SECCION PRIMERA DEL RECURSO DE REVOCACION

V Andrade, M Baptista Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal [email protected] Abstract. Contemporary trends in teaching

and learning science acknowledge inquiry- based science education (IBSE) as a powerful approach for engaging students with meaningful and effective learning experiences that can prepare them to face the demands of a changing society, strongly linked to science and technology. Taking this into account, the present communication aims at describing students’ perceptions about the implementation of an inquiry activity that addresses the artificial satellites and uniform circular motion, using the current event of the launching of the Galileo’s satellites to engaging students. The research reported is qualitative, adopting an interpretative orientation. Participants were 24 students who attend the 11th grade of a scientific-humanistic course in Science and Technology. The implemented activity was designed in line with the BSCS 5E Instructional Model. The data were collected using two different instruments, namely observation and written documents. According to a naturalist research paradigm, the data were analyzed using a content analysis method that consisted into an interactive process of reading and re-reading data so to uncover patterns, singularities and themes which were associated to the research question. Results show that

students perceived the activity popular and relevant, because made learning more enjoyable, helped them to learned the curricular scientific contents and also to made connection between science, technology and everyday life.

Keywords. Artificial satellites and circular motion, IBSE, BSCS 5E’s Instructional

Model.

Developed inquiry-based science education (IBSE) activities provide an excellent opportunity to foster pupils to use the processes of science. According to Williams, moving students from “performing set experiments to carrying out investigative work can be seen as a move from a positivist approach to science to a more realistic view of science as a process that is largely problem solving” (p. 123) [1]. Actually, IBSE involves students in finding ways for reaching one or more solutions for an initial problem; and in developing multifaceted tasks, such as making observations, questioning, researching in books and other sources of information, planning investigations, reviewing what they known about the experience, using tools to analyze and interpret data, predicting, exploring, and answering to initial questions, and reporting results [2]. IBSE has a key role to build real understanding of ideas that “move from being “small” (just explaining a particular event) to being “bigger”, since [students] explain a great number of events” (p. 38) [3]. Alberts proposes that, whether students are involved in an inquiry process they “see them-selves learn and ‘recognize that they are capable of tacking harder and harder problems” (p. XIV) [2]. The same author argues, “there can be nothing more

gratifying, or more important, in science education” (p. XIV) [2].

In the Portuguese context, the secondary science curriculum guidelines point out towards the enhancement of meaningful learning experiences that enable pupils to develop competences, rather than pack a set of scientific concepts, those students must know, without opportunities to connect it to the real world. This document also asserts that learning concepts should be the arrival point, not departure. In considering this, it emphasizes the use of IBSE in an open way and always within the perspective of everyday life experiences. This kind of activities has a valuable contribution, because on the one hand students learn about the contents of science and on the other hand they develop various competences in different fields namely, procedural, conceptual, social, attitudinal and axiological [4].

The aims of this study are to know how an inquiry-based activity that explores the uniform circular motion, using a current event as context, is relevant for students learn scientific knowledge, learn about science inquiry process and enhance their awareness about the connection of science, technology and everyday life. In this communication it will be described one inquiry-based activity related with uniform circular motion and students’ perceptions about this activity.

The main idea of the inquiry-based activity, presented in this study, was introduced the topic: artificial satellites and uniform circular motion [5], using the context of the launch of the first and second spacecraft in the Europe’s global satellite navigation system, Galileo. The activity was designed in line with the BSCS 5 E’s (engage, explore,

explain, extend and evaluate) Instructional

Model[6].

The activity was implemented in a 11th

The research reported in this study is qualitative [7], adopting an interpretative orientation [8]. An interpretative research provides us a powerful tool for examining students’. Participants in this study were 24 students; there were 10 females and 14 males, with a mean age of 16 years old, who attend the 11

grade physics class (15-16 years old). During its implementation, students, working in groups of four or five elements each, were encouraged to formulate and share hypotheses, plan and design experiences, implement experiences, collect and analyze data, formulate explanation from evidence, communicate and justify the conclusions made.

th

The results showed that being involved in this activity provided the opportunity for students developed their own experiments and formulated their explanation from evidences about the effect of the radius on speed, period and frequency, and the relationship of these variables with the centripetal acceleration. Although, they not only learned about scientific contents — that are abstract and difficult to understand — but also made connection between science, technology and everyday life. In fact, at the end of this activity, most pupils developed a grade classes of a scientific- humanistic course in Science and Technology. The data were collected through two types of methods: observation and written documents produced by the participants [9]. Consistent with a naturalistic research paradigm, the data analysis consisted of repeatedly examining the data to uncover salient patterns, singularities, and themes associated with study’s aims.

deeper understanding about uniform circular motion and the capacity to extend this knowledge to other situations, namely the characterization of the motion of artificial satellites. Reflecting upon the work done, most of the students pointed out that by accomplishing this activity they had the opportunity to know more about artificial satellites, about its orbits and tasks. Some students also recognized that before this activity they barely knew about the European satellite navigation system, Galileo. Besides, students found the activity popular, making learning more enjoyable and relevant, because contextualizing the scientific concepts helps them to learn the science contents.

References

[1] Williams J. (2007). Do we know how science works? A brief history of the scientific method. School Science Review 2007; 89(327): 119-124.

[2] NRC (National Research Council). Inquiry and the national science education standards: A guide for teaching and learning. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press; 2000. [3] Harlen W. The Presidential Address

2009: Teaching and learning science for a better future. School Science Review 2009; 9(333): 33-41.

[4] Martins IP, Costa JAL, Lopes JMG, Magalhães MC, Simões, MO, Simões TS. Programa de Física e de Química A 10.º ou 11.º ano do curso científico- humanístico de ciência e tecnologias. Lisboa: Ministério da Educação, Departamento do Ensino Secundário; 2001.

[5] Martins IP, Costa JAL, Lopes JMG, Magalhães MC, Simões MO, Simões TS. Programa de Física e de Química A 11.º ou 12.º ano do curso científico- humanístico de ciência e tecnologias. Lisboa: Ministério da Educação, Departamento do Ensino Secundário; 2003.

[6] Bybee RW, Taylor JA, Gardner A, van Scotter P, Powell JC, Westbroock A, Landes N. The BSCS 5E instructional model: origins, effectiveness. Colorado Springs, CO: BSCS; 2006 URL: http://www.bscs.org/sites/default/files/_le gacy/BSCS_5E_Instructional_Model- Full_Report.pdf [visited 2-Nov-2012] [7] Bogdan RC, Biklen SK. Investigação

qualitativa em educação. Porto: Porto Editora; 1994.

[8] Erickson F. Qualitative methods in research on teaching. In: Wittroch M C, editor. Handbook of research on teaching. New York, NY: Macmillan; 1986.

[9] Patton MQ. Qualitative evaluation and research methods. London: Sage Pubs; 1990.

Formal Science Education: the