Changing Practices, Changing Identities: A Study with Students at Risk of Educational Exclusion

This study discusses how students at risk of educational exclusion can restore their identity and improve learning and scientific literacy. This qualitative research adopts an interpretative orientation. Twenty-eight secondary school students, aged 16 to 20 participated. Data was collected of the interactions between students in lessons, focus group interview and written documents. Data analysis was inductive, consistent with a naturalistic research paradigm, and consisted of uncovering salient patterns, singularities, and themes associated with research aims. Several students, at risk of educational exclusion, value this kind of practice. By changing practice, the learning social context varied, as well as students’ identities and their relationships with knowledge, teachers and school

Student Perceptions of Secondary Science Teachers’ Practices Following Curricular Change

Inquiry-based teaching has emerged as a highly valued strategy in science education. In Portugal, the science curriculum has been redesigned in order to promote such teaching. This implies substantial change in teacher practice. It is therefore important to understand students’ perceptions of teacher practice. Aim: In this study, we describe student perception of teacher practices and look for associations between the perceptions and student motivation. Method: Three low-achieving, secondary-level science classes were studied. Motivation was measured by two scales (Intrinsic and Extrinsic); Perceptions were measured in four dimensions. Results: Significant associations (p < .05) were observed between intrinsic motivation and (a) Perception of the use of Laboratory Work; (b) Perception of Science-Technology-Society and (c) Perceived Student Autonomy. No association was noted between intrinsic motivation and the Perception of Teacher as Facilitator. Conclusions: Results are generally consistent with previous literature. Teacher professional development lags behind curricular change. Teachers require new conceptions of assessment.Projeto financiado pelo CIEFCU

Transformative Orientation in Learning to Teach Physics and Chemistry

Initial teacher training (ITT) involves different perspectives regarding the role of theoretical versus practical knowledge in teaching and requires an answer to how students integrate theory and practice and how learning environments contribute to this integration. Many authors have been advocating the idea of teachers as researchers of their own practice as a way to establish connections between theoretical knowledge and the knowledge gained from their practice. The ITT program of the University of Lisbon is based on a conceptual framework that proposes that student-teachers construct professional knowledge from researching their own practice in a context of supervised practice. This paper aims at describing the interpretations that student-teachers make about the Portuguese science curriculum, as well as describe the research questions and methods that they used for collecting data concerning students learning, and their evaluation of the learning process. For that, 31 written reports were analyzed. While involved in the design of the didactic proposals, student-teachers were encouraged to interpret the formal curriculum and turn it into a teaching curriculum, and to critically reflect on the curriculum. By researching their own practice, they developed new understanding regarding students’ difficulties, promoting students’ conceptual change and managing classroom and students’ behavior

Science Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices: Collaboration as a Trigger of Change

This research aims to study a collaborative process between teachers and a facilitator and to examine how this process contributes for changing Physics and Chemistry teachers’ beliefs and practices. In order to achieve these goals, a specific program of professional development was studied, which characteristics were sourced on literature concerning the relationship between beliefs and practices and between reflection and collaboration. Five Physics and Chemistry teachers were involved in a qualitative study.  The results show that the collaboration, grounded on a trusting relationship and on a constant negotiation of meanings, was essential for teachers to overcome their fears and uncertainties, to stimulate teachers to develop different practices and to leave their comfort zone and review some of their beliefs

Wiki as a Tool for Engaging Students with a Science Problem Solving Activity

This study aims at knowing how students experience wikis while they are involved in a problem solving science activity. The study took place in a physics and chemistry 8th grade class (13 years old), where teacher implemented a problem solving activity about acid-base reactions, using a wiki. Participants were 20 students, of which 12 were female students. The activity involved six different working groups. Wikis were analyzed with the goal to identify students’ level and quality of participation. Furthermore, in order to understand students’ experiences concerning the learning situation six focus group interviews were carried on. Three highly participating groups presented successful strategies and achieved the learning goals. These students used complex strategies for analyzing the information and used theoretical knowledge to make sense of information gathered. The collaborative processes were essential for enabling a feeling of competence and for assuring a successful learning experience. These groups revealed a high level of cognitive engagement. In comparison, poorly participating groups didn’t present a successful strategy of knowledge co-construction and revealed difficulties in understanding the scientific concepts involved. Furthermore, each poorly participating group experienced the learning situation quite differently. Results suggest that students’ engagement with a problem solving activity using a wiki is affected by a complex interplay of emotional, technical and social issues. Some recommendations for facilitating students’ engagement with wikis emerge from the study: to carefully support collaborative processes and to create safe learning environments in which error is valued as an opportunity for learning

Application of objective and non-invasive methodologies for welfare assessment in endurance horses

Endurance riding evolved in the last two decades from an amateur activity into a highly professionalised sport. Better training techniques and more specialised breeding allowed the creation of super endurance equine athletes, capable of achieving a sustained high speed along with a fast-cardiac recovery capacity. However, the competitiveness and inherent effort of the sport lead to the persistence, up to the present, of severe injuries, unacceptable current societal standards, despite the intense veterinary monitoring of horses in competitions. This research aimed to study non-invasive methods that could be used in an endurance competition setting to objectively measure performance and distress. Salivary cortisol, eye temperature measured by infrared thermography and gait quantification through an inertial sensor-based system were studied to determine the practicality, reliability and repeatability of results in competitions and experimental settings. The objective results were confronted with the subjective evaluations and the outcome of horses. Firstly, the receptiveness by veterinarians to the utilization of objective methods in competitions was assessed. The results showed that two thirds of 157 Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) official endurance veterinarians would be receptive to a new reliable technology to objectively quantify gait. Indeed, a trial performed during an endurance ride using a sensor-based system had a favourable impression regarding its logistic use, but the objective results indicated a significant disagreement in relation to the subjective gait assessment of veterinarians. To assess whether the delay caused by instrumentation of the horse with the sensors would affect the cardiac recovery index (CRI), an early indicator of fatigue in horses used by veterinarians in competitions, another study was performed. No effect of a waiting time was found on the CRI. A second study using the sensor-based system was performed next, to assess the repeatability and agreement of results of subjective and objective gait assessment with different handlers and trot-up presentation styles. It was demonstrated that veterinarians gave better scores to horses trotted as for a competition when compared to a regular presentation for a lameness work-up. The objective gait results were not affected. Finally, the salivary cortisol and ocular temperature measured by infrared thermography were assessed in competitions to investigate whether there was a relation to the outcome of competing horses. It was shown that these biomarkers could potentially be used in association to characterize physical effort and emotional stress in endurance competitions, but further studies are needed. Globally, the results of this research showed the potential role of non-invasive methods in competitions to better objectify the results and as means to obtain relevant information for the endurance sport guidelines; Aplicação de Técnicas Objectivas e Não-Invasivas para Avaliação do Bem-Estar em Cavalos de Resistência Equestre RESUMO: A resistência equestre (Endurance) evoluiu nas últimas duas décadas de uma atividade amadora para um desporto altamente profissionalizado. A melhoria das técnicas de treino e a criação mais especializada permitiram a criação de superatletas equinos de Endurance, capazes de atingir velocidades elevadas sustentadas em conjunto com uma recuperação cardíaca rápida. Porém, a competitividade e o esforço inerentes ao desporto levam à ocorrência de lesões graves, inaceitáveis perante os padrões sociais atuais, apesar do intenso acompanhamento veterinário dos cavalos durante as competições. Esta investigação teve como objetivo estudar métodos não invasivos que possam ser usados em ambiente de competição de Endurance para medir objetivamente o desempenho e o stresse. O cortisol salivar, a temperatura ocular medida por termografia infravermelha e a quantificação dos andamentos através de um sistema baseado em sensores de inércia foram estudados para determinar a exequibilidade, confiabilidade e repetibilidade dos resultados em competições e ambientes experimentais. Os resultados objetivos foram confrontados com as avaliações subjetivas e os resultados dos cavalos. Primeiramente, avaliou-se a recetividade dos médicos veterinários à utilização de métodos objetivos nas competições. Os resultados mostraram que dois terços de uma amostra de 157 veterinários oficiais de Endurance da Federação Equestre Internacional (FEI) estariam recetivos a uma nova tecnologia fiável para quantificar objetivamente a marcha. Um ensaio realizado durante uma prova de resistência usando um sistema baseado em sensores provocou uma impressão favorável quanto aos aspetos logísticos, mas os resultados objetivos indicaram uma discordância significativa em relação à avaliação subjetiva dos andamentos realizada pelos veterinários. Realizou-se um outro estudo para avaliar se o tempo despendido na instrumentação do cavalo com os sensores afetaria o índice de recuperação cardíaca (IRC), um indicador precoce de fadiga em cavalos utilizado por veterinários em competições. Verificou-se que o IRC não foi influenciado pelo tempo de espera. Em seguida, realizou-se um segundo estudo utilizando o sistema baseado em sensores, para avaliar a repetibilidade e a concordância dos resultados da avaliação subjetiva e objetiva da marcha com diferentes apresentadores e estilos de apresentação a trote. Foi demonstrado que os veterinários pontuaram melhor os cavalos trotados no estilo utilizado em competição quando comparados ao estilo utilizado numa apresentação para um exame de claudicação. Os resultados objetivos da marcha não foram afetados. Finalmente, o cortisol salivar e a temperatura ocular medidos por termografia infravermelha foram avaliados em competições, para avaliar se existia relação com os resultados de cavalos em competição. Ficou demonstrado que estes biomarcadores poderiam ser usados em associação para caracterizar o esforço físico e o stresse emocional em competições de Endurance, mas são necessários estudos adicionais. Globalmente, os resultados desta investigação mostraram o potencial papel dos métodos não invasivos para melhor objetivar os resultados em competição e como meio de obter informações relevantes para as diretrizes do desporto de resistência equestre

Cursos de educação e formação: uma oportunidade para questionar práticas de sala de aula e reconstruir identidades escolares

Este estudo tem como objectivo conhecer o impacto de actividades investigativas em aulas de Física e Química na reconstrução de identidades escolares. Estudaram-se três turmas do ensino secundário de um curso de Educação e Formação. Participaram 28 alunos, com histórias pesadas de insucesso escolar, aos quais se fez uma entrevista em grupo focado. Recorreu-se a um método de análise de conteúdo. Os dados sugerem um percurso, inicial, feito de insucessos, assente em identidades escolares negativas, que não sendo passíveis de ser re-avaliadas ou restauradas, geram vontade de abandonar a escola. Para além disso sugerem que novas experiências pedagógicas e curriculares podem facilitar a reconstrução dessas identidades e a emergência de novas formas de se relacionar com a escola e com o saber escolar

Curriculum conception, implementation and evaluation: an experience

Aligned with the new trends in curriculum studies, the Portuguese physical and natural sciences curriculum of basic education was reorganised by introducing several new ideas and principles, such as the notion of competence, the development of adequate learning experiences, an emphasis on formative assessment of students and the idea of flexible management of the curriculum. In order to promote changes in teachers’ practices and conceptions, the reorganisation of the curriculum involved a complex process of implementation. However, this process of curriculum change was stopped abruptly due to a change in government. This chapter’s goals are to describe the process of curriculum change, how teachers interpret and implement the science curriculum and the factors that affect the way the curriculum is implemented. We analysed data from three types of studies: (a) a nationwide study focused on teachers’ perspectives regarding the science curriculum, (b) a meta-analysis of several comprehensive Portuguese studies and (c) a multiple case study involving five schools. Results show that teachers modified certain practices not according to the original intentions of the curriculum, but according to how they perceived and experienced some of the constraints and their educational and school contexts. These results support the idea that it is essential to create structures capable of responding to the emerging training needs of teachers. The creation of communities of practice involving educational researchers and teachers may facilitate discussion and reflection about the curriculum, providing teachers with resources to accomplish innovations and for providing them with feedback about the work they are developing.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The construction of a reasoned explanation of a health phenomenon: an analysis of competencies mobilized

Mobilizing scientific knowledge for understanding the natural world and for critically appraise socio-scientific situations and make decisions are key competencies for todays' society. Therefore, it is essential to understand how students at the end of compulsory schooling use scientific knowledge for understanding the surrounding world. The objective of this study is to understand how students construct a scientifically oriented explanation while making sense of a phenomenon related to health. We analysed 526 answers to a question of a Portuguese national 9th grade science exam. The results reveal that most students present difficulties in explaining a phenomenon related to health supported by logical and clear reasoning, and in mobilizing scientific knowledge for connecting different scientific domains. We reaffirm the need to reconceptualize the role of health education within science education. Developing reading, writing and discussion activities related to health, which requires the use of scientific knowledge from different domains, would facilitate students' understanding and appropriation of scientific knowledge and its transference. This is a fundamental competence for promoting active and informed citizenship.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio