Teaching science and technology at primary school level: theoretical and practical considerations for primary school teachers' professional training.

This paper focuses on the importance of starting science and technology education at a young age and at the consequential importance of providing primary school teachers with enough professional background to be able to effectively incorporate science and technology into their teaching. We will discuss a large-scale program in The Netherlands that is aimed at the professionalization of elementary school teachers in the field of science and technology. Theoretical and practical considerations will be provided for the three pillars that ideally should be included in teacher training programs in this domain: (1) Primary school teachers’ knowledge of and competency in scientific concepts and scientific reasoning; (2) Primary school teachers’ attitude towards science (in terms of cognitive, affective, and behavioural dimensions of attitude); and (3) Primary school teachers’ pedagogical competency to enhance inquiry-based learning

Waarom feiten niet altijd overtuigen

Diesoratie uitgesproken door prof.dr.ir. Ionica Smeets hoogleraar Wetenschapscommunicatie, tijdens de 448ste dies natalis van de Universiteit Leiden op woensdag 8 februari 2023 in de PieterskerkScience Communication and Societ

Enige beschouwingen over de waarde der wetenschapscommunicatie

Oratie uitgesproken door Prof.dr.ir. Ionica Smeets bij de aanvaarding van het ambt van hoogleraar op het gebied van Wetenschapscommunicatie aan de Universiteit Leiden op vrijdag 13 mei 201

On continued fraction algorithms

Is there a good continued fraction approximation between every two bad ones? What is the entropy of the natural extension for alpha-Rosen fractions? How do you find multi-dimensional continued fractions with a guaranteed quality in polynomial time? These, and many more, questions are answered in this thesis.LEI Universiteit LeidenThomas Stieltjes Institute for MathematicsAnalysis and Stochastic

Vijf grote uitdagingen in de wetenschapscommunicatie

Science Communication and Societ

What Do People Like about Mathematics?

In this discussion paper we look at questions that adults have about numbers. Many of their questions are not about pure mathematics, but about personal, cultural or societal issues. We discuss how to connect mathematical topics with things people are interested in, based on theoretic knowledge from the field of science communication. We focus on using narratives to make mathematics more personal, how to use games as demonstrations and different ways to present the same mathematical problem in different societal settings.Science Communication and Societ

Optimism, mindfulness, and resilience as potential protective factors for the mental health consequences of fear of the coronavirus

The COVID-19 pandemic has a substantial impact on mental health. Prior reports have shown that depression, anxiety, and stress have increased throughout the pandemic. Nonetheless, not everyone is affected by these negative consequences and some people may be relatively unaffected. In this online study in a predominantly Dutch and Belgian sample (N = 546), we investigated whether positive personality traits such as optimism, mindfulness, and resilience may protect against the negative mental health consequences (i.e., fear of the coronavirus, depression, stress, and anxiety) of the COVID-19 pandemic. We found that fear of COVID-19 was related to higher depression, stress, and anxiety. However, for participants scoring high on mindfulness, optimism, and resilience, this relationship was weakened. In addition to these findings, we present the results of network analyses to explore the network structure between these constructs. These results help to identify possible ways through which psychological well-being can be promoted during the COVID-19 pandemic