Secondary students’ modelling conceptualisation in situations related to particle dynamics: a clinical perspective

This study investigates the modelling conceptualisation of secondary school students in two situations related to particle dynamics: pendulum’s motion and horizontal motion. We performed in-depth clinical interviews with secondary school students (N?=?10). Participants’ ideas about properties which are not ‘given’ in empirical observations were explored in order to investigate signs of abstractions and idealisations in their reasoning processes. We proposed contributions to modelling in science education based on Mario Bunge’s epistemology and we employed his basic concepts as the axis to analyse our results: (1) abstractions and idealisations, considered as thought processes required to build conceptual counterparts of concrete objects; (2) theoretical models, meaning hypothetico-deductive systems concerning those conceptual objects; and (3) general theoretical frameworks that allow us to derive those theoretical models. We developed our analysis viewing the ideas presented by participants as concepts-in-action and theorems-in-action as regarded by Gérard Vergnaud’s Theory of Conceptual Fields. Results indicated a gradation in the concepts-in-action mobilised in terms of levels of idealisation and showed that participants do not spontaneously recognise the use of a general theory as a possible way to obtain a theoretical model. These results suggest that science education practices must pay better attention to make abstractions and idealisations explicit in scientific concepts formation, as well as to the heuristic role of theories in model construction.     

Community involvement in research as a formal and informal mechanism for science education: Project Egret Watch

Specializations: science and environmental education, biology of herons.     

Do judges enhance home advantage in European championship boxing?

There have been many examples of contentious points decisions in boxing. Professional boxing is scored subjectively by judges and referees scoring each round of the contest. We assessed whether the probability of a home win (and therefore home advantage) increased when bouts were decided by points decisions rather than knockouts. Overall, we found that bouts ending in points decisions had a significantly higher proportion of home wins than those decided by a knockout, though this effect varied across time, and controlling for relative quality of boxers was only effective when using more recent data. Focusing on these data, again the probability of a home win was higher with a points decision and this effect was consistent as “relative quality” varied. For equally matched boxers (“relative quality” = 0), expected probability of a home win was 0.57 for knockouts, 0.66 for technical knockouts and 0.74 for points decisions. The results of the present study lend general support to the notion that home advantage is more prevalent in sports that involve subjective decision-making. We suggest that interventions should be designed to inform judges to counter home advantage effects.     

History, Philosophy, and Science in a Social Perspective: A Pedagogical Project

Various studies have promoted instruction in the history and philosophy of science (HPS) in science classes, but the best way of putting this perspective into practice remains undetermined. To contribute to this issue, we developed a pedagogical project in some high schools in Brazil that aimed to present science content using an historical–philosophical approach focusing on the HPS from a social perspective. The content was developed broadly, highlighting the dialogues between science and the cultures in which scientific knowledge was accumulated. The results of the first stage of project implementation show that some strategies efficiently encouraged student discussion about science using an historical–philosophical approach. One successful strategy was the use of artistic material, such as movies and plays. The creative language and images in these elements allowed teachers to broaden historical–philosophical discussions without compromising science content. This project shows that a social approach to the HPS stimulates interdisciplinary discussions in science classes, enabling students to reflect on the nature of science.     

Correlation Between Organizational Culture and Compensation Strategies Using Charles Handy's Typology

Alignment between management strategies, policies, and practices with organizational cultures holds great potential to meet the challenges of retaining professionals and maintaining their commitment. In this article, authors consider that when it is aligned with company strategy, compensation acts as an incentive for developing common visions within organizational culture.