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published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

The purpose of this study was to extend our current knowledge about what happens in physical science classrooms. The focus was the context of problem tasks. This involved the study of the situations, events and factors that relate to the solving of problem tasks at high school in order to understand their role and nature. e problem tasks that were central to this study were well defined, narrow in focus, and invariably involved the calculation of some quantity through the use of a formula and algebraic manipulation. The main questions that guided the study were as follows: What is happening in physical science classrooms? What is the nature and role of problem solving within this context? What are some of the consequences of organising teaching and learning in this manner? How do external forces influence what happens? The study aimed at describing the activities that the teachers and students were involved in and understanding how they understood their own actions. An interpretive research approach was chosen for this purpose, having as its basis a detailed descriptive foundation using classroom observation. Two high school science classrooms were studied in detail over a period of a year. The data gathered included field notes from over a hundred classroom visits, extensive video and audio records, questionnaires, classroom documents and formal an informal interviews with teachers, students and examiners. Through a process of careful and systematic analysis of the data, six assertions emerged. These assertions are supported by both particular evidence in the form of analytic narrative vignettes, quotes and extracts, and general evidence consisting of frequency data and summary tables. The analysis reveals that problem tasks occupied most of the teaching and learning time, and that the students found this experience of school science boring. Most of the problem tasks were routine in nature and of low conceptual demand. The majority of the students were unable to solve the more difficult tasks encountered in their tests and examinations. In addition, a significant number could not solve the routine problem tasks. This suggests that the predominant instructional strategies were ineffective. It was found that participants had an uncritical belief in the efficacy of teacher explanations and student practice on problem tasks. Further, the participants had different views of the role of problem tasks. A significant finding was that the examination exerted a powerful focusing influence on the classroom environment, the instructional activities and on the problem tasks used . It appeared that the ultimate goal of school physical science was to solve these types of problem task in preparation for the high stakes examination, rather than the learning of science. The study has implications both for practice and for research on the teaching and learning of school physical science. These implications are discussed in terms of instructional strategies aimed at promoting a deeper understanding of physical science. In order to improve practice it is advocated that the role of problem tasks in learning science be made explicit while at the same time new types of instructional task need to be designed to achieve our goals for school science. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1999.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1985 Y87 / Master of Science

The problem of this study is a comparison of lab method films with traditional instruction in the introductory, non-technical college physics laboratory.

The problem of this study was to determine the effectiveness of using filmed courses in physics and chemistry in addition to the traditional lecture-laboratory courses in high school.

Orientador: Silvio Henrique Fiscarelli / Banca: José Luis Bizelli / Banca: Galeno José de Sena / Resumo: Este trabalho investiga a utilização das metodologias ativas como instrumento para o ensino de Física a partir do uso de um "Kit Robótico" desenvolvido com uma plataforma de hardware livre chamada Arduíno. O planejamento do trabalho teve início em 2015, momento em que foi realizada uma revisão da literatura sobre a temática e sobre as metodologias que poderiam a ser adotadas no seu desenvolvimento. Como resultado da revisão teórico-metodológica optamos por implementar o projeto por meio de um conjunto de atividades baseadas na metodologia de Aprendizagem Baseada em Problemas focalizando a temática "Movimento", dentro do currículo de Física do 1° ano do Ensino Médio de uma escola Técnica do Centro Estadual de Educação Tecnológica Paula Souza. O estudo de campo foi desenvolvido a partir de encontros periódicos com um grupo de alunos que manifestaram interesse pela proposta. Para direcionar as atividades e garantir que os alunos desenvolvessem as competências e habilidades desejadas foi utilizado os denominados os Roteiros de Atividades, que criava situações problemas para contextualizar a aprendizagem. Após a realização da pesquisa, verificamos alguns indícios de que o recursos e metodologias adotados podem auxiliar o professor e contribuir para o processo de ensino e aprendizagem, entretanto, não é a inserção da tecnologia, por si, o elemento fundamental que altera as condições de aprendizagem e sim de saber aproveitar as características que esses recursos possuem para fazer ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: This work investigates the use of active methodologies as an instrument for teaching physics from the use of a "Robotic Kit" developed with a free hardware platform called Arduino. Work planning began in 2015, at which time a review of the literature on the subject and on the methodologies that could be adopted in its development was carried out. As a result of the theoretical-methodological revision we decided to implement the project through a set of activities based on the methodology of Problem-Based Learning focusing on the theme "Movement" within the Physics curriculum of the 1st year of High School of a Technical School Of the State Center of Technological Education Paula Souza. The field study was developed from periodic meetings with a group of students who expressed an interest in the proposal. In order to direct the activities and ensure that the students developed the desired skills and abilities, we used the so-called Activity Schedules, which created situations to contextualize the learning situations. After conducting the research, we verified some evidence that the resources and methodologies adopted can help the teacher and contribute to the teaching and learning process, however, it is not the insertion of technology, by itself, the fundamental element that changes the conditions of Learning but rather to know how to take advantage of the characteristics that these resources have in order to make the student believe in the legitimacy of the school contents a... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Science, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Science Education, University of the Witwatersrand. November 5, 2016. / A debate in South Africa on learner performance in Physical Science inevitably leads to the issue of proficiency in the language of learning and teaching (LoLT). The researcher is of the opinion that general understanding of the meaning of proficiency in LoLT usually refers to the ability to read and write well in that language which happens to be English in the majority of South African high schools. As low as 7% of the South African school going population regard themselves as English speaking (Department of Basic Education, 2010). The status of English as lingua franca has caused parents and teachers to believe that it is in the interest of learners to be taught in English (Wildsmith-Cromarty & Gordon, 2009). This view resulted that the debate on proficiency includes amongst others, opinions of those who propagate home language teaching and those who call for English as the preferred medium of instruction. This research contributes to the debate on proficiency by pointing to the important contribution that the science teacher can make to enculturate learners into the language of school science. The fact that both English First Additional Language learners (EFALs) as well as English Home Language learners (EHLs) struggle to understand Physical Science (Probyn, 2015) is indicative of the important role that the science teacher can play in assisting learners to understand Physical Science. In lieu of this, teachers are encouraged to focus on vocabulary building as well as the manner in which LoLT is employed to construe science knowledge. This is a functional view of language, namely, that language is used to convey a particular meaning hence the language differs across registers. Michael Halliday (1993) is credited for the development of a systemic functional linguistic view on language. This study analysed two teachers’ classroom languages from a Systemic Functional Linguistic (SFL) perspective with specific emphasis on the register variables field and mode. Results show that LoLT was perceived as transparent when learners are EHLs and considered a barrier to learning Physical Science if learners are EFALs. In both cases, teachers seemed unable to enculturate learners into the language of school science when used to convey science meaning. An absence of that focus is what Bernstein called an “invisible pedagogy / TG2017

Neste trabalho utilizamos o tema gerador relacionado à pontes para construirmos, com o apoio dos professores de arte e de história, discussões históricas sobre a física e a arte do período renascentista por meio de uma sequência didática. Além das discussões históricas, nas atividades também trabalhamos questões referentes à matematização da natureza e à estática dos corpos rígidos. Buscamos na educação humanizadora de Paulo Freire nossa base pedagógica para a construção de nossa sequência valorizando atributos como a criatividade, a imaginação e a experiência em oposição à um ensino que preze a memorização e as repetições excessivas. A segunda parte deste trabalho apresentamos a aplicação da sequência no ensino médio de uma escola pública e a análise qualitativa das aulas, das atividades e de um questionário. / In this work we utilized the themes-generators related to bridges to build, with the support of art and history professors, historical discussions about physics and the art during the renaissance period through a didactic sequence. Besides the historical discussions, in the activities we also worked with questions related to the mathematization of nature and to the static of rigid bodies. We sought in the humanizing education of Paulo Freire our pedagogical basis for the construction of our sequence, valuing attributes like creativity, imagination and the experience as opposed to an education that values memorizing and excessive repetitions. In the second part of this paper we present the application of the sequence in a public high school and the qualitative analysis of the classes, activities and a questionnaire