Environmental education in Ecuador: conceptions and currents in Quito's private elementary schools

While key conceptions and the status of environmental education (EE) have been reported at various international, regional, national and local levels, those in play in the schools of Quito (Ecuador) are still relatively unknown. Of particular interest to this study are private schools: they are considerable in number in Ecuador and elsewhere, yet remain largely underrepresented in national and local studies. Therefore, a survey with a focus on conceptions of EE was administered to teachers (74) and pupils (748) of the third-, fourth- and fifth-years (7–10?years old) of elementary education, in 22 private schools in Quito. Using Sauvé's categorization of conceptual currents in EE, findings suggest a strong conservationist theme among teachers whereas pupils approach EE from both conservationist and naturalist perspectives. In terms of the status of EE, implementation is still limited to classrooms and in teacher professional education and development. Consideration of diverse conceptual currents is strongly recommended in teacher professional development, and the strengthening of EE-related partnerships between schools, homes and communities.     

Understanding Possibilities and Limitations of Abstract Chemical Representations for Achieving Conceptual Understanding

When learning with abstract and scientific multiple external representations (MERs), low prior knowledge learners are said to have difficulties in using these MERs to achieve conceptual understanding. Yet little is known about what these limitations precisely entail. In order to understand this, we presented 101 learners with low prior knowledge of abstract scientific MERs to see (a) how many, and what kind of ideas (propositions) learners remembered from these MERs and (b) what the impact of these ideas is on conceptual understanding of the content. Propositional analysis indicates that learners created flawed internal representations. The discussion analyses the potentials that the learners have in using abstract representations to increase their understanding of scientific information and possible effects of instruction.     

如何保住你的工作

除非你是希尔顿失散多年的妹妹,否则你一定要为经济状况（以及如何保位你的职业）担心。莱昂纳多·兰黛作为雅诗·兰黛公司的主席管理数千人,他的建议可以帮助你远离被解雇的风险。     

Towards a codification of practical knowledge

As practical knowledge seems to have a central place in organisational issues, we focus on possibilities of studying and formalising it. From an unusual theoretical perspective, we view practical knowledge as embodied knowing that is only manifest through action in a particular situation. Although this knowledge is largely implicit, we try to make what is articulable explicit. After highlighting the stakes involved in the codification of practices, we review the ontological and epistemological assumptions underlying the method developed. The method is founded on participant observation, a video recording of a situated subjective perspective and an ex post interview using this perspective to aid an actor in making part of his/her practical knowledge explicit. We present its implementation within research on polar expeditions in order to understand how an experienced actor deals with risks. In conclusion, we point out (1) the importance of this kind of data in knowledge management, (2) some lines of further research.     

Understanding and Enhancing the Use of Multiple External Representations in Chemistry Education

Theories on learning with Multiple External Representations (MER) claim that low prior knowledge learners in science have difficulties using MER, which are seen as necessary to achieve a conceptual understanding. In two experiments, we analyze the mechanisms underlying the learning of chemistry with MER. Our first experiment focuses on how MER can support learning. We found no difference in learning gains of conceptual understanding, regardless of the format (whether MER were provided or not). It is concluded that chemical MER on themself cannot be seen as learning aids. The second experiment compares three types of instructional aids (prompts, prompts with an answer, and note-taking) to determine which types of aids enhance learning with MER. Contrary to the findings of Seufert (Learn Instr 13:227?C237, 2003), path-analysis suggests that the lowest prior knowledge group benefits the most from instructional aids such as prompts and note-taking. These aids guide learners?? attention towards one specific representational format (symbols), while other formats (submicroscopic representations) receive less attention.