This thesis on the topic "Physiology of Plants in Elementary School Botany" consists of theoretical and practical part. The theoretical part focuses on a didactical analysis of the textbooks currently in use and integration of this topic in the valid curricular documentation. It also includes a research part, in which the possibilities of material visual aids used in science teaching are identified. The practical part makes use of these observations. A interactive CD, which includes worksheets on the main areas of plant physiology, has been created based on these observations. The worksheets are in educational text form, include gap-filling activities, and practical - with appropriate experiments. To these, methodology notes for teacher are supplied. The complete version is on the attached CD. Keywords: plant physiology, textbook didactical analysis, worksheet, experiment suggestions, video-material

Since its emergence in the late 1960s, mechatronics has become well-established as an academic subject, and is now researched and taught at a large number of universities worldwide. The most widely-used definition of the subject today is centered on the synergistic integration of mechanical engineering, electronics, and intelligent computer control. The aim of this thesis is to work between the disciplines of engineering education and mechatronics to address both the question of the identity of the subject of mechatronics and the ways in which this identity can be reflected in the practice of mechatronics education. Empirical data from the literature is supplemented with further data from four case studies with approaches varying from exploratory case studies and ethnographic in-depth studies to explanatory studies with an action research based approach. The process and results of the investigation can be divided into three aspects. Firstly, analysis of the subject of mechatronics shows that its identity is thematic and its legitimacy is functional, implying that the selection and communication of the subject ought to be exemplifying and interactive respectively. Secondly, and following this analysis, the concept of international collaboration is used as the implementation for the first two case studies. The results of these studies show a relationship between collaborative projects and enhanced disciplinary learning and skills, increased awareness of cultural differences, and improved motivation. Another potential implementation, experimental learning, is then tested in two action research based studies focusing on fast prototyping and individual access to laboratory equipment. Mechatronics is a special subject, not easily understood or taught. To be mechatronic is to be synergistic, and to be synergistic generally demands expertise in all underlying subjects. The conclusion of this thesis is that this requires a non-traditional education where the focus is on training rather than studying, coaching rather than teaching, experimenting rather than reading, working together rather than apart, and being mechatronic rather than studying mechatronics. / Mekatronik som ämne uppstod under 1960-talets senare del och har sedan dess etablerats som akademiskt ämne som beforskas och undervisas på ett stort antal universitet runt om i världen. Den idag mest utbredda definitionen av ämnet fokuserar på synergi och synergistisk integration av maskinteknik, elektronik och intelligent datorstyrning. Målsättningen med denna avhandling är att bidra till forskning i området mellan de två fälten ingenjörsutbildning och mekatronik. Forskningsfrågan behandlar identiteten hos ämnet mekatronik och hur denna identitet kan återspeglas i undervisningens praktik. Empiriskt material för denna avhandling har hämtats från litteraturen tillsammans med fyra fallstudier. Forskningsmetodiken i fallstudierna har varierats från utforskande fallstudier och etnografiska djuplodande studier till förklarande studier med en aktionsforskningsansats. Studien och resultaten därutav kan delas in i tre delar. Den första delen behandlar ämnet mekatronik och visar att ämnets identitet är tematisk och att legitimiteten är funktionell. Detta innebär att ämnets selektion och kommunikation bör vara exemplifierande respektive interaktiv. I den andra delen används denna definition för studier av internationellt samarbete i mekatronik, vilket utgör basen för de två första fallstudierna. Resultaten från dessa studier visar på en relation mellan det internationella samarbetet och ett ökat disciplinärt lärande, ökad medvetenhet om kulturella skillnader samt en ökad motivation. Den tredje delen relateras till ytterligare en tänkbar implementation av definitionen, en idé om experimentellt lärande. Denna prövas i två studier baserade på aktionsforskning som behandlar snabb prototypframställning och individuell tillgång till avancerad laborationsutrustning. Mekatronik är ett speciellt ämne, inte helt enkelt att förstå eller undervisa. Att vara mekatronisk innebär att vara synergistisk, och att vara synergistisk kräver vanligtvis expertkunskap i de underliggande områdena. Resultatet av denna avhandling är att detta kräver en icke-traditionell undervisning där fokus är på träning snarare än studerande, handledning och guidning snarare än undervisning, experimenterande snarare än läsning, arbete tillsammans snarare än individuellt och att vara mekatronisk snarare än att studera mekatronik. / QC 20100609

This study was prompted by serious problems regarding specific teaching and learning problems in calculus at the technikon. The general aims were to identify and analyze particular teaching and learning problems relating to 2nd level engineering courses in calculus and to recommend improvements which could increase student performance in engineering calculus courses. An extensive study revealed world wide concern in calculus reform. The empirical research instruments consisted of structured questionnaires given to staff and students from nine technikons plus interviews. Five serious problem areas were identified: student ability in mathematics, content difficulty, background difficulties, timetable pressures and lecturer's presentation. The impact of training technology on calculus was investigated. Recommendations were that routine exercises can be done on computer with extra tutorial time for computer laboratory projects. Background recommendations suggested that schools give more time to trigonometry and coordinate geometry and that bridging courses at technikons for weaker students be developed. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Didactics)

A física é uma ciência altamente matematizada, tendo seus conceitos e métodos profundamente influenciados pelo pensamento matemático. Apesar disso, em contextos de ensino, o papel da matemática na física tende a se resumir ao de uma ferramenta para a descrição e operacionalização de grandezas, fazendo com que os estudantes não percebam o caráter estruturante do formalismo matemático para a constituição teórica da física. Assim, é fundamental dedicar um esforço sistemático de pesquisa para investigar estratégias que visem a apropriação dessa maneira matemática de conceber o mundo físico pelos estudantes. Apesar da existência de um número razoável de pesquisas que identificam as principais dificuldades enfrentadas pelos estudantes para a compreensão do significado de equações e utilização da matemática para a resolução de problemas de física, esse tema tem sido pouco investigado sob a ótica do ensino. Dessa forma, este trabalho objetiva contribuir para tal esforço por meio da realização de um estudo de caso em aulas de relatividade e eletromagnetismo, ministradas por um professor experiente e diferenciado em nível superior. A análise das aulas com auxílio do software videograph, juntamente com estudos históricos e epistemológicos, nos conduz à proposição de uma ferramenta teórica composta por oito categorias de análise, a qual se destina a descrever e avaliar abordagens didáticas em relação à ênfase em múltiplos aspectos da imbricada inter-relação entre física e matemática em contextos de ensino. Essa ferramenta é utilizada na análise de 19 episódios de ensino extraídos da gravação do curso de eletromagnetismo ministrado pelo professor do estudo de caso. Sua abordagem focada na estruturação matemática de conceitos físicos, na interpretação física de expressões matemáticas, no incentivo constante à metacognição, entre outros aspectos, nos permite apontar critérios associados à qualidade didática das aulas analisadas, os quais são posteriormente justificados pelo próprio professor em entrevistas semiestruturadas. Dentre as perspectivas deste trabalho, estão a possibilidade de utilizar a ferramenta de análise para realizar estudos comparativos entre aulas ministradas por diferentes professores sobre o mesmo tema, avaliar concepções diversas sobre o papel da matemática presentes em materiais didáticos, bem como a utilização de tais análises como recurso didático-pedagógico para a formação de professores de física e matemática. / Physics is a highly mathematized science, so that its concepts and methods are profoundly influenced by the mathematical thinking. Nevertheless, in the context of physics education, mathematics tends to be seen as a mere tool to describe and operate physical quantities, preventing students from understanding the structural role of the mathematical formalism for the development of physical theories. Thus, it is essential to devote a systematic research effort to investigate how to enable students to reason mathematically about the physical world. Despite the existence of several studies that identify the main difficulties faced by students to understand the meaning of physics equations and to use mathematics to solve physics problems, this topic has not been sufficiently investigated from the perspective of instruction. Aiming at contributing to this effort, this work conducts a case study in relativity and electromagnetism lectures, which were taught by an experienced and distinguished professor. The analysis of these lectures with the software videograph, along with historical and epistemological studies, led us to proposing a theoretical framework with eight categories, which is intended to describe and evaluate teaching approaches regarding the emphasis on the multiple aspects of the relationship between physics and mathematics. This framework is used in the analysis of 19 teaching episodes extracted from the recordings of the electromagnetism course given by the case study professor. His approach focused on constructing mathematical representations of physical concepts, physically interpreting mathematical expressions, encouraging metacognition, among others. This allowed us to identify several criteria related to the didactical quality of the lectures analyzed. These criteria are later justified by the professor in semi-structured interviews. The use of this analytical tool to conduct comparative studies between different lecturers/teachers, to evaluate different conceptions about the role of mathematics in physics textbooks and as a didactic resource for teacher education, are some of the future perspectives of this research.

A física é uma ciência altamente matematizada, tendo seus conceitos e métodos profundamente influenciados pelo pensamento matemático. Apesar disso, em contextos de ensino, o papel da matemática na física tende a se resumir ao de uma ferramenta para a descrição e operacionalização de grandezas, fazendo com que os estudantes não percebam o caráter estruturante do formalismo matemático para a constituição teórica da física. Assim, é fundamental dedicar um esforço sistemático de pesquisa para investigar estratégias que visem a apropriação dessa maneira matemática de conceber o mundo físico pelos estudantes. Apesar da existência de um número razoável de pesquisas que identificam as principais dificuldades enfrentadas pelos estudantes para a compreensão do significado de equações e utilização da matemática para a resolução de problemas de física, esse tema tem sido pouco investigado sob a ótica do ensino. Dessa forma, este trabalho objetiva contribuir para tal esforço por meio da realização de um estudo de caso em aulas de relatividade e eletromagnetismo, ministradas por um professor experiente e diferenciado em nível superior. A análise das aulas com auxílio do software videograph, juntamente com estudos históricos e epistemológicos, nos conduz à proposição de uma ferramenta teórica composta por oito categorias de análise, a qual se destina a descrever e avaliar abordagens didáticas em relação à ênfase em múltiplos aspectos da imbricada inter-relação entre física e matemática em contextos de ensino. Essa ferramenta é utilizada na análise de 19 episódios de ensino extraídos da gravação do curso de eletromagnetismo ministrado pelo professor do estudo de caso. Sua abordagem focada na estruturação matemática de conceitos físicos, na interpretação física de expressões matemáticas, no incentivo constante à metacognição, entre outros aspectos, nos permite apontar critérios associados à qualidade didática das aulas analisadas, os quais são posteriormente justificados pelo próprio professor em entrevistas semiestruturadas. Dentre as perspectivas deste trabalho, estão a possibilidade de utilizar a ferramenta de análise para realizar estudos comparativos entre aulas ministradas por diferentes professores sobre o mesmo tema, avaliar concepções diversas sobre o papel da matemática presentes em materiais didáticos, bem como a utilização de tais análises como recurso didático-pedagógico para a formação de professores de física e matemática. / Physics is a highly mathematized science, so that its concepts and methods are profoundly influenced by the mathematical thinking. Nevertheless, in the context of physics education, mathematics tends to be seen as a mere tool to describe and operate physical quantities, preventing students from understanding the structural role of the mathematical formalism for the development of physical theories. Thus, it is essential to devote a systematic research effort to investigate how to enable students to reason mathematically about the physical world. Despite the existence of several studies that identify the main difficulties faced by students to understand the meaning of physics equations and to use mathematics to solve physics problems, this topic has not been sufficiently investigated from the perspective of instruction. Aiming at contributing to this effort, this work conducts a case study in relativity and electromagnetism lectures, which were taught by an experienced and distinguished professor. The analysis of these lectures with the software videograph, along with historical and epistemological studies, led us to proposing a theoretical framework with eight categories, which is intended to describe and evaluate teaching approaches regarding the emphasis on the multiple aspects of the relationship between physics and mathematics. This framework is used in the analysis of 19 teaching episodes extracted from the recordings of the electromagnetism course given by the case study professor. His approach focused on constructing mathematical representations of physical concepts, physically interpreting mathematical expressions, encouraging metacognition, among others. This allowed us to identify several criteria related to the didactical quality of the lectures analyzed. These criteria are later justified by the professor in semi-structured interviews. The use of this analytical tool to conduct comparative studies between different lecturers/teachers, to evaluate different conceptions about the role of mathematics in physics textbooks and as a didactic resource for teacher education, are some of the future perspectives of this research.

This study was prompted by serious problems regarding specific teaching and learning problems in calculus at the technikon. The general aims were to identify and analyze particular teaching and learning problems relating to 2nd level engineering courses in calculus and to recommend improvements which could increase student performance in engineering calculus courses. An extensive study revealed world wide concern in calculus reform. The empirical research instruments consisted of structured questionnaires given to staff and students from nine technikons plus interviews. Five serious problem areas were identified: student ability in mathematics, content difficulty, background difficulties, timetable pressures and lecturer's presentation. The impact of training technology on calculus was investigated. Recommendations were that routine exercises can be done on computer with extra tutorial time for computer laboratory projects. Background recommendations suggested that schools give more time to trigonometry and coordinate geometry and that bridging courses at technikons for weaker students be developed. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Didactics)