Transcript Learning science in Elementary school

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF SCIENCE TEACHING
EUROPEAN SUMMER SCHOOL FOR PRIMARY SCIENCE TRAINERS
ERICE, SICILY : 9 – 14 JULY 2005
Afonso, ERICE, 2005
Learning Science in Elementary School
The development of scientific concepts and the influence of everyday
knowledge when learning science
Margarida Afonso
[email protected]
Centre of Educational Research, University of Lisbon
College of Education of Castelo Branco
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Conceptual framework
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The Problems
In which way are the several aspects involved in the What and the
How
children
should
learn
Science
(programme,
textbooks
and
pedagogic practice of the teachers) interlinked and combined?
To what extent is it possible and advisable/desirable to raise the
level of conceptualisation and development of scientific concepts in the
learning of Science?
What and How should teacher training be so that it is possible to
raise the level of conceptualisation and development of scientific
concepts in the learning of Science?
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Theoretical Basis
Several authors maintain that high levels of scientific literacy involve,
amongst other aspects:
The understanding of concepts of a high level of abstraction;
The understanding of the inter-relations between the different types of
scientific knowledge and between them and non-scientific (common
sense) knowledge;
Understanding the true nature of scientific knowledge and the
difference between scientific knowledge and non-scientific knowledge
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Theoretical Basis
CONCEPTS
Scientific concepts are generalisations of some type of similarity found in
different objects or events that allow us to understand the order of the physical
and natural world that surrounds us. [...] Concepts of high level of abstraction are
related to a wide variety of different phenomena (Harlen & Jelly, 1993).
Learning concepts involves:
● Generalising knowledge and the contexts in which that knowledge is applied;
● Establishing relations between the different scientific knowledge that is being
broached,
differentiating
the
essential/more
relevant
aspects
from
the less
important/less relevant aspects.
SCIENTIFIC – NON SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE RELATIONS
Relations between scientific knowledge that is being broached and common
sense knowledge (for example: knowledge from the daily life of the students).
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Methodology – Instruments
Relation between discourses - Intra-disciplinary science relations – The Concepts…
Indicators
Independence/Isolation
between discourses
On the analysis
of the study
topics
The subjects already dealt with are
never
mentioned
in
the
study/discussion of new topics. The
inter-relations between different
topics are ignored
On the tasks or
activities to be
done
Situations that relate the different
topics are never predicted
It is difficult
to develop
concepts
Dependence/Relation
between discourses
The topics already dealt with are
always the starting point for
broaching new subjects.
The tasks/activities always relate
several topics.
It is easy to
develop
concepts
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Methodology – Instruments
Relation between discourses – Scientific/Non-Scientific knowledge
Indicators
Independence/Isolation
between discourses
Dependence/Relation
between discourses
On the
analysis of the
study topics
Exclusively scientific knowledge is
broached. The relationship between
the two types is ignored
Non-academic knowledge
constantly
inter-related
academic knowledge
On the tasks or
activities to be
done
Situations that relate academic to
non-academic knowledge are not
foreseen
The tasks/ activities always relate
the two types of knowledge
It is difficult to
develop
concepts
is
to
It is easy to
develop
concepts
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Global Presentation
Curriculum
Textbooks
Pedagogical Practice
Inter-relations between
knowledge
Concepts
(Scientific)
(Scientific/Non scientific - Common sense)
Learning/Scientific Development
of students
IMPLICATIONS IN TEACHER TRAINING
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Global Presentation – The Content
Curriculum
Textbooks
1. The living organisms of
their environment
2nd Year
Pedagogical Practice
2. The physical aspects of
the local environment
4th Year
3. Make experiments with
water
4. Make experiments with
air
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The curriculum
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The curriculum
1. The living organisms of their environment
2nd year
4th Year
A Observe and identify some of the more common plants that
exist in their immediate environment
•
recognise different environments where plants grow
•
know the parts that make up the more common plants
(root, stem, leaves, flowers and fruit)
•
record the variations in the appearance, during the year,
of a bush or a tree
•
observe and identify some of the more common animals
that exist in the immediate environment
•
collect information about the way of life of those animals
(what they eat, how they reproduce, how they move
about…)
B
What the weather is like (record the daily atmospheric
conditions)
1. recognise some of the
2. relate the seasons of the year to the characteristic weather
conditions
3. recognise the existence of air (make experiments)
4. recognise air in movement (wind, air currents …)
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The curriculum
2. The physical aspects of the local environment
4th Year
2nd Year
1. what the weather is like (record the
daily atmospheric conditions)
2. recognise some of the weather
conditions (rainy, hot, cold, windy…)
3. relate the seasons of the year to the
characteristic weather conditions
4. recognise the existence of air
(make experiments)
5. recognise air in movement (wind,
air currents …)
1.
Recognise
and
observe
phenomena:
- of condensation (clouds, fog,
dew)
- of solidification (snow, sleet,
frost)
- of precipitation (rain, snow,
sleet)
2. make experiments that represent
phenomena of:
- evaporation
- condensation
- solidification
- precipitation
3. understand that rain water
infiltrates the soil giving origin to
ground water
4.
recognise
springs
and
watercourses.
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The curriculum
3. Make experiments with water
2nd Year
4thYear
● Observe
the effects of the
temperature on water (ebullition,
evaporation, solidification, fusion
and condensation).
4. Make experiments with air
2nd Year
Recognise the existence of air (balloons,
syringes…)
● Recognise that air has weight (use balloons and
balls with air and empty)
● Experiment on the behaviour of objects in the
presence of hot air and cold air (light objects over
a heater, St. John balloons…).
4thYear
●
● Trough
experiments recognise
the existence of oxygen in the air
(combustion)
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Theoretical Basis
CONCEPTS
Scientific concepts are generalisations of some type of similarity found in
different objects or events that allow us to understand the order of the physical
and natural world that surrounds us. [...] Concepts of high level of abstraction are
related to a wide variety of different phenomena (Harlen & Jelly, 1993).
Learning concepts involves:
● Generalising knowledge and the contexts in which that knowledge is applied;
● Establishing relations between the different scientific knowledge that is being
broached,
differentiating
the
essential/more
relevant
aspects
from
the less
important/less relevant aspects.
SCIENTIFIC – NON SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE RELATIONS
Relations between scientific knowledge that is being broached and common
sense knowledge (for example: knowledge from the daily life of the students).
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Synthesis - Curriculum
CONCEPTS
Where are the generalisations?
Where are the relations among concepts of high level of abstraction?
Where are the differentiation between the essential/more relevant aspects
from the less important/less relevant aspects.
SCIENTIFIC – NON SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE RELATIONS
Where are the relations between scientific knowledge and common sense
knowledge?
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The Textbooks
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Textbooks (Bambi, 2) – Living things in the environment (plants)
● I talk about the figures (parts that make up the plant – root and stem)
● I carefully pull up a small plant. I look at the root and the stem.
● I read and write yes or no. I complete the sentences with root or stem.
● I write the names of roots and stems that we use for food (coloured bars).
The root and the stem
● Was the root outside the soil? □
● Does the plant pulled up have a root? □
I hold the plant to the soil.
It is through me that the plant gets food.
I am the ______ .
carrots
FACTS
radish
turnips
● Is the stem of the pulled up plant thick? □
● Do all stems have the same height? □
I am the foot of the plant.
It is through me that food passes.
potatoes
I am the ______ .
asparagus
beets
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Textbooks (Bambi, 2) – Living things in the environment (plants)
● I talk about the figures (parts that make up the plant – leaves and flowers)
● I look at different leaves and flowers.
● I read and write yes or no. I complete the sentences with leaves or flower.
● I write the names of roots and stems that we use for food (coloured bars).
The plant breathes through us.
We are the ___ .
Leaves and flowers
● Are the leaves of the plants all of the same size?
● Do they all have the same shape?
● Is each leaf the same on both sides?
FACTS
lettuce
Garden cabbage
Spring cabbage
The fruit grows from me.
● Do all flowers have the same colour?
I am the ___ .
● Do they all have the same shape?
● Do all flowers smell good?
● Are they all the same size?
artichoke
cauliflower
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Textbooks (Bambi, 2) – Living things in the environment (animals)
I am the _________ .
I live on ______________.
My body is covered with___.
I have _______________.
I walk________________.
I was born from ________.
How does it
● bytravel?
walking
● by flying
What does it
eat?
● Meat
How does it reproduce
itself?
● It is born
from the
● by swimming
● Vegetables
mother
● by jumping
● Grain
● It is hatched
● by running
● Other food
● I read. I write the name of an animal with the characteristics described. ● I draw that animal.
SOME CONCEPTS
I am the _________ .
I live on land.
My body is covered with fur.
I have claws.
I love fish.
I walk.
?
I was born from the mother.
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Textbooks
(Bambi, 2)
- The weather that makes
What I am going to learn
● The figure shows some weather features that can be observed throughout the year. Which
are the seasons of the year? What are the names of the months in which each season starts
and ends? What temperature is shown in the thermometer for each of the seasons? Which is
the hottest season? What does the child do at that time? There are two seasons in the year
with milder temperatures. Which are they? Which season is more rainy and more windy?
What does the tree look like in each season of the year? In winter the tree is more bent.
What makes it move? In autumn the swallows leave for other countries. Why?
FACTS
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Textbooks
(Bambi, 2)
– About Weather
● I talk about the figures (different atmospheric conditions).
SUN
RAIN
WIND
SNOW
HAZE
THUNDER
CLOUDY
● I read. According to what the sentences say, I draw what the weather is like.
It’s spring! There are flowers in the fields and on the trees. The birds are constantly
chirping. The temperature is mild. The sky is blue and the sun shines and warms the earth.
FACTS
Summer has arrived. It’s hot! Warmed by the sun, the sand on the beach burns. All along
the beach, coloured sunshades look like an oasis in the middle of the desert!...
The weather starts to get colder. It’s autumn! The yellowed leaves fall and whirl about blown
by the wind. There are clouds hiding the sun. The swallows leave for hotter countries.
It’s cold. Winter is here. There is snow on the mountain. The wind blows and it doesn’t stop
raining. The trees are bare. The animals take shelter in the burrows.
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Textbooks
(Bambi, 2)
– About the weather and seasons of the year
● I talk about the figures (the characteristic weather for each season of the year).
● I caption the figures with the respective sentences (coloured bars)
The weather changes throughout the year
SPRING
SUMMER
●_________________
__________________
AUTUMN
Concepts of
Seasons/Weather?
●_________________
__________________
WINTER
●_________________
__________________
●_________________
__________________
● In Spring, the days start to get
warmer. There are more sunny days.
● The days are hotter in summer. There
is little rain.
● In Autumn, the weather starts to get
colder. There are still many sunny days.
● It’s cold in Winter. It rains, there is
wind and sometimes it snows.
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Textbooks
(Bambi, 4)
– About Water
I observe and investigate
Water is an abundant liquid in Nature. It does not always have the same appearance.
The heat from the sun
warms the waters of the
sea, the river, the lake…
Because of the heat, the
water evaporates, that is, it
is transformed into vapour.
When the air gets very
cold, the water in the
clouds solidifies, becoming
solid water and falls as
snow or sleet.
The water vapour
rises, cools and is
transformed into little
drops of water that
make up the clouds.
When
the
clouds
become heavier the
little drops fall as rain.
The heat of the sun
melted the snow and
the water became
liquid again.
The water fell from the clouds and returned to the
earth. Part of that water infiltrated the soil. When it
finds impermeable rock, it forms ground water.
The water flows under the earth. When it finds a
way out, it forms a spring which may sustain
different courses of water - rivers, streams …
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Textbooks (Bambi, 4) - Experiments (fusion, solidification, dilation)
I observe and experiment
1
- The wax is
melting! It’s
because of
the heat!...
3
2
4
- How pretty! The
wax cooled and
became solid
again!
- That was easy!
The heat expanded
the lid which
became larger!
Concept of
Changes of matter?
● Why did the wax become liquid?
- If you want the
lid to come out,
heat it a little. But
don’t burn
yourself!
● The drops of wax that fell from the candle became solid again. Why?
Scientific
Non-Scientific relations?
● What is the girl doing? What advice did her friend give her? After being heated, the lid
came out easily. Why?
I read and learn
When the temperature varies, some substances change state.
When heated, the wax changed from solid to liquid. This change of state is called fusion.
When the wax cooled, it changed from liquid to solid. This change of state is called solidification.
When the jar lid was heated, it increased in volume, it dilated. The increase in volume of a body is
called, dilation.
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Textbooks (Bambi, 4) – Temperature effects in water
I observe and experiment
A
B
F
E
Some Conceptualization of
Changes of matter
C
D
Scientific
Non-Scientific relations?
● What is the girl in figure A doing? In which state is the water in the container she is going to put in the
freezer?
● What is the same girl doing in figure B? What happened to the liquid water of figure A? Why?
● In figure C, the ice has almost melted. Has the temperature increased or decreased?
● In figure D, the water is boiling. What makes the water boil?
● What do you see in figure E? What is the vapour coming from the pyrex dish made up of?
● What happened to the water vapour when it found the lid? Why?
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Textbooks (Bambi, 4) – Experiments – about physical water changes
♦ I make experiments similar to those presented
● What is the boy doing?
● What happened?
Concept of
Changes of matter?
●The clothes were wet. Now they are dry.
● What happened?
● What is the boy doing?
● The extractor is off.
● What happened to the water?
● Why are drops of water falling from the
extractor fan?
♦ I complete with the words from the coloured bar.
Figure A – The water disappeared. The water evaporated.
Scientific
Non-Scientific relations?
evaporation
A ______________ phenomenon occurred.
Figure B – The water vapour became liquid water. It found a cold surface and condensed.
condensation
A ______________ phenomenon occurred.
Figure C – The water changed into ice cubes. The water solidified.
A ______________ phenomenon occurred.
solidification
Figure D –Drops of water fall from the extractor. It seems to be raining. A lot of water
vapour gathered in the extractor. The heavy drops start to fall.
A _______________phenomenon occurred.
precipitation
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Textbooks (Bambi, 4) – Experiments – (solid, liquid and gaseous matter)
Experiments – Gaseous matters
I get a balloon and a syringe.
1
2
3
I insert the syringe in the balloon.
4
I press the plunger for the air to pass
from the syringe to the balloon.
I fill the syringe with air.
♦ I indicate the correct answers.
Concepts of
State of matter
Solid, Liquid, Gas?
● Does the air inside the balloon maintain the same form as inside the syringe? Yes □ No □
● Does the air inside the balloon occupy the same space as inside the syringe? Yes □ No □
♦ I conclude and complete.
● Gas bodies do not have the same ____ . Their form is variable. In the syringe it had the form
of the ____ , in the balloon it took the form of the ____ .
● The air in the syringe occupied less space than in the ___ .
● Gas matters also do not maintain the same volume.
♦ I indicate in the table as in the example.
Rock
Solid
Pencil
Gas
Water
Air
Oil
Glass
Milk
X
Liquid
Gas
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Textbooks (Bambi, 4) – Experiments with the air (the oxygen)
I observe and experiment
● I light up a candle.
● I let some drops of wax fall onto a plate.
● I place the candle on the
drops of wax and leave it lit up.
Concept of
Combustion?
● I put a glass over the candle.
● Does the candle continue to burn?
● I observe what happened to the candle.
♦ I conclude and complete.
● In figures A, B and C the candle burns, forming a flame that releases heat. A combustion is
happening.
● In figure C the candle continues to burn, even inside the glass. In figure D the candle went out.
● What was inside the glass in figure C that ceased to exist inside the glass in figure D?
For the candle to burn, the presence of oxygen, which is a gas that is in the air, is necessary. The
candle went out because, while it burned, it used up all the ___________that was inside the glass.
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Textbooks (Retintim, 2) – About Plants
A whole plant consists of: root, stem, leaves, flowers and fruit.
Autumn
The FRUIT keeps and protects the seeds
that will give origin to a new plant.
The FLOWERS will transform into fruit
Winter
The LEAVES allow the plant to breathe
Spring
The STEM supports the plant and takes
the food (sap) to all its parts
Summer
The ROOT fixes the plant to the soil and
feeds it by absorbing water and mineral
salts from the soil.
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Textbooks
WHAT THEY EAT
(Retintim, 2)
– Styles of life of some animals
HOW THEY REPRODUCE
The CAT eats meat. Animals that
eat meat are called carnivorous.
The HEN reproduces by means of
eggs. All birds reproduce by
means of eggs that they hatch in
their nests.
Fish move in water by
swimming. Therefore, they
have fins.
The great majority of BIRDS
move in the air by flying.
Therefore, they have wings.
The COW eats grass. Animals that
eat grass are called herbivorous.
The HEN eats grain. Animals that
eat grain are called granivorous.
HOW THEY MOVE ABOUT
The CAT develops inside the
womb of the mother. Many of the
animals that live on the Earth are
formed in the womb of the
mothers. They develop there for a
period of 3 months until they are
born.
The HORSE moves about by
placing its four hooves on the
ground. That is how many of the
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Textbooks
(Retintim, 2)
– About the weather and seasons of the year
The weather changes throughout the seasons of the year
Spring is the season of flowers. The
birds make their nests. The swallows
return. The temperature is pleasant.
The seeds that were sown start to sprout.
Autumn is the season when it starts to
get cold and the first rains fall. The leaves
of many plants change colour and fall.
The swallows go to other warmer lands.
Summer is the season of fruits. It is
very hot and people go to the beaches.
The days are longer and the nights
shorter.
Winter is the rainy and cold season.
Nothing grows in the fields. Everything
seems dead. The Sun rises late and
sets early. The days are shorter and
the nights longer. Sometimes it snows.
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Textbooks (Retintim, 2) - The existence of air (experiments)
There is air everywhere.
But it cannot be seen.
The birds fly in the air;
the clouds float in the air.
We breathe air. The
plants breathe air. The
balloons are full of air.
The ball is full of air. Like
that, it is hard and bounces.
1. Dip a glass funnel in water while at the same time covering the opening at the end
of the tube with a finger.
The water will not go in the funnel because it is full of a substance that prevents the entry of water.
2. Remove the finger leaving the opening free.
You will see bubbles of a gas bursting on the surface of the water as it enters the funnel
3. Finally, the funnel will be full of water as soon as all the gas has left it. That gas is
the air that you breathe.
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Textbooks (Retintim, 2) – Evaluation context
Does the water enter the glass?
________________________
-Dip, bottom up, a glass that seems empty. Keep the glass straight. (Fig. A).
Tilt the glass a little (Fig. B).
What do you see coming out of the glass?
________________________
What are those bubbles made up of?
________________________
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Textbooks (Retintim, 2) – Experiments with air
Later…
In figure A the syringe is full of air.
Cover the opening of the
syringe with a (figure B) and
put pressure on the plunger.
It will only go down a little.
The air that is compressed
inside the syringe (figure B)
does not let the plunger go
in.
The girl is blowing
up the balloon.
Therefore, it is full of air.
A
B
Inter-relations?
Balance the scales
with the empty ball.
Fill the ball with air and check if the
needle tips to the left.
That is because the air has weight.
I am going to
throw a balloon.
The balloon rises because the hot air is
lighter than the cold air.
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Textbooks (Retintim, 4) – Experiments (Discovering materials and objects )
Effects of temperature on water (evaporation, ebullition, condensation, solidification, fusion)
Observe and carry out the experiments suggested.
The heat of the sun causes the slow
vaporisation of the water in the clothes hanging
in the open air from the clotheslines.
The heat from the flame causes the water
to heat up and the formation of air bubbles.
That is, the water starts to boil and
vaporises quickly and noisily.
Concept of
Changes of matter?
The slow and spontaneous vaporisation of
water is called evaporation.
The quick and noisy vaporisation of water
is called ebullition.
COLD
When the water vapour
found the cold surface of the
glass, it changed from the
gas state to the liquid state.
The cooling caused the
condensation of the water
vapour.
Upon contact with the ice cubes,
the water in the jar froze and
solidified.
When exposed to the heat of
the Sun, the ice cube melted
or became liquid.
The
cooling
caused
solidification of the water.
We call it fusion when water
changes from the solid state
to the liquid state.
the
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Textbook (Retintim, 4) – Evaluation context
1-
Place a piece of glass over a tub with
boiling water and observe what happens.
a)
What happens to the water vapour when it
comes in contact with the cold glass?
___________________________
b) What do you call this phenomenon?
___________________________
Condensation is when water
vapour changes to the liquid state.
c) What do you understand by condensation?
Facts
__________________________
2-
Place a cuvette with water in the freezer of
a fridge. Remove it a few hours later.
In the fridge, the water freezes,
that is, it changes from the liquid
state to the solid state.
a) What state has the water changed to?
___________________________
b) What phenomenon occurred here?
___________________________
c) What do you understand by freezing?
___________________________
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Textbook (Retintim, 4) – Experiments with air (existence of oxygen in the air – combustion)
The air
The Earth is surrounded by a gas layer called atmosphere which consists of air. Air cannot be seen,
but it exists. When you breathe, you introduce air into your organism. When you run, you feel the air
on your face…
Observe and carry out the experiments suggested.
B
A
Dip a glass funnel in water, as
shown in the picture. The water
does not enter the funnel.
Remove the finger from the
funnel. What happened?
The air bubbles burst on the
surface of the water.
Some
Concepts
C
As soon as the air bubbles
leave the funnel, it fills up
with water.
Conclusion: Air exists and it occupies space.
A
Place an empty football
on a scale and balance it.
A
Conclusion: Air has weight.
B
B
Fill the ball up with air and place
it again on the scales. The
scales became unbalanced.
C
Light the wick of the
After some time, the flame
Cover the lamp with a bell jar.
alcohol lamp and leave it.
from the lamp will go out.
The flame keeps burning.
ERICE, 2005
Conclusion: There is a gas in the air, called oxygen, that feeds theAfonso,
combustion.
38
Results - Concepts – syntheses at the end…
TEXTBOOK – 2nd year
“DISCOVERING THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT”
In a few words:
● The weather conditions may be rainy, windy, hot, cold…
● The seasons of the year are four: spring, summer, autumn,
winter.
● Each season has its own characteristics. In spring, the weather
is pleasant; in summer, it is very hot; in autumn, the first rains fall;
in winter it is very cold.
● We are surrounded by air, but cannot see it. Wind and air
Temperature?
currents are air in movement.
Light?
Without Wind?
Without rain?
Temperature
Temperature
Water
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Synthesis - Texbooks
CONCEPTS
Where are the generalisations?
Where are the relations among concepts of high level of abstraction?
Where are the differentiation between the essential/more relevant aspects
from the less important/less relevant aspects.
SCIENTIFIC – NON SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE RELATIONS
Where are the relations between scientific knowledge and common sense
knowledge?
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The Teacher
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The teacher - Concepts
Teacher /Miss Inácia
Teacher/Miss Céu
The students and teacher are analysing the
There is talk about the consumption of
result of the latest experiments involving the
oxygen during combustion. Gina mentions
changes in the state of substances and
that in cars that are running there is also
following
combustion...
conclusion. During the dialogue, they recall the
The students start to say “that it is
experiments they made, the results obtained,
essential for us to breathe”, “without
the concepts of the different changes of state
oxygen there is no life”.
are introduced, they recall the initial and final
that
they
start
to
make
their
during
states of the substances and if changes
combustion continues to be analysed
occurred by heating or cooling. The teacher
without
gaseous
uses some of the comments made by the
organisms
students to recall again the aspects already
involving oxygen and carbon dioxide [A
analysed “how did you explain that?”, “does
subject already studied previously].
the group want to explain better?”. In the end
The
consumption
exchange
of
reference
in
many
oxygen
to
the
living
Without inter-relations between different scientific
knowledge
It is difficult to develop concepts
they draw up a summary-diagram and write the
information in their exercise-book.
With inter-relations between different scientific knowledge
ERICE, 2005
It is easy to developAfonso,
concepts
42
The teacher – Scientific-Non-Scientific Knowledge
Teacher /Miss Inácia
Teacher/Miss Céu
The students are studying the changes of state of water.
The students frequently use
expressions
like
“melted”,
“froze”, “disappeared”. The
teacher
does
not
clarify
which changes of state these
expressions contain.
When he/she introduces the
names of the changes of
state, he/she starts using
them without explaining the
relationship
with
those
expressions.
When they discuss the results in the group, they employ
expressions like “cold”, “melted”, froze”, and the teacher
explains what they mean in scientific terms.
In one group:
- What do you want to say with “cold”, “it was cold”. What do
you mean?…and “froze”? - the teacher asks.
In another group:
- The sealing-was bar melted - the student informs
- Melted?! What is that “melted”?-the teacher asks.
- It is dissolving – says the student.
- It is dissolving, what is that, André?...We spoke of the
phases [of matter], so which one is that? - the teacher starts
to explain. The discussion continues until it is clear that
Without inter-relations between scientificnon-scientific knowledge
It is difficult to develop
concepts
when the sealing-wax bar is heated it changes to the liquid
state and when it cools it changes to the solid state again.
With inter-relations between scientific-non-scientific knowledge
Afonso, ERICE, 2005
It is easy to develop concepts
43
Synthesis - Teachers
CONCEPTS
Some teachers:
● make generalisations
● develop relations among concepts of high level of abstraction
● make differentiation between the essential/more relevant aspects from the
less important/less relevant aspects.
SCIENTIFIC – NON SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE RELATIONS
Some teachers:
● develop relations between scientific knowledge and common sense
knowledge
Afonso, ERICE, 2005
44
Global conclusions, Reflection and
implications in Teacher Training
Afonso, ERICE, 2005
45
Global Conclusions and Reflection
There is a discrepancy between what the programme defends,
the textbooks suggest and the teachers implement.
There is a discrepancy between what the programme, the textbooks
and the teachers develop and what the educational researchers
defend for scientific learning of high level.
The discrepancies pointed out have implications, not always
desirable, in the children’s level of scientific knowledge.
Afonso, ERICE, 2005
46
Global Conclusions and Reflection
The difficulties in establishing relationships between the different
types of knowledge may be related to three aspects :
● the general principle of our society, that “things” should be kept separate.
● the lack of scientific skills and/or pedagogical skills necessary to
establish relationships between different types of knowledge.
● the very concept of inter-relation. At times, teachers thought that it was
enough “to talk about certain subjects” for concepts to be developed and
relationships established between academic and non-academic knowledge.
Afonso, ERICE, 2005
47
General Implications – The Students’ Learning
● Scientific learning made by the students:
The learning. of not so important aspects at the expense of the understanding
of relevant aspects
There are low levels of scientific development.
Learning is fragmented, factual, restricted instead of coherent, conceptual
and broad learning.
It is more difficult to change the children’s concepts; when common sense
knowledge is not interpreted or explored based on scientific knowledge, it tends
to remain in a more resistant form.
Can we say that there is development of scientific literacy in the students?
Afonso, ERICE, 2005
48
General Implications in Teacher Training
Teacher training should correct the difficulties in the
teachers’ performance so as to permit broad scientific
concepts
to
develop
if
we
are
to
implement
pedagogical practices with certain characteristics.
Afonso, ERICE, 2005
49
Afonso, ERICE, 2005
50