Significant improvement in American science education is desirable from many perspectives. This need can be encapsulated in the student learning goal of flexible, inquiry-based problem solving. To guide efforts to move towards this goal, an Amalgamated Model of science education is synthesized from six major trends in science education. Explication of this model is focused on the physical sciences, as is the research carried out to test one of the predictions of the Model. One keystone of the Amalgamated Model is the delineation and characterization of concepts according to the three properties of generality, complexity, and abstractness. Using these three properties, a conceptual structure for physical science is constructed. When this structure is compared with conventional physical science curricula, a large discrepancy is in the treatment of the conservation of energy concept. The Model predicts that elementary and middle school age children develop intuitive understandings of the concept, whereas conventionally it is believed to be inherently difficult and comprehensible only to older, high school students. To test this prediction, two sets of tasks and associated clinical interviews are administered to 48 subjects randomly drawn from a K-6 population. The first set of tasks consists of the classical Piagetian conservation instances and the second set investigates understanding of conservation of energy. The quantitative data generated by the two tasks is analyzed to measure the degree of connection within subjects' conceptual structures between their ability to conserve quantity, substance, weight and volume and their ability to conserve energy. The results indicated that understanding of conservation of energy is connected to and apparently develops from the understandings of Piagetian conservation. The experimental and analytical methodologies could be used for further mapping of conceptual structures. It would seem that the prediction of the Amalgamated Model cannot be rejected as false, providing some justification for using the Model as a future framework for research in conceptual structures and for science curriculum development.

This research studied the impact of technology integration during science lessons to help prepare fourth graders in a suburban elementary school for the Kansas State Science Assessment. The three instructional methods considered were inquiry-based learning and direct instruction without technology use; inquiry-based learning and direct instruction using laptops; inquirybased learning and direct instruction using an interactive whiteboard. Sixty-one fourth-grade students participated in this study and were divided into three experimental conditions: science classes A, B, and C. Each class received six, 50-minute science test review sessions over a twoweek period. The review sessions alternated each day between direct instruction and inquirybased learning. During the direct instruction sessions, Class A received direct instruction while using an interactive whiteboard; Class B received direct instruction while using laptops; Class C was the control group, and direct instruction was similar to a lecture format. No technology was used with Class C. The inquiry-based learning sessions were the same for all three classes. Science-based pre- and post-tests were administered during the study along with a technology use survey. Data from the Kansas State Reading, Math, and Science assessments were also considered. To determine if performances on the researcher-generated science tests were related to each other, partial correlations controlling for reading and math skills were computed for each group of students. Statistically significant relations between pre- and post-test science knowledge emerged only for the students in the no technology group. Gain scores were also calculated using the Kruskal Wallis test to determine the amount of change between pre- and post-intervention scores. Results indicated that significant group differences between pre- and post-test scores in science content knowledge did not emerge. Next, Kruskal Wallis statistical test was used to determine if there were group differences in use of computers for homework and for non-school work. No statistically significant differences emerged. Lastly, to determine if the gains from preto post-test made by the entire sample (not subgroups) were statistically significant, a onesample Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used. Results indicated that gains made by the entire sample between pre- and post-tests were statistically significant. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--Wichita State University, College of Education, Dept. of Curriculum and Instruction. / Includes bibliographic references (leaves 36-39).

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No. of bitstreams: 1 DISS_2014_Endrigo Antunes Martins.pdf: 7689773 bytes, checksum: 8699848239242a979f1632744d044426 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-04-16 / CAPES / A presente pesquisa foi desenvolvida no Programa de Pós Graduação em Educação, na linha de Educação em Ciências e Educação Matemática da Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso–UFMT, junto ao Grupo de Estudos e Pesquisa em Educação Matemática (GRUEPEM) e tem como objetivo geral investigar a aprendizagem da Cinemática ensinada na disciplina de Ciências Naturais no 9º ano do Ensino Fundamental e sua possível relação com a aprendizagem matemática. Foi construída tendo como principais aportes teóricos Ausubel (1978), Moreira; Masini (1982, 2011), Pozo; Gomes Crespo (2009), Zabala (1998), Karam (2012), Chaui (2000), Piaget (2002), Poincaré (1905), Dirac (1963), Feynman (1965), Paty (1998, 2006), Gingras (2001), Pietrocola, (2002). Utilizamos como metodologia uma abordagem qualitativa de cunho interpretativo apoiado principalmente em Bogdan e Biklen (1994) e Fiorentini e Lorenzato (2009). A coleta de dados foi realizada em três escolas estaduais do município de Cuiabá que fazem parte do projeto OBEDUC, sendo que a escolha dessas se deu pelo fato de possuírem turmas de 9º ano do Ensino Fundamental cujos planejamentos anuais visavam abordar o conteúdo Cinemática dentro do 1º semestre do ano letivo, período em que realizamos a nossa coleta de dados. Para a coleta de dados utilizamos dois instrumentos de larga escala (T1 e T2) que foram aplicados para duzentos e trinta e nove alunos de doze turmas de 9º ano. Para os professores de Ciências Naturais das respectivas turmas, foram aplicados um questionário e uma entrevista. Após a tabulação dos dados quantitativos dos instrumentos de larga escala, selecionamos três alunos com os quais realizamos duas entrevistas com cada, além da reaplicação dos cálculos matemáticos para dois deles. Para o desenvolvimento da análise dos questionários, das entrevistas e dos Testes (T1 e T2), foram utilizados quadros contendo habilidades com os quais nos possibilitaram evidenciar a ocorrência ou não de aprendizagens, se a mesma, quando ocorreu, se deu de forma mecânica ou significativa e as relações existentes entre as aprendizagens conceituais (conceitos da cinemática) e as procedimentais (resoluções matemáticas envolvendo cinemática). Nesse sentido, ao observar as análises realizadas, evidenciamos lacunas de aprendizagem, tanto no campo conceitual quanto no procedimental. Também foi possível identificar que os alunos transitaram entre aprendizagens mecânicas e aprendizagens significativas, tendo uma maior tendência para a primeira delas. Os dados mostraram que os alunos apresentam algumas dificuldades de aprendizagem matemática que comprometem as resoluções de situações problema envolvendo a cinemática, principalmente nas que envolviam divisões e demais operações com números decimais. Tais dificuldades, possivelmente podem estar influenciando na motivação para resolverem tais situações-problema, uma vez que 61,09% do total dos alunos não apresentaram as resoluções dos cálculos matemáticos no T2, resoluções essas que haviam sido solicitadas a serem executadas na própria folha no momento da aplicação dos mesmos. Quanto aos professores de Ciências Naturais, os mesmos demonstraram tendências a concepções de que não é possível ensinar cinemática sem o uso da matemática e que ao não saber operar algoritmos matemáticos, o aluno fica com o aprendizado da cinemática comprometido. / This research was conducted at the Graduate Program in Education, Education on line in Science and Mathematics Education at the Federal University of MatoGrosso - UFMT, with the Group of Studies and Research in Mathematics Education (GRUEPEM). It has as main objective to investigate the process of learning taught in the discipline Kinematics of Natural Sciences in the 9th grade of elementary school and its relation to mathematics learning. It was built with the main theoretical contributions Ausubel (1978), Moreira; Masini (1982, 2011), Pozo; Gomes Crespo (2009), Zabala (1998), Karam (2012), Chaui (2000), Piaget (2002), Poincaré (1905), Dirac (1963), Feynman (1965), Paty (1998, 2006) Gingras (2001) and Pietrocola (2002). Used as a qualitative methodology of interpretative approach supported imprint mainly Bogdan and Biklen (1994) and Fiorentini and Lorenzato (2009). Data collection was conducted in three state schools in the city of Cuiabá that take part of OBEDUC project, and the choice of these was due to the fact that they have classes from 9th grade of elementary school whose annual plans aimed to adress the kinematics content within the 1st semester of the school year, when we conducted our data collection. For data collection were used two large scale instruments (T1 and T2) that were applied to two hundred thirty-nine students from twelve classes of 9th grade. For teachers of Natural Sciences of respective classes, a questionnaire and an interview were applied. After tabulating the quantitative data of the instruments of large scale, we selected three students with whom we conducted two interviews with each, beyond the reinvestment of mathematical calculations for two of them. To develop the questionnaires , interviews and tests (T1 and T2) analyses were used tables containing skills which allowed us to evidence the occurrence of learning, and if it occurred, occurred mechanically or meaningfully and the relationships between conceptual learning (concepts of kinematics) and procedural (mathematical resolutions involving kinematics). Therefore, by observing the analyzes, we noted gaps in learning, both at the conceptual level as in procedural. It was also possible to identify that students moved between mechanical learning and meaningful learning, with a greater tendency for the first one. The data showed that students presented difficulties in learning mathematics that compromise resolutions to problem situations involving kinematics, especially when involving divisions and other operations with decimal numbers. Such difficulties may possibly be influencing the motivation to solve that situation problems, since it 61,09 % of students presented the resolutions of the mathematics in T2 , when that had been requested to be performed on the sheet itself during the application. Already the teachers of Natural Sciences, showed trend to conceptions that teaching kinematics isn‟t possible without the use of mathematics and by not knowing to operate mathematical algorithms, the learning of kinematics is committed.