Pre-service Primary Teachers' Scientific Knowledge and Attitudes towards Science Learning and Their Influence on Understanding of the Nature of Science
The present study focused on the knowledge about the nature of science and the question of the extent to which this knowledge could be explained by employing scientific knowledge, as well as attitudes towards science learning. We obtained data from 171 Spanish pre-service primary school teachers on their knowledge about: a) science concepts, b) science process skills, c) the nature of science (that was split into science construction and validation and the role and function of scientific models), and d) their attitudes towards science learning. Quantitative and qualitative analyses provided interesting results: a) there were significant correlations between any pair of scores of conceptual …
Is Digital Literacy Improving Science Education?
Mass media, and especially digital media, have become an important tool of literacy and have increased their use in classrooms for educational purposes. This is of great interest in scientific literacy and Brossard and Shanahan (2006) developed an instrument to evaluate the understanding of scientific terms and basic science concepts. In this quantitative study we analyse the relationship between Spanish digital mass media and scientific literacy in pre-service pri- mary teachers (N = 189). Results showed that these university students have a term knowledge level lower than the one found by Brossard and Shanahan in the USA. On the other hand, conceptual knowledge was not correlated at all to t…
Conhecimento pedagógico do conteúdo nas ciências: estado da arte
RESUMEN En este artículo se lleva a cabo una revisión descriptiva de la literatura que permite dar a conocer qué es el Conocimiento Didáctico del Contenido -CDC- en ciencias y qué se ha investigado sobre el mismo. En concreto, se analiza: a) cómo se define, qué características tiene y cómo se ha determinado en los profesores; b) su relación con el conocimiento de la materia a enseñar y con el aprendizaje de los estudiantes; c) cómo se ha utilizado en la formación y evaluación del profesorado; y d) en qué temas científicos se ha estudiado. Se concluye que el CDC se perfila como una herramienta fundamental para mejorar la calidad de la formación del profesorado. ABSTRACT This paper gives a de…
Testing a model for the monitoring of worked-out algebra-problem examples: from behaviours to outcomes on a math task
This study aimed at testing an extension of a theoretical model for the metacognitive monitoring mechanism implied in the detection of inconsistencies when the information provided includes abstract symbols in addition to plain text. Ninety-four postgraduates of STEM specialities were asked to read a worked-out algebra-problem example and to report any incoherence, inconsistency, or error detected in the statement or in the solving procedure. A set of model inspired indexes was defined to describe participants¿ behaviour along the task. The Read & Answer software was used to record online individual processing data and participants¿ reports. Results supported model predictions. Indexes corr…