Validation of a survey to contrast online education during the COVID-19 pandemic and face-to-face pre-pandemic education

In order to develop quality pedagogical processes to alleviate the negative effects of the Cov19 pandemic, as the loss of interest in school subjects -caused by accessibility difficulties and lack of resources to purchase equipment and internet services, and to take advantage of the positive effects of online educational modality, as flexibility and housework, it is necessary to have valid and reliable instruments with which the information can be collected. This document presents the validation of a survey to contrast pre-pandemic online and face-to-face education. Beginning with the evaluation of the judgment of experts and teachers for preparation and proposal, which according to the methodology, was administered for a self-evaluation of university students in three areas of knowledge, and consisting of four different dimensions: attitudes during the Covid19 pandemic, applications of ICTs in education, problems when studying online, and exploration of face-to-face education The results show that it is a valid and reliable instrument to measure the four aspects described.

Ensino de História Natural e Biologia: reformas educacionais e programas da escola secundária (1920-1951)

Este estudo tem como tema o ensino de Biologia e História Natural, com foco na história dessas disciplinas escolares e nas mudanças educacionais ocorridas nas décadas de 1920 a 1950 no Brasil. O objetivo foi investigar mudanças e continuidades na constituição dessas disciplinas escolares. Foi realizada uma pesquisa documental, utilizando como fontes programas de ensino, legislação e textos da época. Foram analisados programas de ensino oficiais e do Colégio Pedro II, das disciplinas História Natural e Biologia, dos anos de 1920 a 1951, além da legislação e discursos referentes às reformas educacionais. Houve a permanência de conteúdos de Botânica, Zoologia, Geologia e Mineralogia nos programas do ensino secundário de História Natural desse período. No programa de Biologia de 1943, permaneceram conteúdos botânicos e zoológicos e foram excluídos os geológicos e mineralógicos. A disciplina escolar Biologia emergiu nos anos 1930 e foi substituída pela História Natural em 1946, mas conteúdos biológicos permaneceram nos programas de 1936 a 1951. Das “lições” e “pontos práticos” nos programas de 1920-30 às metodologias ativas e experimentais dos anos 1930-50, destaca-se a valorização dos fundamentos científicos e de conhecimentos especializados na história da disciplina escolar Biologia no Brasil.Natural History and Biology Education: educational reforms and secondary school programs (1920-1951)AbstractThis study has as its theme the Biology and Natural History Education, focusing on these school subjects’ history and on educational reforms in the 1920s and 1950s in Brazil. The objective was to investigate changes and continuities in the constitution of these school subjects. A documentary research was carried out, taking as sources educational programs, legislation and other texts. Official educational programs and those of Colégio Pedro II of the school subjects Natural History and Biology from the years 1920 to 1951 and the legislation and discourses related to educational reforms were analyzed. Botany, Zoology, Geology and Mineralogy contents remained in the secondary education programs of Natural History from 1920 to 1951. In the Biology program of 1943 remained botanical and zoological contents and geological and mineralogical ones were excluded. The Biology school subject emerged in the 1930s and was replaced by Natural History in 1946, but biological contents were present in the curriculum from 1936 to 1951. From the “lessons” and “practical points” in the 1920-30 programs to the active and experimental methodologies in the 1930s and 1950s, the emphasis on scientific foundations and specialization stands out in the history of science education in Brazil.Keywords: Biology and Natural History Education; School subject; Educational programs; Science Education History.

Definitional Skills as a Bridge towards School Achievement

The general aim of the current study was to investigate the role of definitional skills in promoting primary school achievement (third- to fifth graders) and how school learning may shape definitional skills. Marks from four school subjects, linguistic (Italian and English) and scientific (Math and Science) were collected as well as scores in a Definitional Task. These two domains were chosen as they clearly entail the two different definition types, that is, lexicographic and scientific. Results indicated that scientific school subject marks are more predictive of definitional skills than linguistic school marks are. The opposite direction (i.e., how definitional skills are predictive of school achievement) appears less clear. In sum, the results, although preliminary, suggest that definitional skills represent a bridge towards school achievement as they promote good marks in all disciplines. Moreover, definitional skills are predicted from levels of competence acquired especially in scientific school subjects that request a higher degree of formal/organized learning. It is then of primary importance to promote interaction–integration between these two kinds of concepts via formal schooling.

A Joint Assessment of Reasoning about General Statements in Mathematics and Biology

This contribution belongs to a larger empirical study that focuses on issues related to the implementation of inquiry-based learning and formative assessment in science and mathematics education, while it also refers to the issue of STEM education. Here, we discuss the two topics from the perspective of professional preparation of primary school teachers. We employ an educational tool called Concept Cartoons and perceive it as a common diagnostic tool for investigating modes of reasoning about general statements in arithmetic, geometry and biology. The presented qualitative exploratory empirical study maps and codes various kinds of reasoning that can be identified with the tool and investigates possibilities of a joint coding procedure. As a result, it provides a conversion table between various modes of reasoning in the three subject domains. The arisen code categories cover the field of generic examples, including the initial stages so that they can be used for scaffolding the process of learning the foundations of deductive reasoning. The joint approach to reasoning in mathematics and biology shows how argumentation and formative assessment can be understood equally and developed simultaneously in both school subjects. It helps us to see how the two school subjects can be integrated didactically.

Problems Arising in the Course of Teaching Younger Schoolchildren with Different Levels of Academic Achievement, and Ways to Solve Them

The article presents the results of a study carried out in the laboratory of primary general education of the Institute of Education Development Strategy of the Russian Academy of Education, to determine the reasons for the difficulties that appear in younger schoolchildren in the process of mastering the content of elementary school subjects. Typical general didactic problems arising in the professional activity of a teacher and provoking mistakes and difficulties of the student are discussed. The groups of primary school students with different levels of success in educational activities are characterized, recommendations are given to the teacher on the organization of individually differentiated work, taking into account the level of success of each student.

Students’ Perception of Secondary School Teachers’ Assessment with Specific Reference to the Subject of English

Using research investigating the effect of teacher assessment practices in secondary schooling in Croatia on student perceptions of fairness, this paper1 points out participating students’ perception of fairness of assessment, focusing on teacher assessment in three secondary school subjects, but particularly in the subject of English. The research overall included enquiry into the fairness of teacher assessment practices in three secondary school subjects. The implemented research was both of a quantitative and qualitative nature. The research design was intended to be both empirical, measuring students’ perception, and quasi-ethnographic, seeking to interpret these perceptions through understanding the context. Student questionnaires, involving a total of 330 students, teacher interviews, involving a total of 12 teachers, and analysis of teachers’ assessment documents were used to collect data that were then analysed within case studies. Each case study, totalling six in number, represented a teacher with two classes of students studying one of the chosen three subjects. Classes of secondary school students from two high schools studying the subjects of Biology, Croatian or English as a foreign language formed the sample groups. These students were asked to complete a questionnaire based on Likert response type items founded on the Student Perception of Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ) and open-ended questions based on a questionnaire developed at the Centre for Schooling and Learning Technologies (CSaLT). The SPAQ items were measured by five scales. The teachers of these students were interviewed and also provided documents that illustrate how they assessed students in these three subjects. The investigation uncovered variations in responses to teachers and subjects and differences in student response between classes of the same teacher which are possibly indicative, among other elements, of the role of teacher personality factors. This investigation revealed that from the three secondary school subjects researched, students’ perception of the secondary school subject of English achieved the most positive rating among the sample of students involved in the research.

Znajomość języka edukacji szkolnej jako warunek szkolnego sukcesu

The aim of the article is to draw attention to the necessity of creating conditions for linguistic development for students in all school subjects. The basis here is to define the language of schooling as a functional variety of language that is used in school contexts in communication between teachers and students, school textbooks and other educational materials. The article explains and illustrates with examples the basic features of the language of schooling that distinguish it from the language of communication. Support for targeted activities aimed at developing the linguistic competence of students in spoken and written form are also provided by the core curriculum for all subjects, as shown on the example of biology and physics as a school subject.

Schoolchildren about STEM professions: General and gender-specific representations

The persistent gender imbalance in the labor market - both in Russia and globally - is largely formed during the school years as the period of the development of professional preferences and human capital. The article presents the views of schoolchildren on various aspects of the STEM school subjects, including their common interests, attitudes to the STEM teaching, their role in choosing a career related to STEM, and the ideas of schoolchildren about jobs related to STEM. The authors refer to the Soviet experience of overcoming gender inequality in the labor market, in particular, by helping women to get the industrial and specialized technical education. The results of the search study show that for the majority of girls, especially those not engaged in special education projects focused on STEM, school profile lessons do not contribute to changing gender representations of professions. The authors argue that to change these gender representations we need classes focused not on the academic achievements but on the practical features of professions that are in demand in the labor market. Such an experience is necessary for it is impossible to choose the most promising career if you do not know about it or if you are convinced that you would not cope with a particular job. At the same time, the schoolchildren should understand that some of todays professions have very short future, for instance, due to the inevitable consequences of automation. The schoolchildrens positioning of all professions as gender-neutral can be used for a positive study of career-related challenges and for designing career-guidance activities as taking into account those aspects that are essential for girls and boys, even if at the moment they are perceived negatively.

KEY ASPECTS OF ASSESSMENT WITHIN AN INTEGRATED LESSON

The article deals with the assessment of school subjects in the framework of a multilingual learning environment. The authors analyze the features of assessing student performance in the context of subject-language integrated lessons, depending on their type. The importance of determining the purpose for which the assessment is carried out, as well as criteria for learning outcomes, communication skills is noted. Summative and formative types of assessment for integrated lessons are described, when the subject is assessed in a foreign language, samples of criteria are presented using the statements “can do”. The importance of feedback, building a dialogue with students about their successes and achievements, the need to teach students self-assessment is noted.