Imagining the School of the Future Through Computational Simulations: Scenarios' Sustainability and Agency as Keywords

Computational simulations are fundamental tools not only for scientific research but also for education. They are frequently used as virtual laboratories to foster students' understanding of the theoretical concepts that lie at the basis of the simulated systems. Recent research works in STEM education have started to explore the potential of simulations as future-oriented objects, to support students in the development of future scenarios for real-world situations. In this paper, we present a teaching-learning module targeted to upper high-school students on simulations of complex systems. The peculiarity of this course is that, guiding the students through the conceptual and epistemological analysis of some computational agent-based models, we were able to ground on these disciplinary bases the introduction of key concepts of the futures studies, like that of scenario. More specifically, in this paper we address an original future-oriented activity in which the students were required to choose an urgent problem of their interest, imagine possible and desirable scenarios based on a simulation and identify the sequence of actions to be undertaken to reach the preferable future. In presenting the results of the module's implementation we focus on two groups of students who spontaneously decided to address a problem related to the current educational system. In particular, we discuss how the future-oriented activity based on simulations led the students (i) to imagine sustainable scenarios for the school of the future, in which a dynamical equilibrium between opposite tensions is achieved, without any of them being eliminated and (ii) to recognize themselves as agents of transformation in a public, professional, and personal dimension

Correlates of genetic monogamy in socially monogamous mammals: insights from Azara's owl monkeys

Understanding the evolution of mating systems, a central topic in evolutionary biology for more than 50 years, requires examining the genetic consequences of mating and the relationships between social systems and mating systems. Among pair-living mammals, where genetic monogamy is extremely rare, the extent of extra-group paternity rates has been associated withmale participation in infant care, strength of the pair bond and length of the breeding season. This study evaluated the relationship between two of those factors and the genetic mating system of socially monogamous mammals, testing predictions that male care and strength of pair bond would be negatively correlated with rates of extra-pair paternity (EPP). Autosomal microsatellite analyses provide evidence for genetic monogamy in a pair-living primate with bi-parental care, the Azara’s owl monkey (Aotus azarae). A phylogenetically corrected generalized least square analysis was used to relate male care and strength of the pair bond to their genetic mating system (i.e. proportions of EPP) in 15 socially monogamous mammalian species. The intensity of male care was correlated with EPP rates in mammals, while strength of pair bond failed to reach statistical significance. Our analyses showthat, once social monogamy has evolved, paternal care, and potentially also close bonds, may facilitate the evolution of genetic monogamy.German Science Foundation (HU 1746/2-1); Wenner-Gren Foundation; L.S.B. Leakey Foundation;National Geographic Society; National Science Foundation (BCS-0621020, 1219368, and 1232349); the University of Pennsylvania Research Foundation; the Zoological Society of San Dieg

Exploiting the interplay between cross-sectional and longitudinal data in Class III malocclusion patients

The aim of the study was to investigate how to improve the forecasting of craniofacial unbalance risk during growth among patients affected by Class III malocclusion. To this purpose we used computational methodologies such as Transductive Learning (TL), Boosting (B), and Feature Engineering (FE) instead of the traditional statistical analysis based on Classification trees and logistic models. Such techniques have been applied to cephalometric data from 728 cross-sectional untreated Class III subjects (6–14 years of age) and from 91 untreated Class III subjects followed longitudinally during the growth process. A cephalometric analysis comprising 11 variables has also been performed. The subjects followed longitudinally were divided into two subgroups: favourable and unfavourable growth, in comparison with normal craniofacial growth. With respect to traditional statistical predictive analytics, TL increased the accuracy in identifying subjects at risk of unfavourable growth. TL algorithm was useful in diffusion of information from longitudinal to cross-sectional subjects. The accuracy in identifying high-risk subjects to growth worsening increased from 63% to 78%. Finally, a further increase in identification accuracy, up to 83%, was produced by FE. A ranking of important variables in identifying subjects at risk of growth worsening, therefore, has been obtained

Exploring the boundaries in an interdisciplinary context through the Family Resemblance Approach: The Dialogue Between Physics and Mathematics

Among the relevant aspects of the family resemblance approach (FRA), our study focuses on the potential of the approach to elaborate on disciplinary identities in an interdisciplinary context, specifically regarding the interplay between physics and mathematics. We present and discuss how the FRA wheel can be used and intertwined with the framework of boundary objects and boundary crossing mechanisms (Akkerman & Bakker, Review of Educational Research, 81, 132–169, 2011), which is well-known in STEM education for dealing with interdisciplinarity. The role of the FRA discussed in the article is dual: both practical and theoretical. It is practical in that we show how its use, in combination with the Akkerman and Bakker framework, appears effective in fostering productive discussions among prospective teachers on disciplinary identities and interdisciplinarity in historical cases. It is theoretical in that the combination of the two frameworks provides the vocabulary to characterise the ‘ambiguous nature’ of interdisciplinarity: like boundaries, interdisciplinarity both separates disciplines, making their identities emerge, and connects them, fostering mechanisms of crossing and transgressing the boundaries. This empirical study reveals how the theoretical elaboration took advantage of the prospective teachers’ contributions. We initially presented the FRA to characterise disciplinary identities, but the prospective teachers highlighted its potential to characterise also the boundary zone and the dialogue between physics and mathematics. The data analysis showed that the combination of the two frameworks shaped a complex learning space where there was room for very different epistemic demands of the prospective teachers: from those who feel better within the identity cores of the disciplines, to those who like to inhabit the boundary zone and others who like to re-shape boundary spaces and move dynamically across them

Making sense of youth futures narratives: Recognition of emerging tensions in students' imagination of the future

In this era of great uncertainty, imagining the future may be challenging, especially for young people. In science education, the interest in future-oriented education is now emerging, research needs, however, to keep eyes on youngsters' future perceptions and on the development of a future literacy. In this article, starting from a sample of individual students' narratives about their future daily life in 2040, we aim to delineate which ways of grappling with the future can be observed in the essays and which methodological tools are suited to operationalize their identification and characterization. The analysis led to the definition of "polarization" and "complexification" attitudes that represent the ways in which the students' narratives are positioned with respect to a bunch of dichotomies: personal-societal, functional-aesthetics oriented, good-bad, natural-artificial, and certain-uncertain. Moreover, with this study, we provide a contribution to the methodological reflection that deals with the collection and analysis of data, when students' future perceptions need to be investigated. Discussing the limits of the current data collection tool, we introduce the design of a SenseMaker (R) questionnaire which contributed to feeding a collaboration with #OurFutures project, recently launched by the European Commission to collect future narratives all around Europe

Interaction induced delocalisation for two particles in a periodic potential

We consider two interacting particles evolving in a one-dimensional periodic structure embedded in a magnetic field. We show that the strong localization induced by the magnetic field for particular values of the flux per unit cell is destroyed as soon as the particles interact. We study the spectral and the dynamical aspects of this transition.Comment: 4 pages, 5 EPS figures, minor misprints correcte

04 - Case studies : I SEE project

In this document we report the main research-based studies we carried out in order to monitor the impact of the I SEE modules on students’ learning and on students’ perception of the future. The case studies have been developed through the analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data collected by means of a multiplicity of tools: questionnaires, individual interviews, collective discussions, tutorials, audio/video records, specific grids and board diaries for observations. The specific tools for data collection have been chosen and designed to cover both individual development and collective dynamics. In order to guarantee the credibility, reliability and robustness of the data analysis and the results, a detailed description of the whole analytic work will be carried out and documented in this report for each case. Data have been collected during the two-round I SEE module implementations (“start-up I SEE module” O1 and the “I SEE modules” O2). The main results discussed here concern the data collected during the implementation of the start-up I SEE module (O1) in the Summer School (C1). In Chapter 3 we include the results about the analysis of data collected during the implementation of I SEE module on quantum computing (O2) in Finland; moreover, we refer here to the list of these developed at the University of Bologna and the University of Helsinki about the project. The analysis of the case studies translates into finding a way to not only explain what happens in the implementation of an I SEE module, but also what conditions are needed to overcome obstacles and maximise the probabilities of repeating successful experiences in different contexts. Moreover, the results allow to argue in deep detail what learning outcomes and skills can be developed through the implementation of the I SEE modules and how a teacher can reveal, monitor and evaluate them. The main results, indeed, of the whole process of investigation has been the list of the markers that can reveal the impact of students’ perception of the future (the widening and approaching markers) (see case study #1,2,3) and the markers that operationally define the future-scaffolding skills (see case study #3). The case studies are the basis for research papers that have been presented in national and international conferences and submitted to journals in science and mathematics education or to journals in the learning sciences. The published papers are reported in the Annexes

Levantamento sobre genótipos de mandioca utilizados pelos agricultores de pequena escala, na baixada cuiabana, MT

Foi realizado um levantamento sobre os genótipos de mandioca utilizados pelos agricultores na Baixada Cuiabana, região que compreende 14 municípios entorno de Cuiabá, composto de muitos agricultores tradicionais. O MT é um dos centros de origem e diversificação da Manihot esculenta, sendo essa região detentora de uma grande tradição de produção de farinha, devido ao alto consumo pela sua culinária regional. A agricultura familiar desempenha papel fundamental na diversidade de plantas, representando uma forma importante de conservação in situ. Foi aplicado um questionário para os técnicos da EMPAER (Empresa Extensão Rural do Mato Grosso) que atuam na região para identificar os genótipos de mandioca de mesa e de indústria. Foram citados 11, todos eles crioulos os quais foram: ?Igarapé Vermelha?, ?Liberata?, ?Sopão?, ?Juriti?, ?Broto branco?, ?Mansa?, ?Broto roxo?, ?Cacau?, ?Uva?, ?Galhadeira? e ?Olho junto?. Não foram mencionados genótipos melhorados, como da Embrapa ou IAC. Os genótipos ?Liberata? e ?Juriti? foram citados tanto para consumo em mesa, como para indústria na fabricação de farinha, indicando dupla aptidão. Porém, ?Liberata? foi o mais mencionado, sendo citados por técnicos de todos os municípios. Os agricultores tradicionais dessa região são mantenedores da diversidade local