Participação no grupo cooperativo do movimento da escola moderna: contributos para o desenvolvimento profissional docente

Dissertação apresentada à Escola Superior de Educação de Lisboa para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ciências da Educação, especialidade Supervisão em EducaçãoO trabalho cooperativo entre os professores tem merecido destaque nos últimos anos, relacionando-se com ajuda mútua (Carneiro, Geller & Nitzke, 2008), onde todos trabalham com o intuito de alcançar objetivos pré definidos entre si (Dillenbourg, 1999) e de obter competências profissionais. Muito embora as práticas de trabalho individual ainda sejam uma tentação para os professores na atualidade há uma maior tendência para trabalharem colaborativamente nas escolas ou em grupos de formação organizados pelas associações de professores. Neste contexto, o estudo que apresentamos tem como finalidade compreender os processos de autoformação cooperada no contexto dos grupos cooperativos do Movimento da Escola Moderna (MEM) e o seu impacto no desenvolvimento profissional docente. Tendo em conta o objeto de estudo, identificaram-se as seguintes questões: i) Que motivações levam os professores a integrar os grupos cooperativos do MEM? ii) Como se organiza e desenvolve a autoformação cooperada nos grupos cooperativos do MEM? iii) Quais os aspetos positivos e constrangimentos identificados pelos professores no trabalho desenvolvido nos grupos cooperativos? iv) Quais as razões que levam os professores a permanecer e a abandonar a sua participação nos grupos cooperativos do MEM? v) Qual o impacto das experiências realizadas no contexto dos grupos cooperativos no desenvolvimento profissional docente? Para o efeito, contámos com a participação de seis professores pertencentes a um grupo cooperativo do MEM. Tendo como referência o objeto de estudo recorremos a uma metodologia de natureza qualitativa e privilegiámos como técnica de recolha de dados a entrevista semiestruturada. Para o tratamento dos dados sustentámo-nos na análise de conteúdo seguindo os passos recomendados para a análise de conteúdo por Bardin (2009). Os resultados do estudo permitiram constatar que o trabalho realizado no seio do grupo cooperativo promove o desenvolvimento profissional docente dado que fomenta a competência reflexiva sobre a prática pedagógica, bem como o desenvolvimento de outras competências da praxis, nomeadamente, a identificação de estratégias mais adequadas à resolução de problemas emergentes do quotidiano profissional do professor.Abstract The cooperative work between teachers has been receiving more attention over the last years, in relation with the mutual assistance (Carneiro, Geller & Nitzke, 2008), where everybody works with an aim to achieve predefined goals, which were created in relation to one another (Dillenbourg, 1999) and to obtain professional skills. Although individual work practices are still tempting to teachers, there is currently a greater trend to work as a group in schools or in training groups organized by teachers’ associations. In this context, this study aims to understand the cooperative self-training processes within the context of MEM’s cooperative groups and their impact in the professional teacher development. Considering the subject of study, the following questions were identified: i) What motivations lead the teachers to integrate MEM’s cooperative groups? ii) How is the cooperative self-training organized and how is it developed within in MEM’s cooperative groups? iii) What are the positive aspects and constraints identified by the teachers within the work developed in the cooperative groups? iv) What are the reasons that lead the teachers to stay or abandon its participation in MEM’s cooperative groups? v) What is the impact of experiences carried in the context of cooperative groups in the professional teacher development? For this purpose, we had the participation of six teachers belonging to one of MEM’s cooperative groups. Keeping the subject of study as a reference, we use a qualitative methodology and gave preference to the semi structured interview as the data collection technique. We based the data processing in the content analysis, following the recommended steps for content analysis by Bardin (2009). The study’s results allowed determining that the executed work promotes the teachers professional development, given that it increases the reflexive competence about the pedagogic practice, as well as the development of other competences of praxis, namely, the identification of the most adequate strategies for the resolution of emerging issues in the teacher’s professional everyday life.N/

Rising rural body-mass index is the main driver of the global obesity epidemic in adults

Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities(.)(1,2) This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity(3-6). Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean BMI segregated by place of residence (a rural or urban area) from 1985 to 2017. We show that, contrary to the dominant paradigm, more than 55% of the global rise in mean BMI from 1985 to 2017-and more than 80% in some low- and middle-income regions-was due to increases in BMI in rural areas. This large contribution stems from the fact that, with the exception of women in sub-Saharan Africa, BMI is increasing at the same rate or faster in rural areas than in cities in low- and middle-income regions. These trends have in turn resulted in a closing-and in some countries reversal-of the gap in BMI between urban and rural areas in low- and middle-income countries, especially for women. In high-income and industrialized countries, we noted a persistently higher rural BMI, especially for women. There is an urgent need for an integrated approach to rural nutrition that enhances financial and physical access to healthy foods, to avoid replacing the rural undernutrition disadvantage in poor countries with a more general malnutrition disadvantage that entails excessive consumption of low-quality calories.Peer reviewe

Heterogeneous contributions of change in population distribution of body mass index to change in obesity and underweight NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC)

From 1985 to 2016, the prevalence of underweight decreased, and that of obesity and severe obesity increased, in most regions, with significant variation in the magnitude of these changes across regions. We investigated how much change in mean body mass index (BMI) explains changes in the prevalence of underweight, obesity, and severe obesity in different regions using data from 2896 population-based studies with 187 million participants. Changes in the prevalence of underweight and total obesity, and to a lesser extent severe obesity, are largely driven by shifts in the distribution of BMI, with smaller contributions from changes in the shape of the distribution. In East and Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the underweight tail of the BMI distribution was left behind as the distribution shifted. There is a need for policies that address all forms of malnutrition by making healthy foods accessible and affordable, while restricting unhealthy foods through fiscal and regulatory restrictions

Ultra-thin films of alternating semi-interpenetrating layers of a conducting polymer with thermosetting phenolic resins for sensor application

In this work a new method for crosslinking ultra-thin films with potential applications in sensor systems is proposed. The films were produced by layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly using a conducting polymer, poly(o-ethoxyaniline) (POEA), alternated with a thermosetting resin, novolac-type phenolformaldehyde (PF), crosslinked by a simple thermal treatment. The PF resin served as both alternating and crosslinking agents. The films were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, thermogravimetry (TG), desorption, doping/dedoping cycling and electrical measurements. The results showed that film architecture and crosslinking degree can be controlled by the conditions used for film deposition (number of bilayers, polymer concentration, pH, and deposition time), and crosslinking time. Moreover, this approach offers several advantages such as fast curing time and low cost, indicating that these films can be used to produce sensors with improved stability

Thermal degradation of Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3/poly(vinylidene fluoride) composites as a function of ceramic grain size and concentration

Poly(vinylidene fluoride)/Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3,([PVDF]1−x/[PZT]x) composites of volume fractions x and (0–3) type connectivity were prepared in the form of thin films. PZT powders with average grain sizes of 0.2, 0.84, and 2.35 μm in different volume fraction of PZT up to 40 % were mixed with the polymeric matrix. The influence of the inorganic particle size and its content on the thermal degradation properties of the composites was then investigated by means of thermo-gravimetric analysis. It is observed that filler size affects more than filler concentration the degradation temperature and activation energy of the polymer. In the same way and due to their larger specific area, smaller particles leave larger solid residuals after the polymer degradation. The polymer degradation mechanism is not significantly modified by the presence of the inorganic fillers. On the other hand, an inhibition effect occurs due to the presence of the fillers, affecting particularly the activation energy of the process.This work is funded by FEDER funds through the “Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade–COMPETE” and by national funds by FCT-Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, project references PTDC/CTM/69316/2006, PTDC/CTM-NAN/112574/2009, and NANO/NMed-SD/0156/2007. S. Firmino Mendes, C.M. Costa and V. Sencadas and thank to FCT grants SFRH/BD/22506/2005, SFRH/BD/68499/2010 and SFRH/BPD/63148/2009, respectively. The authors also thank support from the COST Action MP1003, the “European Scientific Network for Artificial Muscles” (ESNAM)

Heterogeneous contributions of change in population distribution of body mass index to change in obesity and underweight

From 1985 to 2016, the prevalence of underweight decreased, and that of obesity and severe obesity increased, in most regions, with significant variation in the magnitude of these changes across regions. We investigated how much change in mean body mass index (BMI) explains changes in the prevalence of underweight, obesity, and severe obesity in different regions using data from 2896 population-based studies with 187 million participants. Changes in the prevalence of underweight and total obesity, and to a lesser extent severe obesity, are largely driven by shifts in the distribution of BMI, with smaller contributions from changes in the shape of the distribution. In East and Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the underweight tail of the BMI distribution was left behind as the distribution shifted. There is a need for policies that address all forms of malnutrition by making healthy foods accessible and affordable, while restricting unhealthy foods through fiscal and regulatory restrictions