Aprender ciencias en y para la comunidad

Durante algún tiempo, he afirmado que la educación científica necesita ser desinstitucionalizada para superar la profunda crisis que atraviesa actualmente. En este artículo describo formas en las cuales se puede pensar y poner en práctica esta desinstitucionalización en la enseñanza de las ciencias y en la práctica del diseño del currículo de ciencias. Se propone la teoría de la actividad como marco para conceptualizar diferentes sistemas de actividad y sus contradicciones. Proporciono ejemplos prácticos de mi actividad de enseñanza de una unidad de activismo ambiental y de mi diseño de un currículo apropiado para pueblos aborígenes a fin de mostrar una educación científica que se sitúa en el mundo diario de la comunidad.For some time now, I have argued that science education needs to be deinstitutionalized to overcome the deep crisis in which it currently finds itself. In the present paper, I outline ways in which such deinstitutionalization may be thought and enacted in science teaching and science curriculum design practice. Activity theory is proposed as a framework to conceptualize different activity systems and their contradictions. Practical examples from my own teaching of an environmental activist unit and designing a curriculum appropriate for indigenous peoples are provided to show a science education that situates itself in the everyday world of the community

Gestures: A Mode of Conceptualization in Science Gestures: A Mode of Conceptualization in Science

International audienceProblem Since the late 1970's there has been a lot of research to identify students' conceptions about physics (e.g., Pfundt & Duit, 1999). Now, more recent studies attempt to identify the factors that support the evolution of students' initial knowledge towards scientific knowledge. Among the studies of conceptual change (Posner, Strike, Hewson & Gertzog, 1982), we belong to small group of researchers that follow learning and change processes in real time, that is, "the data is collected continuously during the learning process. The aim is to capture and be able to describe the entire process" (Niedderer, 1992). To follow learning and change processes, we need to model the students' thought and use the definition: "knowledge" is a set of ideas, (which could be contradictory between themselves or not), each one can be applied in several material situation, these situations represent the domain of validity of one idea (Balacheff, 1999). We reconstruct a student's ideas on the basis of his/her actions, especially, verbal productions, communicative gestures, and manipulations of experiences. In this paper, we document how students' ideas evolve in a teaching sequence, specifically designed with the aim of understanding how students learn. The ultimate goal was to improve the teaching of gases at the level of higher secondary school (10 grader, 15-16 year old). Our general research question was, " How do the student's ideas evolve in our teaching sequence on gases? " To follow the student's conceptualization, we will focus on the role of communicative gestures, especially on the synchronization between speech and gesture (Roth, 1999). Background Communicative gestures have been classified into different types including those of deictic (pointing), iconic, metaphorical, and beat nature (Kendon, 1985; McNeil, 1992; Scherer, 1984.). Deictic gestures "point" out some aspect of the context. Iconic gestures and the entities they stand for are characterized by mapping relationships such that both be understood in terms of the same topological features. For an example, a scientist might outline a graph by following it using her finger, and thereby highlights the shape of its line. In a similar way, metaphorical gestures provide a visual expression of a metaphor, even though the concept or idea may be abstract. Finally symbolic gestures function as independent signs and obtain their sense through shared social conventions (raising of middle finger to signal an obscenity) (Roth 1999). In this study, we will focus only on iconic and metaphoric gestures, especially their synchronization with speech, because together, speech and gesture constitute a good indicator of knowledge (Goldin-Meadow, 1997)

A mirror of society: a discourse analytic study of 15- to 16-year-old Swiss students' talk about environment and environmental protection

Environment and environmental protection are on the forefront of political concerns globally. But how are the media and political discourses concerning these issues mirrored in the public more generally and in the discourses of school science students more specifically? In this study, we analyze the discourse mobilized in whole-class conversations of and interviews with 15- to 16-year-old Swiss junior high school students. We identify two core interpretive repertoires (each unfolding into two second-order repertoires) that turn out to be the building blocks of environmental discourse, which is characteristic not only of these students but also of Swiss society more generally. The analysis of our students' discourse demonstrates how their use of interpretive repertoires locks them in belief talk that they have no control over ecological issues, which can put them in the danger of falling prey to ecological passivity. As a consequence of our findings we suggest that teachers should be endorsed to interpret their teaching of environmental issues in terms of the enriching and enlarging of their students' interpretive repertoire

Translation and Its Consequences in Qualitative Social Research: On Distinguishing "the Social" from "the Societal"

The translation of research texts between different languages is a possible impossible (ROTH, 2013). With translation come serious dangers for theorizing when words are translated into terms that do not cover the same conceptual field. This study investigates one such instance, which pertains to the difference between the social and the societal, and which possibly has devastating effects on many theories in the sociocultural, cultural-historical, and societal historical tradition. In the German and Russian versions of his works, Karl MARX used apparently quite distinctly the equivalents of the English adjectives "social [sozial, social'nyj]" and "societal [gesellschaftlich, obščestvennyj]." Many scholars do not distinguish the two notions, and in English, both are translated into "the social." This article exhibits the conceptual distinction MARX makes by explicitly tying the emergence of the universal to society (exemplified in value) rather than to any smaller social group. In this vein, some phenomena, such as consciousness or the psyche are virtually always societal [gesellschaftlich, obščestvennyj]. Implications are sketched for the possibility of quite differently reading philosophical and psychological works in the MARXIAN tradition when the distinction is made.Die Übersetzung wissenschaftlicher Texte zwischen verschiedenen Sprachen ist ein mögliches Unmögliches (ROTH 2013). Übersetzen bringt für das Theoretisieren große Probleme mit sich: Worte werden mitunter in Terminologien transformiert, die nicht dasselbe begriffliche Feld abdecken. Die hier vorgestellte Studie befasst sich mit einem solchen Beispiel: dem konzeptuellen Unterschied zwischen dem Sozialen und dem Gesellschaftlichen. Die Verwechselung dieser beiden Begriffe beim Übersetzen kann gravierende Folgen für das Verständnis von Theorien in den soziokulturellen, kulturhistorischen und gesellschaftshistorischen Traditionen haben. In den deutschen und russischen Versionen seiner Arbeiten benützt Karl MARX die Begriffsäquivalente der englischen Adjektive social [sozial, social’nyj] und societal [gesellschaftlich, obščestvennyj] mit ganz unterschiedlicher Bedeutung. Viele Forschende halten die beiden Begriffe jedoch nicht auseinander, und ins Englische werden beide Begriffe als "the social" [das Soziale] übersetzt. In diesem Aufsatz wird die konzeptuelle Differenz dargestellt, die MARX bei dieser Begrifflichkeit in der Verbindung des Allgemeinen mit der Gesellschaft (am Beispiel des Wertes) anstatt mit irgendeiner beliebigen sozialen Gruppe vornimmt. Auf diese Weise werden bestimmte Phänomene, etwa das Bewusstsein oder das Psychische, immer gesellschaftlich verstanden [societal, obščestvennyj]. Verwechselungen dieser Art können zu ganz unterschiedliche Lesarten philosophischer und psychologischer Werke in der MARXschen Tradition führen

The dialectic of the general and particular in social science research and teaching

"Cross-Cultural Research Methods" pretends to be a primer on the "how to" of conducting cross-cultural research, but focuses only on quantitative methods that use secondary data in the service of generating knowledge. The book is caught twice in the dialectic of the general and the specific, by putting all its eggs into the former basket and failing to recognize the role of the latter both in research itself and in the teaching of research methods to its readers. Because I know that the students in my graduate research methods course would fail to appreciate the book, I would neither select nor recommend it to others as a resource in teaching (quantitative) research methods or research designs courses

Historical Tidbits, the Shoah, and the Teaching of Mathematics

In this extended essay, I use cultural-historical activity theory to look at the questions Theodore Eisenberg raises about the inclusion of historical facts, both historical tidbits and ethically questionable tendencies and horrific actions (the Shoah), in the teaching of mathematics. I conclude by suggesting that the ultimate answer has to be one that involves a decision, which means that an answer cannot be provided a priori or be determined by any antecedent. Deciding to include this or that in a mathematical curriculum is an ethical act

Is mathematical knowledge constructed? a cultural-historical critique of object oriented conceptions of learning activity

It has become a truism (ideology) to state that mathematical knowledge is constructed collectively, in communities of practice, and individually, on the part of students whileengaging in mathematical tasks. However, construction implies an image of the end result of the labor process, which allows people to build a house and compare each step to the plan. Students, on the other hand, do not know the end product of their learning process, the new knowledge. This knowledge, therefore, cannot be the transitive object towards which construction is oriented. In this study, I provide a cultural-historical critique of objectoriented notions of learning activity. Using classroom episodes as examples, I propose an alternative based on L. S. Vygotsky’s commitment to the primacy of the social, whereby any higher psychological function was a social relation first. This allows the final product to be available in the present, as relation, without the learner’s conscious awareness, and thereby determine learning and development. The idea of the future acting in the present is captured in M. Cole’s notion of prolepsis. Implications are discussed with respect to curriculum design in mathematics classrooms

Translation in Qualitative Social Research: The Possible Impossible

En un mundo de investigación que se globaliza cada vez mas, comunicarse con colegas en el mismo idioma y la misma cultura y comunicarse con colegas de otras culturas y con otro fondo linguistico es un sine qua non en/de todas las ciencias, incluso en aquellas que usan métodos cualitativos. Últimamente la naturaleza del idioma se reconoce especialmente por aquellos científicos que se comunican con sus colegas en un idioma no nativo como el inglés el cual, de hecho, se ha vuelto la lingua franca científica. Aunque muchos son concientes de las dificultades de reproducir algo que un científco quiere decir en otro idioma, la naturaleza del idioma como un proceso que no es idéntico consigo mismo casi nunca es articulada. En lugar de ello la idea metafísica de los mismos "significados" que pueden ser reproducidos en múltiples idiomas por la via de la traducción – literalmente, "llevar al atro lado" – es endémica a la cultura científcia. En la mera definición de ciencia (por ejemplo, en la descripción de métodos de investigación) los experimentos deben operar de la misma manera, deben ser reproducidos, donde sea y por quien sean realizados. En esta contribución al debate acerca la traducción conducida en el contexto del debate FQS sobre "Calidad de la investigación cualitativa" formulo dimensiones teóricas y pragmáticas acerca del tema, recurriendo a investigaciones empírcas, trabajo literario e investigaciones filosóficas para explicar cómo la traducción es a la vez teóricamente imposible y lograda exhaustivamente en/como práctica cotidiana.URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs1302132In einer zunehmend globalisierten Welt von Forschung und Wissenschaft ist die Kommunikation zwischen Wissenschaftler/innen einer Kultur und Sprache mit Wissenschaftler/innen anderer Kulturen und sprachlicher Herkunft eine unabdingbare Voraussetzung. Dies trifft auch für die qualitativen Sozialwissenschaften zu. In diesem Zusammenhang wird die Bedeutung von Sprache mehr oder weniger explizit anerkannt. Eine besondere Rolle spielt das Problem für Forschende, die sich mit Kolleg/innen in einer ihnen fremden Sprache austauschen – vornehmlich in der englischen Sprache, die de facto zur Lingua franca geworden ist. Obwohl viele Kolleg/innen sich der Schwierigkeiten bewusst sind, die sich ergeben, wenn Forschende etwas in einer anderen Sprache ausdrücken wollen, wird die Charakteristik der Übersetzung als ein nicht selbstidentischer Prozess selten explizit angesprochen. Im Gegenteil, in den Wissenschaften herrscht die metaphysische Idee desselben Bedeutungsgehalts vor, der in vielfältigen Sprachen durch Übersetzung identisch ausgedrückt werden kann. Die Definition wissenschaftlicher Erkenntnis beinhaltet (z.B. in der Charakterisierung der wissenschaftlichen Methode), dass sie unabhängig von Ort und Person reproduziert werden kann. In diesem Beitrag zum Thema "Übersetzung", das im Rahmen der FQS-Debatte zur "Qualität qualitativer Forschung" behandelt wird, bespreche ich theoretische und praktische Dimensionen dieser Problematik. Anhand empirischer Transkriptionen, automatischer Übersetzungen, literarischer Werke und philosophischer Untersuchungen stelle ich dar, dass Übersetzung einerseits theoretisch unmöglich ist, andererseits aber tagtäglich als Praxis zustande gebracht wird.URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs1302132In an increasingly globalized world of research, communicating with scholars in the same language and culture and with scholars from other cultures and linguistic background is a sine qua non in/of all sciences, including those using qualitative social research. The nature of language is at least latently recognized especially by those scholars who communicate with their peers in a non-native language, such as English, which has become de facto the scientific lingua franca. Although many are aware of the difficulties of rendering something a scholar wants to say in another language, the nature of language as a non-self-identical process is hardly if ever articulated. Instead, the metaphysical idea of the same "meanings" that can be rendered in multiple languages by means of translation—literally, "carried across"—is endemic to the scientific culture. In the very definition of science (e.g., in the description of research methods), experiments must operate the same (must be reproducible) wherever and by whomever these are conducted. In this contribution to the debate concerning translation, conducted in the context of the FQS debate "Quality of Qualitative Research," I articulate theoretical and pragmatic dimensions on the topic, drawing on empirical investigations, literary works, and philosophical investigations to explicate how translation is both theoretically impossible and pervasively achieved in/as everyday praxis.URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs130213

Through the eyes of the learner

"δεν παρατίθεται περίληψη"Learning tends to be theorized, in research and curriculum practice, from the perspective of the known and seen, as is apparent in the idea that learners intentionally “construct” knowledge. We need to ask, however, how students who do not know the learning object (what the teacher wants them to know) can orient towards this unknown, unseen, and therefore unforeseen knowledge. The purpose of this paper is to bring the problematic of this learning paradox into sharp relieve by drawing on empirical examples from my research in a variety of settings. I then exhibit some core aspects of my findings, which, most importantly, highlight (a) the simultaneously active and passive aspects involved in any (perceptual) learning and (b) how the world and the objects it contains becomes independent of perception. I conclude by articulating some of the advantages that come with theorizing learning from the perspective of the learner – i.e., the perspective of the learning object as unknown, unseen, and unheardof – including the oftenforgotten emotional component