The importance of developing learners’ scientific literacy in both the fundamental and derived senses has been highlighted by Norris & Phillips (2003). Development of the derived sense of science, which is dependent on the development of a sound fundamental sense of science, aims at promoting scientifically literate societies who are able to make informed decisions concerning the natural environment and the promotion of sustainable livelihoods. In turn, response to increasing recognition of environmental degradation, the United Nations’ Decade of Education for Sustainable Development advocated that the principles, values and practices of sustainable development should be integrated into all aspects of education and learning. However, despite these aspirations, the difficulties of insufficient teacher knowledge and a lack of in-service training, both abroad and within South Africa, remain a challenge. In response to this challenge this study investigated the potential of an Integrated Scientific Literacy Strategy (which aimed at increasing in-service teacher knowledge and skills) to contribute to ESD by developing more scientifically literate teachers and learners in primary education. The study was conducted in 2010 in the Port Elizabeth Metropolitan area in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The study sample comprised seven schools, with a total of nine teachers and 243 learners participating. As the research is situated within the pragmatic paradigm, a mixed methods approach was followed using Creswell and Plano Clark’s (2007) embedded design’s correlational model whereby quantitative data are rooted within a qualitative design to help verify and explain the outcomes. Qualitative measures were generated through teacher interviews and an analysis of their written portfolios. These data were triangulated against quantitative test data gained from an ANCOVA statistical analysis of the learners’ pre- and post-tests, and both the qualitative and quantitative data gleaned from classroom observations and an analysis of the learners’ science notebooks. The data suggest that, when properly implemented, the Integrated Scientific Literacy Strategy can be used to help teachers develop their learners’ scientific literacy by exposing them to open-ended inquiry investigations. Statistically significant differences (p ≤ 0.01; d=0.88) were noted when comparing improvements in learners’ abilities and understandings of scientific investigations (graphs, variables, inquiry and investigable questions) between those learners whose teachers successfully implemented the strategy in their classrooms, and those learners whose teachers were considered to be ‘non-implementers’ of the strategy. Data from this study also suggest that the successful use of the ISLS enables teachers to integrate issues relating to sustainable development into their natural science lessons. In addition, the learner-orientated approach of the strategy also enabled the learners to engage in autonomous learning environments, aspects of which have been identified as being important for meaningfully learning about and internalising important issues related to ESD.

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In this dissertation I argue that artworks that mimic scientific experiments can transform our philosophical understanding of scientific experiment itself. The collection of artworks that form the basis of my case studies includes imaginary scientific instruments, responsive sound environments, genetic portraits and live scientific demonstrations. Despite their heterogeneity, each of these artworks embodies a certain idea of experiment through its physical form. I read these artworks as material representations of the logics and practices described by philosophers and historians of scientific experimentation. Much as scientific models mediate between theories and the real world, artworks, in my analysis, mediate between the philosophical descriptions of science and its material instantiations. Like models, artworks are not merely illustrations of preconceived ideas but also have lives of their own. The very idea of using artworks to explore the nature of experiment has its roots in Kant's theory of exemplarity, developed in his Critique of Aesthetic Judgment. Artworks are considered exemplary when they give sensuous embodiment to an idea that has not yet been fully formed in thought. To regard artworks as exemplary for the philosophy of science and technology is to regard them as generative of new ways of thinking about experimentation as a mode of material and conceptual practice that art and science share. My dissertation opens up a new archive for the philosophy of scientific experimentation in the form of what I call performative experiments--a term that I reserve for artworks that at once enact and query the logic of scientific experimentation. The dissertation is comprised of four chapters, each of which places one or more artworks into conversation with a set of philosophical questions that arise at the intersection of aesthetic theory, philosophy of science and philosophy of technology. Philosophers of technology have observed that tools, by their very nature, tend to recede into their context of use and in doing so become transparent and invisible to their users. My first chapter aims to recover the role of instruments in the epistemology of scientific experimentation through a close reading of Eve André Laramée's Apparatus for the Distillation of Vague Intuitions (1994-98), a glass sculpture installation that embeds within itself a virtual archeological record of continuity in instrumentation from alchemy to modern chemistry. The second chapter examines the methodology of so-called "natural experiments," in which investigators treat occurrent situations as if they were intentionally created for the purposes of controlled experimentation. Through my analyses of Natalie Jeremijenko's work Tree Logic (1999-present) and Stacey Levy's Seeing the Path of the Wind (1991), I argue that performative experiments dramatize how we export habits of seeing and patterns of inference from the carefully shielded conditions of the laboratory to the unruly world outside its walls. My third chapter investigates the use of molecular genetics as a new medium of portraiture and shows how the specific aesthetic possibilities and constraints of this medium transform the genre of portraiture so as to capture changing conceptions of personal identity, kinship and subjective temporality in the genetic age. Finally, the fourth chapter explores the ethical, political and institutional limits governing the transformation of experiences into the basis of experimental knowledge as these limits become sites of contest in IRB# G10-02-066-01 (2010), an artwork qua social psychology experiment for the artist Jennifer Gradecki failed to win approval from her university's ethics review board. Drawing, in part, on the primary data of my own repeated trials as a subject in this illicit experiment, titled "Social Interaction as a Function of Voluntary Engagement With a Shock Machine," I reflect on how the epistemic and social value of experiences are mediated by the institutional context in which research is regulated and legitimated. Throughout the dissertation, I demonstrate that artworks transform material and epistemological practices derived from the sciences into formal devices for directing perceptual attention and imaginative reflection. When practices of experiment are used to organize aesthetic responses in the context of the art museum or gallery, they draw attention to aesthetic and phenomenological dimensions of scientific practice that tend to escape notice in the context of science itself, and therefore to remain under-theorized within the history and philosophy of science. The emerging genre of performative experiments opens up a site of critical self-reflexivity within the methods and material of scientific practice itself, a site in which it is possible both to explore the cultural significance of scientific knowledge and to critique the empirical methods that are used to produce the scientific image of the world. Performative experiments are exemplary, in this respect, of a new form of critical literacy that arises at once within the sciences and the arts.

This diploma thesis focuses on verifying the proposed inquiry-based activity and comparing its effectiveness with a traditionally concieved theme for experimental activity of pupils with the same topic. The theoretical part of the thesis focuses on the role of experimental activities in Czech schools, their options, helpful equipment and generally inquiry-based teaching. The practical part of the thesis is focused on the verification of the proposed research activity in comparison with traditionally concieved experimental activity. The traditionally concieved activity was taken from the website of the company Vernier, the research activity was created by modifying these tasks. The proposed research activity consists of two logically connected tasks. The aim of this thesis was to design and verify research activity based on experimental activities and to compare the internal motivation of pupils in performing research-oriented and clasically concieved activities. The pupils worked in groups that were created based on the pupils' preferred themes. For comparison purposes, the groups were divided into two research halves and each half used a different approach. The Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) and group conversation were used to evaluate the affective area. The benefit in the cognitive area...

Acompanha: Sugestão de roteiro de atividades experimentais com gerenciamento dos compostos gerados para o conteúdo de reações químicas, p. 53. / O conhecimento químico é de suma importância para o desenvolvimento sustentável, para melhores formas de alimentação e energia. Neste sentido, a aprendizagem acerca desta área de estudo deve ocorrer pelo uso de metodologias favoráveis ao desenvolvimento sustentável e com caráter motivador. Uma possibilidade é através da contextualização e experimentação. A contextualização da questão ambiental é citada nos Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais como elemento de promoção de aprendizagem, e a experimentação é descrita como o fazer com as mãos, sentir e manipular, analisar criteriosamente e articular a prática à teoria. Este trabalho foi desenvolvido para o 1º ano do Ensino Médio sobre o conteúdo de reações químicas, contemplando a realização de atividades experimentais com gerenciamento das substâncias produzidas. Para isso, foram realizados: (i) elaboração e aplicação de uma Proposta de Experimentos; (ii) seleção de turmas para sua aplicação; (iii) verificação dos conhecimentos de reações químicas e gerenciamento de resíduos, antes a após a aplicação da mesma. As respostas fornecidas pelos estudantes, nos pré-teste e pós-teste realizados, permitiram comparar o efeito da aplicação da Proposta de Experimentos ao qual foi executada em 18 horas-aula. As mudanças conceituais sobre reações químicas foram registradas e permitiram verificar novas formas de interpretação da transformação, que passou da simples observação macroscópica dos aspectos físicos, para o nível teórico, incluindo os conhecimentos submicroscópicos, onde se encontram as interações entre substâncias e formação de novos compostos. O enfoque nas questões ambientais, com o gerenciamento dos compostos produzidos em aula pelos alunos evidenciou uma maior conscientização entre a maioria dos participantes sobre a problemática do descarte indevido de substâncias e da necessidade de avaliar as implicações do despejo de materiais tóxicos no meio ambiente. / The chemical knowledge is of paramount importance for the sustainable development for better forms of feeding and energy. In this sense, the learning about this study area should occur with the use of methodologies in sustainable development and motivating character. One possibility is through contextualization and experimentation. The contextualization of environmental issues is mentioned in the National Curricular Parameters and element to promote learning, and experimentation is described as “do with hands”, feel and manipulate, analyze critically and articulate practice to theory. This paper was developed for the first year of high school about the content of chemical reactions, contemplating the conducting experimental activities, with management of substances produced. For this, was performed: (i) Preparation and implementation of a proposed experiments. (ii) Selection of classes for its application. (iii) Verification of knowledge of chemical reactions and waste management before and after the application of the same. The answer provided by students, in pretest and posttest, was possible to compare the effect of application of proposed experiments, which was performed is eighteen weeks. The conceptual changes about chemical reactions were registered and allowed to verify new ways of the interpretation and of the transformation, from simple macroscopic observation of the physical aspects to the theoretical level, including knowledge microscopic, where the interactions are found between substances and formation of new compounds. The focus on environmental issues with management of compounds in class by students showed a greater awareness among the majority of participants on the problem of improper disposal of substances and of to assess the implication of dump toxic materials into the environment.

Acompanha: Sugestão de roteiro de atividades experimentais com gerenciamento dos compostos gerados para o conteúdo de reações químicas, p. 53. / O conhecimento químico é de suma importância para o desenvolvimento sustentável, para melhores formas de alimentação e energia. Neste sentido, a aprendizagem acerca desta área de estudo deve ocorrer pelo uso de metodologias favoráveis ao desenvolvimento sustentável e com caráter motivador. Uma possibilidade é através da contextualização e experimentação. A contextualização da questão ambiental é citada nos Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais como elemento de promoção de aprendizagem, e a experimentação é descrita como o fazer com as mãos, sentir e manipular, analisar criteriosamente e articular a prática à teoria. Este trabalho foi desenvolvido para o 1º ano do Ensino Médio sobre o conteúdo de reações químicas, contemplando a realização de atividades experimentais com gerenciamento das substâncias produzidas. Para isso, foram realizados: (i) elaboração e aplicação de uma Proposta de Experimentos; (ii) seleção de turmas para sua aplicação; (iii) verificação dos conhecimentos de reações químicas e gerenciamento de resíduos, antes a após a aplicação da mesma. As respostas fornecidas pelos estudantes, nos pré-teste e pós-teste realizados, permitiram comparar o efeito da aplicação da Proposta de Experimentos ao qual foi executada em 18 horas-aula. As mudanças conceituais sobre reações químicas foram registradas e permitiram verificar novas formas de interpretação da transformação, que passou da simples observação macroscópica dos aspectos físicos, para o nível teórico, incluindo os conhecimentos submicroscópicos, onde se encontram as interações entre substâncias e formação de novos compostos. O enfoque nas questões ambientais, com o gerenciamento dos compostos produzidos em aula pelos alunos evidenciou uma maior conscientização entre a maioria dos participantes sobre a problemática do descarte indevido de substâncias e da necessidade de avaliar as implicações do despejo de materiais tóxicos no meio ambiente. / The chemical knowledge is of paramount importance for the sustainable development for better forms of feeding and energy. In this sense, the learning about this study area should occur with the use of methodologies in sustainable development and motivating character. One possibility is through contextualization and experimentation. The contextualization of environmental issues is mentioned in the National Curricular Parameters and element to promote learning, and experimentation is described as “do with hands”, feel and manipulate, analyze critically and articulate practice to theory. This paper was developed for the first year of high school about the content of chemical reactions, contemplating the conducting experimental activities, with management of substances produced. For this, was performed: (i) Preparation and implementation of a proposed experiments. (ii) Selection of classes for its application. (iii) Verification of knowledge of chemical reactions and waste management before and after the application of the same. The answer provided by students, in pretest and posttest, was possible to compare the effect of application of proposed experiments, which was performed is eighteen weeks. The conceptual changes about chemical reactions were registered and allowed to verify new ways of the interpretation and of the transformation, from simple macroscopic observation of the physical aspects to the theoretical level, including knowledge microscopic, where the interactions are found between substances and formation of new compounds. The focus on environmental issues with management of compounds in class by students showed a greater awareness among the majority of participants on the problem of improper disposal of substances and of to assess the implication of dump toxic materials into the environment.

M.Ed. (Subject Didactics : Natural Sciences) / Please refer to full text to view abstract.

A Research Project submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MSc (Sci. Ed). March 2016 / This research project was a case study that investigated how two experienced science teachers, who were undertaking self-studies to improve the use of practical work in their classrooms as part of their BSc Hons research projects, actually developed their strategies for effective use of practical work. This study explored the effectiveness of practical work by analysing 6 ‘typical’ science lessons i.e. introduction, practical session and consolidation lessons in two schools around Gauteng in South African. The research design took a form of classroom observations through audio and video recordings and also interview and questionnaires schedules with the two participant teachers. Abraham and Millar (2008) argued that many science teachers do not implement practical work effectively when teaching in their classrooms and most learners fail to relate what they do in practical work to other aspects of their learning. This research project hoped to find an answer to main research question: How effective are the two participating teachers’ strategies of using practical work to promote conceptual and procedural understanding? The data analysis used a model of effectiveness on the work done by Millar, Marechal and Tiberghien (1999) and Tiberghien (2000). The two teachers focus in these observed lessons was to promote and develop conceptual and procedural understanding. This study found that practical work in some cases was effective in getting the learners to do what was intended for them to do with objects and materials e.g. apparatus, but the was less evidence of the effectiveness of practical work in getting the learners to use the intended scientific ideas from the data they collected and also little evidence of them showing the understanding of what they were intended to understand e.g. cognitive challenge of linking the observables to ideas. The study revealed that learners get more procedural understanding and less conceptual understanding in a given practical activity. The study also revealed that teachers faced a lot of challenges when implementing the use of practical work in their classroom e.g. time constraints, minimum availability of resource, less CAPS training etc. and these challenges often hinders the use of practical work as part of the learning and teaching of science. This study further recommended that the department of education do more to support the teachers in their implementations of certain teaching strategies e.g. practical work and that the use of practical work be considered at the fore-front of learning and teaching of science. / TG2016

There has been significant growth in online social science experiments in order to understand behavior at-scale, with finer-grained data collection. Considerable work is required to perform data analytics for custom experiments. In this dissertation, we design and build composable and extensible automated software pipelines for evaluating social phenomena through iterative experiments and modeling. To reason about experiments and models, we design a formal data model. This combined approach of experiments and models has been done in some studies without automation, or purely conceptually. We are motivated by a particular social behavior, namely collective identity (CI). Group or CI is an individual's cognitive, moral, and emotional connection with a broader community, category, practice, or institution. Extensive experimental research shows that CI influences human decision-making. Because of this, there is interest in modeling situations that promote the creation of CI in order to learn more from the process and to predict human behavior in real life situations. One of our goals in this dissertation is to understand whether a cooperative anagram game can produce CI within a group. With all of the experimental work on anagram games, it is surprising that very little work has been done in modeling these games. Also, abduction is an inference approach that uses data and observations to identify plausibly (and preferably, best) explanations for phenomena. Abduction has broad application in robotics, genetics, automated systems, and image understanding, but have largely been devoid of human behavior. We use these pipelines to understand intra-group cooperation and its effect on fostering CI. We devise and execute an iterative abductive analysis process that is driven by the social sciences. In a group anagrams web-based networked game setting, we formalize an abductive loop, implement it computationally, and exercise it; we build and evaluate three agent-based models (ABMs) through a set of composable and extensible pipelines; we also analyze experimental data and develop mechanistic and data-driven models of human reasoning to predict detailed game player action. The agreement between model predictions and experimental data indicate that our models can explain behavior and provide novel experimental insights into CI. / Doctor of Philosophy / To understand individual and collective behavior, there has been significant interest in using online systems to carry out social science experiments. Considerable work is required for analyzing the data and to uncover interesting insights. In this dissertation, we design and build automated software pipelines for evaluating social phenomena through iterative experiments and modeling. To reason about experiments and models, we design a formal data model. This combined approach of experiments and models has been done in some studies without automation, or purely conceptually. We are motivated by a particular social behavior, namely collective identity (CI). Group or CI is an individual’s cognitive, moral, and emotional connection with a broader community, category, practice, or institution. Extensive experimental research shows that CI influences human decision-making, so there is interest in modeling situations that promote the creation of CI to learn more from the process and to predict human behavior in real life situations. One of our goals in this dissertation is to understand whether a cooperative anagram game can produce CI within a group. With all of the experimental work on anagrams games, it is surprising that very little work has been done in modeling these games. In addition, to identify best explanations for phenomena we use abduction. Abduction is an inference approach that uses data and observations. Abduction has broad application in robotics, genetics, automated systems, and image understanding, but have largely been devoid of human behavior. In a group anagrams web-based networked game setting we do the following. We use these pipelines to understand intra-group cooperation and its effect on fostering CI. We devise and execute an iterative abductive analysis process that is driven by the social sciences. We build and evaluate three agent-based models (ABMs). We analyze experimental data and develop models of human reasoning to predict detailed game player action. We claim our models can explain behavior and provide novel experimental insights into CI, because there is agreement between the model predictions and the experimental data.

Thesis ((M.Ed. (Science Education)) -- University of Limpopo, 2018 / The new curriculum introduced in the Further Education and Training phase has had a great impact on the teaching and learning of Physical Sciences in the classrooms. The policy documents for Physical Sciences emphasis that practical work to be integrated with the teaching of Science. However, much remains desired on how teachers use their Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) to conduct practical work in their classrooms. This study explored teachers’ perceptions of practical work in the context of the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement. PCK was used as the theoretical framelens to understand teachers’ perceptions of practical work. Data in the study were collected through interviews and observations from four Grade 11 teachers. It was also collected by scrutinising teachers’ portfolios. Observations were used to discover the teachers’ actual classroom conduct of practical work. The sample of the study was drawn from Mankweng Circuit, in the Limpopo province. The findings of the study revealed that teachers conduct demonstrations which were structured and inquiry based practical work was not conducted. It was also found that they conduct practical work for promotional marks only. Furthermore, it was revealed that teachers appreciate the value of practical work in the teaching and learning of Physical Sciences but lack of resources and time constraints hinder them from conducting good practical work. It was also found that teachers do not have practical work lesson plans in their portfolios except those for reporting. However, apparatus in some instances were limiting teachers to conduct good practical work. Large classes, lack of time table for practical work and pressure to complete the curriculum were also mentioned by the teachers as limitations. It is recommended that subject specialists should help in developing teachers’ knowledge to conduct inquiry based practical work.