This study is a two part research project that describes and evaluates the efforts of the researcher to bring change in Cyprus' educational system, in the field of simple electric circuits. The objective of the first part was the assessment and evaluation of Cypriot STVE students' perceptions about simple electric circuits. The objective of the second part was to measure the effectiveness that conceptual change model-based instructional activities designed by the researcher had on changing students' misconceptions about simple electric circuits towards scientifically accepted ideas. Transformative mixed methods research design was used consisting mainly from an one-group pre-test post-test design with Determining and Interpreting Resistive Electric Circuits Concepts Test 1.2 as a research instrument, while interviews and field notes were used for triangulation. The findings showed that there was a significant improvement in students' understanding of simple electric circuit concepts that were taught using conceptual change model-based instructional activities. / Science and Technology Education / M. Sc. (Mathematics, Science and Technology Education)

The aim of this study is to ascertain what misconceptions N2 students have about DC resistive circuits and how screencasts could effect on the rectification of these misconceptions. This study was conducted at the Kathu Campus of the Northern Cape Rural Further Education and Training College in the town Kathu in the arid Northern Cape. The empirical part of this study was conducted during the first six months of 2013. A design-based research (DBR) method consisting of four phases was used. DBR function is to design and develop interventions such as a procedure, new teachinglearning strategies, and in the case of this study a technology-enhanced learning (TEL) tool (screencast) with the purpose of solving a versatile didactic problem and to acquire information about the interventions of the TEL tool (screencast) on the learning of a student. In the first and second phase of DBR quantitative data for this research were gathered with the Determining and Interpreting Resistive Electric circuits Concepts Test (DIRECT) in order to determine the four most common misconceptions. The DIRECT test was conducted in the first trimester to find the misconceptions; the test was conducted in the second trimester also to confirm the misconceptions. Further quantitative data were collected from a demographic questionnaire. The qualitative data were collected by individual interviews in the fourth phase of the research project. Phase three of this study was the development of screencasts in the four most prominent misconceptions in DC resistive circuits of the students. The respondents of this study were non-randomly chosen and comprised of two groups, one in the first trimester of the year and one in the second trimester of the year, which enrolled for the N2 Electrical or Millwright courses. The respondents were predominant male and representing the three main cultural groups in the Northern Cape namely: Black, Coloured and White. The four misconceptions on DC resistive circuits that were identified were: (i) understanding of concepts, (ii) understanding of short circuit, (iii) battery as a constant current source, and (iv) rule application error. Screencasts clarifying the four misconceptions were developed and distributed to the respondents. On the foundation of the results of this research, it can be concluded that the students have several misconceptions around direct current resistive direct current circuits and that the use of TEL like screencasts can be used to solve some of these misconceptions. Screencasts could supplement education when they were incorporated into the tutoring and learning for supporting student understanding. The results of this research could lead to the further development and refinement of screencasts on DC resistive circuits and also useable guidelines in creating innovative screencasts on DC resistive circuits. / MEd (Curriculum Development), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The aim of this study is to ascertain what misconceptions N2 students have about DC resistive circuits and how screencasts could effect on the rectification of these misconceptions. This study was conducted at the Kathu Campus of the Northern Cape Rural Further Education and Training College in the town Kathu in the arid Northern Cape. The empirical part of this study was conducted during the first six months of 2013. A design-based research (DBR) method consisting of four phases was used. DBR function is to design and develop interventions such as a procedure, new teachinglearning strategies, and in the case of this study a technology-enhanced learning (TEL) tool (screencast) with the purpose of solving a versatile didactic problem and to acquire information about the interventions of the TEL tool (screencast) on the learning of a student. In the first and second phase of DBR quantitative data for this research were gathered with the Determining and Interpreting Resistive Electric circuits Concepts Test (DIRECT) in order to determine the four most common misconceptions. The DIRECT test was conducted in the first trimester to find the misconceptions; the test was conducted in the second trimester also to confirm the misconceptions. Further quantitative data were collected from a demographic questionnaire. The qualitative data were collected by individual interviews in the fourth phase of the research project. Phase three of this study was the development of screencasts in the four most prominent misconceptions in DC resistive circuits of the students. The respondents of this study were non-randomly chosen and comprised of two groups, one in the first trimester of the year and one in the second trimester of the year, which enrolled for the N2 Electrical or Millwright courses. The respondents were predominant male and representing the three main cultural groups in the Northern Cape namely: Black, Coloured and White. The four misconceptions on DC resistive circuits that were identified were: (i) understanding of concepts, (ii) understanding of short circuit, (iii) battery as a constant current source, and (iv) rule application error. Screencasts clarifying the four misconceptions were developed and distributed to the respondents. On the foundation of the results of this research, it can be concluded that the students have several misconceptions around direct current resistive direct current circuits and that the use of TEL like screencasts can be used to solve some of these misconceptions. Screencasts could supplement education when they were incorporated into the tutoring and learning for supporting student understanding. The results of this research could lead to the further development and refinement of screencasts on DC resistive circuits and also useable guidelines in creating innovative screencasts on DC resistive circuits. / MEd (Curriculum Development), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:54:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MariaLQM_DISSERT.pdf: 3983239 bytes, checksum: a66a02095a5da5b98abfbe02d2096424 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-02-07 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / Water is considered an essential right to life, besides being a determinant of economic development and social welfare, represented by both the quantity available, and the quality. In semi-arid Northeast, droughts occurring on a regular basis combined with human activities, aggravate the situation regarding the conservation of water resources in this area. To alleviate this condition is common to construction of artificial reservoirs, such as reservoirs and dams. As in natural aquatic environments, these reservoirs are potential sites for the proliferation, growth and development of diverse biological communities, whether of animals, plants and microorganisms. Research on the composition and ecology of these communities, especially microbial, are still restricted. One of the least studied groups in these environments are free-living protozoa, which over time have been neglected and after discoveries about its various functions in the aquatic ecosystem are beginning to receive more attention from scholars. They are, in quantitative terms, the most important consumers of microorganisms (mainly bacteria and algae) in aquatic environments, and therefore control the abundance of these. They may therefore influence the structure of the aquatic food chain in terms of species composition, abundance, biomass and biodiversity. Despite the recognition of the importance of protozoa in the final of the trophic transfer in aquatic environments, there are few data and, in general, are still precarious knowledge of them. Given the importance of protozoa in aquatic environments and the paucity of research on this group, especially in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, the present study aimed at identifying the genus and species of free-living protozoa that are present in the Armando Ribeiro Gon?alves Dam as well as to relate the occurrence and dynamics of the trophic conditions in the environment in which they are inserted, in order to support the hypothesis that species that are in these environments can serve to indicate the water quality. We observed the presence of 65 taxa of free-living protozoa, of which 29 were identified at the species level. There was a similarity space in taxonomic composition of protozoa, suggesting a possible regulation of this type of community for limnological variables other than those studied in this work (chlorophyll a, pH, temperature). Although it was aimed to analyze the conceptions of teachers and students from nearby towns Dam Armando Ribeiro Gon?alves, on issues relating to water quality and the role of protozoa. For this, we applied questionnaires with teachers and pupils of public schools of San Rafael and Itaj?. It was concluded that teachers and students recognize the multi-dam Armando Ribeiro Gon?alves, although unaware of important aspects of the dynamics and ecology of this environment. Conceptions of teachers and students are matched at various times, especially with regard to waterborne diseases. In an attempt to identify possible misconceptions about the knowledge of the protozoa, assuming that these organisms have neglected their ecological role, and are seen as only, disease, a study was done with teachers and students, following a particular methodology that allowed look so clear and precise results. It was clear that knowledge about the free-living protozoa is still quite limited. The alternative conceptions that were found show a direct relation of protozoans and diseases. From the data obtained by these studies, we planned a series of science communication activities, environmental education and health education in schools close to study environments in order to promote a didactic transposition of accumulated knowledge about these organisms, favoring continuing education of teachers and the increase of information to the local community through the knowledge of biodiversity and ecology of these organisms. Moreover, the results found in this study and reflections on it that led to propose the elaboration of a book Readers with an emphasis on the group of freeliving protozoa in the populations for use in public schools in the region where it was developed the semiarid work / A ?gua ? considerada um bem imprescind?vel ? vida, al?m de ser um fator condicionante do desenvolvimento econ?mico e do bem-estar social, representado tanto pela quantidade dispon?vel, como pela qualidade. No semi?rido nordestino, as secas que ocorrem de forma peri?dica aliada a atividades antr?picas, agravam a situa??o da conserva??o dos recursos h?dricos nessa localidade. Para amenizar essa condi??o ? comum a constru??o de reservat?rios artificiais, como a?udes e barragens. Assim como nos ambientes aqu?ticos naturais, estes reservat?rios s?o locais prop?cios para a prolifera??o, crescimento e desenvolvimento de diversas comunidades biol?gicas, seja de animais, vegetais e de microrganismos. As pesquisas sobre a composi??o e ecologia dessas comunidades, sobretudo as microbianas, ainda s?o restritas. Um dos grupos menos estudados nesses ambientes s?o os protozo?rios de vida livre, que ao longo do tempo foram negligenciados e depois de descobertas sobre suas variadas fun??es no ecossistema aqu?tico come?am a receber mais aten??o por parte dos estudiosos. Eles s?o, em termos quantitativos, os mais importantes consumidores de microrganismos (principalmente algas e bact?rias) nos ambientes aqu?ticos, e, por isso controlam a abund?ncia destes. Eles influenciam, portanto, a estrutura da cadeia alimentar aqu?tica em termos de composi??o de esp?cies, abund?ncia, biomassa e biodiversidade. Apesar do reconhecimento da import?ncia dos protozo?rios no balan?o final das transfer?ncias tr?ficas em ambientes aqu?ticos, existem poucos dados e, de um modo geral, s?o, ainda, prec?rios os conhecimentos sobre eles. Tendo em vista a import?ncia dos protozo?rios em ambientes aqu?ticos e a escassez de pesquisas relacionadas a este grupo, sobretudo no Estado do Rio Grande do Norte, o presente estudo teve - como objetivo identificar os g?neros e esp?cies de protozo?rios de vida livre que est?o presentes na Barragem Armando Ribeiro Gon?alves, bem como relacionar a ocorr?ncia e a din?mica destes com as condi??es tr?ficas do ambiente no qual est?o inseridos, com o intuito de corroborar a hip?tese de que as esp?cies que est?o nesses ambientes podem servir para indicar a qualidade da ?gua. Registrou-se a presen?a de 65 t?xons de protozo?rios de vida livre, dos quais 29 foram identificados em n?vel de esp?cie. Observou-se uma similaridade espacial na composi??o taxon?mica dos protozo?rios, sugerindo-se uma poss?vel regula??o desse tipo de comunidade por outras vari?veis limnol?gicas diferentes daquelas estudadas nesse trabalho (clorofila-a, pH, temperatura). Ainda objetivou-se analisar as concep??es de professores e alunos, das cidades pr?ximas da Barragem Armando Ribeiro Gon?alves, sobre as tem?ticas relativas ? qualidade de ?gua e do papel dos protozo?rios. Para isso, foi aplicado question?rios com professores e alunos de escolas estaduais de S?o Rafael e Itaj?. Concluiu-se que os professores e alunos reconhecem as m?ltiplas funcionalidades da Barragem Armando Ribeiro Gon?alves, apesar de desconhecerem aspectos importantes da din?mica e ecologia desse ambiente. As concep??es de professores e alunos se igualaram em v?rios momentos, principalmente no tocante ?s doen?as de veicula??o h?drica. Na tentativa de identificar poss?veis concep??es alternativas sobre o conhecimento dos protozo?rios, partindo da hip?tese que esses organismos t?m seu papel ecol?gico negligenciado, e s?o vistos como, somente, transmissores de doen?as, foi feito um estudo com professores e alunos, seguindo determinada metodologia que permitiu analisar de forma clara e precisa os resultados. Ficou claro que o conhecimento sobre os protozo?rios de vida livre ?, ainda, bastante limitado. As concep??es alternativas que foram evidenciadas mostram uma rela??o direta de protozo?rios e doen?as. A partir dos dados obtidos por todos esses estudos, planejou-se uma s?rie de atividades de divulga??o cient?fica, educa??o ambiental e educa??o em sa?de nas escolas pr?ximas aos ambientes de estudo com o intuito de promover uma transposi??o did?tica do conhecimento acumulado sobre esses organismos, favorecendo a forma??o continuada de professores e o incremento de informa??es ? comunidade local por meio do conhecimento da biodiversidade e ecologia desses organismos. Al?m disso, os resultados encontrados neste estudo e as reflex?es feitas sobre ele levaram a que se propusesse a elabora??o de um livro paradid?tico com ?nfase sobre o grupo dos protozo?rios de vida livre para uso junto ?s popula??es de escolas p?blicas da regi?o semi?rida onde foi desenvolvido o trabalho

This diploma thesis deals with the analysis of knowledge and ideas of pupils how they understand human organ systems. Knowledge is verified based on spontaneous production of children's drawings using a thematic didactic test. The thesis uses cross-sectional research involving a total of 118 pupils from the first to the fifth class of the primary school. For the research project, pupils were given a blank piece A4 sized paper and were asked to draw the organ systems in their body. Research tables have been created from a set of drawings and common characters. The results of the research show level of understanding of human organ systems in individual classes.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:55:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 WellingtonSLJ_DISSERT.pdf: 3368256 bytes, checksum: e1e3e514061bb4417f8c184646d513ee (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-03-07 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / The vast hidric wealth of Brazil gets its watersheds more susceptible to impacts that compromise the water quality, affecting the ecosystem stability of aquatic environments. The decrease in the quality of water resources also results in a decrease of its multiple uses, especially in tourist areas of the coast, where the continuous flow of people to these sites increases even further the probability of inappropriate behavior of both tourists and local residents. Studies regarding the microbiological communities are still scarce, especially on the free-living protozoa that play unique roles in the food chain of aquatic ecosystems. Due to the large role played by this group of microorganisms in aquatic environments, the present study aimed at identifying the genus and species of free-living protozoa present in two sections of the Pium River, east coast of Rio Grande do Norte, making an association between the its occurrence and trophic conditions of the environment in which they are, also checking the bioindicator capacity of these organisms in water quality. It also aimed to conduct a survey with students to identify the main difficulties regarding the knowledge of free-living protozoa and hydric transmission diseases in two public schools near the river studied in the Pium district, county of Parnamirim. The survey was analyzed by means of questionnaires at both schools. Students identified several activities developed Pium river, highlighting its multifunctionality and importance to the region. A total of 76 taxa of free-living protozoa was recorded, of these, 33 were ciliates, 19 flagellates and 24 sarcodia. The spatial and temporal patterns of these organisms to both points studied revealed the bioindicator potentiality of some effective species identified. However, knowledge about the free-living protozoa proved quite lagged, presenting misconceptions that show them as pathogenic organisms exclusively, totally disregarding their ecological role. In order to remedy the flaws existing in students in relation to the functional role of protozoa, workshops were planned on these microorganisms while also addressing issues related to hydric transmission diseases through lectures, recreational activities and interactive presentations. These practical activities of Science Education had the goal of bringing students the context of local water resources, aiming to promote a greater clarification regarding of the functional role of free-living protozoa in aquatic environments / A vasta riqueza h?drica do Brasil deixa suas bacias hidrogr?ficas mais suscet?veis a impactos que comprometam a qualidade da ?gua, afetando a estabilidade ecossist?mica dos ambientes aqu?ticos. A diminui??o da qualidade dos recursos h?dricos resulta tamb?m na diminui??o dos seus usos m?ltiplos, principalmente em regi?es tur?sticas do litoral, onde o fluxo cont?nuo de pessoas a esses locais aumenta ainda mais a probabilidade de comportamentos inadequados tanto dos turistas quanto dos residentes locais. Os estudos a respeito das comunidades microbiol?gicas ainda s?o escassos, principalmente as de protozo?rios de vida livre, que desempenham fun??es singulares dentro da cadeia alimentar dos ecossistemas aqu?ticos. Devido ao grande papel desempenhado por este grupo de microrganismos nos ambientes aqu?ticos, o presente estudo teve por objetivo identificar os protozo?rios de vida livre, em g?nero e esp?cie, presentes em dois trechos do Rio Pium, litoral leste do Rio Grande do Norte, fazendo uma rela??o entre a ocorr?ncia e as condi??es tr?ficas do ambiente em que se encontram. Tamb?m se objetivou realizar uma sondagem junto aos alunos para identificar as principais dificuldades quanto ao conhecimento dos protozo?rios de vida livre e doen?as de veicula??o h?drica em duas escolas p?blicas pr?ximas ao rio estudado, no distrito de Pium, munic?pio de Parnamirim. A sondagem foi analisada por meio de question?rios aplicados em ambas as escolas. Foi registrado um total de 76 t?xons de protozo?rios de vida livre, destes, sendo 33 ciliados, 19 flagelados e 24 sarcod?neos. Os padr?es espaciais e temporais desses organismos nos dois pontos estudados revelaram a potencialidade bioindicadora eficaz de algumas esp?cies identificadas. Os alunos identificaram diversas atividades desenvolvidas no Rio Pium, destacando sua multifuncionalidade e import?ncia para a regi?o. Por?m, o conhecimento sobre os protozo?rios de vida livre mostrou-se bastante defasado, apresentando concep??es alternativas que os evidenciam como organismos exclusivamente patog?nicos, desconsiderando totalmente seu papel ecol?gico primordial. Com o prop?sito de minimizar os poss?veis equ?vocos existentes nos alunos em rela??o ao papel funcional dos protozo?rios, foram planejadas oficinas did?ticas sobre estes microrganismos, abordando tamb?m temas relacionados a doen?as de veicula??o h?drica por meio de palestras, atividades l?dicas e apresenta??es interativas. Estas atividades pr?ticas de Educa??o em Ci?ncias tiveram o intuito de aproximar os alunos do contexto dos recursos h?dricos locais, almejando-se promover um maior esclarecimento sobre o papel funcional dos protozo?rios de vida livre nos ambientes aqu?ticos

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / Students frequently leave first-year physical science classes with a dual set of physical laws in mind- the equations to be applied to qualitative problems and the entrenched set of concepts, many erroneous, to be applied to qualitative, descriptive, or explanatory problems. It is in this sense that the emphasis of this study is on ‘change’ rather than acquisition. Thus, a blend of theoretical framework was considered according to the aim of the study. Of immediate relevance in this regard within the “constructivist paradigm” are: Posner, Strike, Hewson and Gertzog’s (1982) conceptual change theory and the revised Bloom’s Taxonomy. Moreover, the very shift or restructuring of existing knowledge, concepts or schemata is what distinguishes conceptual change from other types of learning, and provides students with a more fruitful conceptual framework to solve problems, explain phenomena, and function in the world (Biemans & Simons, 1999; Davis, 2011). A quasi-experimental design was adopted to explore pre-service teachers’ conceptual and procedural difficulties in solving mathematical problems in physical science. Sixteen second and third year pre-service teachers in one of the historically black universities in the Western Cape, South Africa, participated in the study. Two inseparable concepts of basic mechanics, work-energy concepts were taught and used for data collection. Data were collected using questionnaires, Physical Science Achievement Test (PSAT), Multiple Reflective Questions (MRQ) and an interview. An explicit problem solving strategy (IDEAL strategy versus maths-in-science instructional model) was taught in the intervention sessions for duration of three weeks to the experimental group (E-group). IDEAL strategy placed emphasis on drill and practice heuristics that helped the pre-service teachers’ (E-group) understanding of problem-solving. Reinforcing heuristics of this IDEAL strategy include breaking a complex problem into sub-problems. Defining and representing problem (e.g. devising a plan-using Free-Body-Diagram) was part of the exploring possible strategies of the IDEAL. More details on IDEAL strategy are discussed in Chapter 3. The same work-energy concepts were taught to the control group (C-group) using lecture-demonstration method. A technique (i.e. revised taxonomy table for knowledge and cognitive process dimension) was used to categorize and analyse the level of difficulties for each item tested (e.g. D1 = minor difficulty, D2 = major difficulty, and D3 = atypical difficulty

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / Students frequently leave first-year physical science classes with a dual set of physical laws in mind- the equations to be applied to qualitative problems and the entrenched set of concepts, many erroneous, to be applied to qualitative, descriptive, or explanatory problems. It is in this sense that the emphasis of this study is on ‘change’ rather than acquisition. Thus, a blend of theoretical framework was considered according to the aim of the study. Of immediate relevance in this regard within the “constructivist paradigm” are: Posner, Strike, Hewson and Gertzog’s (1982) conceptual change theory and the revised Bloom’s Taxonomy. Moreover, the very shift or restructuring of existing knowledge, concepts or schemata is what distinguishes conceptual change from other types of learning, and provides students with a more fruitful conceptual framework to solve problems, explain phenomena, and function in the world (Biemans & Simons, 1999; Davis, 2011). A quasi-experimental design was adopted to explore pre-service teachers’ conceptual and procedural difficulties in solving mathematical problems in physical science. Sixteen second and third year pre-service teachers in one of the historically black universities in the Western Cape, South Africa, participated in the study. Two inseparable concepts of basic mechanics, work-energy concepts were taught and used for data collection. Data were collected using questionnaires, Physical Science Achievement Test (PSAT), Multiple Reflective Questions (MRQ) and an interview. An explicit problem solving strategy (IDEAL strategy versus maths-in-science instructional model) was taught in the intervention sessions for duration of three weeks to the experimental group (E-group). IDEAL strategy placed emphasis on drill and practice heuristics that helped the pre-service teachers’ (E-group) understanding of problem-solving. Reinforcing heuristics of this IDEAL strategy include breaking a complex problem into sub-problems. Defining and representing problem (e.g. devising a plan-using Free-Body-Diagram) was part of the exploring possible strategies of the IDEAL. More details on IDEAL strategy are discussed in Chapter 3. The same work-energy concepts were taught to the control group (C-group) using lecture-demonstration method

This study discuss two phenomenones. The first phenomenon is photosynthesis; this process played a key role in the emergence of life and is necessary to maintain a various life on our Earth. Photosynthesis enables plants to use a bottomless supply of solar energy to produce organic substance and release oxygen. The second phenomenon is critical thinking; the ability to sort and evaluate new information and form "your" own opinion indispensable ability for modern human. In a theoretical part of the study is dealt with term critical thinking, teaching methods of critical thinking and photosynthesis of biological and didactic point of view. In a practical part of the study is dealt with compilation and verification materials for thematic unit of photosynthesis, which would lead to the development of critical thinking of high school pupils (students). Furthermore in the practical part is a questionnaire survey, which is evaluated existing using of methods of critical thinking at biology teachers at high schools and is analyzed their teaching methods to the topic of photosynthesis. In the study is dealt with processing the topic of photosynthesis in selected high school textbooks.

This study is a two part research project that describes and evaluates the efforts of the researcher to bring change in Cyprus' educational system, in the field of simple electric circuits. The objective of the first part was the assessment and evaluation of Cypriot STVE students' perceptions about simple electric circuits. The objective of the second part was to measure the effectiveness that conceptual change model-based instructional activities designed by the researcher had on changing students' misconceptions about simple electric circuits towards scientifically accepted ideas. Transformative mixed methods research design was used consisting mainly from an one-group pre-test post-test design with Determining and Interpreting Resistive Electric Circuits Concepts Test 1.2 as a research instrument, while interviews and field notes were used for triangulation. The findings showed that there was a significant improvement in students' understanding of simple electric circuit concepts that were taught using conceptual change model-based instructional activities. / Science and Technology Education / M. Sc. (Mathematics, Science and Technology Education)