Representations over the Earth’s shape and the process of day and night from Nahua indigenous schoolchildren / Representaciones sobre la forma de la Tierra y del proceso día y noche en niños de escuelas indígenas Nahuas

This research presents the way in which children from a Nahua indigenous community build representations of the Earth’s shape, as well as the process that causes day and night. Concepts from school and local culture were studied. For the first case, a questionnaire was applied to 331 children, out of which 38 children were then interviewed on the topics from the questionnaire. For the cultural ideas, three teachers from the region and 30 children from the sample were interviewed. The results show that the representations depend on the form of questioning and the existence of three models: a flat structure with a celestial dome and mechanisms that hide or remove the Sun or the Moon in order to create day and night; a spherical structure with a surrounding sky, where the Sun and Moon rise and set; and a transitional model with a hollow sphere, flat surface and celestial dome. Cultural ideas do not appear to have any influence over these models, probably due to a loss of the community’s cosmogonic knowledge and the age of the children.     

Do executive functions contribute to writing quality in beginning writers? A longitudinal study with second graders

Reading and Writing - Writing is an important activity that involves many demanding processes. Given the complexity and goal-directed nature of writing, this activity is heavily dependent on...     

Prospective biology teachers’ understanding of the nature of science through an analysis of the historical case of Semmelweis and childbed fever

Cultural Studies of Science Education - This article presents a qualitative study of the understanding of various epistemic and non-epistemic aspects of the nature of science (NOS), based on...     

Nuclear power plants? Yes or no? Thank you! The argumentative use of tables and graphs / ¿Centrales nucleares? ¿Sí o no? ¡Gracias! El uso argumentativo de tablas y gráficas

Abstract

The present paper deals with how eleventh grade high school students and university undergraduate students studying environmental science use evidence to write an argumentative text. They were presented with a dilemma with four sets of data (two pro and two anti nuclear energy). Half the sample was given the data in graph format and the other half in table format. The four sets of data differed according to their complexity. We analysed the structure of argument, the use of the evidence (either provided or their own) according to the participants’ position on the dilemma, and the presence of confirmation bias. Our results show a good argumentative competence that does not seem to be affected either by the students’ educational level or data format. We observed an effect of the complexity of the data in relation to the participants’ position.     

Media education with the monetization of YouTube: the loss of truth as an exchange value / Educación mediática frente a la monetización en YouTube: la pérdida de la verdad como valor de cambio

Abstract

The digital age of post-truth is the ideal breeding ground for fake news and misinformation. In the world of social networks and the Internet in general, commercial interests hold primacy over the importance of the veracity of the information provided. In this study, we have carried out a quantitative and qualitative content analysis of the messages published as comments on the most popular videos about Pokémon Go published in Spanish on YouTube. The main objective of the study is to analyse not only the content of the videos but, above all, users’ reactions to the misinformation provided. The results confirm the hypothesis that misinformation is promoted by the crisis of truth as a journalistic and social value, by economic interest and by the lack of suitable media education. We conclude by advocating the need to recover truth as a journalistic and social value in the digital context, and to accept that media literacy is an essential task to be assumed by all educational agents: schools, media and social groups.     

Gender differences in social reputation and peer rejection at school / Diferencias de género en la reputación social y el rechazo entre iguales en la escuela

The objectives of this study are twofold: to see if gender differences in social reputation remain stable throughout schooling, and to analyse behavioural differences between boys and girls with rejected status. A sociometric test was carried out and the Allocation of Perceptive Attributes Method was applied to a sample of 777 students in the mid-cycle and upper-cycle of primary education (years three to six) and the first cycle of CSE (Compulsory Secondary Education). The results show that differences in social reputation remain stable throughout schooling, with the exception of a few trends. We also find that rejection in boys is characterized by behavioural attributes, while characteristics associated with rejection in girls seem to be more subtle. It is concluded that gender ought to be taken into account in the design and implementation of intervention programmes aimed at improving the social integration of students.     

The completeness property of the set of real numbers in the transition from calculus to analysis

This paper focuses on teaching and learning the set of real numbers R and its completeness property at the university level. It studies, in particular, the opportunities for understanding this property that students are offered in four undergraduate correlative courses in Calculus and Analysis. The theoretical framework used in the study draws on concepts developed in the Anthropological Theory of Didactics, especially the notions of praxeology and mathematical organization. The paper shows different expectations concerning the same notion (R and its completeness) through different school levels, and intends to bring up some reflections about the transition from Calculus to Analysis.

Development of human resources in and for bilingual intercultural education in Latin America

Worked as consultant for the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit on the Bilingual Education Programme of Puno (Peru). Professor of Andean Linguistics at the Universidad Nacional del Altiplano. Co-author (with Ingrid Jung) of Las lenguas en la educación bilingüe: el caso de Puno,and compiler of Pesquisas en linguística andinaand Pueblos indios, estados y educación.