Desarrollar conceptos de Física a través del trabajo experimental : evaluación de auxiliares didácticos

El aprendizaje conceptual a través del trabajo experimental es un problema abierto tanto para la investigación didáctica como para la práctica docente. Estudios sobre la naturaleza del aprendizaje de física indican que no sólo es posible, sino también deseable promover el desarrollo conceptual a través del trabajo experimental, estando éste integrado en el currículo. Dentro de este trabajo se evalúa la relevancia de auxiliares didácticos para promover el desarrollo conceptual a través del trabajo experimental y su utilización por profesores. El contexto utilizado es la administración en la clase de actividades experimentales en los dominios de la mecánica y de la acústica. Dichos auxiliares didácticos permiten aclarar las entidades y estructuras conceptuales en juego en cada actividad experimental. Los profesores han reconocido la extrema importancia de tal recurso didáctico y los resultados del aprendizaje evidencian que dan lugar al desarrollo de competencias no elementales en la utilización de conceptos im plicados en los trabajos experimentales.Conceptual learning through experimental work is an issue open to both didactic research and practical teaching. Studies on the nature of Physics learning show that it is not only possible, but also desirable to foster conceptual development through experimental work, the latter being inserted in the curriculum. Within this paper we assess the relevance of didactic assisting elements to foster conceptual development through experimental work and its use by teachers. The context used is the implementation in the classroom of experimental activities in the fields of Mechanics and Acoustics. These didactic assistants allow to clarify the entities and conceptual structures involved in every experimental activity. Teachers acknowledge the utmost importance of such a didactic resource, and the results in learning show that they result in non-elementary competence when using the concepts involved in the experimental work

Modelo de enseñanza-aprendizaje centrado en la resolución de problemas : fundamentación, presentación e implicaciones educativas

The present article seeks to present a Science Teaching and Learning Model Based on Problem Solving. The presentation is based on a review or related Literature. An empirical study carried out in Portugal with secondary school teachers of Physics and Chemistry also contributed do devising the model. Finally, the implications for education and further research arising from the model in question are referred to

La enseñanza de física general en la Universidad : propuestas de investigación

El fracaso en la asignatura de Física General del primer año de las licenciaturas de Ciencias e Ingeniería es elevado en las universidades portuguesas. Sobre este problema existen muchos estudios que valoran factores no académicos. Existen tambien investigaciones sobre el aprendizaje de física en la universidad que, sin embargo, abordan aspectos más específicos. El interés de esta investigación está puesto en la calidad del aprendizaje de Física General: cómo se puede evaluar y mejorar. Presentamos un marco teórico que sirve de fundamento a un conjunto de instrumentos de evaluación (evaluation toolbox) del aprendizaje. Este conjunto de instrumentos permite evaluar de forma extensiva --en varios cursos-- y a la vez supervisar la calidad del aprendizaje de Física General mientras se imparte, de forma que se pueda incrementar la calidad de dicho aprendizaje.Failure in Introductory Physics courses in the first year of Engineering and Science undergraduate programs is high in the Portuguese universities. There are studies about this problem centered in non-academic factors. There are also studies about learning physics in higher education, but centered in specific aspects. Our research target is about the quality of learning of Introductory Physics in higher education. How can it be evaluated and how can we improve it? We present a theoretical framework that supports an "evaluation toolbox". This tool allows monitoring the quality of learning in an extensive way during the teaching of an Introductory Physics course. The aim is to be able to correct the teaching in order to increase the learning quality

Vpliv raziskovanja spolne selekcije na razumevanje evolucije pri osnovnošolcih

Several researchers and scientific institutions argue that evolution should be explored from the first school years. However, few studies have analysed primary school students’ understanding of evolutionary processes or evaluated the impact of educational activities on such knowledge. The available data: i) suggest that primary school students can learn about evolution; and ii) identify differential reproduction as the key evolution concept less often used by students to make and justify evolutionary predictions. In the present study, we evaluate the impact of an educational programme on primary school students’ level of understanding of evolution by sexual selection and on their ability to employ differential reproduction to propose and justify evolutionary predictions. An evaluation framework was applied to estimate primary school students’ level of understanding of evolution by sexual selection in third- and fourth-grade classes, before and after the students were exposed to the educational programme. A significant increase in the level of understanding of evolution by sexual selection was observed in the target classes, but not in the control classes. This result was primarily driven by a significant increase in the students’ justifications employing the concept of differential reproduction. The results suggest that activities that model and simulate biological evolution through sexual selection can contribute to primary school students’ understanding of evolutionary processes. (DIPF/Orig.

Proposal for a framework to evaluate elementary school students understanding of natural selection

Evolution is one of the key concepts in biology that should be explored since kindergarten. However, the few studies analysing elementary school students' learning about natural selection used distinct criteria to evaluate their knowledge. In the present work we develope a framework to evaluate students' understanding of natural selection, based on a literature review and on an empirical study. This framework can be used to assess students understanding of evolution and natural selection, to inform the development of educational activities and to assess their impact on students' understanding of these processes

Following Darwin’s footsteps: Evaluating the impact of an activity designed for elementary school students to link historically important evolution key concepts on their understanding of natural selection

While several researchers have suggested that evolution should be explored from the initial years of schooling, little information is available on effective resources to enhance elementary school students’ level of understanding of evolution by natural selection (LUENS). For the present study, we designed, implemented, and evaluated an educational activity planned for fourth graders (9 to 10 years old) to explore concepts and conceptual fields that were historically important for the discovery of natural selection. Observation field notes and students’ productions were used to analyze how the students explored the proposed activity. Additionally, an evaluation framework consisting of a test, the evaluation criteria, and the scoring process was applied in two fourth-grade classes (N = 44) to estimate elementary school students’ LUENS before and after engaging in the activity. Our results show that our activity allowed students to link the key concepts, resulting in a significant increase of their understanding of natural selection. They also reveal that additional activities and minor fine-tuning of the present activity are required to further support students’ learning about the concept of differential reproduction.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Lucha contra las especies invasoras: prácticas STEAM y conservación de la diversidad

Las especies invasoras son una de las principales amenazas para la conservación de la biodiversidad en todo el mundo; Portugal no es una excepción. Es esencial cambiar las actitudes y el comportamiento de la población, minimizando la introducción, dispersión y establecimiento de estas especies. La escuela puede contribuir a fomentar comportamientos proambientales en los estudiantes y, cuando está abierta a la comunidad, en otros agentes educativos como las familias. Este artículo informa sobre una práctica pedagógica STEAM que articula Ciencia con la Literatura. En esta intervención, los estudiantes analizan las amenazas a la biodiversidad por la presencia de especies invasoras. Este estudio se realizó en un contexto interdisciplinario en el que los estudiantes aprendieron y promovieron acciones de sensibilización comunitaria para la protección del medio ambiente y la erradicación de invasoras