Transformar a pedagogia: um percurso de indagação pedagógica na Universidade do Minho

A transformação da pedagogia na universidade exige que os professores contrariem o divórcio entre ensino, investigação e desenvolvimento profissional, nomeadamente através da constituição de comunidades de prática que desenvolvem, avaliam e disseminam experiências pedagógicas. Este tem sido um objectivo central de um conjunto de projectos desenvolvidos na Universidade do Minho desde 2000 por equipas multidisciplinares. Na presente comunicação, traça-se o historial destes projectos, evidenciando os seus avanços e contratempos, o que permite problematizar tensões e condições da reconfiguração da pedagogia como campo de estudo e de intervenção

O papel da investigação na prática pedagógica dos mestrados em ensino

Os mestrados em ensino da Universidade do Minho preveem a formação do professor/ educador como prático reflexivo e intelectual crítico, conferindo um lugar de relevo à investigação pedagógica no estágio através da construção e avaliação de um “projeto de intervenção pedagógica supervisionada” que deve enquadrar-se numa visão democrática da educação. O projeto dá origem a um relatório final, defendido em provas públicas. Com o objetivo de compreender o papel da investigação no estágio, foi analisado um corpus de 28 relatórios de 5 mestrados de diversos níveis de ensino, com base numa grelha incidente na visão de educação subjacente aos projetos, no tipo e função do conhecimento mobilizado, na articulação investigação-ensino e no valor educativo das intervenções. Os projetos evidenciam a importância da investigação no desenvolvimento de práticas educativas focadas na qualidade dos processos de ensino e de aprendizagem, embora a coexistência de diferentes modalidades de articulação investigação-ensino sinalize conceções diferenciadas de formação e da função da investigação na regulação das práticas e na (re)construção de competências profissionais. A partir das potencialidades e limitações observadas, traçam-se linhas de ação futura para a construção de uma cultura investigativa na formação inicial de professores/ educadores

A bioecological perspective of human development on autonomy of an athlete with intellectual disability

El objetivo de ese estudio fue investigar los elementos que favorecen la autonomía en la vida de deportistas de natación con discapacidad intelectual, desde la perspectiva de la teoría bioecológica del desarrollo humano. Se utilizó un estudio de caso cualitativo para comprender los contextos en los que el deportista estuve presente y participando. Se analizaron los papeles del representante de la familia responsable de la educación del deportista y del entrenador que contribuyeron y / o interfirieron en su autonomía. Un nadador, de sexo masculino, con discapacidad intelectual que participaba en el programa Special Olympics Brasil, con 24 años de edad, así como su madre y el entrenador de natación fueron entrevistados. Se utilizó una entrevista semiestructurada. El análisis descriptivo se basó en el modelo proceso-persona contexto tiempo. Los resultados mostraron que las disposiciones, recursos y demandas observados en los procesos proximales en el microsistema del ambiente morada/familia y en el ambiente deportivo reflejaron especificidades que demandaron un abordaje contextualizado del modus operandi del atleta. Los resultados también mostraron que las actividades en el entorno morada/familia, así como en el entorno deportivo, tienen un efecto importante en la autonomía. Fue posible observar que los atributos fueron desarrollándose de manera muy especial y las características personales positivas combinadas influenciaron el comportamiento autónomo. Aparentemente, las creencias personales prevalecen en las acciones adoptadas por la madre y el entrenador, lo que refleja su importante papel en el cambio del comportamiento del atleta. Por lo tanto, los procesos proximales son de importancia fundamental en cualquier relación interpersonal. La perspectiva bioecológica adoptada permite considerar el deporte como un entorno favorable para el desarrollo humano.This study's aim was to investigate elements that foster autonomy in the life of a swimming athlete with intellectual disability, under the perspective of the bioecological theory of human development. A qualitative case study was used to describe the contexts in which the athlete was present and participating. The roles of the representative of the family responsible of the athlete's education and of the coach that contributed and/or interfered in the autonomy of this athlete were analyzed. One male athlete with intellectual disability attending a Special Olympics 24 years old, as well as his mother and swimming coach were interviewed. A semi-structured interview was used. The descriptive and interpretative analysis was based upon the process-person-context-time model. Results show that dispositions, resources and demands observed in proximal processes in the microsystem of the home/family environment and the sport environment reflect specificities that demand a contextualized approach of the modus operandi of the athlete. It was possible to observe that attributes were developmentally instigative, and positive personal characteristics have been combined influencing autonomous behavior. Results also showed that activities in the home/family environment as well as in the sport environment have an important effect on autonomy. Apparently, personal beliefs prevail in actions adopted by mother and coach, reflecting their important role in the change of the athlete's behavior. Therefore, proximal processes are of fundamental importance in any interpersonal relationship. The adopted bioecological perspective allows considering sport as a favorable environment for human development.O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar os elementos que favorecem a autonomia na vida de atletas de natação com deficiência intelectual, sob a perspectiva da teoria bioecológica do desenvolvimento humano. Foi utilizado um estudo de caso qualitativo para descrever os contextos nos quais o atleta está presente e participando. Foram analisados os papéis do representante da família responsável pela educação do atleta e do treinador que contribuíram e/ou interferiram na autonomia do atleta. Um atleta, do sexo masculino, com deficiência intelectual que participa do programa Special Olympics, com 24 anos de idade, bem como a sua mãe e o treinador de natação foram entrevistados. Utilizou-se uma entrevista semiestruturada. A análise descritiva baseou-se no modelo processo-pessoa-contexto-tempo. Os resultados mostraram que disposições, recursos e demandas observados nos processos proximais no microssistema do ambiente lar/família e no ambiente esporte refletiram especificidades que demandam uma abordagem contextualizada do modus operandi do atleta. Foi possível observar que os atributos foram desenvolvimentalmente instigantes, e as características pessoais positivas combinadas influenciaram o comportamento autônomo. Aparentemente, as crenças pessoais prevaleceram em ações adotadas pela mãe e pelo treinador, refletindo um importante papel na mudança de comportamento do atleta. Assim sendo, os processos proximais são de fundamental importância na relação interpessoal. A perspectiva bioecológica adotada permite considerar o esporte como um ambiente favorável para o desenvolvimento humano

Effects of platelet-rich fibrin produced by three centrifugation protocols on bone neoformation in defects created in rat calvaria.

This study evaluated the potential of Leukocyte-platelet-rich fibrin (L-PRF; fixed angle centrifugation protocol), Advanced-platelet-rich fibrin (A-PRF; low-speed fixed angle centrifugation protocol), and Horizontal-platelet-rich fibrin (H-PRF; horizontal centrifugation protocol) in bone neoformation in critical size defects (CSDs) in rat calvaria. Thirty-two rats were divided into groups: Control (C), L-PRF, A-PRF, and H-PRF. 5 mm diameter CSDs were created in the animals' calvaria. Defects from group Control (C) were filled with blood clots, while defects from groups L-PRF, A-PRF, and H-PRF were filled with respective platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) membranes. L-PRF, A-PRF, and H-PRF were prepared from animal blood collection and specific centrifugation protocols. At 14 and 30 days, calcein (CA) and alizarin (AL) injections were performed, respectively. Animals were euthanized at 35 days. Microtomographic, laser confocal microscopy, and histomorphometric analyzes were performed. Data were statistically analyzed (ANOVA, Tukey, p < .05). L-PRF, A-PRF, and H-PRF groups showed higher values of bone volume (BV), newly formed bone area (NFBA), and precipitation of CA and AL than the C group (p < .05). The H-PRF group showed higher values of BV, number of trabeculae (Tb. N), NFBA, and higher precipitation of AL than the A-PRF and L-PRF groups (p < .05). Therefore, it can be concluded that: i) L-PRF, A-PRF, and H-PRF potentiate bone neoformation in CSDs in rat calvaria; ii) H-PRF demonstrated more biological potential for bone healing

Rarity of monodominance in hyperdiverse Amazonian forests.

Tropical forests are known for their high diversity. Yet, forest patches do occur in the tropics where a single tree species is dominant. Such "monodominant" forests are known from all of the main tropical regions. For Amazonia, we sampled the occurrence of monodominance in a massive, basin-wide database of forest-inventory plots from the Amazon Tree Diversity Network (ATDN). Utilizing a simple defining metric of at least half of the trees ≥ 10 cm diameter belonging to one species, we found only a few occurrences of monodominance in Amazonia, and the phenomenon was not significantly linked to previously hypothesized life history traits such wood density, seed mass, ectomycorrhizal associations, or Rhizobium nodulation. In our analysis, coppicing (the formation of sprouts at the base of the tree or on roots) was the only trait significantly linked to monodominance. While at specific locales coppicing or ectomycorrhizal associations may confer a considerable advantage to a tree species and lead to its monodominance, very few species have these traits. Mining of the ATDN dataset suggests that monodominance is quite rare in Amazonia, and may be linked primarily to edaphic factors

The Missing Part of Seed Dispersal Networks: Structure and Robustness of Bat-Fruit Interactions

Mutualistic networks are crucial to the maintenance of ecosystem services. Unfortunately, what we know about seed dispersal networks is based only on bird-fruit interactions. Therefore, we aimed at filling part of this gap by investigating bat-fruit networks. It is known from population studies that: (i) some bat species depend more on fruits than others, and (ii) that some specialized frugivorous bats prefer particular plant genera. We tested whether those preferences affected the structure and robustness of the whole network and the functional roles of species. Nine bat-fruit datasets from the literature were analyzed and all networks showed lower complementary specialization (H2' = 0.37±0.10, mean ± SD) and similar nestedness (NODF = 0.56±0.12) than pollination networks. All networks were modular (M = 0.32±0.07), and had on average four cohesive subgroups (modules) of tightly connected bats and plants. The composition of those modules followed the genus-genus associations observed at population level (Artibeus-Ficus, Carollia-Piper, and Sturnira-Solanum), although a few of those plant genera were dispersed also by other bats. Bat-fruit networks showed high robustness to simulated cumulative removals of both bats (R = 0.55±0.10) and plants (R = 0.68±0.09). Primary frugivores interacted with a larger proportion of the plants available and also occupied more central positions; furthermore, their extinction caused larger changes in network structure. We conclude that bat-fruit networks are highly cohesive and robust mutualistic systems, in which redundancy is high within modules, although modules are complementary to each other. Dietary specialization seems to be an important structuring factor that affects the topology, the guild structure and functional roles in bat-fruit networks

The inventory of geological heritage of the state of São Paulo, Brazil: Methodological basis, results and perspectives

An inventory of geological sites based on solid and clear criteria is a first step for any geoconservation strategy. This paper describes the method used in the geoheritage inventory of the State of São Paulo, Brazil, and presents its main results. This inventory developed by the geoscientific community aimed to identify geosites with scientific value in the whole state, using a systematic approach. All 142 geosites representative of 11 geological frameworks were characterised and quantitatively evaluated according to their scientific value and risk of degradation, in order to establish priorities for their future management. An online database of the inventory is under construction, which will be available to be easily consulted and updated by the geoscientific community. All data were made available to the State Geological Institute as the backbone for the implementation of a future state geoconservation strategy.The authors acknowledge the Science Without Borders Programme, Process 075/2012, which supported this study and the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), Process 2011/17261-6. We also thanks C. Mazoca for his help with maps and figures.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio