related changes in LVM because we show that the increase in LVM in women is independent of increased arterial stiffness, impaired FMD, or the presence of atherosclerosis. In addition, we show that this increase in LVM is only minimally explained by indexes of hyperglycemia/-insulinemia or insulin resistance. Our data may, in part, explain the increased CVD risk seen in women with deteriorating GTS

Diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic duct disruption or disconnection: an international expert survey and case vignette study

Background: Pancreatic duct disruption or disconnection is a potentially severe complication of necrotizing pancreatitis. With no existing treatment guidelines, it is unclear whether there is any consensus among experts in clinical practice. We evaluated current expert opinion regarding the diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic duct disruption and disconnection in an international case vignette study. Methods: An online case vignette survey was sent to 110 international expert pancreatologists. Expert selection was based on publications in the last 5 years and/or participation in development of IAP/APA and ESGE guidelines on acute pancreatitis. Consensus was defined as agreement by at least 75% of the experts. Results: The response rate was 51% (n = 56). Forty-four experts (79%) obtained a MRI/MRCP and 52 experts (93%) measured amylase levels in percutaneous drain fluid to evaluate pancreatic duct integrity. The majority of experts favored endoscopic transluminal drainage for infected (peri)pancreatic necrosis and pancreatic duct disruption (84%, n = 45) or disconnection (88%, n = 43). Consensus was lacking regarding the treatment of patients with persistent percutaneous drain production, and with persistent sterile necrosis. Conclusion: This international survey of experts demonstrates that there are many areas for which no consensus existed, providing clear focus for future investigation

Conceptions and Characterization: An Explanation for the Theory-Practice Gap in Conceptual Change Theory. (Sponsored Session Strand 1 Science Learning, Understanding and Conceptual Change)

The theory building on conceptual change has led to the paradox that, in order to address teaching-learning processes, research yields an increasingly sophisticated output which alienates the teachers. The aim of this study is to explain the origin of this paradox. Drawing on exemplary data from a teaching-learning process in secondary education, I illustrate that theory building on conceptual change, that is, the attribution of conceptions to individuals, is justified by the particular characterization of individuals’ actions. From hermeneutic phenomenological perspectives, however, this justification is problematic, which is thus the cause of the theory-practice gap. The implications of this explanation are discussed