Scientific Culture and Education Sector: Literacy, Understanding, or Engagement?

<p style="text-align: justify;">Scientific culture has been a concern for decades in the developed world, giving rise to conceptual changes known as paradigms. The first one is the longstanding literacy paradigm, defined by the skills and knowledge acquired at the education institution. It has been followed by the public understanding of science paradigm, related to the scientific understanding and an allegedly subsequent positive attitude towards science. Lastly, the engagement with science paradigm or science and society paradigm involves people's implications about the science-technology controversies with significant social impact. This article reflects how science teaching has evolved along the years in line with the scientific culture's conceptual shifts. It is concluded that this triad of paradigms is thus of a school nature, given that educational fields have suffered from transformation processes under the same vision of the world (world view), which has also changed the concept of scientific culture. Individuals in a research community learn ways of thinking, feeling and acting and therefore cannot help feeling a liking for what is short-lived and has not taken roots, both inside and outside the school in our postmodern age</p>

A processual view on the use of problem-based learning in high school physiology teaching

In problem-based learning (PBL), the steps and processes present in the PBL tutorial cycle are essential for constructive, self-directed, collaborative, and contextual student learning. This article presents a procedural study of a PBL tutorial cycle with high school students new to the method regarding human respiration and circulation physiology. We observed group dynamics and the learning process that occurred throughout the PBL tutorial cycle. The results indicate that conceptual changes were close to the planned learning objectives and that students enjoyed studying applying PBL. Moreover, a positive correlation was observed between group dynamics, self-directed learning and learning outcomes. Our results provide grounds for restructuring the tutorial cycle, especially important for novice PBL students, such as problem reformulation and the development and diversification of applied learning scaffolds. We conclude that the qualitative analysis performed herein can yield a deeper understanding of the PBL tutorial cycle and may be used to foster PBL implementation in institutions with little experience with the method and monitor its outcomes in organizations with mature PBL use.

Using Learning Stories in Secondary Social Studies: Gathering, Analysing and Using Evidence to Support Learners' Conceptual Understandings.

<p>This research examined the use of learning stories as a way to gather, analyse and use evidence to support the development of social studies conceptual understandings. This is important because there is limited research in New Zealand related to social studies assessment in secondary school environments, or in the monitoring of conceptual changes in understanding. The limited research that can be drawn upon highlights the challenges social studies teachers face teaching and assessing conceptually. Sociocultural theory featured strongly throughout the research, through the decision to investigate learning stories as an assessment approach, as well as the lens with which to approach the methodology. In order to investigate the Learning Story Framework, as an intervention, a qualitative design-based methodology was utilised involving one in-depth case study. The research composed of three iterative phases, gathering evidence using semi-structured interviews, participant observation and documentation analysis, including reflective journals. The findings suggested that learning stories can be used to support the development of conceptual understandings in conjunction with a reflective class culture, strong community relationships, clarity of planning for and sharing conceptual understandings, and support for students to critically reflect.</p>

Using Learning Stories in Secondary Social Studies: Gathering, Analysing and Using Evidence to Support Learners' Conceptual Understandings.

<p>This research examined the use of learning stories as a way to gather, analyse and use evidence to support the development of social studies conceptual understandings. This is important because there is limited research in New Zealand related to social studies assessment in secondary school environments, or in the monitoring of conceptual changes in understanding. The limited research that can be drawn upon highlights the challenges social studies teachers face teaching and assessing conceptually. Sociocultural theory featured strongly throughout the research, through the decision to investigate learning stories as an assessment approach, as well as the lens with which to approach the methodology. In order to investigate the Learning Story Framework, as an intervention, a qualitative design-based methodology was utilised involving one in-depth case study. The research composed of three iterative phases, gathering evidence using semi-structured interviews, participant observation and documentation analysis, including reflective journals. The findings suggested that learning stories can be used to support the development of conceptual understandings in conjunction with a reflective class culture, strong community relationships, clarity of planning for and sharing conceptual understandings, and support for students to critically reflect.</p>

A matter of time? Sustainability and digital media use

Purpose This paper aims to unfold and emphasise the relevance of sustainability and time as research topics in media and communication research and discusses the relation of both phenomena with a focus on processes of media appropriation and media consumption. Design/methodology/approach The submission argues theoretically. Firstly, theories on sustainability and media and media and time are presented. Secondly, previous approaches from research on sustainable media use will be discussed. Finally, the authors call for a stronger accentuation of research on digital media, time, and sustainability. Findings The submission shows that previous research on sustainable media use does sufficiently take individual and social time experience into account. Moreover, research is too much focussed on the individual level. The authors therefore argue for three major conceptual changes in research on digital sustainability: time is a sustainable human resource; a shift of perspective from individual to relations is needed; and consideration of the cultural condition of capitalism is necessary. Practical implications This paper includes implications for the future research on digital media, time and sustainability. Originality/value According to the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first one that connects perspectives on time with digital sustainability.

Kuhn and Wittgenstein: The Paradigm Priority Problem, Relativism and Incommensurability

For dropping the incommensurability idea elaborated at the time of The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Kuhn dismisses the concept of “revolution”. The incommensurability involved the incomparability of theories. In this new environment, the revolution is replaced by conceptual reformulation and the incommensurability becomes occasional. The linguistic turn in Kuhn’s thought involves conceptual changes whose aim is to get around the accusation of relativism that the former notion of incommensurability arouses. The most fundamental effect of these conceptual reformulations is the commitment to a traditional conception of semantics. It changes the comprehension of the historical and social nature of the foundations of the changes that scientific knowledge goes through. The comparison between the answer to the problem of paradigm priority attributed by Kuhn to Wittgenstein and Wittgenstein by himself shows that the basis of the normative nature of paradigm commitment is an essentialist concern. In the second half of this paper, I will evaluate Kuhn’s manner of getting around the problems of incommensurability in contrast to Wittgenstein’s view of philosophy dealing with similar issues in On Certainty. This enables one to essay answers to the problems of incommensurability without relativism or any commitment to a traditional conception of semantics. These contrasts show how far Kuhn’s new theory of science departs from the Wittgensteinian inspiration and abandons the point of view of The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. The development of these two halves makes it possible to indicate reasons to believe that questions concerning the theory and history of science can benefit largely from a grammatical exploration, which gives rise to a theory of science inspired by Wittgenstein’s thought, as Mauro Condé suggests.

CHANGING CONCEPTS OF BEAUTY IN ORTHODONTICS

Over the years we have become more educated and conscious, with that there is a continuous transitions of concepts regarding esthetics and shift in the mindset and the standard of beauty by the common people and orthodontist. The invention of newer technologies, methods and upsurge in the amount of research performed worldwide has resulted in both technological and conceptual changes in every era. This transition is dynamic in nature and will be superior with continued efforts.

Polibol na educação física: análise de uma experiência de ensino na escola

OBJETIVO: Analisar um processo de ensino com o polibol em aulas de Educação Física. MÉTODOS: O estudo se pautou por uma abordagem qualitativa de investigação com orientação na pesquisa-ação, envolvendo 75 estudantes de três turmas de 5º ano de uma escola pública municipal de ensino fundamental anos iniciais. Enquanto instrumentos de coleta de informações foram utilizados questionários, registros de imagens das atividades e desenhos feitos pelos participantes referentes às vivências relacionadas ao jogo. Na construção da unidade didática, realizada em 12 aulas, os procedimentos adotados foram: mapeamento, planejamento, tema/problematização, ressignificação, aprofundamento, ampliação, registro e avaliação. RESULTADOS: Os dados revelaram: alta receptividade entre os alunos, proporcionando um ambiente educacional favorável à diversificação do conteúdo nas aulas de Educação Física; alterações conceituais observadas nos conhecimentos relativos ao esporte; problematização da competição exacerbada, desencadeando reflexões sobre a integração de todos os participantes nas atividades desenvolvidas; aprofundamento e ampliação dos conhecimentos sobre esporte; maior respeito entre os alunos, especialmente quanto às questões de gênero e inclusão; mais responsabilidade e cooperação em tomadas de decisões e atitudes no jogo; dificuldade em compreender a dinâmica do polibol correspondente à utilização concomitante dos membros superiores e inferiores para conduzir a bola; presença significativa da influência do futsal entre os alunos, o que também tornou algumas aprendizagens da estrutura e dinâmica do jogo mais difíceis. CONCLUSÃO: Após a realização deste estudo, podemos afirmar que a tematização do polibol fortaleceu a valorização de uma produção cultural local por parte dos estudantes, ampliando suas perspectivas para além da exclusividade dos esportes já conhecidos, envolvendo um olhar autêntico para os processos de produção das práticas corporais. Polibol in physical education: analysis of a teaching process in school ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE: To analyze a teaching process with polibol in Physical Education classes. METHODS: The study was guided by a qualitative research approach with orientation in action research, involving 75 students from three classes of 5th year of a public elementary school in the early years. As instruments for collecting information were used: questionnaires, image records of the activities and drawings made by the participants referring to the experiences related to the game. In the construction of the didactic unit, carried out in 12 classes, the procedures adopted were: mapping, planning, theme / problematization, reframing, deepening, expansion, registration and evaluation. RESULTS: The data revealed: high receptivity among students, providing an educational environment favorable to the diversification of content in Physical Education classes; conceptual changes observed in sports-related knowledge; problematization of exacerbated competition, triggering reflections on the integration of all participants in the activities developed; deepening and expanding knowledge about sport; greater respect among students, especially regarding gender and inclusion issues; more responsibility and cooperation in decision-making and attitudes in the game; difficulty in understanding the dynamics of the polibol corresponding to the concomitant use of the upper and lower limbs to guide the ball; significant presence of the influence of futsal among students, which also made some learning of the structure and dynamics of the game more difficult. CONCLUSION: After conducting this study, we can say that the theme of polibol strengthened the valorization of local cultural production by students, expanding their perspectives beyond the exclusivity of recognized sports, involving an authentic look at the production processes of body practices.

Urban Vegetation Leveraging Actions

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include a subset of targets that can be advanced through standard urban management activities. In particular, routine urban vegetation management comprises a number of activities with potential impact on Goal #4 (quality education), #11 (sustainable cities and communities), #13 (protect the planet), #15 (life on land), and, perhaps less obviously, but equally important, on Goal #8 (good jobs and economic growth). This paper discusses how urban vegetation management can help achieve the SDGs at a local level. Drawing on a case study (Talavera de la Reina, Spain), it is shown that an intelligent approach to urban vegetation management can leverage resources towards the SDGs at little or no cost to municipalities. Minor modifications and conceptual changes in how standard practices are carried out can make a difference. Including this dimension can even result in a positive balance for the municipal budget. Our analyses and proposals are of broad and direct applicability for urban areas worldwide and can help city authorities and officials to align their cities with the SDGs simply by making minor adjustments to how they currently deal with urban vegetation.