In this thesis I describe a study of how the science of genetics is transformed into school science in upper secondary level textbooks and the impact that this transformation has on students’ understanding. The didactic challenge that we face is to decide which science from the academic disciplines we should bring into schools.   Using the History and Philosophy of Science as my point of reference, I identified and categorized five multiple historical models of gene function: the Mendelian model, the classical model, the biochemical-classical model, the neoclassical model and the modern model. I then developed a research instrument to be used to analyse how these models are transformed within the educational system via textbooks. Biology and chemistry textbooks from Sweden, as well as a number from English speaking countries, were studied. The models used to describe gene function in the textbooks were investigated, as were the conceptual changes between the actual models and the way they are presented in textbooks. Finally I studied how the transformed science in textbooks is understood by students.   I found that all the multiple historical models were used implicitly in the textbooks. The older historical models were presented more frequently, resulting in a simplified and deterministic description of genetics. Throughout the textbooks a specific model was usually described in a particular subject matter context. The models used in the textbooks were usually hybrid models consisting of features from several of the historical models, thus creating incommensurability. The textbooks do not provide any epistemological foundations to facilitate readers’ understanding of the implications of multiple models. Furthermore my results show that, when reading the textbooks, students’ have difficulties in detecting the use of multiple models, incommensurability, and the conceptual changes that occur in a content-specific context such as gene function. Overall, students’ understanding of the use of multiple models, conceptual change, and incommensurability reflects the way in which they are depicted in the textbooks. Students’ domain-specific difficulties in understanding genetics might therefore be due to the way science is transformed into school science.     These findings indicate the importance of epistemological aspects in the transformation of science into school science, i.e. science as a way of knowing, not only for students’ understanding of the nature of science, but also for their understanding of the conceptual knowledge. The degree to which school science should mimic the academic discipline, as well as an understanding of what is lost in the transformation of science into school science, are key issues discussed in the thesis.

Submitted by Edileide Reis (leyde-landy@hotmail.com) on 2013-05-09T13:41:50Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Oki, Maria da conceicao Parte 2.pdf: 1667527 bytes, checksum: 9db3e36094266249aa86c78aed9d8f7e (MD5) Oki, Maria da Conceicao Parte 1.pdf: 2118519 bytes, checksum: 103a14dbcedef06d157aa5debfbe5b57 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Rodrigo Meirelles(rodrigomei@ufba.br) on 2013-05-11T15:16:38Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Oki, Maria da conceicao Parte 2.pdf: 1667527 bytes, checksum: 9db3e36094266249aa86c78aed9d8f7e (MD5) Oki, Maria da Conceicao Parte 1.pdf: 2118519 bytes, checksum: 103a14dbcedef06d157aa5debfbe5b57 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-05-11T15:16:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Oki, Maria da conceicao Parte 2.pdf: 1667527 bytes, checksum: 9db3e36094266249aa86c78aed9d8f7e (MD5) Oki, Maria da Conceicao Parte 1.pdf: 2118519 bytes, checksum: 103a14dbcedef06d157aa5debfbe5b57 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / Nesta tese relatamos um estudo de caso que teve como objetivo explorar as potencialidades de uma aproximação entre a História e Filosofia da Ciência da educação científica através da utilização do ensino de História da Química. Visávamos auxiliar os alunos na compreensão da natureza da ciência e no aprendizado de conceitos químicos. O estudo envolveu nossa intervenção como professora/ investigadora na disciplina História da Química (QUI 040), lotada no Departamento de Química Geral e Inorgânica da UFBA e teve um caráter exploratório utilizando uma abordagem de pesquisa qualitativa. A investigação didática foi realizada em duas partes: inicialmente identificamos concepções prévias sobre aspectos da natureza da ciência dos alunos e avaliamos variações em tais concepções, influenciadas por uma abordagem explícita de conteúdos de História e Filosofia da Ciência; na segunda parte, trabalhamos com a contextualização histórica dos conceitos químicos para ajudar na compreensão desses conceitos. Este estudo envolveu, também, a análise da apresentação de alguns conteúdos e conceitos científicos nos livros didáticos, tendo como principal referencial teórico a História e Filosofia da Ciência. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram que a disciplina História da Química foi um espaço importante para os alunos conhecerem melhor a natureza da ciência e aprenderem de forma significativa conceitos químicos. Os alunos conseguiram adquirir concepções menos ingênuas e simplistas sobre a natureza da ciência e manifestaram uma maior compreensão de conceitos como a quantidade de matéria e mol. Concluímos que o referencial histórico-epistemológico contribuiu para que os estudantes de Química envolvidos neste trabalho adquirissem uma imagem de ciência mais contextualizada, possibilitando uma melhor formação inicial. / Salvador

A relevância de ensinar conteúdos sobre as ciências, e não apenas conteúdos científicos tradicionais, tem se intensificado nas pesquisas educacionais das últimas décadas. Nesse sentido, a história da ciência configura-se um recurso pedagógico interessante para tratar sobre a construção do conhecimento científico em ambiente escolar. Entretanto, a confluência das necessidades dos campos didático-pedagógico e histórico-epistemológico prevê alguns obstáculos por enfrentar para transformar a natureza da ciência em saber escolar no ensino médio. Assim, buscamos analisar tais desafios e aventar propostas para seu enfrentamento mediante os fundamentos dos quadros teóricos estudados e de uma investigação empírica. Adotamos como estratégia metodológica o confronto entre tais desafios previstos com as dificuldades vivenciadas na elaboração, no acompanhamento da aplicação e na análise de um curso piloto para o ensino médio, aplicado em uma escola pública da zona sul da cidade de São Paulo. Utilizamos três episódios da história da luz para tratar de alguns aspectos epistemológicos que problematizavam, principalmente, uma visão empírico-indutivista da ciência. Foi possível mapear uma série de obstáculos, propor estratégias para enfrentá-los, aplicar tais estratégias em sala de aula e analisar os dados obtidos. Como resultado dessas etapas, obtivemos bons prognósticos para algumas propostas averiguadas e percebemos que algumas soluções requerem aprimoramento. A metodologia qualitativa das pesquisas educacionais guiou o planejamento, a coleta e a análise dos dados. Os resultados obtidos indicaram possibilidades de generalização que podem ser entendidas como parâmetros iniciais para pesquisa com a história e filosofia da ciência na educação científica. / The relevance of teaching about science, instead of teaching only the traditional and systematized scientific concepts, has been an important issue for educational researches over the last decades. In this new approach, the use of history of science is a promising pedagogical strategy to introduce the development of scientific knowledge in the context of education. However, when one tries to reconcile the demands of both didactic-pedagogical and historic-epistemological fields, many obstacles become evident. Accordingly, this thesis analyzes the challenges that are faced and the emerging solutions obtained from the combination of a theoretical framework and an empirical investigation. The methodological strategy that was employed confronts those challenges with the elaboration, application and analysis of a pilot course on the history of optics for secondary school students. Three historical episodes concerning the theory of light were chosen in order to challenge students naïve inductive-empiricist conceptions of the nature of science. We were able to identify a set of obstacles, to propose strategies to face them, to apply those strategies in real classroom situations and to analyze the data gathered from the recordings of the classes. As a result, we have developed viable solutions and realized that some of them still need to be improved. A qualitative research methodology guided our process of elaboration, application and data analysis of the teaching-learning sequence that was implemented. The results point out possibilities of generalization which can be regarded as initial parameters for future researches that focus on the use of history and philosophy of science in scientific education.

Esta pesquisa objetivou levantar concepções de estudantes de Ciências Biológicas sobre a Natureza da Ciência (NdC). Para isso foram utilizados os questionários VNOS-C, desenvolvido por Norman Lederman, Fouad Abd-El-Khalick, Randy Bell e Reneé S. Schwartz, em 2002, e o questionário VOSE, desenvolvido por Sufen Chen, em 2006. Os dois questionários foram aplicados em alunos ingressantes do Curso de Ciências Biológicas do Instituto de Biociências da Universidade de São Paulo em duas etapas, no início e final do primeiro semestre letivo. A fim de complementar os dados fornecidos a partir da aplicação dos questionários VNOS-C e VOSE, foi realizada uma triangulação de metodológica e de dados, onde buscamos: a partir do Questionário Sociocultural e de Opinião Sobre a Importância da NdC, traçar o perfil sociocultural e de opinião dos alunos a respeito das questões investigadas, e, a partir de entrevistas semiestruturadas com professores dos alunos investigados, conhecer possíveis abordagens, em sala de aula, sobre questões da NdC. Para a análise escolhemos alguns aspectos da NdC a saber: a criatividade e imaginação na construção do conhecimento científico, a inserção da ciência na cultura, o papel das teorias na construção do conhecimento científico, a diferença entre leis e teorias científicas e o caráter provisório do conhecimento científico. No questionário de opinião aplicado ao final do semestre os alunos declararam ter lembrado de alguns desses aspectos, que teriam sido abordados nas disciplinas cursadas. Os professores, durante as entrevistas, também declararam ter trabalhado alguns aspectos da NdC em sala de aula. Os resultados dos questionários VNOS-C e VOSE mostraram que foi possível observar mudanças nas respostas dos alunos apenas para alguns dos aspectos investigados. Acreditamos que a pesquisa fornece alguns elementos que podem alertar para a necessidade de que sejam desenvolvidas abordagens e temáticas explícitas de ensino sobre a ciência / The objective of this research was to raise conceptions about Nature of Science (NOS) from Biological Sciences students. For this purpouse we utilized the VNOS-C questionnaire, developed by Norman Lederman, Fouad Abd-El-Khalick, Randy Bell and Renee S. Schwartz, in 2002, and VOSE questionnaire, developed by Chen Sufen in 2006. These questionnaires were applied to freshman students of at the University of São Paulo School of Biological Sciences in two stages, at the beginning and at the end of the first semester. To complement the data provided from the VNOS-C and VOSE questionnaires, we performed a methodological and data triangulation, where we seek, from a Sociocultural and Opinative About the Importance of NOS Questionnaire, to make a student\' profile about sociocultural and opinative related to the issues investigated; and from semi-structured interviews with these students\' teachers, to achieve possible approaches issues of NOS, for the classroom. For the analysis we chose some aspects of NOS namely: creativity and imagination in the construction of scientific knowledge, the inclusion of science in culture, the role of theories in the construction of scientific knowledge, the difference between scientific theories and laws and the provisional nature of knowledge scientific. In the opinion questionnaire applied to the end of the semester students reported having remembered some of these aspects, which would have been covered in the courses taken. Teachers, during interviews, also claimed to have worked some aspects of the NOS in the classroom. The results of the VNOS-C and VOSE questionnaires showed that it was possible to observe changes in students\' answers to only some of the aspects investigated. We believe this research provides some evidence that could warn about the need of the development of explicit teaching thematics and approaches about science

Pesquisas atuais na área de ensino de ciências têm enfatizado a importância de uma formação científica humanística que seja ampla e geral, mais significativa para estudantes em todos os seus níveis de ensino. Assim, considerando o âmbito das pesquisas sobre as potencialidades do uso da história da ciência no ensino e a importância de se ensinar sobre a natureza da ciência (NdC), torna-se relevante pesquisar a presença desses conteúdos nos livros didáticos, dada sua grande influência no ensino, já que assume um papel crucial na educação, e também o fato de o livro didático não ser totalmente desprovido de conteúdos desse tipo. Sendo assim, este trabalho analisa como a história da ciência é apresentada por alguns dos mais populares livros didáticos de física para o ensino médio no Brasil, bem como as concepções sobre a natureza da ciência envolvidas nestas narrativas históricas. Geralmente, a história da ciência encontrada nos livros didáticos é distorcida e simplificada, o que se chama de pseudo-história, reforçando alguns conhecidos mitos científicos e transmitindo falsas concepções acerca da natureza da ciência a estudantes e professores. Nesta análise, dois importantes norteadores educacionais brasileiros são considerados, os PCN e o PNLEM, dada sua estreita relação com a HFC e também a influência destes programas no conteúdo dos livros didáticos. / Contemporary standards in science education have emphasized the importance of a humanistic education, more meaningful for students in all its levels of instruction. In this context, great attention has been given to the use of history and philosophy of science (HPS) in science education. Current research on the potentialities of the use of science history and the importance of teaching aspects of the nature of science (NOS), have shown that it is essential to search how those contents appear in textbooks, since they assume a crucial role in education and are not totally absent of such contents. Thus, this work analyzes how history of science is presented in some of the most popular physics textbooks for secundary education in Brazil, as well as conceptions of the nature of science involved in these historical narratives. Often the history of science found in textbooks is distorted and oversimplified, known as pseudohistory, ratifying some popular scientific myths and transmitting false conceptions concerning the nature of science to students and teachers. The analysis considered two important Brazilian educational programs, the National Curricular Parameters and the National Program for Textbooks.

Le dispositif des enseignements d’exploration de la réforme du lycée de 2010 se distingue des enseignements traditionnels par la liberté octroyée dans sa conception au niveau de curriculum potentiel et parce qu’il s’apparente à une éducation à l’orientation par l’exploration de cursus et d’activités professionnelles. Un partenariat, nommé EDIFICE, conçu par l’université d’Orléans, est une forme curriculaire potentielle du dispositif d’enseignement d’exploration de Méthodes et Pratiques Scientifiques pour la classe de seconde. Dans sa tranche n°1, il regroupe des laboratoires de recherche avec des lycées d’enseignement général et technologique, et vise la participation d’élèves à des activités de recherches de doctorants au cours de moments en laboratoire. Chaque doctorant encadre deux à six élèves accompagnés par un enseignant du lycée. Le contexte éducatif des laboratoires nous conduit à définir l’action d’exploration, afin de constituer le fondement théorique relatif à ce travail. Nous questionnons ensuite la mise en œuvre du dispositif EDIFICE par rapport à une approche curriculaire associée à la notion de pratiques sociales de référence: 1) Comment les élèves explorent les pratiques sociales de référence des laboratoires ? 2) Comment ils explorent les pratiques de recherche doctorale ? 3) Comment les explorations en laboratoire sont co-produites par les trois types d’acteurs impliqués : le doctorant, les élèves et l’enseignant accompagnateur ? Notre recueil de données porte sur la totalité des 26 groupes doctorant, élèves et enseignant accompagnateur de la première année de mise en œuvre du dispositif. Nous analysons, selon la question de recherche, des réponses écrites des élèves, des entretiens réalisés avec les trois types d’acteur, des observations lors d’un congrès des élèves et dans les laboratoires visités. Des cahiers de laboratoire et les diaporamas du congrès des élèves sont également étudiés, ainsi que des articles de recherche, des supports de présentations et des thèses des doctorants. Tout d’abord, nous constatons que les élèves élaborent des représentations nombreuses sur les sciences et la pratique sociale des chercheurs, puisqu’ils se rendent compte de l’importance des écrits, des flux d’informations en réseau et entrevoient maintenant le laboratoire comme un espace de collaboration. La rencontre avec la résistance du réel et la phénoménotechnique contribuent à décloisonner les sciences, les technologies et la société. Les sciences en action sont considérées, pour certains, comme imaginées et inventées et cette expérience permet globalement un élargissement des possibilités d’orientation. Ensuite, nous inférons quatre modes distincts d’exploration de la recherche doctorale. Un mode se focalise sur l’acquisition de concepts généraux de la thèse, un autre transpose de manière synthétique une démarche de la recherche doctorale. Un troisième mode correspond à une démarche personnelle de problématisation. Dans le mode ethnographique, la recherche est explorée à un instant donné, sans adaptation. Les explorations des élèves apparaissent tributaires de l’épistémologie de la discipline de recherche. Enfin, les enseignants accompagnateurs et les élèves exercent une influence majeure sur la nature des explorations lors du processus de co-production qui conduit à des modifications sur la conception du curriculum potentiel. La possibilité pour chacun des acteurs d’explorer est discutée en lien avec l’enrichissement mutuel conféré par le cadre partenarial. / French High Schools experienced a national reform plan in 2010 incorporating exploration courses breaking with traditional teachings. This granted more freedom in their conception as potential curriculums because these courses can involve career choice and thus enable students to explore both curriculums and professional environments. A partnership, named EDIFICE, set up by the University of Orléans, France, is a potential curricular form of the course entitled “Scientific methods and practices” for 10th grade students. In the first phase of the project, a partnership between research labs and High Schools has been set up in order to involve High School students in the research activities of PhD Students in their labs. Each PhD student works with two to six students who are themselves chaperoned by a High School teacher. The educational context of the labs makes it necessary to define the exploration, in order to constitute the theoretical foundation of this work. The implementation of the EDIFICE project is then questioned and compared to a curricular approach associated to the notion of social practice of reference: 1) How do the students explore the social practices of reference in the labs? 2) How do they explore the practices of PhD research? 3) How are the explorations in labs co-produced by the PhD student, the students, and the chaperoning High School teacher? Our data covers the 26 groups of PhD students, High School students and chaperoning teachers over the first year of implementation of the project. Data analysis consisted of the written answers provided by the students, the interviews of the three types of participants, the observations’ notes made during a conference of the High School students and the labs visits. Lab notebooks and slide shows from the High School students’ conference are also studied, as well as research articles, presentation materials, and the PhD thesis from the PhD students involved in the project. First of all, it can be observed that students have numerous representations of sciences and the social practices of researchers since they have realized the importance of the written medium, of the flows of networking information and are now able to perceive the lab as a space for collaboration. The experience of the resistance of the real and phenomenotechnique contribute to remove the partitions between sciences, technologies, and society. The sciences in action are considered, by some, as imagined or invented and this experience enables, more generally speaking, to enlarge the possibilities of course and career choices for the High School students involved. Then, four distinct modes of exploration of PhD research are inferred. One mode is focused on the acquisition of general concepts of the thesis, another one transposes synthetically one approach of the PhD research. A third mode corresponds to the personal approach of the formulation of the research question. In the ethnographic mode, the research is explored at a given moment, without adaptation. The explorations of the students seem dependent on the epistemology of the researched discipline. Finally, the chaperoning teachers and the students have a major influence on the nature of the explorations during the process of co-production which leads to modifications of the conception of the potential curriculum. The possibility for each and one of the participants to explore is discussed in connection with a mutual enrichment made possible by the partnership framework of the EDIFICE project.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the textbooks significance in the students' process of learning and how it is correlated with the ability to create scientific literacy. It thus followed naturally to further examine the different forms of content in the textbook such as pictures, questions, text, scientific methods and terminology. In the systematic search keywords were extracted from our research question and a Boolean search technique was used. The databases used are ERIC, ERC, Swepub and Google. We also used secondary sources taken from the search results' reference lists. The results show that the textbooks content has a varied impact on students learning both in and about science. This study concludes that the different forms of content in a textbook have a varied impact in the learning process and the students' ability to create scientific literacy. Teachers should therefore be critical of the content of textbooks before its use. Finally further suggestions of research are given to deepen the significance of textbooks in students' process of learning.

Il s’agit d’examiner la possibilité d’introduire l’histoire des sciences dans l'enseignement scientifique secondaire français afin de travailler l’image de la nature des sciences. Pour cela, nous avons élaboré, et mis en œuvre dans une classe de terminale S, une séquence à caractère historique basée sur sept textes. Elle porte sur le passage du modèle géocentrique au modèle héliocentrique, et vise à mettre en valeur l’existence et l’évolution de présupposés au sein de la physique. La reprise de cette expérience encadrée par trois questionnaires nous a permis de mieux appréhender l’image de la nature des sciences des élèves. Les résultats obtenus sont encourageants quant à l’évolution de leur représentation de l’observation, plus précisément de sa place dans la démarche scientifique et de son ancrage théorique et métaphysique. Par ailleurs, il semble subsister une vision réaliste « naïve » (les savoirs existent dans le monde) et une difficulté à différencier les registres mis à l’œuvre dans l’activité scientifique en sciences physiques. / The idea is to introduce some elements of the History of Science in the French secondary scientific education in order to give a more authentic view of the Nature of Science (NoS). To do so, a historical inquiry based on seven texts was built and tested in a scientific grade 12 class. This pedagogical unit was about the way scientists switched from geocentric models to heliocentric ones. The purpose was to point out the existence and evolution of presuppositions in physics. This unit was implemented again, this time coupled with three questionnaires that enabled us to explore the image students get of science. The results obtained are encouraging as regards to the evolution of their representations of the observation, more precisely of its metaphysical and theoretical anchoring. Moreover, there seems to be a "naive" realistic vision (knowledge exists in the world) and a difficulty in differentiating the registers used in scientific activity in physics.

No description available.

Neste trabalho investigamos, teoricamente e empiricamente, quais são os possíveis aspectos da natureza da ciência, relacionados ao debate realismo e antirrealismo científicos, que emergem da história e filosofia da teoria da relatividade especial e têm potencial para promover debates no ensino de física. Para tal, primeiramente reconhecemos a importância da aproximação histórico-filosófica ao ensino de ciências, assim como a relevância dos aspectos consensuais e não consensuais da natureza da ciência. Argumentamos, em especial, que estes aspectos controversos e não consensuais podem trazer uma visão ainda mais rica e realista da ciência. Fazemos uma exposição sintética sobre algumas das principais características do debate realismo e antirrealismo científicos, suas principais vertentes, categorias e argumentos correntes. Fazemos também um estudo teórico histórico e filosófico sobre a teoria da relatividade, no qual enfatizamos a capacidade do formalismo matemático da teoria ser filosoficamente interpretável. Quatro interpretações históricas da teoria, a de Lorentz (1904), a de Einstein (1905), a de Poincaré (1906) e a de Minkowski (1907) são discutidas e caracterizadas com base no estudo sobre o debate realismo e antirrealismo científicos. Descrevemos em seguida uma pesquisa de campo realizada no primeiro semestre de 2013 aplicada a estudantes de física, de licenciatura e bacharelado, da Universidade de São Paulo. Seus objetivos foram investigar as concepções filosóficas dos estudantes sobre o debate realismo e antirrealismo científicos no contexto da teoria da relatividade especial e mostrar como ele pode trazer ricas discussões no ensino de ciências . A pesquisa foi dividida em três etapas: aplicação de questionário específico sobre o tema filosófico; análise de resenhas entregues pelos estudantes, e; realização de grupo focal. O resultado da análise e triangulação dos dados sugere que o debate mostra-se, também entre os estudantes, de uma forma não consensual e filosoficamente rica. / In this work we investigate theoretically and empirically some possible aspects of the nature of science, related to scientific realism and anti-realism debate emerging from the history and philosophy of the special theory of relativity which can potentially encourage related discussions in physics education. For such, first we acknowledge the importance of historical-philosophical approach to teaching science, as well the educational relevance of the consensual and nonconsensual aspects of nature of science. We argue, particularly, that these controversial and non-consensual aspects can provide an even richer and more realistic view of science. We make a summary of some of the main features of scientific realism and anti-realism debate, its main categories and current arguments. We also make a historical and philosophical theoretical study on the special theory of relativity, wherein we emphasize the capacity of its mathematical formalism be philosophically interpretable. Four historical interpretations of the theory, Lorentz\'s (1904), Einstein\'s (1905), Poincaré\'s (1906) Minkowski\'s (1907), are discussed and characterized based on earlier study on scientific realism and anti-realism debate. We report then a field research conducted in the first semester of 2013 applied to undergraduated physics students at the University of São Paulo. Its objectives went to investigate the philosophical conceptions of students about scientific realism and anti-realism debate under the special theory of relativity and its subjects, and to show how rich can it be for science education. This research was divided into three stages: the application of a specific questionnaire on the philosophical subject; the analysis of papers submitted by students, and; the performing of a focus group. The outcome of data triangulation suggests that the debate reveals itself also among students, in a non-consensual and philosophically rich way.