Emotional Intelligence

Vol.
17 n 2, 2016
A RETHINKING OF ASSESSMENT
PRACTICE: AN EXPERIENCE
WITH A STAGE TEST
p. 57
SCIENCE STUDENT TEACHERS

IDEAS ABOUT THE STRUCTURE
OF THE EAR
p. 79
JOURNAL OF SCIENCE EDUCATION

REVISTA DE EDUCACIN EN CIENCIAS
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Education of Science
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Education of Chemistry
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COMMITTEE OF SUPPORT
ACADMIA COLOMBIANA DE CIENCIAS

Enrique Forero
UNIVERSIDAD ANTONIO NARIO

Mara Falk de Losada
UNIHORIZONTE, Colombia
Carlos Eduardo Rodrguez
Carlos Andrs Gmez
UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DA INTEGRAO LATINO-AMERICANA, UNILA
Brasil
GRUPO DE INOVAES EDUCACIONAIS EM CINCIAS NATURAIS
CNPq, UNILA, Brasil
UNIVERSIDAD AUTONOMA DE COLOMBIA
UNIVERSIDAD DISTRITAL FRANCISCO JOS DE CALDAS
FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS Y EDUCACIN
Manuel Flores
LATVIAN UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE
Juris Skujans
Baiba Briede
Anda Zeidmane
UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW
CENTRE OF SCIENCE EDUCATION
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UNIVERSIDAD DE LA REPBLICA, Montevideo
Unidad de Enseanza, Facultad de Ingeniera
COMMITTEE OF ADVISERS
Agnaldo Arroio, Universidade de So Paulo, Brasil
Kirstie Andrews , Manchester M. University, UK
Agustin Adriz-Bravo, U. de Buenos Aires, Argentina
Colin Bielby, Manchester M. University, UK
Martin Bilek, Univerzity of Hradec Krlov, Czech Republic
John Bradley, University of the Witwatersrand, S. Africa
Baiba Briede, Latvian University of Agriculture
Antonio Cachapuz, University of Aveiro, Portugal
Liberato Cardellini, University of Ancona, Italy
Peter Childs, University of Limerick, Ireland
Malcolm Cleal-Hill, Manchester M. University, UK
Mei-Hung Chiu, National Taiwan Normal University
Carlos Corredor, U. Simon Bolivar, Colombia
Hana Ctrnactova, Charles University, Czech Republic
Onno De Jong, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Agustina Echeverria, UFG, Brasil
Salman Elyian, Arab Academy College for Education in Israel
Marcela Fejes, Universidade de So Paulo, Brasil
Carlos Furi, U. de Valencia, Espaa
Valentn Gavidia, U. de Valencia, Espaa
Wilson Gonzles-Espada, Morehead State University, USA
Jenaro Guisasola, U. del Pas Vasco, Espaa
Muhamad Hagerat, Arab Academy College for Education in Israel
Jace Hargis, Chaminade University, Honolulu , USA
Masahiro Kamata, Tokio Gakugei University, Japan
Maria Elena Infante-Malachias, Universidade de So Paulo, Brasil
Ryszard M. Janiuk, U. Marie Curie-Sklodowska, Poland
Alex Johnstone, University of Glasgow, UK
Rosria Justi, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brasil
Ram Lamba, University of Puerto Rico
Jos Lozano, Academia Colombiana de Ciencias
Iwona Maciejowska, Jagiellonian University, Poland
Ilia Mikhailov, UIS, Colombia
Marina Mguez, U. de la Repblica, Uruguay
Mansoor Niaz, U. de Oriente, Venezuela
Tina Overton, Physical Science Center, University of Hull, UK
Stelios Piperakis, University of Thessaly, Greece
Mario Quintanilla, Pontificia Universidad Catlica de Chile
Christofer Randler, University of Education, Heidelberg, Germany
Andrs Raviolo, U. Nacional de Comahue, Argentina
Charly Ryan, University of Winchester, UK
Eric Scerri, UCLA, USA
Peter Schwarz, Kassel University, Germany
Carlos Soto, U. de Antioquia, Colombia
Aarne Toldsepp, University of Tartu, Estonia
Zoltan Toth, University of Debrecen, Hungary
Nora Valeiras, U. Nacional de Crdoba, Argentina
Uri Zoller, University of Haifa, Israel
Fundacin Revista de Educacin de las Ciencias

JOURNAL OF SCIENCE EDUCATION - N 2, Vol. 17, p. 46, 2016, ISSN 0124-5481, www.accefyn.org.co/rec
46
JOURNAL OF SCIENCE EDUCATION, N 2, VOL. 17, 2016
COORDINADORA EDITORIAL
Luz C. Hernndez
CONTENTS
Asesor contable
Sonia Judith Guevara
ISSN 0124-5481
VIEWS OF NATURE OF SCIENCE: ADAPTATION OF A QUESTIONNAIRE FOR PORTUGUESE

PROSPECTIVE SCIENCE TEACHERS
Visiones sobre la naturaleza de la ciencia: adaptacin de un cuestionario para futuros profesores de
ciencias
Torres J., Vasconcelos C. (Portugal). ........................................................................................................48
HOW DOES THE STRUCTURE OF A COLLEGE CHEMISTRY EXAMINATION AFFECT
PEDAGOGY
Cmo la estructura de exmenes de una clase de qumica universitaria afecta la pedagoga
Pandey R. Mayberry J., Hargis J. (USA) ................................................................................................53
A RETHINKING OF ASSESSMENT PRACTICE: AN EXPERIENCE WITH A STAGE TEST
El replanteamiento de la prctica de la evaluacin: una experiencia con una prueba en etapas
Trevisan A. L., Corio de Buriasco R. L. (Brazil) .......................................................................................57
La Journal of Science Education

(Revista de Educacin en Ciencias)
no se responsabiliza por las ideas
DIFICULTADES DE LOS ESTUDIANTES UNIVERSITARIOS EN EL APRENDIZAJE DE LA

CAPACIDAD ELCTRICA: EL CASO DEL CONDENSADOR DE PLACAS PARALELAS
Difficulties experienced by university students in learning about electrical capacitance: the case of the
parallel-plate capacitor
Ceberio M., Almud J. M., Franco A., Zubimendi J. L. (Espaa)..............................................................61
emitidas por los autores
SCIENCE EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABILITY: CAN A POWER POINT (PP)-BASED WORKSHOP

INDUCE A RELATED CONCEPTUAL CHANGE IN SCIENCE TEACHERS?
Educacin en ciencias para la sostenibilidad: pueden talleres basados en PP inducir un cambio
conceptual en maestros de ciencias?
Zoller U., Barak M., Kortam N. (Israel) ..................................................................................................65
Los artculos de esta revista

pueden ser reproducidos
citando la fuente
EL TRABAJO COOPERATIVO CON LAS TIC PARA EL TRATAMIENTO DE CONTENIDOS DE

BIOLOGA CON ALUMNOS DE 14-15 AOS.
Cooperative work through ICTs to teach biology contents
Novalbos D. R., Martnez-Aznar M. M. (Espaa) .....................................................................................69
Bien excluido de IVA
EFFECTIVENESS OF GENETICS STUDENT WORKSHEET TO IMPROVE CREATIVE THINKING

SKILLS OF TEACHER CANDIDATE STUDENTS
Eficacia de la hoja de trabajo para mejorar las habilidades de pensamiento creativo de los estudiantes de
gentica
Susantini E., Isnawati, Lisdiana L. (Indonesia) .........................................................................................73
SCIENCE STUDENT TEACHERS IDEAS ABOUT THE STRUCTURE OF THE EAR
Ideas de los estudiantes de licenciatura sobre la estructura del oido
Cardak O., Dikmenli M. (Turkey) .............................................................................................................79
Pgina WEB con

la revista virtual:
http://www.accefyn.org.co/rec
Address of the Journal:

E-mail: oen85@yahoo.com,
joapd11@gmail.com
ANALOGIES IN MATHEMATICAL PROBLEM POSING

Analogas en el planteamiento de problemas matemticos
Cruz Ramrez M., (Cuba), Garca Pupo M., Rojas Velzquez O., (Colombia), Sigarreta Almira J. (Mxico) ......84
THE TRAILER OF SCIENCE IN THE NON-FORMAL EDUCATION IN JALISCO, MXICO
El triler de la ciencia en la educacin no formal en Jalisco, Mxico
Gmez-Hernndez H., Gonzlez-Palomares S., Olivera-Torres A., Plata-Rosas L. (Mexico) ..................90
THE STRANGE BEHAVIOUR OF CARBON DIOXIDE IN RUBBER BALLOONS
El comportamiento extrao del dixido del carbono en los globos
Goodwin A. (UK).......................................................................................................................................94
Books review
EILKS, I. & HOFSTEIN, A. (eds.). Relevant Chemistry Education From Theory to Practice.
Rotterdam/Boston/Taipei: Sense Publishers, 2015. ...................................................................................97
Index volume 17. .......................................................................................................................................98
47
Views of nature of science: adaptation of a questionnaire for Portuguese prospective

science teachers
Visiones sobre la naturaleza de la ciencia: adaptacin de un cuestionario para
futuros profesores de ciencias
JOANA TORRES, CLARA VASCONCELOS
Faculty of Sciences of Oporto University/DGAOT/Unit for the teaching of Sciences; Earth Sciences Institute, Portugal,
joana.torres@fc.up.pt, csvascon@fc.up.pt
Abstract
The development of informed views related to the nature of science is currently
considered a crucial (but also difficult) aim to achieve in science classes. Accordingly,
it is important that teachers themselves have informed views regarding those issues.
This study is part of a broader research and intends to provide evidence regarding the
validity of an adapted questionnaire designed to assess how Portuguese prospective
science teachers understand the nature of science, as well as to present an analysis
of their views. We have concluded that the data obtained through questionnaires
combined with the data gathered through interviews provide a deep understanding
of the views of nature of science held by Portuguese prospective science teachers.
Data analysis shows that Portuguese prospective science teachers still hold naive
views concerning the nature of science, thus suggesting the need for improvement.
Key words: science education, nature of science, prospective science teachers views,
questionnaire, validation.
Resumen
El desarrollo de visiones informadas de los alumnos sobre la naturaleza de la ciencia
es actualmente considerado un objetivo crucial (pero tambin difcil) de las clases de
ciencias. En consecuencia es importante que los propios profesores tengan visiones
informadas sobre estos aspectos. Este estudio est integrado en una investigacin
ms alargada y pretende proveer evidencias sobre la validez de un cuestionario
adaptado para evaluar las visiones de los futuros profesores de ciencias portugueses
sobre la naturaleza de la ciencia y presentar un anlisis de sus visiones. Concluimos
que los datos obtenidos por medio de las respuestas a los cuestionarios en conjunto
con los datos obtenidos con entrevistas proporcionan un conocimiento profundo de
las visiones de los futuros profesores de ciencias sobre la naturaleza de la ciencia.
As mismo el anlisis de los datos revela que los futuros profesores de ciencias an
tienen visiones ingenuas relativamente a algunos aspectos de la naturaleza de la
ciencia, lo que sugiere la necesidad de mejorarlas sobre ese aspecto.
Palabras clave: educacin en ciencias, naturaleza de la ciencia, visiones de futuros
profesores de ciencias, cuestionario, validacin.
INTRODUCTION
In a world strongly influenced by science, it is important that students
understand what science is, what are its strengths and limitations and
also how scientists work. In fact, the development of informed views of
Nature of Science (NOS) constitutes a central goal for science education
at both the international and national level (Abd-El-Khalick, 2006),
and it is essential for the development of scientifically literate citizens
(Lederman, Bartos & Lederman, 2014). It is currently understood that the
development of informed views of NOS (i.e. of views that are consistent
with contemporary views of NOS advocated in science education literature
which are better described below) is of the utmost importance since it
enhances the learning of science content, promotes a better understanding
of science, increases interest in science and supports informed decisionmaking (McComas, Clough & Almazroa, 1998).
Although generally controversial, some science education authors
believe that there are some aspects of NOS that are not contentious and that
are relevant and accessible for pre-university students (Abd-El-Khalick,
Bell & Lederman, 1998; Lederman, Abd-El-Khalick, Bell & Schwartz,
2002). Scientific knowledge is thus considered to be empirical, subjective,
tentative, partly the product of human inference, imagination and creativity
and socially and culturally embedded. The distinction between observation
and inference and between scientific theories and laws are also considered
48
to be essential for the students understanding of science (Abd-El-Khalick,

2006; Lederman et al., 2002). Moreover, it is also relevant to note that
no research method is applied universally. The development of models
and explanations (which are limited by our perceptions and influenced
by the scientists beliefs, imagination, creativity, experiences, training,
expectations and social context) is fundamental to the development of
scientific knowledge.
Nonetheless, many studies show that students understanding (and even
teachers) of NOS is not consistent with the views previously mentioned
(Bell, Blair, Crawford & Lederman, 2003; Koksal, Cakiroglu & Geban,
2013), and that teachers fail to emphasize NOS aspects in the classroom
(McComas et al., 1998). As Abd-El-Khalick et al. (1998) argues, teachers
informed views of NOS are a necessary, but not sufficient, condition to
effectively teach NOS. Given the relevance of NOS knowledge in a society
deeply influenced by science, we consider that it is equally essential that
teachers develop informed views of NOS and that they understand the
relevance of teaching NOS.
This study is part of a broader research project whose aim is to improve
the perceptions of NOS held by prospective science teachers, emphasising
models nature in science and for science teaching. In this study, one
questionnaire was adapted and validated for Portuguese prospective science
teachers from the Views of Nature of Science Questionnaire Form C
(VNOS-C) (Lederman et al., 2002). To verify the adaptation made, we have
examined student views of NOS at the end of the curricular component of
their first year as students in biology and geology teaching masters course.
METHODOLOGY
Participants
Seventeen prospective science teachers, enrolled in the masters course
in biology and geology teaching, have voluntarily participated in this
study. They had already concluded either a BSc degree in Biology (which
includes 50 credits of geology-related subjects) or a BSc in Geology (which
includes 50 credits of biology-related subjects) and they will teach biology
and geology subjects in middle and high schools (students aged from
12 to 18). At the time of this research they were finishing the curricular
component of their masters (which is a required degree to be a professional
teacher), which included some scientific (biology and geology) subjects,
but essentially educational subjects, such as biology and geology education
and educational sciences. Considering this educational background (which
implicitly includes epistemological knowledge) and the Portuguese science
curriculum (which recommends the development of NOS views), it is
desirable that prospective science teachers develop NOS views consistent
with the contemporary views advocated in relevant science education
literature. Having this in mind it is expected that they develop this view
during their classes with their students. The sample included 14 females
between the ages of 21 and 48 (average = 24.8 and mode = 22) and 3
males, all aged 25.
Data Sources
In order to evaluate the views of NOS held by prospective science teachers,
we have developed a questionnaire, as we have mentioned before, that was
mainly adapted from the Views of Nature of Science Questionnaire Form
C (VNOS-C) (Lederman et al., 2002). All the 10 questions were translated
into Portuguese and reviewed by a translator and two experts on science
education. Only one question was revised (see Appendix A, question 7)
JOURNAL OF SCIENCE EDUCATION - N 2, Vol. 17, pp. 48-52, 2016, ISSN 0124-5481, www.accefyn.org.co/rec
Views of nature of science: adaptation of a questionnaire for Portuguese prospective science teachers
so as to relate to the respondents scientific area. The ten open-ended
questions aimed to assess the following aspects: the empirical, tentative
and subjective nature of scientific knowledge; the relevance of inference,
creativity and imagination in science; its social and cultural embeddedness;
the distinction between theories and laws; and the non-existence of a one
and only scientific method.
Furthermore, as our intention was to assess the views of prospective
science teachers regarding the relevance of history of science and the history
of models in science education, question number 2 was added (Appendix
A). One final question was also included, in order to analyse the ways
in which the curricular component of the masters degree contributes to
framing the views on NOS by prospective science teachers (see Appendix
A, question 12). Follow-up interview schedule was then developed so as
to clarify some answers (some examples are provided in Appendix B).
---
6 (35.3)
---
11 (64.7)
Inferential Nature of
scientific knowledge
1 (5.9)
13 (76.5)
3 (17.6)
---
Subjectivity in science
---
13 (76.5)
---
4 (23.5)
Creativity and imagination

in science
---
12 (70.6)
---
5 (29.4)
Social/cultural influences
---
13 (76.5)
2 (11.8)
2 (11.8)
Tentativeness of scientific
knowledge
---
7 (41.2)
---
10 (58.8)
3 (17.6)
5 (29.4)
---
9 (52.9)
14 (82.3)
Theories change
Scientific theories/laws
METHODOLOGY
One member of the research team administered the questionnaire, on
paper, during a geoscience education class, at the end of the prospective
science teachers curricular semester (their curricular component was
almost concluded and they would start their school internship the following
year). Although we had not established a time limit, the respondents took
approximately forty five minutes to fill in the questionnaire. Afterwards,
nine preservice science teachers (52.9%) agreed to answer to the followup interviews, in which they were requested to justify their answers to the
questionnaire and to explain some unclear answers.
Given its acknowledged validity, we have chosen to adapt the VNOS-C
questionnaire in view of the deep and meaningful analysis that it provides
(Lederman et al., 2002). However, we have decided to validate this adapted
questionnaire in the context in which it is used, considering the specificity
of the sample and the inclusion of different questions. As a result, in order
to verify if the questionnaire indeed measured what it aimed to measure, we
previously analysed the answers so as to verify if respondents addressed
the predefined targets regarding different aspects of NOS and to determine
its validity (Table 1). Follow-up interviews were then used to get a clearer
understanding of the participants views as well as to verify the researchers
analysis of the answers and establish the reliability of the questionnaire.
We compared the NOS profiles generated by the separate analysis of
questionnaires and interview scripts, and the discrepancies were analysed.
Afterwards, data were analysed in order to reach an understanding of the
views of NOS held by prospective science teachers. To guarantee coherence,
this final analysis was established by resorting to the same data source, that
is, by using the information provided by the questionnaires. The analysis
focused on the previously defined target aspects and a comparison with the
contemporary conceptions of NOS was established. The views of NOS held
by prospective science teachers were classified as naive, transitional
and informed. Informed views match current conceptions whereas nave
views do not. Participants are considered to have transitional views when
they show informed views only in a few (not all) questions. The category
without information is related to those few cases in which participants
did not address the aspect under analysis.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Validity and Reliability of the Adapted Questionnaire
Regarding the questionnaires, the respondents did not reveal difficulties
in answering the questions and responded to almost all of them (only one
respondent did not answer one question).
As shown in table 1, the majority of respondents addressed the predefined
targeted NOS aspects, except for the item scientific method. This
difficulty was overcome since this item was specifically focused on during
the interviews (see table 2). Thus, it was confirmed that questions were
understandable and the respondents proved to be capable of presenting a
wide range of views (Table 1).
Table 1. Answers to the questionnaires
Views categories
Targeted NOS aspects
n (%)
Empirical basis of science
Scientific method
General structure of
experiments
Observationally based
disciplines
Without
information
Informed
Views
n (%)
n (%)
1 (5.9) 4 (23.5)
12 (70.6) 4 (23.5)
---
5 (29.4)
Transitional
views
Nave
views
n (%)
3 (17.6)
---
9 (52.9)
1 (5.9)
---
12 (70.6)
---
3 (17.6)
---
Scientific theories nature
3 (17.6)
4 (23.5)
2 (11.8)
8 (47.1)
Scientific theories functions
3 (17.6)
9 (52.9)
---
5 (29.4)
---
16 (94.1)
---
1 (5.9)
History of science and

historical models
By comparing the NOS profiles generated by the separate analyses of

the questionnaires and the transcripts of interviews, a high degree of
congruence was achieved, as only a few discrepancies were identified
(Table 2).
While the discrepancies were few, it is important to analyse the ones
which were identified. A high rate of discrepancies (11 10.2%) results
from the lack of information, mainly verified in the questionnaires. For
example, discrepancies related to the scientific method aspect result from
the fact that six respondents did not address this aspect in the questionnaire
(Table 2). As a consequence, by analysing the interviews, four of these
respondents were classified as holding a nave view and two as holding an
informed view regarding the nonexistence of a single scientific method.
Also, two of the respondents revealed that they had changed their views:
Both theories and laws may be subject to change. So, maybe I
changed my view () (Prospective teacher 8 PT8)
Scientific experiments () now I think that it is something that
implies the change of a variable. (PT11)
Other discrepancies (13 10.3%) result from the fact that more information
was given during the interviews, which allowed a deeper and more consistent
analysis of the respondents views. Analysing these discrepancies, we have
concluded that the information given in the interviews was essential to
dispel doubts and achieve better conclusions.
Views of nature of science
Regarding the prospective science teachers views of NOS, a few
problems were identified, especially related to the empirical basis and the
tentativeness of scientific knowledge, the general structure of experiments
and observationally based disciplines and the difference between theories
and laws.
Empirical Basis of Scientific Knowledge
The majority of respondents did not reveal adequate understandings
regarding the empirical basis of scientific knowledge. In fact, 52.9% (Table
1) respondents considered that scientific knowledge is proven true based
essentially on experimental evidence:
Science is based on proofs; it is not a simple belief. I think that this is
the main difference between science and religion, or art, for example.
() It is the experiment that allows one to prove or disprove a certain
theory or model. (PT4)
Only 6 respondents (35.3% - 4 that were considered to have informed
views and 2 transitional views) pointed out that science is a human endeavour
to explain the world:
Science is a body of knowledge that allows us (in the best way we
can) to explain the world that surrounds us. Science is not static,
it is the result of human production; it is subjective and empirical.
(PT16)
49
Table 2. Answers to the interviews and discrepancies between the
analysis of questionnaires and interviews.
Views categories
Targeted NOS
aspects n (%)
Without
information
Informed Transitional Nave DiscreViews

views
views pancies
n (%)
n (%)
n (%)
n (%)
Empirical basis of
---
2 (22.2)
2 (22.2)
Scientific method
1 (11.1)
4 (44.4)
---
General structure
of experiments
Observationally
based disciplines
Inferential Nature of scientific
knowledge
Subjectivity in
science
Creativity and
imagination in
science
---
3 (33.3)
---
---
2 (22.2)
1 (11.1)
---
7 (77.8)
2 (22.2)
---
7 (77.8)
1 (11.1)
1
2 (22.2)
(11.1)
---
7 (77.8)
---
2
3 (33.3)
(22.2)
5
2 (22.2)
(55.6)
4
6 (66.7)
(44.4)
6
1 (11.1)
(66.7)
6
1 (11.1)
(66.7)
---
2 (22.2)
It is a procedure organized by scientists where they change some

variables in order to deepen the knowledge concerning certain
phenomenon. (PT6)
Observationally based disciplines
Eleven (64.7%) respondents considered that experiments are required for
developing scientific knowledge. However, only five respondents (29.4%)
indicated that experiments involve the manipulation of variables. Two
of these believed that experiments are required for developing scientific
knowledge:
Yes [it requires scientific experiments], as experiments allow the
exploration of facts about nature that would never be unveiled
without controlled experiments. (PT6)
On the other hand, the other three referred that experiments are not
required for developing scientific knowledge, further giving examples of
the relevance of observation:
Scientific knowledge does not necessarily need scientific experiments.
Some studies are descriptive or observational. In this context, we may
point out relevant scientific contributions, such as those of James
Hutton in Geology and Charles Darwin in Biology. (PT1)
Inferential Nature of scientific knowledge
Almost all participants (76.5%) recognized the role for indirect evidence
and inference in the construction of scientific knowledge and scientific
models:
Social/cultural
influences
---
8 (88.9)
---
1
(11.1)
Tentativeness of
---
4 (44.4)
---
5
1 (11.1)
(55.6)
The model of the interior of the Earth results from inferences that
derive from data obtained by indirect methods (). The definition of
species is created (artificially) by human beings. (PT1)
---
4 (44.4)
---
5
1 (11.1)
(55.6)
This model, as it is indicated by its denomination, is just an

approximated explanation model () (PT9)
---
---
1 (11.1)
8
1 (11.1)
(88.9)
Theories
change
Scientific theories/
laws
Scientific
theories nature
1 (11.1)
2 (22.2)
1 (11.1)
5
2 (22.2)
(55.6)
Scientific theories
functions
1 (11.1)
3 (33.3)
---
5
2 (22.2)
(55.6)
---
8 (88.9)
---
1
2 (22.2)
(11.1)
History of science
and historical
models
Scientific Method
Although the majority of the respondents to the questionnaires did not
provide information about the (non)existence of a single scientific method,
five of them made some references to this aspect, four of whom considered
that science does not possess a single scientific method:
Scientists do not do science through one single way; there is no single
scientific method. (PT11)
On the other hand, one respondent considered that:
Yes. We only develop scientific knowledge if we rely on the scientific
method and we perform scientific experiments to prove our theory,
in other words, the scientific knowledge. (PT15)
However, after the analysis of the interviews it was possible to verify
that a considerable percentage of respondents believed that scientists follow
a single method in their research.
General structure of experiments
The description of experiments provided by prospective science teachers
was generally unclear and poorly articulated. In fact, only five participants
(29.4%) considered that an experiment involves the manipulation of
variables:
A scientific experiment must involve manipulation of variables, data
analysis, interpretation and conclusions that must be communicated
and scientifically discussed with other scientists. (PT1)
50
Subjectivity in science
Regarding the subjective nature of scientific knowledge, 76.5% of the
respondents considered that scientists interpret the same data (which is
scarce) in distinct ways as a result of their own theoretical background
and expectations, recognizing the relevance of subjectivity in science:
This is possible as human interpretations depend on the underlying
theoretical background. So, two scientists may analyse the same
type of data and give more relevance to different data or they may
simply construct different explanations that may lead to different
conclusions. (PT6)
On the other hand, 17.6% of the respondents failed to recognize the
importance of interpretation according to a certain theoretical framework
and considered that the dinosaur extinction controversy just results from
the scarcity of data. Although it is an important factor, this deficit cannot
be considered the only reason for these different interpretations, as they
result from the analysis of the same (even scarce) data. However, all these
interpretations, without any doubt, result from rigorous processes and
from strong, coherent theoretical frameworks, besides being limited by the
available data. One respondent (5.9%) surmised that scientists interpret
data in different ways but did not provide any explanation for that:
I do not know, but they probably make different inferences, both
equally valid. (PT14)
Creativity and imagination in Science
Despite the fact that all respondents believe that creativity and imagination
are needed in the development of scientific knowledge, 29,4% of them
considered that creativity and imagination are only linked to some stages
of the research, such as to the planning stage:
Yes, [imagination and creativity are used] in the planning stage.
During the data collection stage scientists must be as thorough as
possible. (PT15)
In spite of being more relevant in some stages, as in the data interpretation
stage, creativity and imagination are needed in all stages of the research in
terms of the invention of explanations. Although creativity and imagination
permeate all stages of the research, it does not mean that the need to be
rigorous is neglected.
Social and cultural influences
The majority of the participants (76.5%) held informed views regarding
social and cultural influences on science, recognizing that scientific activity
is embedded in a social and cultural context:
The history of science and historical models allow the understanding
of science as mutable and socially dependent (). I consider that
science reflects social and cultural values. Scientific enterprise in a
country is greatly influenced by the needs of its society. For example,
a country at war will invest more in weapons than in the search for
a cure for AIDS. () (PT4)
Two participants believe that science is universal and failed to recognize
that social factors influence the way scientific research is conducted:
Science is universal. Scientific knowledge that is accepted in one
country should be accepted in any other country, as it was subject
to many experiments before being accepted. (PT2)
Tentativeness of scientific knowledge
Although all the participants indicated that theories do change, ten
respondents (58.8%) seemed to believe that laws are absolute and do not
change:
In general terms, a theory is tentative, while a law is definitive.
Thermodynamic laws, for example, are laws that no longer change
(). (PT10)
Theories change
scientific knowledge only as a contribution to the understanding of how

science develops (Table 1).
The history of science and historical models
Regarding the relevance of history of science and historical models in
science education, almost all prospective science teachers have indicated
that they contribute to the understanding of how scientific knowledge
develops:
History of science is important in science teaching for students to
understand scientific knowledge development, how this development
occurs and how society influences and is influenced by this process.
In other words, it is essential for students to understand the nature
of science. (PT3)
However, one respondent only emphasized its contribution to the better
understanding of scientific knowledge.
The change of their views about science
Regarding the last question, 64.7% of the respondents indicated that they
changed their views about science at the end of the academic year, mainly
due to the classes that they had attended. From these, two respondents
believed that they only pondered their views, two that they had deepened
their views, and five acknowledge that they had changed their views about
science, namely regarding the tentative and subjective nature of science
and the social and cultural influences.
CONCLUSIONS
Although all respondents contended that theories do change, the majority

of them related this change only to technological progress and new
information:
Although considering that theories are explanations of our world, the other
two did not ascribe them any robustness.
The results of this study hold a high confidence level on the validity
and reliability of the adapted questionnaire to assess the views of NOS
by Portuguese prospective science teachers. We have also verified that
follow-up interviews were of the utmost importance, as they enable the
understanding of views that were not focused on in the questionnaire.
Furthermore, as argued by Lederman et al. (2014), the use of follow-up
interviews is crucial to get the most valid data possible, as they allow a
deeper understanding of the answers given by prospective teachers and a
more consistent analysis of the respondents views.
In this study, we have verified that Portuguese prospective science
teachers hold nave views concerning some NOS aspects, especially related
to the following ones: the empirical and tentative nature of scientific
knowledge; scientific method and general structure and coverage of
experiments; difference between theories and laws. In the same way, in a
study conducted by Liu & Lederman (2007) with Taiwanese prospective
science teachers, it was also verified that they generally hold nave views
concerning NOS aspects. For example, all of them have nave views on
the relationship between theories and laws and a great majority did not
demonstrate adequate understandings about the empirical basis and the
tentativeness of scientific knowledge. Moreover, in a study conducted
with fifteen Turkish preservice science teacher educators, the majority
of the participants revealed inadequate views concerning NOS, being the
scientific method and tentative nature of scientific knowledge the
most problematic aspects (Irez, 2006). Likewise, in a study conducted with
Portuguese university students it was revealed that they do not held informed
views regarding NOS, so the need to improve NOS instruction in Portuguese
educational institutions has been emphasized (Figueiredo & Paixo, 2010).
Accordingly, it was also verified, in two pilot studies previously done
(Torres & Vasconcelos, 2015; Torres, Moutinho & Vasconcelos, 2015), that
Portuguese prospective science teachers, in-service teachers and students
hold nave views concerning some NOS aspects. However, this adapted
and validated questionnaire provided an in-depth understanding of the
views of NOS by Portuguese prospective science teachers.
Given the relevance of NOS for Science Teaching, we believe that it is
crucial to deeply understand and improve the views of NOS by Portuguese
science teachers.
Functions of scientific theories
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
When asked about the usefulness of learning scientific theories, nine

respondents held informed views: 29.4% (n=5) of the respondents
recognized that theories provide a theoretical framework that allows the
understanding of current knowledge; 11.8% (n=2) considered that scientific
theories provide a theoretical framework for future investigations and
11.8% (n=2) recognized that scientific theories have both functions. On
the other hand, 29.4% (n=5) of the respondents considered the learning of
This work was supported by FCT Foundation for Science and Technology
- under the PhD scholarship n. SFRH/BD/85735/2012.
Yes, theories do change. They change because technology evolves

which in turn allows the accessibility to more information. (PT5)
Difference between scientific theories and laws
Concerning the difference between scientific theories and laws, only three
participants (17.6%) held informed views and considered that scientific
theories and laws are distinct forms of scientific knowledge:
Yes, there is [a difference between scientific theories and laws]. A
law has less coverage than a theory. In general, a theory explains
or integrates diverse laws. Furthermore, a law is based on more
observations, while a theory constitutes an endeavour to explain
these observations. For example, the law of gravity tells us that two
objects attract each other, whereas the theory explains why. (PT3)
The majority of respondents (76.5%) held nave views concerning this
aspect. In fact, one of the respondents expressed a hierarchical relationship
between theories and laws while others indicated that theories are more
certain than laws. 58.8% of the respondents believed that laws are more
certain than theories, and one of them mentioned that theories become laws:
A theory may be reformulated. This theory, when considered to be
true, may become a scientific law. A scientific law is considered to
be true (). (PT13)
The nature of scientific theories
The majority of respondents held nave views concerning the nature
of scientific theories and only six respondents (35.3%) recognized that
theories are explanations of phenomena. Moreover, only four out of these
six recognized that theories are well-supported systems of explanation:
The scientific theories that we learn are explanations of our reality,
of our time (). A scientific theory is scientifically accepted. (PT1)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Abd-El-Khalick, F., Over and over again: College students views of nature of
science. In L.B. Flick & N. G. Lederman (Eds.), Scientific inquiry and Nature
of Science, Springer, The Netherlands, p. 389-425, 2006
51
Abd-El-Khalick, F., Bell, R. L. & Lederman, N. G., The nature of science and
instructional practice: Making the unnatural natural, Science Education, 82,
417-436, 1998.
Bell, R. L., Blair, L. M., Crawford, B. A., & Lederman, N. G., Just do it? Impact
of a science apprenticeship program on high school students understandings
of the nature of science and scientific inquiry, Journal of Research in Science
Teaching, 40, [5], 487-509, 2003.
Figueiredo, M. & Paixo, F., Opinies sobre a natureza da cincia e da tecnologia de
estudantes portugueses do ensino superior. In A. Bennssar, A. Vzquez, M. A.
Manassero & A. Garca-Carmona (Coords.), Ciencia, tecnologa y sociedad en
iberoamrica: Una evaluacin de la comprensin de la naturaleza de cincia
y tecnologa, OEI, Madrid, 2010, p. 75-87.
Irez, S., Are we prepared?: An assessment of preservice science teacher educators
beliefs about nature of science, Science Education, 90 [6], 1113-1143, 2006.
Koksal, M. S., Cakiroglu, J. & Geban, O., The effect of explicit embedded reflective
instruction on nature of science understandings in advanced science students,
Journal of Biological Education, 47, [4], 208-223, 2013.
Lederman, N. G., Abd-El-Khalick, F., Bell, R. L. & Schwartz, R. S., Views of
Nature of Science Questionnaire: Toward valid and meaningful assessment
of learners conceptions of Nature of Science, Journal of Research in Science
Teaching, 39, [6], 497-521, 2002.
Lederman, N. G., Bartos, S. A. & Lederman, J. S., The development, use, and
interpretation of nature of science assessments. In M. R. Matthews (Ed.),
International Handbook of Research in History, Philosophy and Science
Teaching, Springer, Netherlands, 2014, p. 971-997.
Liu, S. & Lederman, N. G., Exploring Prospective Teachers Worldviews and
Conceptions of Nature of Science, International Journal of Science Education,
29, [10], 1281-1307, 2007.
McComas, W. F., Clough, M. P. & Almzroa, H., The role and character of the nature
of science in science education. In W. McComas (Ed.), The nature of science
in science education: Rationales and strategies. Kluwer Academic Publishers,
The Netherlands, 1998, p. 3-39.
Torres, J. & Vasconcelos, C., Nature of science and models: Comparing Portuguese
prospective teachers views, Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science &
Technology Education, 11, [6], 1473-1494, 2015.
Torres, J., Moutinho, S. & Vasconcelos, C., Nature of science, scientific and geoscience
models: Examining students and teachers views, Journal of Turkish Science
Education, 12, [4], 2015.
Appendix A. Adaptation of the Views of Nature of Science Questionnaire,

Form C (VNOS-C) (Lederman et al., 2002)
Question 1. What, in your view, is science? What makes science (or a

scientific discipline such as physics, biology, etc.) different from other
disciplines of inquiry (e.g. religion, philosophy, or art)?
Question 2. What is the relevance of history of science and historical
models for science education?
Question 3. What is an experiment?
Question 4. Does the development of scientific knowledge require
experiments?
If yes, explain why. Give an example to defend your position.
If no, explain why. Give an example to defend your position.
Question 5. After scientists have developed a scientific theory (e.g., cell
theory, evolution theory), does the theory ever change?
If you believe that scientific theories do not change, explain why.
Defend your answer with examples.
If you believe that scientific theories do change:
Explain why theories change.
Explain why we bother to learn scientific theories. Defend your answer
with examples.
Question 6. Is there a difference between a scientific theory and a
scientific law? Illustrate your answer with an example
52
Question 7. Science textbooks often represent the interior of the Earth

as a set of concentric layers with distinct characteristics. How certain are
scientists about the structure of the interior of the Earth? What specific
evidence, or types of evidence, do you think scientists used to determine
how the interior of the Earth looks like?
Question 8. Science textbooks often define a species as a group of
organisms that share similar characteristics and can interbreed with one
another to produce fertile offspring. How certain are scientists about
their characterization of what a species is? What specific evidence do
you think scientists used to determine what a species is?
Question 9. It is believed that about 65 million years ago the dinosaurs
became extinct. Of the hypotheses formulated by scientists to explain the
extinction, two enjoy wide support. The first, formulated by one group
of scientists, suggests that a huge meteorite hit the Earth 65 million
years ago and led to a series of events that caused the extinction. The
second hypothesis, formulated by another group of scientists, suggests
that massive and violent volcanic eruptions were responsible for the
extinction. How are these different conclusions possible if scientists in
both groups have access to and use the same set of data to derive their
conclusions?
Question 10. Some claim that science is infused with social and
cultural values. That is, science reflects the social and political values,
philosophical assumptions, and intellectual norms of the culture in which
it is practiced. Others claim that science is universal. That is, science
transcends national and cultural boundaries and is not affected by social,
political, and philosophical values, and intellectual norms of the culture
in which it is practiced.
If you believe that science reflects social and cultural values, explain
why and how. Defend your answer with examples.
If you believe that science is universal, explain why and how. Defend
your answer with examples.
Question 11. Scientists perform experiments/investigations when trying
to find answers to the questions they put forth. Do scientists use their
creativity and imagination during their investigations?
If yes, then at which stages of the investigations do you believe that
scientists use their imagination and creativity: planning and design;
data collection; after data collection? Please explain why scientists use
imagination and creativity. Provide examples if appropriate.
If you believe that scientists do not use imagination and creativity,
please explain why. Provide examples if appropriate.
Question 12. After the classes that you attended during this academic
year, do you consider that you have changed your views of the nature
of science?
If so, identify and explain the main changes and the main reasons (and
sources) for those changes.
Appendix B. VNOS Interview Protocol
1.
Can you read and better explain your answer?
2.
What do you mean by ()?
3.
How does your answer to question (a) relate to your answer to

question (b)?
4.
Have your views changed since you wrote your answer? If so, how?
5.
()
Received 21-09-2015 /Approved 30-04-2016
How does the structure of a college chemistry examination affect pedagogy

Cmo la estructura de exmenes de una clase de qumica universitaria afecta la
pedagoga
RAJEEV R. PANDEY, JOHN MAYBERRY, JACE HARGIS
University of the Pacific, Chaminade University , Honolulu, USA
rajeev.pandey@hotmail.com , jmayberry@pacific.edu, jace.hargis@gmail.com
Abstract
This study examines variations of assessment and connections to active learning
methods, which may enhance both the accuracy of assessment, engagement and
retention. Correlation data relating instruction and assessment in a multiple dimensions
are presented. Multiple choice (MC) and free response (FR) exams were provided
and students were also given the option to provide FR answers to the MC items. This
study suggests there is little overall difference in mean or median student scores on
the MC vs. FR portions of the exam, but that there is some evidence to believe that
student scores on MC portions are more variable than their corresponding scores on
FR portions. Some students may exhibit a difference in their abilities to answer MC
vs. FR questions, but these preferences do not appear to be widespread and exhibit
no biases towards one particular type of assessment.
Key words: summative assessment, structured response test; unstructured response
tests, active learning
Resumen
Este estudio examina las variaciones de evaluacin y conexiones a los mtodos de
aprendizaje activo, que puede mejorar tanto la precisin de evaluacin, compromiso
del estudiante, y la retencin. Los datos de correlacin con la instruccin y evaluacin
en varias dimensiones son presentados. Exmenes de opcin mltiple y de respuesta
libre fueron proporcionados y a los estudiantes tambin se les dio la opcin de
proporcionar respuestas libres a las preguntas de opcin mltiple. Este estudio
sugiere que hay poca diferencia global en media o mediana de las puntuaciones de
los estudiantes en las porciones de opcin mltiple y de respuesta libre en el examen,
pero hay una cierta evidencia para creer que los resultados de los estudiantes en la
parte de opcin mltiple son ms variables que sus correspondientes puntuaciones
en las porciones de respuestas libres. Algunos estudiantes pueden mostrar una
diferencia en su capacidad para responder de opcin mltiple y respuesta libre,
pero estas diferencias no parecen ser generalizadas y no presentan sesgos hacia un
tipo particular de evaluacin.
Palabras clave: evaluacin sumativa, prueba de respuesta estructurada; pruebas
de respuesta no estructuradas, aprendizaje activo
INTRODUCTION
In the Unites States (US), many K-20 do not excel in or enjoy STEM
related fields of study. Since NASAs response to Sputnik, the US has
tried to encourage young people to pursue math and science careers,
however, the results are still less than desirable. Of particular interest are
the complex sciences of chemistry and physics. Freshman chemistry is
one of the most feared subjects among college students (Anderson, 2005)
yet it is one of the core subject requirement for students wanting to pursue
professional careers in the allied health and pharmaceutical sciences as
well as certain areas of engineering and applied biological sciences. At the
authors institution, for example, the majority of freshman students taking
chemistry courses are either pre-med, dental or pharmacy students. There
is therefore an authentic interest in exploring different ways to teach and
assess introductory science classes to help students learn more effectively
and empower them to create a solid foundation of science. This will, in
turn, assist their success in their professional programs. In this study, we
focus specifically on methods of assessment and examine the dependence
of class scores and rankings on the form of assessment used for the course.
We also examine connections between exam scores and various active
learning methods (clickers and group work), which may enhance both the
accuracy of assessment, engagement and retention of concepts.
This study was conducted collectively in two class sections of the same
undergraduate general chemistry course taught by the lead author of this
paper. The two class sections met one after the other throughout the spring
semester on Monday, Wednesday and Friday each week from 11:00 AM

to 12:15 PM and 12:30 PM and 1:45 PM respectively. The former section
contained 46 students, while the second section had 17 students, producing
a total of 63 students who participated in this study.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Assessment
Assessment is a vehicle for gathering information about learners
behavior. Measurement is an assignment of marks based on an explicit
set of criteria. Evaluation is a process of making judgments about the
level of understanding (Hargis, 2007). Each of these concepts used
correctly can greatly assist a faculty members ability to accurately assess
the performance of a student. In the context of this study, we focus on
summative assessment since the data examined were derived from final
examination scores. Summative assessment can be narrowly defined as an
instrument used to gauge a students performance at a given time. This type
of assessment typically does not provide information, which can be used to
assist the students learning or remediation. It occurs at the end of a learning
cycle (concept, chapter, semester, etc.) (Little, Badway & Hargis, 2008).
Schmoker (2006) indicates the value of summative assessment is that it
provides valuable information following a learning event to determine if
foundational learning outcomes have been achieved. Race (2003) in his
book Designing Assessment to Improve Physical Sciences Learning
suggests the need for educators to get involved in getting the current
methods of assessments fixed.
Dorman, Waldrip and Fisher (2008), report the use of a new instrument,
the Students Perceptions of Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ) in middle
school science classes that assesses Congruence with Planned Learning,
Authenticity, Student Consultation, Transparency, and Diversity. Their
method allows more focus on classroom-based perceptions of assessment
rather than the traditional external accountability measures of classroom
assessment. Gonzlez-Espada (2008), in their work apply item difficulty
and discrimination to analyze the quality of the multiple choice test items
used to grade students enrolled in the Introduction to Physical Science
Laboratory course. They suggest that by choosing multiple-choice items
with optimal difficulty and discrimination, physical science instructors can
develop the most effective and valid assessments possible.
Structured Assessment (Multiple Choice Tests)
Traditionally, multiple-choice examinations have been used in settings
where efficiency is critical, both in the view of class time, large class
sizes and publish or perish pressures on faculty members. Multiple-choice
assessment can be an appropriate mechanism to accurately assess student
performance, if the items are written attending to empirical research on
effective tests. Attributes which have been identified for good practices
include testing for important ideas instead of trivial facts in isolation;
clearly worded questions and response options; uncluttered figure layouts;
and consistent grammar. Practices to avoid include the use of interrelated
items, irrelevant clues, direct quotations from the text, or trick questions;
terms such as all, none, never, always, none or all of the; clues in the stem;
use of long, complex sentences; unnecessary distractors; answers located
in a previous question; and the use of C as a common response. Basic
guidelines for writing multiple-choice items include addressing a single
plausible concept for each item; providing three to five options; placing
repeated words in the stem; avoiding window dressing; and using options
of similar lengths placed at the end of statements.
Towns (2014) has published a guidance for chemistry faculty from the
research literature on multiple-choice item development in chemistry that
could allow faculty to create assessments that are reliable and valid, with
53
How Does the Structure of a College Chemistry Examination Affect Pedagogy

greater ability to discriminate between high- and low-achieving students.
Along with good multiple choice test construction, the instructor should be
responsible with analyzing the test items after the instrument is deployed.
To do this, most automated grading machines provide foundational
statistical analysis including difficulty level and discrimination index.
If either of these indices are out of an acceptable range, the instructor
should develop a consistent strategy to address these items (for example,
discarding questions, providing point compensation, or retests). Finally,
sufficient statistical analysis might include measures of central tendency
(mean, median, mode) and dispersion (range, standard deviation,
variance). Ultimately, each instructor should have an intentional, clearly
developed strategy for addressing test result data and be able to defend an
instruments validity (measuring what it is intended to measure-content,
criterion, construct) and reliability (consistency). Even after addressing the
test construction parameters, the instructor should be aware of potential
errors, both random and systematic. Random errors occur when responses
differ un-systematically from one measurement to another and reduce the
reliability of an instrument. Systematic errors occur when a test consistently
measures something other than the intended effect. For example, a test for
mathematics containing word problems given to English speakers of other
languages will have limited validity.
Extensive research has been completed on the effectiveness of multiplechoice items. For example, a meta-study conducted by Vyas and Supe
(2008) determined that three or four responses (two or three distractors) are
optimal for discriminating between student achievements. They concluded
that there was no significant advantages to the use of additional distractors
and hence, it would be more efficient for faculty members to spend less
time in creating distractors. Campbell (2015) reports a study in which
variable number of response choices are used based on question type,
and students are encouraged not to guess by giving them partial credit for
answers left blank. Johnstone and Ambusaidi (2001 & 2001), through their
work have discussed certain limitations of conventional fixed response
tests and offer three fixed-response questions designed to overcome some
of the limitations.
Unstructured Assessment (Free Response Tests)
Typically unstructured assessments are thought of as short or extended
response items where students read a question stem and provide their
response without the assistance of choices. These items are common in
math and science disciplines where work, formulas, and equations are
critical. One advantage of unstructured items is that that they are relatively
easy to prepare (Haynie, 1983).
Guidelines for writing unstructured, short response assessments include
stating the question in a way that only specific and unique information can
be correct; omitting only significant words from a statement; and specifying
a degree of precision for numerical problems. In addition, several specific
items are better than one broad item; the use of optional essay items should
be avoided; a list of main points or rubric should be constructed; material
should be reviewed by graders before assigning scores; scoring should be
anonymous; and students should be informed in advance of how they will
be scored (Zimmerman, Sudweeks, Shelley, & Wood, 1990).
Regardless of the category of assessment (summative/formative), or
structure (multiple choice/free response), curriculum and instruction
play a vital role in how students are able to process the information, and
subsequently their achievement on assessments. To this end, Black and
William (1998) remark that assessment is not an isolated incident, but
one, which reflects an active learning environment with frequent feedback
mechanisms.
Active Learning
It seems an obvious notion that the way in which we teach should parallel
the way in which we assess students. Hence, if we provide information in
a linear way, students will encode in a linear fashion. Subsequently, if we
assess in a linear way, students will be able to decode this information.
Although the manner in which we process information is more complex,
general rules of coding/decoding do occur. In this study, active in-class
teaching methods were regularly used throughout the semester in the form
of student response systems (clickers) to train students on MC test taking
and collaborative project-based learning in the form of group activity were
used to enhance problem solving skills on FR type questions. Improvement
in student problem solving skills has been demonstrated by having students
work collaboratively in groups (Copper et. al., 2008). For the group activity,
54
students were grouped together based on their scores from a survey on the
first day of the class using a Quasi-Diagnostic Instrument that included a
series of questions to be answered on a survey sheet. The questions were
roughly based on two broad categories: assertiveness and emotional control
Students were assigned points for their responses and these scores were
used to classify each student as one of the four personality types: driver,
analytical, amiable or expressive. Groups were then formed using one
student of each personality type (Bender, 1997). Although some people
view chemistry as a linear concept, in actuality, there are numerous
permutations, which persist both in theory and application.
The literature is extensive on the effectiveness of active learning on
gaining attention, processing from working memory to long term memory,
and retention (Bean, 1996; Johnson, Johnson, & Smith, 1998; Vernon, &
Blake, 1993; and Hake, 1998). The purpose of this study is not to defend,
or validate active learning, but to determine an association between active
learning and assessment type (structure vs. unstructured).
METHODS
This study was conducted during the final examination of a second semester
undergraduate general chemistry course in the Chemistry department at a
private university in northern California during the spring semester of 2011.
Sixty-three students participated in this study. The majority of students
were freshman although a significant number of sophomore students
were also included. Most of these students were either pre-dental or prepharmacy majors who are required to take a two-semester undergraduate
organic chemistry course after passing this general chemistry class.
This study was designed to compare and contrast the use of multiple
choice (MC) and free response (FR) questions in student evaluations.
Sixty-three students in a second semester undergraduate general chemistry
course were randomly assigned to two groups: Group A, which consisted
of 33 students and Group B, which consisted of 30 students. Both groups
were given a common final examination consisting of 49 questions. The
structure of the first 33 questions were MC for both groups. The two groups
differed in regard to the format of responses for the last 16 questions.
Group A was given questions 1-8 as MC questions and questions 9-16 as
FR questions; whereas Group B was given the reverse scenario: questions
1-8 as FR and 9-16 as MC. (Note: Although this design is similar to a twoway ANOVA, the responses of students in the various factor combinations
(question numbers and answer format) are not independent since the same
students who answered Q 1-8 as MC questions also answered Q 9-16 in
free response.) This design was conceived out of practicality (all students
needed to complete the exam) and fairness (students should have the same
number of MC/FR questions). An additional measure to guarantee fairness,
additional white space on the exam papers were provided for explanations
in the MC portion and this content was evaluated for partial credit in the
assignment of final grades. The scores which take the addition of partial
credit points into account are referred to as adjusted scores (Adj) in the
following discussion. Overall, scores are computed from the Adj and FR
scores.
The objectives were to examine (a) overall differences in student
responses to FR and MC questions; and (b) correlations between FR and
MC scores for individual students. We realize that even if investigations
into the former objective yield no significant differences, the latter is still
important to determine if the same type of students perform well on
FR and MC questions or if individual differences can be found despite
overall similarities.
RESULTS
The summary statistics for the various portions of the exam are shown in
the table 1. Mean scores on the common portion suggest that Group B had
a slight inherent advantage over Group A, but this difference in groups
was not statistically significant (One-way ANOVA for difference of group
means, p-value = 0.64) as should be expected from the random assignment.
The similarities between the two groups are further (and perhaps more
strongly) evidenced by the similarity in quartiles and medians between the
two groups. The distributions of scores on Q 1-8 and Q 9-16 exhibited a
strong left skew and were multi-modal so we used non-parametric measures
of comparing responses on these items. The overall scores on Q 1-8 and Q
9-16 indicate that there was a significant difference in question difficulty
(Wilcox Signed-rank test for a difference in median overall scores, p-value
= 0.002). Similarities between groups, however, suggest that comparing
and contrasting the MC and FR responses between groups ((i) Group A vs.

Group B on Q 1-8; and (ii) Group A vs. Group B on Q 9-16) are likely the
most accurate measures of assessing one of our objectives, namely overall
performance differences in student scores on MC vs. FR exam questions.
Tests for group median differences in these two scenarios did not yield any
significant results (Mann-Whitney test, p-value = 0.15 for (i), 0.20 for (ii)).
It is interesting to note that despite these similarities, there is a highly
significant difference between overall achievement on the common portion
(Q 1-33) and total scores on the non-common portion after adjustment for
partial credit (Signed-rank test for difference in percentage scores, p-value
< 0.001). However, it is difficult to determine if this difference is due to the
MC vs. FR assessment structure or other factors such as question difficulty
and placement of exam questions.
correlation between MC rankings and ranking change (Kendalls Tau-b =

-0.09, r = 0.13, p-value for non-zero slope of regression line = 0.49); i.e.
there was at least no bias in ranking changes. An individual with a ranking
in the higher range seemed just as likely to increase and decrease in ranking
when partial credit was included as an individual in the lower rankings.
Table 1. Summary statistics for the various portions of the exam.

Group Mean
Common
(99)
A (MC) 64.64 12.30
30
57
69
72
90
B (MC) 66.20 14.40
36
58.5
69
75
93
A (MC) 26.21 10.46
20
30
35
40
A (Adj) 31.61 8.02
11
26.5
35
37
40
B (FR) 30.07 7.02
12
26.75
31
35
40
Overall 30.87 7.54
11
27
33
36
40
A (FR) 29.79 7.31
15
23
32
35
40
B (MC) 31.50 8.82
10
28.75
35
40
40
B (Adj) 34.33 7.18
14
31
38
40
40
Overall 31.95
14
28
34
38
40
Q1-8
(40)
Q9-16 (40)
SD
7.5
Min
Third
First
Median
Max
Quartile
Quartile
Questions
One notable difference in MC and FR questions was in the variability of

responses; MC scores were bi-laterally more variable (as measured by the
standard deviation or inter-quartile range) than FR scores when contrasted
between groups (comparisons (i) and (ii)) and questions (comparing Group
A on Q1-8 vs. 9-16 and Group B on Q1-8 vs. 9-16). This difference in
variability makes intuitive sense since questions are all or nothing in
a MC setting.
We now move on to address our second objective; differences in individual
student performances on MC vs. FR items. The non-normality of Q 1-8
and Q 9-16 scores may render measures of association based on Pearsons
correlation coefficient unreliable so we compare individual performances
by counting concordant and discordant pairs in rankings based on MC vs.
FR items. For example, Student 1 is tied for the fifth lowest score on Q 1-8
in Group A and has the ninth lowest score on Q 9-16 while Student 9 is tied
for ninth lowest on Q 1-8, but fifth lowest on Q 9-16. Therefore, Students
1 and 9 form a discordant pair: Student 1 ranks lower than Student 9 on
Q 1-8, but higher on Q 9-16. Kendalls Tau-b is a non-parametric statistic
related to the difference in the proportions of concordant and discordant
pairs in the sample. Positive values of Kendalls Tau-b indicate a higher
proportion of concordant pairs and the closer this statistic is to 1, the more
concordant the two ranking systems. The values of Kendalls Tau-b for
comparing scores on Q 1-8 vs. Q 9-16 are 0.52 for Group A and 0.38 for
Group B. While these are statistically significant correlations, it is surprising
that they are not higher given the previously discussed group similarities
on these MC vs. FR items. One potential explanation for this discrepancy
is that some individuals actually do differ in their abilities to answer MC
vs. FR questions, but that these differences average out when comparisons
are made at the group level.
To further examine the effect of question type on individual differences,
we examined the differences in rankings before and after partial credit was
assigned to MC questions (Adj ranking MC ranking). Rankings were
assigned in descending order: rank 1 was assigned to the highest score, rank
2 to the next highest and so on. Note that ties were assigned the average
value of the corresponding ranking (for example, if two students tied for
the fifth highest scores, both received a ranking of 5.5). The scatterplot in
Figure 1 presents each students decrease in ranking as a function of their
MC ranking and illustrates the fact that although individual ranking changes
ranged from -7 to +9.5, there was only a small and insignificant negative
Figure 1. Student decrease in ranking as a function of their MC ranking.
A closer looks at the extreme cases suggests some possible factors

which may lead to very large discrepancies in ranking changes. For
example, student 61 ranked 9.5 places lower on Q 1-8 after partial
credit was included. This student also ranked higher on their common
MC portion (8th highest) than overall (10th) and ranked still lower on Q
9-16 FR (13th). Thus this may be an example of a student who performs
much better relative to their peers on MC than FR. In contrast, student
42 who ranked 6 places higher after the inclusion of partial credit ranked
extremely high on Q 9-16 FR (tied for second) and ranked 9th overall,
but ranked only 13th on the common MC portion. Hence, this student
may be an example of a student who performs much better relative to
their peers on FR and MC questions. The other student with a drastic
ranking change (student 39) illustrates a completely different scenario.
The students ranked relatively high on the common MC (8th overall)
and low on Q 9-16 FR (tied for 18th) even though their ranking on Q 1-8
increased by 7 spots after the inclusion of partial credit on this portion.
It would be interesting to perform future investigations into individual
question type preferences and effects on assessment.
We also compared student performance on group activity quizzes (which
took the form of FR activities) and clicker quizzes (which took the form
of MC activities) with their performance on MC portion (Common MC)
and free response portion (Q 1-16 Total) of the final exam. The resulting
correlations are shown in the table 2.
Table 2. Student performance on group activity and clicker quizzes
with MC and FR.
Common MC
Q 1-16 Total
Q 1-16 Total
Clicker Quizzes
Group work
0.77
0.54
0.42
0.50
0.43
Clicker Quizzes
0.70
All correlations are highly significant (P-value < 0.001)

Although both Clicker and Group work scores were similarly correlated
with student performance on both portions of the exam, they are also
highly correlated with one another. There is no evidence of a relationship
between Group work scores and performance on the final exam after
accounting for Clicker quiz scores (Extra sum of squares F-test, p-values
= 0.59 and 0.34 when Common MC and Q 1-16 totals are respectively
used as response variables). In other words, it appears that Clicker quiz
scores were a better predictor of student performance on both the MC and
FR portions of the exam.
55
DISCUSSION
This study suggests there is little overall difference in mean or median
student scores on the MC vs. FR portions of the exam, but that there is
some evidence to believe that student scores on MC portions are more
variable than their corresponding scores on FR portions. In addition, some
students may indeed exhibit a difference in their abilities to answer MC
vs. FR questions, but these preferences do not appear to be widespread
and exhibit no biases towards high/low achieving students.
Assessment results on the active learning techniques used in this study
indicate that the group activity quizzes (FR) over the semester had three
percent better average than individual clicker based quizzes (MC). This
result supports the hypothesis that group work promotes better learning
via social cognition. It would be interesting to have a direct comparison of
individual clicker quizzes and clicker quizzes in groups. Between the two
active learning methods, we found that clicker quizzes are a much better
predictor of performance on both the sections of the final exam. However,
since the exam is an individual student effort this result should not be
too surprising. It would be interesting in the future to compare student
performance on individual FR quizzes throughout the semester with their
performance on the final exam.
Assessment based group size ranging from two to four students when
compared to individual student scores on an in-class quiz did not show any
major differences in scores. However, this comparison was limited to one
single assessment, more studies of this type would be needed to further
understand the role of group size in student learning outcomes.
The two forms of assessment methods explored here are very different
from each other, and require students to develop different cognitive strategies.
Therefore, to most accurately assess what students actually comprehend,
apply, analyze, and connect, the ideal assessment strategy is to deploy
both MC and FR format. This approach incorporated into course work and
assessment would promote a multi-dimensional approach to problem solving
and thereby enhance learning for a wide range of student abilities, aptitude
and interest. The students apprehension towards a particular testing format
can be addressed by moving beyond linear teaching and learning methods
and incorporating active learning methods. Active learning methods can
both engage students, as well as enable professors to collect formative
assessment data, which allows them to redirect, or possibly remediate
instruction in-situ. A high frequency of formative, real-time low-risk
assessment provides opportunities for students to share what they know
at a given time, as well as providing a broader voice for the instructor to
make decisions on whether to precede onto another topic.
The two sets of questions i.e. Q1-8 and Q9-16 were chosen to be of
similar level of difficulty with a few matching questions on a given topic,
however, they are not exactly similar and therefore can be regarded as nonnormal. Comparing the student performance on these questions in terms
of multiple-choice between the two groups, it is seen that the group that
had Q9-16 as MC did better in terms of mean score by about five points
on the MC section compared to the group that had Q1-8 as MC. While at
first one may attribute it to the non-normality of the two sets of questions,
it is interesting to note that when one compares the performance of the two
groups for the same questions in terms of FR questions, the difference in
the mean scores is nearly zero.
Analysis of student performance between the two sets of MC questions
with the addition of partial credit allotted for incorrect MC questions for
work shown while solving the MC problems, shows an improvement in
the mean MC score for group A, i.e. the group taking Q1-8 as MC by a
factor of five points. For group B, the mean MC total improved by a factor
of slightly less than three points. To summarize the student performance
on this test, while taking into account factors like the non-normality of
MC questions, we find that group B performed better on the MC questions
compared to group A. This is also supported by the fact that group B edged
ahead of group A by about two points on the mean score of the Common
(99) section of the test which was same for both the groups and was all MC.
The tests used in-class and for this study were created from a question
bank provided by the publisher of the textbook used for the course. The
majority of the questions are in multiple choice (MC) format, in addition to
several open/free response (FR) questions for each chapter. For this study,
16 MC questions from the topics covered over the semester were selected
and divided as described in the methods section of this article. The MC
and the FR questions for the two groups were similar in difficulty level.
The answer key for the MC questions is provided by the publisher and was
verified for accuracy by the professor, who completed the questions and
56
compared to the results provided by the publisher. For the FR question, a

grading key rubric was designed for all the questions with partial credit
allocated at different steps in the problem, depending on the amount and
quality of work provided.
The results presented are combined results from both the class sections
(46 and 17, for a total of 63 students), and the performances and assessment
results between the two sections have not been investigated at the individual
student level. The goal of the study was not to address individual students, or
their performance, but a random aggregate, total results to assist instruction.
No significant difference was noticed between the two class sections
qualitatively. It would, however be interesting to further compare and
contrast the individual performances between the two sections especially
in the context of the difference in class size. The maximum number of
students taught in a single class section during the course of a semester by
the lead author was 60 students in the prior academic year and the minimum
number of students taught was 17 during the course of this study. It would
therefore be special interest to study the effect of student - teacher ratio
at the college level in terms of student pedagogy. Similarly, comparison
between active learning techniques employed in this study versus the
traditional teaching technique of plain lecturing and assessment in form of
few midterms and a final would further our understanding student learning
in this subject and other high or low achieving students.
CONCLUSIONS
In this paper we report variations of assessment in form of MC questions
and FR questions and its connection to active learning methods with a
goal to possibly enhance both the accuracy of assessment, engagement
and retention. Students were assessed with MC and FR exams along with
the option to provide FR answers to the MC items. Results suggest that
there is little overall difference in mean or median student scores on the
MC vs. FR portions of the exam. However, there is also some evidence
to believe that student scores on MC portions are more variable than
their corresponding scores on FR portions. Some students may exhibit
a difference in their abilities to answer MC vs. FR questions, but these
preferences do not appear to be widespread and exhibit no biases towards
one particular type of assessment.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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A rethinking of assessment practice: an experience with a stage test

El replanteamiento de la prctica de la evaluacin: una experiencia con una prueba
en etapas
ANDR LUIS TREVISAN, REGINA LUZIA CORIO DE BURIASCO
Department of Mathematics , Federal Technological University of Paran, Londrina, PR, Departament of Mathematics, State University of
Londrina, PR, Brazil, andrelt@utfpr.edu.br, reginaburiasco@gmail.com.
Abstract
This article presents a study based on an experience involving a different assessment
instrument (a stage test) in a second-year high school class. The work involving this
use was developed over a semester, in order to take the written test as a learning task,
and was developed under the perspective of assessment as a formative instrument
present in the educational process both as a teaching and students learning processes
diagnostic tool and as a way to investigate pedagogical practice. Reflections originating
from the written production of students in one of the questions of the test as well as a
critical analysis of the instrument itself and the attitudes as a teacher are presented.
The approach adopted is qualitative/ interpretative in the light of Content Analysis.
Keywords: school learning assessment, stage test, written production analysis.
Resumen
Este artculo presenta un estudio sobre una experiencia con un instrumento diferenciado
de evaluacin (una prueba en etapas) en una clase de la escuela secundaria de
segundo ao. El trabajo relacionado con este uso se desarroll a lo largo del primer
semestre, con el fin de tomar la prueba como una tarea de aprendizaje, y bajo la
perspectiva de la evaluacin como un instrumento de formacin presente en el
proceso educativo, tanto para el proceso de enseanza y aprendizaje de los alumnos,
como para herramienta de diagnstico y una manera de investigar las prcticas
pedaggicas. Las reflexiones se originaron a partir de la produccin escrita de los
estudiantes en una de las preguntas de la prueba, as como un anlisis crtico del
instrumento en s y las actitudes que como docente se presentan. El enfoque que se
adopte es cualitativa / interpretativa a luz del anlisis de contenido.
Palabras clave: evaluacin del aprendizaje escolar, prueba en etapas; anlisis de
la produccin escrita.
INTRODUCTION
In this article, we present excerpts of a study about the use of a six-stage
test in Math lessons. Although it is an investigation in the teaching of
Mathematics, it can be applied to education of the sciences, and it brings
contributions using modern active methods into teaching and assessment
practices.
In opposition to the concept of Math as an erudite discipline whose
teaching is provided to all ages, Freudenthal (1979, p. 318) understands
Math as a natural and social activity, the evolution of which follows that
of the individual and meets the needs of an expanding world.
For Freudenthal (1979), Math is a both natural and social human
activity, just like the speaking, drawing and writing. It is included
among the first known cognitive activities to be taught. However, it
evolved and changed, including its Philosophy and method, under the
influence of social changes.
Under the Realistic Mathematics Education, a movement that
gained power in Holland in the late 1950s and had as its forefather
the mathematician Hans Freudenthal, students must be seen as active
participants in the educational process. Situations that demand math
organization should be proposed to the students. From these situations

math concepts will arise as well as opportunities to reinvent math
through a process of reality mathematization (De Lange (1987, 1999,
2003), Freudenthal (1979), Gravemeijer (2008), Gravemeijer & Terwel
(2000), Van Den-Heuvel Painhuizen (1996)).
An assessment consistent with the RME must as an educational activity
be formative and treat Math as a human activity, focused on meaningful
activities. It should take into account that, during their development
process, students go through several levels of mathematization and
create their own math, offering them (imaginable) realistic contexts.
Several other authors (Buriasco (2000); De Lange (1987, 1999); Esteban
(2001, 2009); Hadji (1994); Van Den Heuvel-Panhuizen (1996); Viola
dos Santos, Buriasco & Ciani (2008)) have referred to assessment as a
formative instrument in the education process, both as a means to diagnose
teaching and learning processes and as an instrument of pedagogical
practice investigation. Along these lines, analyses involving the written
production of students developed at GEPEMA (Group of Studies and
Research in Mathematics Education and Assessment ( http://www.uel.br/
grupo-estudo/gepema/) are carried out under the perspective of assessment
as an investigation practice and learning opportunity.
Besides being aware of this, we, as teachers, have often wondered how
we could operationalize an assessment perspective to help us interpret,
include, regulate and mediate teaching and learning processes. Barlow
(2006, p.165) gives us a hint: it is necessary to kill the imaginary evaluator,
by questioning and rejecting myths and rites and false appearances as well
as to know how to revive it, by preserving or recreating that which carries
meaning and is rich in potential efficacy.
In an attempt to kill my own imaginary evaluator when I started my
Doctoral studies I found myself in the position of a teacher/ researcher
trying to reconceptualize assessment practice. So, at that time, my idea
of assessment came down to taking tests, thus changing assessment
practice would imply modifying the instrument. Accordingly, I decided
to experiment with a different written test format with my classes, inspired
by some studies that used two-stage tests. It included a written test
accomplished in two phases: in the classroom and with limited time (first
phase) and generally at home, with more time (second phase). According
to De Lange (1987), the two-stage test gives students the opportunity to
reflect upon their work: after being taken at school for the first time, the
test is corrected and commented on by the teacher and then returned to the
students for additional work.
Menino and Santos (2004) and Santos (2004) report experiences about
the use of the two stage test as an assessment tool applied to different levels
of education. For Menino and Santos (2004), the second stage is based on
runs offered by the teacher at the end of the first phase.The student performs
the second stage in a period agreed to beforehand, working especially
with open questions. According to Santos (2004), the second stage must
include test questions of an open nature, such as exploration and research
tasks. In these questions that allow for any degree of development of the
57

response in the first stage, the student has the possibility to deepen their
understanding in the second stage. In addition, this instrument constitutes
a new moment of learning and contributes to the fundamental student selfassessment due to the comments that the teacher writes. In making these
comments, the teacher needs to be (careful and) extremely self-critical
with his or her evaluation comments (Santos, 2004, p.6).
More recently, the work carried out Gepema (Pires, 2013; Trevisan, 2013;
Mendes, 2014) have presented proposals to split the test into more phases,
which has been called the stage test. This work relates an experience with a
stage test, and was attempted in order to make the written test be a learning
task and was developed with the perspective of assessment as a formative
instrument present in the educational process both as a teaching tool and as a
diagnostic tool for the students learning processes.In addition, it is a way to
investigate pedagogical practice. We present some reflections originating from
the written production of students in one of the questions of the test as well
as a critical analysis of the instrument itself and of the attitudes of the teacher.
of the quotient and the remainder of this division. Hence, we added the
following question: What does the result of this division represent?.
Groups organized according to the answers given by the students, up to
and after the third test stage are shown in Table 1, as well the question that
I wrote on the side of each answer, intending to motivate them to reflect
on what they had done up to that point.
The group G1 represents the production of students who used the
vertical form as the procedure to calculate the division of 3780 by 360,
getting the quotient 10 and the remainder 180. Next, they recognize the
180-degree arc as the first positive determination for the 3780 degrees
arc. However, when questioned on the meaning of quotient 10, only two
of them said it refers to the number of complete turns in a circumference
that corresponds to a 3780 degrees arc. Two students answered that it is
the first positive determination of the arc. Figure 1 shows a P2 solution.
Table 1 Groups organized according to the written production.
METHOD
The assessment tool was used with a group of second-year high school
students (age: 15-17 years) from a public institution in Brazil, where the
first author works as a Math teacher. The test comprised 28 questions
(taken from textbooks and tests used in previous years), on the content
selected for the first semester, and it was organized to be taken in six
phases rather than two, all in the classroom. The option for the number
six was based on an analogy to a common assessment model used in
Basic Education classrooms, which includes two bi-monthly tests and a
retake test. The difference is that, instead of being given six isolated
tests during the semester, questions were compiled in a single notebook
to be answered during regular school hours and on pre-established dates.
Students could choose the questions they wanted to answer in each
phase (considering that a single grade would be given at the end of the
semester), and solutions to the problems could be altered in the following
phases, whenever needed. Thus, as the semester went on and the contents
were explained in the classroom, students were thought to be able to solve
the problems as they received the test. At the end of the third phase I wrote
a question on the side of each item of the test regardless of whether the
answer was right or wrong, intending to motivate the students to reflect
on what they had done up to that point.
The study involving the written production of 25 students was done in
the light of Content Analysis (Bardin, 1977), the corpus comprising the
set of solutions of each test question, from the second phase onwards. The
constitution of this corpus complies with the selection rules noted by Bardin
(1977): all documents used in the analysis included different solutions
(representation) from the same test (homogeneity), resolved by different
students, all from the same class (completeness), and were adequate as a
source of information for the research in question (pertinence).
As investigators, we were interested in finding signs in the students
written production that would allow us to understand whether the intervention
adopted was closer to correcting (which would allow the student to recognize
and correct their own mistakes) and regulating (enabling the student to
recognize his solution strategies) proposal. Such characteristic are inherent
to a formative assessment (Hadji, 1994; Barlow, 2006). In order to codify
and categorize the students written production, we used an identification
code formed by the letter P (test) and followed by an arbitrary number
sequence with two digits (01, 02, ..., 25), organizing the groups into G1,
G2, and so forth, using the procedure adopted by the student to solve the
question as a cut off point.
ANALYSIS OF WRITTEN ANSWERS TO A TEST QUESTION
For this paper, we present a study involving one of the test questions.
Although it is a specific example, it illustrates the format and characteristic
of test questions (which, possibly, teachers usually choose when preparing
written tests). Here is the question: If an arc measures 3780 degrees, which
is its first positive determination?
We understand as the first determination of an arc the smallest arc
congruous to it (i.e. with the same image in the trigonometric cycle).
Usually, if the arc is positive, the measure of arc is divided by 360 degrees,
and the remainder of this division is taken as the first determination; the
quotient indicates the number of complete turns in the trigonometric cycle.
Analysis of the written production showed that all students had used
the strategy (highly discussed in class) of dividing 3780 by 360 and
taking the remainder of this division as the answer. However, we wondered
whether they understood the algorithm and could interpret the meaning
58
Group
Analysis
Test
G1
G2
Question
After 3rd stage
What does
the result
of this
division
represent?
P19 recalculates the

algorithm, getting the
same results, showing
zero as the answer.
P1 and P2 answered
that the result of the
division represents the
number of complete
turns. P6 and P17
answered that the
result represents
the first positive
determination of
the arc. The others
maintained their
solutions.
What does
the result
of this
division
represent?
Maintains the solution.
What does
the result
of this
division
represent?
Answers that the result

represents the first
positive determination
of the arc.
What does
the result
of this
division
represent?

P11 and P15 answer
that the result of the
division represents the
number of complete
turns.
What does
the result
of this
division
represent?

.
P18
Shows 10.5 as the result

for 3780 divided by 360.
Gives as the answer:
No,its neutral.
What does
a neutral
arc mean
P24
Shows the algorithm for

the 3780 divided by 360
by cutting the zeros
and getting 10 as the
quotient and 18 as the rest.
Provides 18 degrees as the
answer.
Answers the question

by saying that it is
in the 0 degrees, 90
degrees, 180 degrees,
270 degrees,360
degrees points.
What does
this cancellation
mean?
P1, P2,
P6,
P10,
P13,
P14,
P17,
P19,
P20
P9
G3
P3
G4
P11,
P12,
P15,
P16
G5
P22,
P23,
P25
G6
G7
Up to 3 stage
rd
Shows the vertical form

of the division (3780
divided by 360), getting 10
as the quotient and 180 as
the rest. Gives 180 degrees
as the answer.

divided by 360), getting 10
as the quotient and 180 as
the rest. Gives 10 as the
answer.
divided by 360), getting
10 as the quotient and 180
as the rest. No answer is
provided.
Shows 10 as the result
Next, multiplies 3780
by 360 and subtracts the
result from 3780, getting
180 as the answer. Gives
180 as the answer.
Shows 10.5 as the result
Next, multiply 3780 by
10 and subtract the result
from 3780, getting 180.
Gives180 degree as the
answer.
Figure 4 solution in P15.

Both G2 and G3 are formed by only one student each, both using the
same G1 procedure. In the case of G2, however, the student provides 10
as the answer, and, even after being questioned on the meaning of the
result of the division, he maintains the original answer. In the case of
G3, the student may have thought that presenting the algorithms of the
accomplished operations would answer the question. After being questioned,
the student answers that the result of the division represents the first
positive determination of the arc, though it is unclear whether the result
refers to the quotient or the remainder of the division.
G4 and G5, on the other hand, differ from each other since the first shows
10 as the quotient for the division 3780 by 360 while the second shows
10.5. Both adopt the strategy of recovering the rest of the division by
multiplying 360 by 10 and subtracting this result from 3780. In both cases,
the 180 - degrees measure is the answer to the question. When questioned on
the meaning, both two students say they represent the number of complete
turns of the 3780 degrees arc. Figure 2 shows the solution in P11.
In G6, we find the production of only one student who, after having
divided 3780 by 360 obtained the quotient 10.5, concluded that the first
positive determination is neutral. When questioned on the meaning of
neutral, the student informs that they are in the 0 degrees, 90 degrees,
180 degrees, 270 degrees and 360 degrees, referring to arcs whose
extremities lay on some of the Orthogonal Cartesian axes. Figure 3 shows
this students solution.
RETHINKING ASSESSMENT TASKS

My expectation as a teacher was that, after having given students the
possibility to change their solutions in stages of the test, they would really
do it effectively. I also expected that my questionings would contribute
to their improvement or changes. The analysis of the written production,
however, did not point in this direction. Yet, I noticed a series of flaws,
both in the preparation and implementation of the instrument, as I
reviewed the literature to search for a reference that would support my
practice. Although I had modified the instrument, the questions and, more
importantly, my own attitude towards it continued being traditional.
In the light of the constituted theoretical background, we proposed to
reevaluate the questions of the test. In our opinion, none of the questions
of the test offers students the possibility to mathematize situations. The
solution of all of them involved the use of routine procedures which
prioritized mechanisms instead of math concepts and reflected my excessive
preoccupation with covering the program; the objectives that I intended to
meet. I did not view clearly the intended learning outcomes of the different
topics in the description of the discipline. The topics were introduced to
the students simply because they were there, frozen in the test questions.
According to Oliveira e Pacheco (2008), this content has become an
automatic part of the schooling process. It is neither questioned by us, who
are used to seeing the topics where they are, nor are the objectives that we
want to reach when working with the students very clear. So, how can we
assess them? We end up repeating assessment schemes despite knowing
that these classic mechanisms are often inadequate to the innovation we
try to incorporate in our daily work.
The test posed and discussed in this article illustrates that fact. The
problem solution involved the application of standard algorithms to obtain
the first positive determination of an arc outside the first turn; most students
used the same strategy in their solutions: divide the arc measure by 360
degrees and take the remainder of the division as the answer. However,
when questioned on the meaning of the quotient of this division, many
were unable to interpret it.
Below we suggest a reformulation, based in the Realistic Mathematics
Education ideas, within a realistic context (a spinning wheel representing
the trigonometric cycle) so that the problem demands more than just
remembering a fact or reproducing a technique and turns into something
attractive and stimulating1:
In a contest, there is a circle divided into six geometrically equal sectors.
Around the center of the circle runs a pointer that, after being spun, indicates
the amount in dollars each player has to pay or receive (Figure 5).
Finally, G7 corresponds to a production in which, by using the vertical

form to resolve the division 3780 by 360, the student realizes a cancellation
by cutting the zero from the units order in both the dividend and divisor.
By mistake, the student presents 1 as the quotient for the division 378 by
36, and 18 as the rest, forgetting that the cancellation of the zero would
imply in multiplying the remainder by 10 and takes the 18 degrees value as
the answer. Figure 4 shows this students solution, which was maintained
even after the questioning.
Figure 5 Proposal for the reformulation of the question.

1
Proposal adapted from http://www.esaas.com/grupos/matematica/estagios/

exerciciossite/FichasTrabalho/FichaTrabalho2_MatA.pdf.
59

Game rules:
The pointer starts to spin at 0, in a positive or negative direction.
The move is valid only when the pointer spins at least two complete
turns; otherwise, the move is repeated.
Whenever, the pointer stops at the division of two sectors, the move
is repeated.
a) John made a move. In each of the following cases, determine the result
of the move, given the amplitude of the arc described by the pointer,
justifying your answer:
i) 3780 degrees
ii) 1043 degrees
iii) 35 p6 rad
b) Mary made only one move in the positive direction and won 80 dollars.
Write possible amplitudes for the arc described by the pointer, knowing
that it turned less than six times.
According to the assumptions of RME, problems should be presented
to students in contexts that are realistic. The teacher should identify
situations that can be used to explore informal strategies of students and
thus to serve as starting points for the reinvention process. Freudenthal
(1979) suggests looking for applications that can meet phenomena
to be organized by concepts, procedures and mathematical tools. We
recognize that the reworded question contained the presence of this rich
context of meaning, conducive to mathematization, in which students
are able to imagine something and make use of their own experiences
and knowledge. Moreover, in its reformulated version, the question has
characteristics pointed out by Van Den Heuvel-Painhuizen (1996) as
desirable in evaluating problems:
in addition to making situations recognizable and easily imaginable,
the chosen context can provide a pleasant and inviting environment,
increasing accessibility to the problem;
compared to the previous formulation (a task of numbers), the
question now offers more opportunity for students to demonstrate
their skills;
the chosen context can incite the students to formulate strategies,
expanding the ability to solve a problem by their own means and
mathematical insights.
FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
Along a research path filled with concern, doubts, questionings,
disappointments, as well as many moments of learning, I realized that
the assessment act had other meanings besides the one which I was
used to.
Thinking not only about an assessments certifying function but also
about its guiding and regulating perspectives demanded going beyond
verifying whether the students had learned the content and finding
alternatives in order to guide them constantly in their learning processes.
Rethinking assessment under an investigation practice and learning
opportunity perspectives depended on a change in the concept of Math from
a ready and self-contained science to a more dynamic Math that reflects
the organization processes of reality.
The use of a stage test challenged the assessment model to which both
I, the teacher, and the students, had already been accustomed. Firstly, the
test was already familiar. As they felt uncomfortable with it, since they
did not know how to study for a test that they already knew, I ended up
planning my lessons to prepare them to take the test. The possibility of
reviewing the questions as many times as needed, a genuine opportunity
to provide feedback in a formative assessment context, proved to be
highly limited at that moment.
60
The rereading of the test questions, carried out through the analysis
of the students written answers, showed that the questions written on
the side of their solutions were highly limited and contributed very little
to help them recognize and correct their errors. Improving of this art of
making questions is a constant exercise in the practice of a teacher who
seeks to turn assessment into an investigation practice as well as a learning
opportunity for the students.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
L. Bardin. Anlise de contedo. 3ed. Lisboa: Edies 70, 1970.
M. Barlow. Avaliao escolar: mitos e realidades. Porto Alegre: Artmed, 2006.
R. C. Bogdan; S. K. Biklen. Investigao qualitativa em educao. Portugal: Ed.
Porto, 1994.
R. L. C. de Buriasco. Algumas consideraes sobre avaliao educacional. Estudos
em Avaliao Educacional, v. 22, p. 155-177, 2000.
J. De Lange, J. Mathematics, Insight and Meaning. Utrecht: OW &OC, 1997.
J. De Lange. Framework for classroom assessment in mathematics. Utrecht:
Freudenthal Institute and National Center for Improving Student Learning
and Achievement in Mathematics and Science, 1999.
J. De Lange. Mathematics for Literacy. In: Madison, B. L., & Steen, L. A. (Eds).
Quantitative Literacy: Why Numeracy Matters for Schools and Colleges.
Princeton, New Jersey: National Council on Education and the Disciplines,
2003, p. 75 89.
M. T. Esteban. Avaliar: ato tecido pelas imprecises do cotidiano. In: Garcia, R.
L. (Org.). Novos olhares sobre a alfabetizao. So Paulo: Cortez, 2001, p.
175 192.
M. T. Esteban. Avaliao e fracasso escolar: questes para debate sobre a
democratizao da escola. Revista Lusfona de Educao. Lisboa, v.3, 2009,
p. 123-144.
H. Freudenthal. Matemtica nova ou educao nova? Perspectivas. Portugal, v.9,
Issue 3, p. 317-328, 1979.
K. Gravemeijer. RME theory and mathematics education. In: Tirosh, D., & Wood,
T. (Eds). Internacional handbook of mathematics education: Knowledge and
beliefs in mathematics teaching and teaching development. Rotterdam, The
Netherlands: Sense Publishers, 2008, p. 283 302.
K. Gravemeijer; J. Terwel, J. Hans Freudenthal: a mathematician on didactics and
curriculum theory. Journal of Curriculum Studies. Basingstoke, v. 32, Issue
6, p. 777 796, 2000.
C. Hadji. A avaliao: regras do jogo. 4.ed. Portugal: Porto, 1994.
H. Menino; L. Santos. Instrumentos de avaliao das aprendizagens em matemtica.
O uso do relatrio escrito, do teste em duas fases e do porteflio no 2 ciclo
do ensino bsico. In: SEMINRIO DE INVESTIGAO EM EDUCAO
MATEMTICA. 15o. Lisboa, 2004. Actas... Lisboa: APM, 2004. p. 271-291.
I. B. Oliveira; D. C. Pacheco, D. C. Avaliao e currculo no cotidiano escolar. In:
Esteban, M. T. Escola, currculo e avaliao. 3.ed. So Paulo: Cortez, 2008,
p.119 136.
L. Santos. As actuais orientaes curriculares no ensino e aprendizagem da
Matemtica: a avaliao e os seus desafios. 2004.
M. Van Dehn Heuvel-Panhuizen. Assessment and Realistic Mathematics Education.
Utrecht: CD- Press/Freudenthal Institute, Utrecht University, 1996.
J. R. Viola dos Santos; R. L. C. de Buriasco; A. B. Ciani. A Avaliao como Prtica
de Investigao e Anlise da Produo Escrita em Matemtica. Revista de
Educao, v. 25, p. 35 45, 2008.
Dificultades de los estudiantes universitarios en el aprendizaje de la capacidad

elctrica: el caso del condensador de placas paralelas
Difficulties experienced by university students in learning about electrical
capacitance: the case of the parallel-plate capacitor
Mikel Ceberio, Jos Manuel alMudi, ngel FranCo, Jos luis ZubiMendi
Universidad del Pas Vasco UPV/EHU, Fsica Aplicada I
mikel.ceberio@ehu.es; josemanuel.almudi@ehu.es; jl.zubimendi@ehu.es; angel.franco@ehu.es
Resumen
En este trabajo se analizan las dificultades de los estudiantes universitarios para
comprender el proceso de carga y el concepto de capacidad elctrica de un condensador.
Se utiliza una simulacin que permite visualizar el proceso de carga del condensador de
placas paralelas y se pide a los estudiantes que expliquen razonadamente el porqu de
lo observado. Se detect que muchos estudiantes interpretan errneamente el proceso
de carga del condensador como un trasiego de cargas que van desde la batera, que
contiene ms carga, hacia el condensador, que contiene menos carga. En coherencia
con esta idea, conciben el concepto de capacidad del condensador, como la cantidad
de carga que es capaz de almacenar el dispositivo, sin tener en cuenta el trabajo
externo necesario para cargarlo. Pocos estudiantes explican el proceso de carga del
condensador haciendo uso del concepto de diferencia de potencial. As mismo, son
pocos los que conceptualizan la capacidad del condensador como una medida de
la eficiencia de su proceso de carga. Sera conveniente que el profesorado tuviera
en cuenta estas formas de razonamiento para disear actividades que facilitaran la
superacin de las dificultades.
Palabras clave: aprendizaje de la fsica, dificultades capacidad elctrica, fsica
universitaria, uso de simulaciones
Abstract
In this study the difficulties experienced by university students in understanding the
charging process and the concept of electrical capacitance of a capacitor are analysed.
A simulation that allows the visualization of the charging process of a parallel-plate
capacitor is used and the students are asked to explain what they have seen and the
reason(s) for it. It was found that many students misinterpret the capacitor charging
process as a transfer of charges from the battery, which has a greater charge, to the
capacitor, having a smaller charge. Following this line of reasoning, they derive
the concept of the capacitors capacitance as the amount of the charge that the
device is able to store, without taking into account the external work required to
charge it. Few students explain the capacitor charging process using the concept of
potential difference. Moreover, few conceptualize the capacitance of the capacitor
as a measure of the efficacy of the charging process. It would be useful for teachers
to bear these lines of reasoning in mind when designing activities to help students
overcome these difficulties.
Keywords: physics teaching, difficulties electrical capacitance, university physics,
use of simulations
INTRODUCCIN
Este trabajo se sita dentro de un marco constructivista del aprendizaje
que se caracteriza, entre otras cuestiones, por la necesidad de entender las
ideas y creencias que los estudiantes poseen cuando estudian ciencias, para
utilizar posteriormente este conocimiento en el diseo de una programacin
y de las estrategias a aplicar en el aula (Treagust et al., 1996; Gil et al.,
2002).
Los condensadores tienen mltiples aplicaciones en dispositivos tales
como flashes fotogrficos, lseres pulsados, airbags de automviles o
pantallas tctiles, entre otros muchos. Por otro lado, su estudio permite
profundizar en la comprensin de diversos conceptos relacionados con
la interaccin elctrica y nos ofrecen una nueva manera de entender la
energa potencial elctrica, la cual puede considerarse que se encuentra
almacenada en el propio campo, en el espacio entre conductores. No es de
extraar, por tanto, que esta materia se estudie habitualmente en los cursos
introductorios de fsica universitaria para grados de ciencias e ingeniera
(Young y Freedman, 2013).
El profesorado universitario de fsica es consciente que los conceptos

del rea de electricidad resultan complejos para los estudiantes y la
investigacin realizada en este campo as lo corrobora (Maloney et al.,
2001). Los estudiantes tienen dificultades para analizar el comportamiento
de la materia ante la interaccin elctrica (Park et al., 2001) as como para
aplicar conceptos estudiados en electrosttica, como campo elctrico y
potencial elctrico, con el objeto de explicar fenmenos que ocurren en
los circuitos elctricos (Mulhall et al., 2001). Por otro lado, la falta de
conexin entre electrosttica y electrocintica, dificulta la comprensin
del proceso de carga de un cuerpo (Guisasola et al., 2007).
En este trabajo se pretende analizar las dificultades de los estudiantes
universitarios para comprender el proceso de carga y el concepto de
capacidad elctrica de un condensador. Dicho trabajo se focaliza en el caso
del condensador de placas paralelas por ser ste el tipo de condensador
ms estudiado en el nivel universitario que nos ocupa.
De acuerdo con el National Science Education Standards (1996),
entendemos que comprender la ciencia requiere que un individuo integre
una estructura compleja de diversos tipos de conocimiento, incluyendo
las ideas de la ciencia, relaciones entre las ideas, razones para estas
relaciones, maneras de hacer uso de las ideas para explicar y predecir
los fenmenos naturales y maneras de aplicar los conocimientos a
diversas situaciones.
En este sentido, una adecuada comprensin del proceso de carga del
condensador requiere conocer, relacionar y aplicar conceptos bsicos de
electricidad como son carga elctrica, conductores y dielctricos, campo
elctrico, trabajo y energa, potencial elctrico y diferencia de potencial.
En relacin a su proceso de carga, la capacidad de un condensador indica
la facilidad del dispositivo para almacenar carga cuando, desde el exterior,
se realiza un trabajo para cargarlo. Representa, por tanto, una medida de
la eficiencia del proceso de carga; es decir, la capacidad indica la cantidad
de carga que es capaz de almacenar el condensador bajo una diferencia de
potencial. Desde un punto de vista operativo, C=Q/V.
En este trabajo se plantean las siguientes preguntas de investigacin:
Qu razonamientos utilizan los estudiantes para explicar el proceso
de carga de un condensador?
Relacionan los estudiantes el concepto de capacidad elctrica de un
condensador con la eficiencia de su proceso de carga?
Tal y como sealan Osborne y Patterson (2011), en el proceso de
construccin de explicaciones, los cientficos (y los estudiantes) deben
valerse de su conocimiento previo y de sus capacidades de razonamiento
para ensamblar una hiptesis explicativa. En consecuencia, el anlisis de las
explicaciones construidas por los estudiantes ante fenmenos observados,
resulta un instrumento adecuado para detectar su nivel de comprensin de
los conceptos implicados.
Por otro lado, la fenomenografa ha sido propuesta y utilizada para
describir y explicar las variaciones que se dan en las concepciones de los
estudiantes (Marton y Booth, 1997). Trata de cmo las diferentes formas en
que puede ser percibida y comprendida la realidad (conceptos y formas de
razonamiento incluidas) pueden llegar a ser consideradas como categoras
de descripcin de la realidad.
En otro orden de cosas, el uso de recursos multimedia se considera
particularmente importante para abordar los contenidos del mbito de la
electricidad debido al carcter abstracto de los conceptos involucrados
(Djbowska et al., 2013). Para este estudio se dise una simulacin que
permite visualizar el proceso de carga del condensador de placas paralelas
61
Dificultades de los estudiantes universitarios en el aprendizaje de la capacidad elctrica: el caso del condensador de placas paralelas
y se pidi a los estudiantes que explicaran razonadamente el porqu de
lo observado.
El estudio de las dificultades de aprendizaje del concepto de capacidad
que presentan los estudiantes universitarios tras recibir la instruccin en
el aula, podra servir como indicador de comprensin, no slo del propio
concepto de capacidad sino, tambin, de otros conceptos bsicos de la
electricidad. Por otro lado, el conocimiento de estas dificultades, podra ser
til para disear secuencias de aprendizaje que facilitaran la comprensin
de los estudiantes.
METODOLOGA
La investigacin se realiz con estudiantes de primer curso de grado en
Ingeniera en la Universidad del Pas Vasco. La totalidad de los estudiantes
haban cursado con anterioridad dos aos de estudios de fsica en el
bachillerato (16-18 aos) y abordaban su primer curso de fundamentos
fsicos de la Ingeniera. El objetivo de esta asignatura consista en
desarrollar los principales conceptos, leyes y teoras de la mecnica y
electromagnetismo, ajustadas al nivel de primer curso de universidad y
con especial nfasis en resolucin de problemas.
La asignacin de los estudiantes a los diferentes grupos se efectu de
forma aleatoria por medio de una aplicacin informtica utilizando como
nico criterio el de igualdad del nmero de estudiantes por grupo. En
estos grupos se encontraban mezclados estudiantes de grado en Ingeniera
Elctrica, grado en Ingeniera Electrnica Industrial y Automtica y grado
en Ingeniera Mecnica, puesto que estas titulaciones comparten un tronco
comn en primero y segundo cursos.
Durante el curso acadmico se impartieron 2 horas de clase magistral,
1 hora de clase de problemas y 2 horas de laboratorio o seminario
(alternativamente) por semana, durante 15 semanas en el rea de mecnica
(primer semestre) y otras 15 semanas en el rea de electromagnetismo
(segundo semestre).
Los estudiantes utilizaron los libros de texto habituales para las clases
magistrales y para la resolucin de problemas de final del captulo (Young y
Freedman, 2013), abarcando el mismo programa para todos ellos. El programa
correspondiente a la electricidad comenz estudiando las propiedades de
los cuerpos cargados (conductores y aislantes, polarizacin, carga por
induccin, carga y descarga de los cuerpos) conservacin y cuantificacin
de la carga. Posteriormente, se abordaron los conceptos de campo, flujo,
ley de Gauss y los conceptos de potencial y diferencia de potencial. Tras
estas leyes y conceptos, a lo largo de dos semanas correspondientes al
segundo semestre se trat el concepto de capacidad elctrica junto con
los condensadores.
En el estudio que se describe en este trabajo tomaron parte un nmero
total de 160 estudiantes de primer curso de Ingeniera distribuidos en 2
grupos con 80 estudiantes por clase magistral, 40 en clase de problemas
y 20 en seminarios y laboratorio. El porcentaje de alumnos que repeta
curso era del 10%.
Las clases de los dos grupos las impartieron profesores del departamento
de fsica con amplia experiencia docente e investigadora y que, en todos
los casos, han superado al menos una prueba de seleccin pblica para ser
miembros de plantilla de la Universidad del Pas Vasco. En ambos grupos
se utiliz el mismo enfoque de enseanza tradicional.
Con el objeto de detectar las dificultades de los estudiantes participantes
en este estudio en el aprendizaje de la capacidad elctrica, se dise una
simulacin (ver enlace Condensador de Placas Paralelas) referida al proceso
de carga de un condensador de placas paralelas conectado a una batera en
un circuito sin resistencia. En la simulacin (en la figura 1 se recoge una
imagen), los estudiantes observan lo que ocurre con la carga, la diferencia
de potencial entre placas y la capacidad del condensador cuando se cargan
las dos placas conductoras paralelas y, manteniendo la conexin con la
batera, se modifican una a una (permaneciendo el resto de las magnitudes
constantes) el potencial de la batera, la distancia entre placas, el rea de
las placas y el material dielctrico que ocupa todo el espacio entre ellas.
Los estudiantes debieron responder a la pregunta de por qu ocurre
lo que observaron en la simulacin. Su tarea (cuadro 1) consisti en dar
cuatro explicaciones causales referentes al proceso de carga y otras cuatro
relativas a la capacidad, coherentemente razonadas de forma cualitativa
(sin utilizar frmulas matemticas) con base en el modelo cientfico y
ajustadas a su nivel educativo.
Se peda a los estudiantes que justificaran sus explicaciones de manera
individual y por escrito. Los datos fueron recogidos al final del segundo
62
semestre en situacin de examen con el objeto de garantizar el inters de los

estudiantes por la tarea. En ese momento ya se haba impartido en los dos
grupos el conocimiento bsico necesario para abordar la tarea propuesta.
Si bien las explicaciones escritas supusieron la fuente principal de datos,
cuando existieron dudas en la categorizacin de las respuestas, tambin
se utilizaron datos de las grabaciones de las entrevistas realizadas a 20
estudiantes, elegidos entre aqullos que consiguieron un nivel medio
en el aprendizaje de la fsica y que, de forma voluntaria, clarificaron
oralmente sus planteamientos. Por razones de espacio estas entrevistas
no se transcriben en este trabajo, aunque debe entenderse que las ideas en
ellas expresadas son coincidentes con los ejemplos que incluimos en el
siguiente apartado, extrados de las resoluciones escritas.
Figura 1. Simulacin condensador de placas paralelas

(ver enlace: http://www.sc.ehu.es/sbweb/iem/condensador/condensador.html)
CONDENSADOR DE PLACAS PARALELAS:
PROCESO DE CARGA Y CONCEPTO DE CAPACIDAD
EFECTO DEL POTENCIAL ELCTRICO
1- En la simulacin (ver enlace Condensador de Placas Paralelas), observa el
proceso de carga del condensador de placas paralelas cuando, conectado a la
fuente de alimentacin, se aumenta el potencial.
1.a Explica por qu al aumentar el potencial aumenta la carga en las placas
conductoras.
1.b Explica por qu no aumenta la capacidad.
DEPENDENCIA CON LA DISTANCIA
2- Observa el proceso de carga del condensador cuando manteniendo la conexin
con la batera, se reduce la distancia entre las placas conductoras, sin modificar
nada ms.
2.a Explica por qu al disminuir la distancia entre las placas, el condensador se
carga ms.
2.b Explica por qu al disminuir la distancia entre las placas, la capacidad del
condensador es mayor.
DEPENDENCIA CON EL REA
3- Observa el proceso de carga del condensador cuando manteniendo la conexin
con la batera, se aumenta el rea de las placas, sin modificar nada ms.
3.a Explica por qu al aumentar el rea de las placas conductoras, stas se cargan ms.
3.b Explica por qu al aumentar el rea de las placas conductoras, la capacidad del
condensador es mayor.
DEPENDENCIA CON LA PERMITIVIDAD
4- Observa el proceso de carga del condensador cuando manteniendo la conexin con
la batera, se introduce completamente entre las dos placas distintos materiales
dielctricos, sin modificar nada ms.
4.a Explica por qu al introducir entre las placas conductoras materiales dielctricos
de mayor permitividad (carcter ms conductor) stos se cargan ms.
4.b Explica por qu al introducir entre las placas conductoras materiales dielctricos
de mayor permitividad (carcter ms conductor) la capacidad del condensador
de placas paralelas es mayor.
Cuadro 1. Observaciones ante simulacin y explicaciones demandadas

a los estudiantes
Tabla 1. Porcentajes de respuestas de los estudiantes
RESULTADOS
Las explicaciones de los estudiantes fueron analizadas por dos de los
autores de la investigacin y fueron categorizadas como se indica en la
tabla 1. Las explicaciones no computadas en esta tabla, han resultado
imposibles de categorizar o, simplemente, no se han dado. El grado de
concordancia se ha valorado con la Kappa de Cohen y, se ha logrado un
nivel de acuerdo entre sustancial y casi perfecto segn la escala de
Landis y Koch (1977).
En lo referente a las explicaciones acerca del proceso de carga del
condensador, se establecieron tres categoras. A modo de ejemplo, se
incluyen extractos de las respuestas escritas de los estudiantes con el objeto
de destacar sus aspectos ms representativos.
A- Explicaciones basadas en la cantidad de carga (no cientficas):
Al analizar el efecto del potencial, un 51% de los estudiantes relaciona
el potencial de la batera con la cantidad de carga que sta almacena
y considera que la carga se desplaza desde el cuerpo de mayor carga
(batera) hacia el de menor carga (condensador), hasta que la cantidad
de carga se iguale.
Ejemplo 1: Yo creo que cuanto mayor es el potencial de la batera,
ms cantidad de carga contiene y por eso enva ms carga a las placas
del condensador hasta que las cargas en la batera y en el condensador
queden igualadas.
En el caso de la influencia del rea, se ha encontrado que ms de la mitad
de las respuestas (55%) indican que, cuanto mayor sea sta, ms carga cabe
en el condensador por lo que se cargar ms, con independencia del efecto
que el cambio del rea tiene en la diferencia de potencial entre placas. Se
entiende el condensador como un depsito de cargas.
Ejemplo 2: Al aumentar el rea el condensador se carga ms porque es
ms grande y deja ms espacio para que se acumulen las cargas.
B- Explicaciones basadas en la diferencia de potencial (cientficascualitativas): los estudiantes razonan que los electrones se desplazan en
cada rama conductora desde lugares de menor potencial hacia lugares de
mayor potencial, hasta que el potencial se iguala.
Bajo esta perspectiva, un 16% de los estudiantes razona correctamente
que, cuanto mayor sea el potencial de la batera, mayor ser la diferencia de
potencial entre sus polos y las placas del condensador, y ms carga tendr
que desplazarse hasta igualar este potencial, adquiriendo as ms carga las
placas del condensador, una positiva y la otra negativa.
Ejemplo 3: Las cargas se mueven si hay una diferencia de potencial,
entonces, cuando aumentamos el potencial de la batera, pasa ms carga
al condensador porque tiene que igualarse un potencial que ahora es
mayor y eso se consigue con ms carga.
Las explicaciones correspondientes al anlisis del efecto en
el proceso de carga de las variables caractersticas del propio
condensador (distancia entre placas, rea y material dielctrico
entre placas), han sido incluidas en la categora B si, primero, se
ha justificado el efecto de la variable en la diferencia de potencial
entre placas y, posteriormente, se ha relacionado este cambio en el
potencial con la nueva carga del condensador. Estas explicaciones
cualitativas y cientficamente ajustadas al nivel educativo que nos
ocupa, han sido aportadas nicamente por entre un 10% y un 18%
de los estudiantes. As:
Ejemplo 4: La carga que, en un momento dado, est ubicada en cada
una de las placas cambia el potencial de la otra, de manera que el potencial
de la placa positiva se hace menos positivo y el de la negativa se hace
menos negativo. Cuanto ms prximas entre s se encuentren las placas,
mayor ser esta influencia mutua, ms electrones debern desplazarse
para igualar el potencial en cada rama conductora, lo que supone mayor
carga de las placas.
Ejemplo 5: Si aumentamos el rea de las placas, disminuye su densidad
de carga, se reduce el potencial y se desplaza ms carga por las ramas
conductoras hasta igualar de nuevo el potencial de la batera.
Ejemplo 6: Cuando introducimos material dielctrico en el espacio
entre placas, por efecto de la polarizacin se ubica en su superficie
una densidad de carga inducida de signo opuesto al de la carga
libre de las placas. Por ello, disminuye el potencial y ms carga se
mueve entre la batera y la placa hasta volver a igualar el potencial
de la batera.
Porcentaje de respuestas %
Categoras explicativas
Efecto del potencial
Efecto de Efecto del Efecto de la

rea permitividad del
la distancia
dielctrico
entre placas
A- Basadas en la
cantidad de carga
(no cientficas)
51
No
procede
55
No
procede
B-Basadas en
la diferencia de
potencial
(cientficascualitativas)
16
17
10
18
C- Basadas en la
frmula (C=Q/V;
C=eS/d)
(cientficasoperativas)
28
38
26
40
D- Basadas en
la identificacin
de capacidad con
cantidad de carga
(no cientficas)
30
No
procede
58
No
procede
E- Basadas
en la relacin
Concepto de
significativa
capacidad
entre capacidad,
de un
potencial y carga
condensador
(cientficascualitativas)
15
12
16
29
45
30
43
Proceso de
carga
de un
condensador
F- Basadas en la
frmula
(C=eS/d; C=Q/V)
(cientficasoperativas)
C- Explicaciones basadas en la frmula (cientficas-operativas):

Un 28% de los estudiantes seala, correctamente pero sin ninguna
justificacin cualitativa, que como Q=CV, si aumentamos V, aumenta
Q. Por otro lado, entre un 26% y un 40% expresan que, de acuerdo con
C=eS/d, un aumento de la permitividad, un aumento del rea y una
disminucin de la distancia entre placas, supone un aumento de C y
como Q=CV, aumenta Q.
En cuanto a las explicaciones relativas a la capacidad del condensador,
se encontraron, de nuevo, tres categoras:
D- Explicaciones basadas en la identificacin de la capacidad con la
cantidad de carga almacenada (no cientficas):
Ante la simulacin en la que al aumentar el potencial de la batera
se observa que la capacidad del condensador no ha variado, se dieron
explicaciones de los estudiantes (30%) que defienden que esto no
es posible puesto que si el condensador se carga ms, es porque
tiene ms capacidad. Estos estudiantes no tienen en cuenta que
para aumentar la carga del condensador, hemos debido aumentar
el potencial aplicado en la misma proporcin que el aumento de
carga obtenido.
Ejemplo 7: A m me parece que la capacidad s ha aumentado. Si al
aumentar el potencial de la batera el condensador tiene ms carga, tiene
que tener ms capacidad, no lo entiendo bien, si se ha cargado ms...no
s. Est bien la simulacin?
De manera anloga, un 58% de los estudiantes afirma que, cuanto
mayor sea el rea de las placas, ms carga cabe en el condensador
por lo que se cargar ms y, sin considerar el efecto que el cambio
del rea tiene en la diferencia de potencial entre placas, indica que la
capacidad es mayor.
63
Ejemplo 8: Se justifica que aumente la capacidad porque, cuando el
rea es mayor, cabe ms carga y tiene ms capacidad.
E- Explicaciones basadas en la relacin significativa entre capacidad,
potencial y carga (cientficas-cualitativas): se han incluido las explicaciones
correctas que han interpretado la capacidad como una medida de la eficiencia
del proceso de carga.
Para el caso del efecto del incremento del potencial, un 15% ha optado
por esta explicacin cientfica.
Ejemplo 9: Para lograr ms carga hemos hecho mas trabajo (ms V),
pero no hemos cambiado las caractersticas del condensador. Le cuesta
lo mismo cargarse, as que no ha cambiado su capacidad.
Las explicaciones correspondientes al efecto en la capacidad de la
distancia entre placas, rea de las placas y material dielctrico, han sido
incluidas en la categora E si, primero, se ha justificado el efecto de la
variable en la diferencia de potencial entre placas, posteriormente, se ha
relacionado este cambio en el potencial con la nueva carga del condensador
y, finalmente, se ha valorado la nueva relacin entre la carga adquirida y
el potencial aplicado. Estas explicaciones, que se corresponden con una
correcta explicacin cientfica de tipo cualitativo, han sido aportadas slo
por entre un 9% y un 16% de los estudiantes.
Como ejemplos ilustrativos de estas explicaciones nos pueden servir
los ejemplos 4, 5 y 6 anteriormente recogidos, si los estudiantes aaden:
...hemos logrado ms carga con el mismo trabajo externo, hemos
incrementado la facilidad del condensador para cargarse, por lo que
hemos aumentado su capacidad.
F- Explicaciones basadas en la frmula (cientficas-operativas):
Una tercera parte de los estudiantes (29%) se han limitado a sealar,
correctamente pero sin aportar razonamiento alguno, que la capacidad no
ha variado al aumentar V, porque al aumentar V hemos incrementado Q
en la misma proporcin y C=Q/V se mantiene constante.
Anlogamente, entre un 30% y 45% de los estudiantes, nicamente han
expresado que, al modificar la geometra del condensador y el material
dielctrico entre placas, la capacidad ha aumentado o disminuido de acuerdo
con la frmula C=eS/d.
DISCUSIN
El anlisis de las explicaciones dadas por los estudiantes universitarios de
ingeniera ante la observacin, en simulaciones, de fenmenos de carga
de un condensador de placas paralelas, permiti detectar las dificultades
que estos estudiantes presentan en la comprensin del proceso de carga
y, ligada a este proceso, en la comprensin del concepto de capacidad de
un condensador.
Se encontr que muchos estudiantes interpretan el proceso de carga
del condensador como un trasiego de cargas que van desde la batera,
que contiene ms carga, hacia el condensador, que contiene menos carga.
Para estos estudiantes, el proceso de carga finaliza cuando se iguala la
cantidad de carga en la batera y en el condensador. En coherencia con
esta idea, conciben el concepto de capacidad del condensador, como la
cantidad de carga que es capaz de almacenar el dispositivo, sin tener en
cuenta el trabajo externo necesario para cargarlo, es decir, el potencial
aplicado. Esta forma de razonamiento es conocida por la investigacin
didctica como reduccin funcional. Viennot (1996) define este concepto
como la tendencia a razonar sin considerar todas las variables que influyen
en el problema.
Otros muchos estudiantes, sin aportar razonamiento alguno, han hecho
uso de la frmula para justificar el efecto de las distintas variables en el
proceso de carga del condensador y en su capacidad. Si bien las explicaciones
basadas en la frmula permiten que los estudiantes lleguen a conclusiones
correctas, no son indicativas de su nivel de comprensin conceptual. De
hecho, estudiantes que por escrito han respondido correctamente haciendo
uso de las frmulas, en las entrevistas no han sido capaces de explicar
el movimiento de las cargas. Por tanto, estas formas de razonamiento
operativistas, pueden enmascarar dificultades de comprensin y entorpecer
formas de pensamiento reflexivo y productivo caractersticas de la actividad
cientfica (Kuhn, 2005).
Pocos estudiantes explican el proceso de carga del condensador con
base en el concepto de diferencia de potencial. As mismo, son pocos los
que conceptualizan la capacidad del condensador como una medida de la
eficiencia de su proceso de carga, la cual se ve afectada por las caractersticas
geomtricas del propio condensador y por el material dielctrico en el espacio
entre conductores. Los estudiantes tienen dificultades para aplicar conceptos
de electrosttica en la explicacin del proceso de carga del condensador y
esta ausencia de conexin entre electrosttica y electrocintica les impide
64
conceptualizar el condensador como un sistema en el que la geometra y

el medio material influyen en la facilidad para adquirir carga (Guisasola
et al., 2010).
CONCLUSIONES
En este trabajo se analizan, haciendo uso de una simulacin, las
dificultades de los estudiantes universitarios para comprender el proceso
de carga y el concepto de capacidad elctrica de un condensador.
Sera conveniente que el profesorado tuviera en cuenta las formas de
razonamiento de los estudiantes para disear actividades que facilitaran
la superacin de las dificultades. Se podra comenzar analizando el
proceso de carga de distintos cuerpos (dielctricos y conductores) con
diferentes bateras con la intencin de entender un modelo simple del
proceso de carga de un cuerpo. Despus, se podra analizar el efecto del
potencial de la batera, la geometra del cuerpo, y su entorno material.
En este punto, se podra definir la capacidad del cuerpo como la carga
almacenada en relacin al trabajo realizado para cargarlo y comprender
que este trabajo, que es distinto segn cual sea la disposicin del sistema,
queda almacenado en el cuerpo cargado en forma de energa. Una vez
asimilado este modelo, los estudiantes comprenderan mejor porqu
los condensadores se disean con conductores muy prximos entre
s, con la mayor superficie posible (en compromiso con la necesidad
general de que su tamao sea pequeo) y separados por un material
dielctrico. Comprenderan mejor cmo se puede optimizar el sistema
para almacenar carga y energa.
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Received 13-3-2015/Approved 30-4-2016
Science education for sustainability: can a Power Point-based workshop induce a

related conceptual change in science teachers?
Educacin en ciencias para la sostenibilidad: pueden talleres basados en PP inducir
un cambio conceptual en maestros de ciencias?
URI ZOLLER, MIRI BARAK , NAJI KORTAM
Faculty of Natural Sciences, Haifa University-Oranim, Kiryat-Tivon , The Department of Education in Science and Technology, Technion-Israel
Institute of Technology, Haifa, Academic Arab College of Education Haifa, Israel. 22 Hachashmal St., Haifa, Israel
naji30@zahav.net.il, uriz@research.haifa.ac.il, bmiriam@tx.technion.ac.il
Abstract
Targeting at advancing science education for sustainability (SES) via a purposed
paradigm shiftfrom teaching to know to learning to think- a Power Point
(PP)-based interactive workshop was presented in an international conference on
education research. The study, here presented, investigates the value and effectiveness
of a 3 hours workshop for making a perceptual change in science teachers. The
SES-related Higher-order Cognitive Skills (HOCS) epistemology was presented in
a workshop; illustrating its conceptual framework, educational potential for science
teaching and contribution to science education. This paper reports the results of a
formative evaluation case-study concerning the extent to which the goals of the SES
workshop were attained. Accordingly, we have examined the workshop participants
pre-post perceptions of the workshop, their educational objectives and ongoing teaching/
assessment strategies. The participants showed no change related to collaboration
issues, or their feelings about the topics discussed during the short-term workshop.
However, (a) an interesting induced shift was found concerning their perception
of the integration of science-technology-environment-society (STES) issues, while
focusing on the implementation of HOCS in science teaching and learning; and (b)
the workshop participants became more open to SES-related paradigms shift from
Lower-order Cognitive Skills (LOCS) teaching to HOCS learning.
Key words: Higher-Order Cognitive Skills (HOCS) . Perceptions . PP-based Workshop
.
Science Education for Sustainability (SES) . Science-Technology-EnvironmentSociety (STES)
Resumen
La tarea es hacer avanzar la educacin cientfica para la sostenibilidad (SES) a travs
de un paradigma propuesto de desplazamiento de la enseanza al saber - para
aprender a pensar usando el taller interactivo basado en PP. El estudio, que
aqu se presenta, investiga el valor y la eficacia de un taller de 3 horas para hacer
un cambio de percepcin de los profesores de ciencias. Las habilidades cognitivas
(HOCS) y la epistemologa de habilidades cognitivas (HOCS) relacionadas con
el SES de orden superior se present en un taller; ilustrando su marco conceptual
para la enseanza de la ciencia y la contribucin a la educacin cientfica. Este
texto presenta los resultados de una evaluacin de estudio de caso formativo en
relacin con el grado en que se han alcanzado los objetivos del taller de SES. En
consecuencia, hemos examinado las percepciones de los participantes del pre- y post
taller, sus objetivos educativos y estrategias de enseanza / evaluacin en curso. Los
participantes no mostraron cambios relacionados con temas de colaboracin, o sus
sentimientos acerca de los temas tratados durante el taller a corto plazo. Sin embargo,
se encontr un cambio interesante inducido sobre su percepcin de la integracin de
las cuestiones de ciencia-tecnologa-sociedad-medio ambiente, mientras se centra en
la aplicacin de HOCS en didctica de la ciencia; y (b) la participacion en el taller
se hizo ms abierto a los paradigmas relacionados con el SES, cambiar habilidades
cognitivas de orden inferior de enseanza (LOCS) para el aprendizaje HOCS.
Palabras clave: habilidades cognitivas de orden superior (HOCS), percepciones,
taller basado en PP, ciencias de la educacin para la sostenibilidad (SES), cienciatecnologa-sociedad-medio ambiente (STES).}
INTRODUCTION
The current educational system has an instructional framework with the
objective of advancing students up the class ladder based on passing
disciplinary algorithmic knowledge tests. Modern society is based on
science, technology, economy, knowledge and advanced networked
information and communication technologies (ICTs). For years there has
been a gap between the reality of this modern society and the practices of
the educational system.
A major issue of concern in contemporary science education is the

existing disconnection between the teaching - strategies, assessment
methodologies and learning outcomes at the secondary and higher
education - and real world economical, political, and scientifictechnological, social issues (Barak et al., 2007a; NRC, 2003; Zoller,
1993). Understanding of concepts and principles underlying current
sustainability-related real world issues, demands awareness, compelling
the integration of real-world elements into science, STES, STEM
teaching and learning science education for sustainability (SES).
However, the integration of new classroom practices is dependent
on the instructors ability and will to experiment and implement
innovations and/or alternatives to the conventional/traditional
educational methodologies. As far as science teaching is concerned,
such changes are difficult. Studies show that the integration of new
practices is a complex process that consists of promises as well as
barriers (Davis, 2003).
With respect to Science education, it has been suggested that instructors
should be more aware of educational research and that there is a need to
develop adequate professional development programs that will bridge the
gap between science education research and classroom practice (Barak
et al., 2007b; Barak, 2014). It was also suggested that teachers should be
primarily involved in educational initiatives in order to ensure the success
of educational reforms (Baylor & Ritchie, 2002; Tal et al., 2001). Teachers
professional development in workshops is one of many ways of addressing
science teachers educational perceptions, confidence, competence, and
willingness to integrate new teaching strategies and methodologies (Yang
& Liu, 2004).
In this paper we describe a HOCS-based SES (Zoller, 1993, 1999, 2012)
workshop conducted in the framework of a national and international
science education conference. The workshops essence; i.e., educational
perspectives, conceptions, goals, and its contribution to the participating
science teachers and researchers are here presented. The outcomes of this
case study have been used by the researchers to decide whether and to
what extent a change in the workshops science education participants
perceptions have been induced.
RATIONALE, PHILOSOPHY AND CONCEPTUAL

FRAMEWORK
The development of students learning via higher-order cognitive skills
(HOCS)-promoting teaching is a continuous overriding challenge for many
educators and researchers in science education (Zoller, 1993, 2012; Zoller
& Levy Nahum, 2012; Zoller & Pushkin, 2007; Zoller & Tsaparlis, 1997).
This paper focuses on the paradigm shift from algorithmic teaching to
know to-HOCS-promoting learning to think, while dealing with the
relevant educational systems, teaching strategies, learning and assessment
methods.
A major driving force in the current effort, worldwide, in reforming
science education is the conviction of many that it is vital for our students to
develop their HOCS capability in order to enable them to actively function
and meaningfully participate in the relevant decision making processes
within the context of complex science-technology-environment-society
(STES) interfaces of multi-cultural societies. Indeed, science education
reforms, worldwide, explicitly request science teachers to modify their
teaching strategies by shifting the emphasis from the traditional lower-order
cognitive skills (LOCS) rote-learning, to inquiry-based HOCS-learning,
situated in relevant real-world phenomena (Zoller, 1993, 1999; Zoller et
al., 1995; Zoller & Levy Nahum, 2012).
65
Science education for sustainability: can a Power Point-based workshop induce a related conceptual change in science teachers?
HOCS is conceptualized as a non-algorithmic complex multi-component
conceptual framework of reflective, reasonable, and rational systemic
evaluative thinking, focusing on deciding what to believe and do, or
not to do, to be followed by a responsible action, accordingly (Zoller,
1993, 2000).
In this Power Point workshop-related paper, we envision HOCS
as an umbrella encompassing various overlapping and interwoven
forms of cognitive capabilities (Figure 1) such as critical thinking,
system thinking, question-asking, evaluative thinking, decision making,
problem solving and, most important, transfer (Levy Nahum et al.,
2009; Zoller, 2012; Zoller & Levy Nahum, 2012). Thus, for example,
critical thinking (Barak et al., 2007a; Ennis, 2002), and lateral (system)
thinking (de Bono, 1976) involve uncertainty, application of multiple
criteria, reflection, and self-regulation (Resnick, 1987) and are all
interwoven components within the HOCS framework (Zoller, 1993;
Zoller et al., 2014).
Figure 1 illustrates, schematically, the complex conceptual model of
HOCS. The model refers to interrelated generic (non-content specific)
cognitive capabilities, always make sense in context, primarily the sciencetechnology-environment-society. It is a non-directional super-ordinate model,
not specifically ordered nor linearly hierarchical. The LOCS components
of basic cognitive capabilities are inherently embedded in the various
components of the HOCS model.
Table 1 Selected SES-related paradigms shifts in contemporary

research and STES/STEM-oriented science education (Zoller, 2012)
From:
To:
Technological, economical, and

social growth at all cost
Sustainable development
Dealing with uncontrolled, in-vivo

Reductionism; i.e., dealing with
in-vitro isolated, highly controlled, complex systems
components
Disciplinarity teaching (biology,
chemistry, physics)
Problem solving-decision makingoriented, systemic interdisciplinarity
Technological feasibility
Economical-societal feasibility
Scientific inquiry (per se)
Socially accountable, responsible and

environmentally sound R & D
Algorithmic lower-order cognitive

skills (LOCS) teaching
HOCS Learning
Reductionist thinking
System/lateral/moral and creative

thinking
Teaching to know
Learning to think
Teacher-centered, authoritative,
frontal instruction
Student-centered, real world, project/

research-oriented team learning, ET
assisted
Accordingly, persistent implicit-to-explicit shift in teaching and

assessment, in tandem with accompanying related active research, is
expected to promote the shift from algorithmic teaching to Know to
Evaluative Thinking
HOCS LEARNING to Think for sustainability in science/STES/ STEM
and IT-SES.
Critical Thinking
Question-Asking
This PP, ICT-based workshop focused on exemplary practice of how
to do this through active participation of all involved in the following
Transfer
guided design-type (3 hours) workshop schedule:
System Thinking
Decision-Making
1. Introduction:
1.1 Philosophy and rationale.
Problem Solving
1.2 The paradigm shifts in science, technology, research and science/
STES/STEM Education.
2. Discussion: What does/should STES-EP (economy-policy) - oriented
science/SES education take?:
Fig. 1 The guiding conceptual model of HOCS in the context of science education (Zoller & Levy Nahum,
2.1
Targeted main goals.
Fig. 1 The guiding conceptual model of HOCS in the context of science
2.2 Related teaching strategies; selected research-based examples.
education (Zoller & Levy Nahum, 2012)
2012)
2.3 HOCS-promoting assessment methodologies.
3. Lower vs. Higher-order cognitive skills (LOCS vs. HOCS):
3.1 LOCS- vs. HOCS-type questions, teaching and assessment strategies
The HOCS approach to teaching, learning and assessment constitutes
in science education.
a comprehensi
3.2 Illustrative examples and analysis.
ve educational world outlook which has been and continues to be
3.3 Participants groups work: Development of examples (relevant to
research-based implemented in
participants).
The HOCS approach to teaching, learning and assessment
4. Exemplary STES-oriented courses, curricula and examinations for
continues a comprehensive educational world outlook which has
sustainability:
been and continues to be implemented in different settings in different
4.1 Short presentations by organizer and workshop participants.
modifications, worldwide, particularly in STES education in the
4.2 Tandem action research and HOCS promoting SES; selected illustrative
multidisciplinary STES interfaces contexts. This includes, among
examples.
others, novel teaching strategies, assessment methodologies and learning
5. HOCS-promoting assessment in science/STES education:
strategies, purposed for the development of students HOCS; i.e.,
5.1 HOCS-promoting exam questions.
their capabilities of System Thinking, Evaluative Thinking, Decision
5.2 Assessment of students question-asking, decision-making, problemMaking, Problem Solving and Transfer. Thus, active research and
solving, critical thinking, and system thinking capabilities.
evidence-based practice of HOCS-oriented teaching, assessment and
5.3 Relevant examples; to be worked out and presented by participants
learning constitutes a methodology of choice for effective teaching
(as time permits).
and learning for sustainability.
6. Conclusions:
6.1 Science education for sustainability (SES): What does/should it take?
THE SCIENCE EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABILITY (SES)
6.2 Research/Practice-based conclusions.
WORKSHOP
The SES workshop was conducted at one annual conference of NARST

(National Association of Research in Science Teaching). The guiding
rationale of the workshop was based on the paradigm shift now occurring
in people and in their societies world outlooks. This includes effects on
policies, economy, emerging scientific, technological and environmental
research and, consequently, on science-STES and education at large. Some
paradigm shifts are selected and presented in table 1 below (Zoller, 1993,
2012; Zoller et al., 2014; Zoller & Scholz, 2004).
66
From a constructivist perspective, science teachers conceptions of science

and the way they teach it is a result of the way they were taught in their
schools (Hewson & Hewson, 1988). The methods by which science teachers
were taught and instructed are often inconsistent with contemporary SESSTES/STEM educational approaches and, therefore, a related appropriate
change is required. Such a change on the part of science teachers requires
the research-based development and implementation of HOCS-based new
curricula and a corresponding adaptation of new teaching, learning and
assessment methods that foster the related paradigms shift (Leou et al.,
2006; Tal et al., 2001; Zoller, 2013; Zoller et al., 1995; Zoller & Levy
Nahum, 2012).
OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY

The case study presented here is aimed at investigating to what extent
the goals of this SES workshop have been achieved, focusing on the
participants educational perceptions, objectives, teaching, learning and
assessment strategies. Such a short pre-post study design was expected to
facilitate the evaluation of the workshops effectiveness, thus obtaining
feedback for a fine tuning future implementations. The specific research
questions were:
Did participation in the workshop affect participants:
1. Educational objectives?
2. Teaching, learning and/or assessment strategies?
3. Attainment of their educational goals?
The assessment tool consisted of almost identical pre-post questionnaires,
requesting the workshops participants to self-reflect on six items and state
their: (a) objectives for attending this SES workshop; (b) expectations from
the workshop; (c) educational objectives, (d) perceptions of science teaching
and assessment strategies, (e) attainment level of their pre-workshop
educational goals; and (f) their comments (see Appendix).
Twenty four science education teachers/researchers participated in the
workshop, eighteen of which, asserted over 290 comments and responses
in the pre- and post-questionnaires. These statements were analyzed via
a two step process: First, they were analyzed qualitatively and each
statement was singly categorized. Second, each category was assigned
with a numerical code, enabling the calculation of their frequencies and
percentages. The data was jointly analyzed by two experienced science
education researchers for establishing research trustworthiness, achieving
an inter-rater reliability of 84%.

The participants responses to the questionnaires items have been
categorized, each of which has been assigned a numerical code
and quantitatively analyzed. This was followed by the selection of
representative participants statements and their categorization.
The percentage of the pre-post response statements of the workshops
participants in each category, and the participants responses percentage by
categories are represented in Figure 2 and Table 2, respectively. Analysis
of the workshops participants self-reflection statements concerning their
educational objectives, teaching/assessment strategies, and perceptions
related to the HOCS-related SES PP-workshop revealed four categories
of their statements made: Global, Collaboration, Informational, and
Emotional: The Global category included all statements that were related
to the integration of STES issues, focusing on the implementation of HOCS
such as question asking, critical and system thinking, decision making and
problem solving (Zoller, 2012; Zoller & Pushkin, 2007). The Collaboration
category included all statements that were related to groups interactions
and knowledge/information sharing. The Informational category included
statements concerning the information that the participants expected to
gain in the workshops which focused on LOCS. All statements that were
related to the participants or their students feelings, were assigned to the
Emotional category.
All statements could either be related to the participants own educational
needs; i.e., Teacher-Centered (TC), or to her/his students needs; i.e.,
Student-Centered (SC). A random selection of the participants selfreflection statements and the corresponding assigned categories are
presented in Table 2.
QUANTITATIVE FINDINGS
Analysis of the statements, of the workshop participants and their
distribution, in the various categories, concerning their SES-related
educational objectives (Table 2), revealed that Informational, TeacherCentered (TC)-1 and Student-Centered (SC)-2 comments received the
highest percentages in the pre-questionnaire (56% and 30% respectively),
whereas Global Teacher-Centered (TC) and Student-Centered (SC)
comments (35% and 45% respectively) received the highest percentages in
the post-questionnaire (Figure 2). A Wilcoxon test for non-parametric data
indicated statistically significant differences between pre-and post-category
Table 2 Post-questionnaire topics and examples of participants selfreflection Statements and their assigned category
Topic
Participants selfreflection statements
Assigned category
1. Objectives
for attending
the SES
workshop
Explore with colleagues

ideas and challenges abut
STES and environmental
ideas.
Collaboration/ Teachercentered
2. Main
expectations
from SES
workshop
To know strategies
for sustainable science
education and HOCSassessment.
Informational /Studentcentered
3. Educational
objectives
To impart enthusiasm
and capacity for life-long
learning in my students.
Emotional/Studentcentered
4. Extent of the
attainment of
educational
objectives
Encouraging students
discussions about the
nature of science in the
context of STES.
Global /Studentcentered
distribution for Global-SC (Z=-2.8, p<0.01) and Global-TC (Z=-2.8,

p<0.01). A border statistically significant differences were found between
pre-and post-category distribution for Informational-TC (Z=-1.8, p=0.06).
The results implication is threefold: first, the science education researchers/
teachers participants attended the workshop mainly for informational
reasons; namely, to learn more (with colleagues) about STES & HOCSscience teaching and assessment in the framework of the newly emerging
approach for science/STES teaching and education. Second, the workshop
appears to increase the participants belief in and importance of integration
STES issues, --via the implementation of HOCS such as question asking,
critical and system thinking, decision making and problem solving in
their science teaching. Third, it appears that the workshop participants
underwent a conceptual shift concerning the significance of STES and the
related teaching and learning to think in science education.
Fig. 2 Participants self-reflection: categories and percentage of pre-post

statements
Table 3 presents the category percentages of the workshop participants

responses in the pre- and post-questionnaires, wherein N represents the
number of statements written for each topic, and the numbers in the following
rows are the percentage of responses. Each row sums up to 100%.
Thus, similarly to Figure 2, Table 3 indicates that the workshop
participants main objectives in attending the HOCS-SES workshop were
the Informational-TC reasons (75%); namely, the participants were mostly
interested in learning the instructional, teaching aspects associated with
HOCS-based teaching in SES. However, in their post-questionnaire, the
Informational-TC reasons, dropped to 24% and the participants main
objectives in attending the SES workshop were within the Global-SC
category (44%).
Thus, the participants main post workshop expectations, were less
related to informational and collaboration issues (both 14%) and more to
global issues (46%), (in comparison to their corresponding response in the
67
Table 3 Workshops participants percentagewise responses by
categories
Topics
Categories
Global Collaboratio Informational Emotional
n
TC SC TC SC
TC
SC TC
SC
(%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
(%) (%)
(%)
Pre (32)
6
9
75
3
6
Survey
(N)
1. Objectives for
attending
Post (25)
workshop
2. Main expectations Pre (33)
of SES workshop Post (28)
44
12
20
24
3
46
14
15
14
76
14
6
7
3. Educational
Objectives
Pre (33)
52
26
Post (27)
30
59
Pre (34)
15
44
15
Post (25)
32
64
Pre (29)
Post (25)
24
3
76
10
-
34
-
52
-
4. Teaching &
assessment
strategies
5. Extent of
attaining
educational
objectives
N The number of statements asserted by the 19 participants for each topic

SC Student-Centered; TC Teacher-Centered
pre-questionnaire). This result suggests a post workshop growing interest

among the participants to integrate STES aspects in their teaching via
focusing on the implementation of HOCS. As one participant expressed at
the end of the workshop: Exploring STES and environmental education
in science teaching practice; gathering resource, or learn integration
techniques the importance of multiple integrations society, technology,
etc. in science learning and students engagement.
The above results suggest that (1) the participants perceptions of
teaching and assessment strategies were mainly Informational-TC in
the pre-questionnaires (44%); and Global-SC on the post-test (64%);
suggesting that the participants perceptions of HOCS teaching and
assessment strategies were positively enhanced. Similar results were
found in participants perception of the attainment of their educational
objectives; namely, the percentage of the Global-SC statements reached
76%, typified by the statement: students give importance to recycling
of products and reduce consumption, or students start to analyze and
evaluate results of experiments or happenings in the world.
Finally, in their additional comments, the workshop participants wrote
that they found the workshop thought provoking and very interesting.
Moreover, few suggested that more research should be conducted to support
the claims made in the workshop concerning HOCS promotion in SES.
CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Science education that addresses issues relevant to global sustainability
will, most likely, require restructuring science and STES/STEM education,
at all levels, and in accord, science teachers professional development
programs, particularly in respect to SES (Zoller, 2012, 2013). Thus, an
important challenge for contemporary science education at all levels is the
development and implementation of instructional practices that will foster
students HOCS capabilities of solving interdisciplinary, poorly-structured
complex problems. Our and others related longitudinal research and, in
accord, implemented practice, provide some fundamental insights into the
way HOCS-STES-related issues are to be implemented in science teaching,
assessment and learning for sustainability.
Since traditional science teaching was shown by research to result in
mainly LOCS level gain, the persistent integration of HOCS-promoting
teaching, targeting at learning to think, will not only challenge students,
but also will contribute, meaningfully, to the LOCS-to-HOCS paradigm
shift as is research evidenced (Zoller, 1993, 1999, 2012; Zoller et al., 1995;
Zoller & Levy Nahum, 2012; Zoller & Tsaparlis, 1997).
All of the above reflects on the importance of translating research into
applicable and manageable instructional HOCS-promoting strategies, thus
strengthening students conceptualization of science principles and their
capabilities of transfer in the SES context. We, the authors, believe that
this goal can and should be achieved.
This short study integrated quantitative and qualitative research methods
in order to get a response concerning the related teachers points of view
and attitudes. The pre-post workshop questionnaire, which was distributed
68
to the participants, enabled the researchers to learn about the participants

attitude changes as a result of their participation in the workshop, regarding
the teaching-learning-assessment process and the potential strategies for
the development of HOCS in the context of SES.
Although this in-service teachers professional development was done
in the form of a short term workshop, it enabled the participants to reflect
on their prior teaching in real-time.
The findings show that a certain change did take place as a result of the
participants active involvement in the workshop. We found that in the two
categories -- the Global-TC and the Global SC, as well as InformationalTC and the Informational-SC -- there are, clearly, significant differences: the
Global increased and the Informational decreased. This finding is compatible
with the main goals of the workshopinducing a shift: from teaching to
know to learning to think, particularly in the context of SES. Thus, the
emerging conclusion is that the workshop did affected the workshops
participants STES-HOCS-SES-related conceptualisation, attitudes and
points of view. Ultimately, they were satisfied with the workshop and,
hopefully, will involve HOCS in their teaching and research.
In conclusion: given the above induced shift in the workshops participants
perceptions of HOCS in science research, teaching and learning, the
workshop participants became more open to the SES-related paradigms
shift from LOCS teaching to HOCS learning. Thus, similar PP-based
workshops may serve as initiators of this and related shifts in the context
of science teaching and learning for sustainability.
Limitations
The main limitation of this study is its short duration which, in turn,
dedicated very short pre-post time duration between the administration
of the questionnaire. Adding to that the small number of workshops
participants, requires the limitation of the research-based conclusions.
Yet, the potential of PP-based workshops for inducing particular conceptual
change in the STES-SES context is apparent.
Appendix: SES Workshop Self-Reflection Pre-Post Questionnaire
1. State 2 of your main objectives for attending active participation in
this SES workshop:
1.1 _______________________________________________________
_______________
_______________________________________________________
__________________
1.2 _______________________________________________________
_______________
_______________________________________________________
__________________
2. Specify 2 of your main expectations of this workshop:
2.1 _______________________________________________________
_______________
_______________________________________________________
__________________
2.2 _______________________________________________________
_______________
_______________________________________________________
__________________
3. Formulate 2 of your main educational/instructional objectives in your
teaching of
science/chemistry:
3.1 _______________________________________________________
_______________
_______________________________________________________
__________________
3.2 _______________________________________________________
_______________
_______________________________________________________
__________________
4. Specify 2 of your main teaching/assessment strategies that you are
currently using in
order to achieve/attain your teaching goals as formulated in number 3:
4.1 _______________________________________________________
_______________
4.2 _______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
5. Provide the evidence you have (or will have) concerning the extent of
the attainment of
your educational/instructional goals as specified in number 3:
5.1 (Objective 1): ___________________________________________
______________________________
_______________________________________________________
__________________
5.2 (Objective 2) ___________________________________________
________________
_______________________________________________________
__________________
6. Any additional comments:
_______________________________________________________
__________________
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El trabajo cooperativo con las TIC para el tratamiento de contenidos de biologa con
alumnos de 14-15 aos
david rosa novalbos, M MerCedes MartineZ-aZnar
Departamento de Didctica de las Ciencias Experimentales, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), Espaa.
darrosanov@yahoo.es, mtzaznar@edu.ucm.es
Resumen
Se propone una metodologa de trabajo por proyectos para abordar contenidos
curriculares de biologa y geologa, con alumnos espaoles de 3 ESO (14-15 aos).
Los contenidos se distribuyen entre subgrupos cooperativos de alumnos para ser
desarrollados utilizando las TIC y con la creacin de recursos digitales integrados
en un padlet (muro digital) para comunicar los resultados de los proyectos. Aqu,
se desarrolla un ejemplo de cmo se han trabajado los proyectos sobre los sistemas
nervioso y endocrino en tres subgrupos de clase y se analizan las evaluaciones de

las exposiciones de los alumnos por los compaeros y el profesor. Los resultados
muestran altos niveles de resolucin en relacin a la calidad de sus padlets, es decir,
en el tratamiento dado a los contenidos trabajados en sus proyectos, as como en
su exposicin y comunicacin.
Palabras clave: Aprendizaje basado en proyectos; grupos cooperativos; TIC;
evaluacin de la competencia digital; biologa-geologa; educacin secundaria.
69
El trabajo cooperativo con las TIC para el tratamiento de contenidos de Biologa con alumnos de 14-15 aos
Abstract
This article puts forward a project-based methodology to develop the curricular
contents of biology in Year 3, CSE, showing a comparison between those projects
which deal with endocrine and nervous systems. The main contents are divided
into cooperative group-projects using ICTs to create digital resources in order to
transmit the results of the studies. From the account of their padlet- an integrated
digital sample of those digital resources developed through the whole project- high
levels of achievement are shown both in the contents of the topics, in the visual aids
employed and in the presentation and ideas conveyed.
Key words: project-based learning; cooperative groups; ICT; digital competence
assessment; biology-geology; secondary education.
INTRODUCCIN
En el contexto educativo espaol, la educacin secundaria obligatoria
(ESO) abarca de 12 a 16 aos y consta de cuatro cursos. An dentro de
un marco legislativo comn, cada comunidad autnoma presenta algunas
caractersticas diferenciales a nivel curricular.
En 3 ESO la asignatura de biologa y geologa es obligatoria y, en la
comunidad de Madrid, engloba principalmente los contenidos relacionados
con el cuerpo humano y los sistemas y aparatos que lo constituyen.
En dicho contexto, el presente estudio surge de la inquietud del
profesor-investigador de seguir las sugerencias internacionales y abordar
una metodologa indagativa para el desarrollo de las clases (European
Commision, 2007; Abd-el-Khalick,et al., 2004) y mejorar la calidad de la
enseanza-aprendizaje de la ciencia y el inters del alumnado (Prince y
Felder, 2006). La intencin es trascender el modelo expositivo e involucrar
al alumnado en la gestin activa de su propio aprendizaje.
Entre los enfoques indagativos (en ingls Inquiry-Based Science
Education, IBSE) se encuentra el trabajo por proyectos que es el adoptado
en este trabajo. Al igual que cualquier planteamiento de esta naturaleza,
se enfrenta al alumnado con un reto, no superable con la informacin y
conocimientos disponible, y para cuya resolucin y elaboracin del producto
final, un padlet, necesitan plantear y desarrollar estrategias indagativas y
construir nuevos conocimientos.
Este enfoque implica, necesariamente, estimular el trabajo cooperativo,
dejar de lado la enseanza mecnica y memorstica para centrarse en un
trabajo ms retador y complejo, y utilizar un planteamiento interdisciplinar
en lugar de uno por rea o asignatura (Anderman y Midgley, 1998; Lumsden,
1994). Adems, el producto final conseguido se debe comunicar oralmente
al resto de los compaeros (Larmer y Mergendoller, 2012).
El trabajo cooperativo, adems de abordar los contenidos curriculares
de la asignatura, conlleva el desarrollo de dimensiones competenciales
TIC relacionadas con el tratamiento de la informacin y la competencia
digital (MEC, 2007: 688):
Esta competencia consiste en disponer de habilidades para buscar,
obtener, procesar y comunicar informacin, y para transformarla en
conocimiento. Incorpora diferentes habilidades, que van desde el acceso
a la informacin hasta su transmisin en distintos soportes una vez
tratada, incluyendo la utilizacin de las tecnologas de la informacin
y la comunicacin como elemento esencial para informarse, aprender y
comunicarse. []permite procesar y gestionar adecuadamente informacin
abundante y compleja, resolver problemas reales, tomar decisiones, trabajar
en entornos colaborativos ampliando los entornos de comunicacin para
participar en comunidades de aprendizaje formales e informales, y generar
producciones responsables y creativas.
Esta competencia refleja la relevancia que a nivel educativo suponen las
TIC como soportes para el almacenamiento, la transmisin y la inmediata
disponibilidad de la informacin y su importancia por facilitar el aprendizaje
efectivo y la comprensin de conceptos (Otieno, Chisikwa y Atieno, 2013;
Van Rooy, 2012; orgo, Verkovnik y Kocijani, 2010), incrementar la
motivacin de los estudiantes (Haunsel y Hill, 1989; Kubiatko y Halkov,
2009) y desarrollar habilidades cognitivas como la resolucin de problemas
(Van Rooy, 2012).
El estudio se realiz en un Instituto de Educacin Secundaria (IES),
un centro educativo pblico de la Comunidad de Madrid, que forma parte
de los 15 institutos que desarrollan un proyecto institucional denominado
Institutos de Innovacin Tecnolgica (IIT). Este proyecto dota a estos centros
con recursos digitales (aulas de informtica, ordenadores, pizarras digitales
y conexin a Internet). El Proyecto IIT se inici en el curso 2010-2011 y
finaliz su fase experimental en el curso 2013-2014. Su objetivo principal
fue favorecer el aprendizaje del alumnado de la etapa de ESO mediante el
uso de las TIC, implicando de forma obligatoria las Matemticas, Lenguaje,
70
Ciencias Naturales, Ciencias Sociales y Tecnologa, y de manera optativa

a otras asignaturas.
OBJETIVO
Describir una metodologa para desarrollar y evaluar la competencia digital
a travs del aprendizaje basado en proyectos cooperativos que integran
las TIC.
METODOLOGA
El estudio es cualitativo de tipo descriptivo con un diseo de estudio de
caso (Rodrguez y otros, 1999), y asume el mtodo de la investigacinaccin al estar orientado a la transformacin de la realidad educativa desde
la propia realidad.
Muestra
El trabajo se desarroll en tres grupos clase de 3 ESO de biologa y
geologa del IES Rosa Chacel de Colmenar Viejo (Madrid, Espaa) en el
curso acadmico 2013-2014.
Participaron 14 alumnos entre 14 y 15 aos que trabajaron el proyecto
sobre los Sistemas Nerviosos y Endocrino, distribuidos en 3 subgrupos
cooperativos: el del grupo 3A (4 chicas y 1 chico), el del grupo 3B (4
chicas) y el del grupo 3C (5 chicos).
Metodologa de aula
El proceso de elaboracin de los proyectos se realiz en 22 sesiones de 50
minutos, durante 4 meses, y se implement en un Aula Tecnolgica - Aula
IIT (ver Figura 1).
Figura 1. Aulas tecnolgicas del Proyecto de Institutos de Innovacin

Tecnolgica.
Constaba de las siguientes fases:

1 Fase: 14 sesiones para la realizacin de las tareas digitales de los
proyectos.
2 Fase: 6 sesiones para las exposiciones de los proyectos en el aula.
3 Fase: 2 sesiones para la revisin y mejora de los productos finales y
su publicacin en el blog de aula.
En relacin con la secuencia metodolgica, al principio del curso se
inform a los alumnos de las actividades a realizar para elaborar los 6
proyectos que se les iba a asignar y que corresponden a 6 unidades del
libro de texto utilizado en el centro (Cabrera y otros, 2011). Para ello se
les permiti elegir 3 opciones con orden de preferencia de entre los 6
proyectos, aunque fue el profesor el que las asign intentando respetar
sus peticiones. Los subgrupos se configuraron libremente y los proyectos
fueron: alimentacin y nutricin; aparatos digestivo y respiratorio; sistema
circulatorio y aparato excretor; receptores y efectores; sistemas nervioso
y endocrino; y aparatos reproductores.
A continuacin los grupos iniciaron el trabajo cooperativo con esta
secuencia temporal:
1 Fase de realizacin de tareas TIC. Una sesin semanal en aula IIT (Figura
2) y con tareas para casa, con plazos de entrega adecuados a cada tarea.
Localizar en Internet 2 o 3 vdeos relacionados.

Buscar en Internet 2 o 3 pginas web relacionadas.
Crear un mensaje con Voki de introduccin del proyecto.
Elaborar un mapa conceptual con Bubbl.us o Cacoo de alguna parte
del proyecto.
Realizar un mapa conceptual con Smart Ideas de todo el proyecto.
Crear una presentacin con Prezi de todo el proyecto.
Hacer una presentacin con Gmail-compartido de todo el proyecto
entre los tres subgrupos de los 3 grupos de 3A, B y C.
Construir el Padlet, que integra todos los recursos digitales creados.
Hay que recalcar que el alumnado no haba sido adiestrado en el uso de
las correspondientes herramientas TIC y van aprendindolas durante el
desarrollo del proyecto al mismo tiempo que los contenidos cientficos.
2 Fase de exposicin y comunicacin de sus proyectos. Seis sesiones en
el aula IIT:
Cada grupo dispuso de una sesin de clase completa para exponer

el producto final de su proyecto (Figura 4). Los grupos toman sus
propias decisiones sobre la dinmica de presentacin de los productos
finales de los proyectos.
Cada grupo se autoevalu y fue evaluado por los restantes con una
ficha de evaluacin de exposiciones que se indica en el siguiente
apartado.
Figura 2. Trabajo en grupos cooperativos en las aulas tecnolgicas (IIT).
El profesor durante toda la fase de produccin acta como gua, establece

plazos de entrega y aporta Normas de presentaciones digitales. Tambin
orienta a los alumnos cuando tienen dificultades, propone ideas, recoge
sugerencias, destaca producciones de los grupos de utilidad para los dems
y supervisa el avance de los diferentes grupos.
La secuencia de tareas realizadas en sus proyectos queda esquematizada
en la Figura 3.
Figura 4. Exposiciones de los grupos.
Figura 3. Esquema del proyecto a realizar por los grupos en las aulas
tecnolgicas.
Las tareas siguieron la secuencia que se muestra a continuacin:

Disear el enunciado de los objetivos del proyecto.
Buscar en Internet una secuencia de 10 fotografas relacionadas.
Durante esta fase de exposiciones el profesor tambin las evalu a partir

de los padlets presentados, las exposiciones de los alumnos y las fichas
de evaluacin y autoevaluacin, asignndoles el nivel alcanzado en cada
variable investigada.
3 Fase de revisin y mejora de los padlets y su publicacin en el Blog
de Aula de 3 ESO que requiri de dos sesiones en el aula IIT.
En esta fase los alumnos pueden mejorar sus proyectos finales. El profesor
asigna el permiso de edicin a los alumnos en el blog de aula y supervisa
su publicacin. La intencin es que los alumnos aprendan del resto de
grupos, de su propia experiencia de autoevaluacin y de los comentarios
del profesor. Deben aprovechar esas ideas extradas de las presentaciones
de los diferentes grupos para mejorar su proyecto sabiendo que va a ser
publicado en el blog de aula abierto a todo el mundo.
71
Instrumentos para la toma y anlisis de datos
Para lograr el objetivo del estudio se utiliz como instrumento de recogida
de datos los tres padlets de los Sistemas Nervioso y Endocrino, creados por
3A, B y C, que son los productos finales de integracin de los recursos
digitales. En la Figura 5 se muestra como ejemplo una imagen de uno de
los padlet del estudio.
Padlet de 3C: http://es.padlet.com/IvanConde1/3Cnerviosoyendocrino
Para su anlisis se consider las autoevaluaciones de los componentes

del subgrupo cooperativo que ha desarrollado el correspondiente proyecto,
las evaluaciones conjuntas de los otros subgrupos del mismo grupo clase
y la evaluacin del profesor con la misma ficha de la Figura 6.
RESULTADOS
Los 3 padlets de Sistemas Nervioso y Endocrino se pueden consultar en
estos vnculos:
Padlet de 3A: http://es.padlet.com/3abiogeonervi/oufarc1pyi

Padlet de 3B: http://es.padlet.com/sistemanervioso/3Bnerviosoe
ndocrino
Se presentan y analizan los resultados de la evaluacin de los tres subgrupos

que trabajaron el proyecto de los Sistemas Nervioso y Endocrino. En la
Figura 6 se muestra la autoevaluacin del subgrupo de 3C, en la Figura 7
un ejemplo de evaluacin que uno de los subgrupos cooperativos de 3C
hace de la exposicin de sus compaeros y, por ltimo, en la Figura 8 la
evaluacin realizada por el profesor-investigador.
Figura 5. Ejemplo de padlet del Subgrupo de 3B.
Figura 6. Autoevaluacin del subgrupo de 3C
Figura 7. Ejemplo de evaluacin de un subgrupo de 3 C.
72
Figura 8. Evaluacin realizada por el profesor.
En la Tabla 1 se presentan los resultados para los tres subgrupos

de las tres clases. Como se puede observar, los alumnos alcanzan de
media, niveles altos de resolucin, con valores iguales o superiores al
8,4 en todas las variables analizadas (Contenidos, Diseo, Exposicin y
Creatividad) con independencia del subgrupo de 3 ESO del que se trate.
Estos resultados indican que los alumnos trabajan los contenidos con un
alto rigor cientfico y los recursos digitales que elaboran en sus padlets
contienen mensajes completos, claros y estructurados que tambin les
da un alto rigor cientfico adecuado al nivel. Adems, los contenidos y
los recursos digitales originales han sido expuestos de forma creativa
con las TIC.
Si se mira la calificacin media de las cuatro variables extradas de cada
subgrupo, respecto del subgrupo que expone, es curioso comprobar cmo
la diferencia entre ellos no excede de 1 punto, incluso la autoevaluacin
del subgrupo que expone se encuentra en ese rango de calificacin. No
obstante, las diferencias con la calificacin final que asigna el profesor
atienden a los criterios del profesor para calificar y reconocer al alumnado
el trabajo realizado en el proyecto.
Despus de las exposiciones y evaluaciones se revisaron los proyectos
(padlets y exposiciones) y la mejora de los padlets, bajo la orientacin
del profesor, para su publicacin en el Blog de Aula de 3 ESO. Los
productos finales se pueden revisar en el enlace del blog: http://ies.
rosachacel.colmenarviejo.educa.madrid.org/david3eso/
Este blog de aula recoge producciones TIC de los alumnos de 3 ESO
desde el curso acadmico 2012-2013 en que se cre. La mayora de las
entradas de blog han sido creadas por los alumnos de forma individual
en las que muestran sus productos digitales empleando diferentes
herramientas TIC (voki, bubbl.us, prezi, powerpoint, cacoo, padlet,
etc.) para el tratamiento de los contenidos de la asignatura. En dichas
entradas de blog explican la herramienta TIC empleada y sus opiniones
personales. Adems, en este blog hay una solapa o apartado Creaciones
con TIC, creadas por los grupos de alumnos, en las que se muestran los
padlets finales de diferentes unidades didcticas del curso (en la solapa
Nervioso-Endocrino se pueden encontrar los tres padlets de los tres
grupos analizados en este artculo).
Para terminar, recalcar que en la calificacin final de la asignatura tambin
se consideran otras actividades y evaluaciones ligadas a los contenidos
del curso que completan la programacin (ejercicios, salida de campo,
prcticas de laboratorio, exmenes de las unidades de su libro de texto,
etc.). As los padlets elaborados se constituyen como recursos comunes
disponibles por todos los alumnos para el tratamiento y aprovechamiento
de los contenidos curriculares.
Tabla 1. Resultados obtenidos por la muestra de alumnos de los 3

subgrupos.
Evaluacin de los subgrupos de los proyectos del Sistema Nervioso y
Endocrino
Curso
3 A
3 B
3 C
Evaluacin
Contenidos Diseo Exposicin Creatividad Media
Subgrupo 1
7,75
Subgrupo 2
7,50
Subgrupo 3
8,25
Subgrupo 4
7,50
Subgrupo 5
7,75
Autoevaluacin
8,50
Profesor
8,00
Subgrupo 1
10
10
9,50
Subgrupo 2
8,50
Subgrupo 3
10
10
9,50
Subgrupo 4
10
8,75
Autoevaluacin
10
10
9,50
Profesor
10
10
10
10
10,00
Subgrupo 1
10
9,00
Subgrupo 2
8,00
Subgrupo 3
8,00
Subgrupo 4
8,25
Subgrupo 5
10
9,25
Autoevaluacin
7,5
8,38
Profesor
10
10
9,5
8,80
8,55
8,52
8,40
8,57
Media de las
20 evaluaciones
73
CONCLUSIONES
Del anlisis de resultados se puede concluir que se ha logrado el objetivo
del estudio, la metodologa adoptada ha permitido, conjuntamente, el
aprendizaje de los contenidos y el desarrollo de diferentes dimensiones
de la competencia digital. Adems, estos resultados permiten pronosticar
que las dificultades en la metodologa se encuentran en la motivacin
y esfuerzo del propio alumnado, y no tanto en las competencias que se
practican y desarrollan. Por ello, estos resultados de aprendizaje obtenidos
por medio de los padlets animan a continuar el estudio extendindolo
a otros contenidos de esta asignatura, a contenidos de otros cursos y a
contenidos de otras asignaturas.
BIBLIOGRAFA
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Research in Science & Technological Education, 30(1), 65-80, 2012.
Effectiveness of genetics student worksheet to improve creative thinking skills of

teacher candidate students
Eficacia de la hoja de trabajo para mejorar las habilidades de pensamiento creativo
de los estudiantes de gentica
ENDANG SUSANTINI, ISNAWATI, LISA LISDIANA
Department of Biology, The State University of Surabaya, Indonesia
endangsusantini@unesa.ac.id
Abstract
This research aimed to describe the effectiveness of a genetics student worksheet
to train the creative thinking skills of teacher candidate students. The effectiveness
of the worksheet was evaluated using the indicators achievement, self-assessment,
and student responses. The worksheet was planned to give opportunity to develop
creative thinking skills. Achievement indicators consisted of: presenting many ideas
to solve the problem (fluency), formulating original idea (originality), modifying
laboratory instruments, materials and experimental procedures (flexibility) and relating
experiment result with theory (elaboration). Students worksheet was implemented with
15 students on the biology education program at the State University of Surabaya,
Indonesia. This research was conducted using one group pre and post test. The result
showed that there was creative thinking skills improvement (g score = 0.61). 93.3%
of students assessed themselves as being able to practice creative thinking skills by
using genetics student worksheet and 98.5% of students gave responses that the student
worksheet enabled them to practice creative thinking skills. The research showed that
the genetics student worksheet was effective in improving creative thinking skills.
Key words: worksheet, genetics, creative thinking
Resumen
Esta investigacin tuvo como objetivo describir la efectividad de una hoja de clculo
para entrenar las habilidades de pensamiento creativo de los estudiantes candidatos
a maestro. La eficacia de la hoja de trabajo se evalu utilizando las respuestas
de autoevaluacin de estudiantes. La hoja de trabajo se plane para desarrollar
habilidades de pensamiento creativo. Los indicadores de logros consistieron en la
presentacion de ideas para resolver el problema (fluidez), la formulacin de la idea
original (originalidad), la modificacin de los instrumentos de laboratorio, materiales
74
y procedimientos experimentales (flexibilidad), y en relacin de los resultados

experimentales con la teora. Quince estudiantes elaboraron las hojas de trabajo
en el programa de educacin de biologa. Esto se llev a cabo mediante el uso de
diseo de la investigacin de prueba pre-post. El resultado mostr que hubo una
mejora en habilidades de pensamiento creativo (g = 0,61). La investigacin demostr
que la hoja de trabajo fue eficaz para mejorar las habilidades de pensamiento
creativo de los estudiantes.
Palabras clave: hoja de clculo, gentica, pensamiento creativo
INTRODUCTION
Curriculum that is implemented in Indonesia is curriculum of 2013. The
objective of the curriculum of 2013 stated in the Policies of the Ministry
of Education and Culture No. 69 is to prepare Indonesians to have life
skills as individual and citizen who is religious, productive, creative,
innovative, effective, and contributive to the nation (Ministry of Education
and Culture, 2013). One of the essential abilities written in the Government
Regulation and this seems that the challenge for the 21st century is creative
thinking. Creativity is one of the main issues in all education and scientific
organization that is continuously emphasized (Gholamian, 2013).
Creativity and innovation are the keys to success. Creativity is an important
capacity for students to possess in order to face this fast-changing world.
All individuals retain the ability to be creative (Raven, 2002). However,
traditional sub-parcelling of the creativity has identified the person, the
process, the products, and the environment as distinct elements that
contribute to what is commonly called creativity (Rhodes, 1987). Several
Effectiveness of genetics student worksheet to improve creative thinking skills of teacher candidate students
strategies can be implemented to develop creativity. Tsai (2012) illustrated
four stages of the creative process: preparation, incubation, illumination,
and verification. Developing personal creativity involves the following
four elements: understanding the process of creative thinking, identifying
barriers to creative thinking and the skills individuals can use to increase
creative response, using methods to get fresh ideas and solutions more often,
and identifying a personal creative drive and life-long creative vision that
will help individuals achieve their personal and professional goals (Mauzy,
2015). Each step in the process of developing personal creativity can be
focused independently; and every exercise has been found to have some
positive effect on a persons level of creative response. Furthermore, several
researchers in the social sciences have identified contextual characteristics
that improve the likelihood of being creative or arriving at a creative result
(Amabile, 1983; Berry, 1999; Csikszentmihalyi, 1988; Niu & Sternberg,
2001; Raven, 2002; Rhodes, 1987).
There are many commercial products and planned programmes that
improve creativity, such as books, kits, and software. Some are single
activity, worksheet, or book focusing on a targeted idea or skills. It has
been shown that worksheets can be planned to encourage divergent
creative thinking and help record and organize ideas (Crammond et al.,
1990). Therefore, it is possible to say that worksheet can be used as a
strategy to encourage creativity in scientific discoveries and contribute to
a countrys development. It is known that those who can think creatively
and critically are an important factor in the development of a country
(Karsli & Sahin, 2009).
Creative thinking is a process allows/encourages gaps or disturbances
to appear in conventional knowledge or ways of doing things which
enable modification and reevaluation of hypotheses which have been
made (Torrance, 2013). Similar to that statement, Anwar et al., (2012)
explained that creative thinking is a way to raise ideas that can be applied
to the world in a various new ways. Creative thinking is inseparable sense
of dialogues concerning research questions and new ideas (Byron, 2012).
According to Angawi (2014), creative thinking explains concepts, interprets
existing data, and eventually, evaluates and criticizes various solutions.
In addition, creative thinking ability is required to solve problems in
everyday life (Maharani et al., 2015). Creative thinking is a multicomponent
process which is mediated through social interactions that is explained
by references to increasingly well-understood mental abilities such as
cognitive flexibility and cognitive control that are widely distributed in
the population (Dehaan, 2009).
Teachers should be attentive and creative in implementing appropriate
learning process that can improve creative thinking ability. Teaching
creative thinking supports the scholars by emphasising the links between
environmental education and broader theoretical approaches that currently
dominate research on creativity. Research in creative thinking is an actively
growing field of study with a wide array of theories and perspectives.
Creative thinking means posing a problem and trying to find a solution to
it. Creative thinking helps the student to assess the causes and effects of
a problem and apply a new way of thinking about the problem (Daskolia
et al., 2011).
One of the creative thinking foundations is divergent thinking (Guilford,
1959). Divergent thinking requires ideational searching without directional
boundaries. It is operationalized primarily by concept of fluency, flexibility,
and originality, and secondarily by elaboration (Folley, 2006). Therefore,
creative thinking has four indicators: (1) fluence, as ability to raise many
ideas, (2) flexibility, as ability to raise various kinds of ideas, (3) originality,
as ability to raise new ideas, and (4) elaboration, as ability to develop
or add ideas in order to produce more detailed ideas (Baer in Aryana,
2007). Indicators of creative thinking can be implemented in the learning
process by using a student worksheet. Karkockiene (2005) described that
the realization of creative ability is not only dependent on knowledge and
skills, but also on the usage of different information found in the tasks that
need this kind of ability. This worksheet contains a manipulative task load
because combining and juxtaposing ideas through trial and error processes
has been thought to be a hallmark of creativity (Boden, 2004; Simonton,
2003). Jeffrey & Craft (2004) also explained that creative learning and
creative teaching need to be defined, marked, and assessed. However,
current student worksheet have not developed creative thinking ability
In biology, creative thinking is very important aspect to answer various
questions, solve problems related to life, and to communicate the results
of student work. One of the topics in biology that seems fit to develop
creative thinking is genetics. Nowdays, students live in an era of ever-
greater explosion of information, thus, the coverage of genetics becomes

larger and the course curriculum expands (Griffiths & Mayer-Smith, 2000).
The students are able to practice creative thinking by raising many ideas
to solve the problem (fluency), developing the original idea (originality),
modifying equipments, materials, and experimental procedures (flexibility),
and relating the experimental result with theory (elaboration) through
the student worksheet. In order to have effective results from laboratory
practices, students should benefit from using worksheets.
The worksheets are developed to meet needs in the learning environment
and also used for different purposes according to researchers needs or aims.
The worksheet is also used for teaching science concepts (Karsli & Sahin,
2009). Using student worksheets in the learning process help the students
to understand the material by themselves. Student worksheets also give a
large opportunity for the students to demonstrate their ability and develop
thinking process through discovery, observation and logic. The main goal
of learning is to change behavior because of an experience. Therefore,
this student worksheet was aimed to enrich creative thinking skills. The
worksheet provided a suitable variety of opportunities for students to be
creative in multiple ways by creating a poster, essay about science problem
solving that correlated with environmental education, or other art-works.
The objective of this research was to describe the effectiveness of a
genetics student worksheet to develop creative thinking skills based on the
indicator achievement, self-assessment, and student responses. Genetics
education is essential for preparing society to engage in an informed debate
about the future of genetics research and how its applications affect human
health and the environment (Susane, 2006). Genetics is an essential part
of biology that requires creative thinking skills to solve existing problems
in society.
METHODS
Subject and research design
The sample of this research was 15 students from an advanced placement
class, Department of Biology, Biology Education Program, Faculty of
Mathematics and Natural Science, The State University of Surabaya. The
research was applied using one group pre-post test design (Creswell, 2005).
It was carried out at even semester 2013/2014 academic year, from January
to May 2014, at Genetics Laboratory, The State University of Surabaya.
Learning objectives
The genetic worksheet expected the students to construct the flow of
genetic information using DNA isolation. Students would also be able to
correctly order the stages of gene expression and explain a genetic mutation
and bacteria mutation.
Teaching strategies
The genetics student worksheet which covered two subtopics, i.e.
deoxyribose nucleic acid (DNA) isolation and bacterial mutation, were
supplemented with lab practices (experiment) in groups. Students were
lectured about the general overview of the material. They were asked to
answer a pre-test afterwards. After the lab practice had ended, the students
were required to turn in lab report and answered a post-test. They were also
asked to communicate their experiment result using creative presentation
aids.
The first worksheet which related to the DNA isolation subtopic and asked
the student to creatively modify the sample and reagent used (summarized in
Appendix A). The worksheet explained the basic principle of DNA isolation
and asked the student to conduct the experiment using various samples and
reagents that could be chosen by their own decision. The samples included
plant organs and animal organs, i.e. young leaf, mature leaf, chicken liver,
and chicken epidermis. The reagents were replaced by various household
chemicals to promote the usage of accessible lab materials in teaching.
Most chemicals were provided to replace physiological buffer and sodium
duodecyl sulphate (SDS) which would be needed in DNA extraction stage.
There were also several questions stated in the worksheet to challenge the
students to critically think the reason they chose particular sample and
reagents in their experiment.
The second worksheet dealt with bacterial mutation which was induced by
UV light (summarized in Appendix B). The worksheet explained the concept
of mutation and detailed laboratory instruments and materials. However,
the students were asked to creatively apply various exposure times and
exposure distances of UV light to the bacteria culture. The worksheet also
taught the students to calculate mutation rate based on their experimental
75
result. Critical thinking was promoted by several questions which asked
student to present empirical evidence to explain the effect of UV intensity,
exposure time, and exposure distance to the bacteria mutation rate.
Evaluation
The students answered the written pre-test before the lecturer introduced the
genetics student worksheet. The pre-test consisted of two essay questions
about DNA isolation and three essay questions about bacterial mutation. At
the end of the session, they were asked to answer other two essay questions
about DNA isolation and three questions about bacterial mutation in the
post-test. The tests were assessed by rubric criteria and scored in a scale
from 1 to 100 points (Table 1). All of the test questions were constructed
based on achievement indicators (Table 2).
All students had the opportunity to assess their own learning capabilities
using a self-assessment sheet that covered creative thinking indicators
(Table 3). Comments were also invited on the content so that the material
could be refined to improve students learning capability. An attempt was
also made to assess student response to the learning activities by closed
questionnaire. Assessed aspects of this questionnaire was determined by
the researchers based on the creative thinking indicators (Table 4).
Data analysis
Data collection was conducted using an essay test and questionnaire method
with a self-assessment sheet and learning activities response sheet. The test
score analyzed using average normalized gain (g) which is defined as the
ratio of the actual average gain to the maximum possible average gain, i.e.
Sf -Si
, where Sf and Si are the final (post) and initial (pre) class average
(g)= 100-S
i
(Hake, 1999). Hake (1999) defined g score >0.7 as highly engaged activity
to promote particular understanding; 0.7>g>0.3 as medium-engaged
activity; and g<0.3 as poor-engaged activity. The self-assessment sheet
and rhe learning activities response sheet were analyzed descriptively.
Table 2. Achievement indicators in pre- and post-test

Topic
DNA
Isolation
Indicators
Analyzing the most suitable sample of
experiment
Modifying the experiment procedure of DNA
isolation
Pre-test Post-test
Average Achievement (%)
Bacteria
Mutation
Analyzing the most suitable sample used in

bacteria mutation experiment
Analyzing manipulation treatment toward
bacteria mutation experiment
Modifying the experiment procedure of
bacteria mutation
Average Achievement (%)
34.2
100
19.4
65.9
25.3
79.5
77.8
100
26.7
45.7
74.7
100
61.3
80.7
Average achievement percentage of DNA isolation gained 25.3% to 79.5%.

Meanwhile, average achievement percentage of bacteria mutation increased
from 61.3% in pre-test to 80.7% in post-test (Table 2). This indicated that
both of DNA isolation and bacterial mutation showed an improvement
in test score after the genetics student worksheet was implemented. The
worksheet provides a suitable variety of opportunities for students to
be creative in multiple ways. Using the student worksheet in learning
helps students to understand the material by themselves. Worksheets are
also used for different purposes according to researchers needs or aims,
especially for teaching science concepts (Karsli & Sahin, 2009). There has
been shown that well-planned worksheetss encourage divergent creative
thinking and help to record and organize ideas (Crammond, et al., 1990).
RESULT AND DISCUSSION

The result of this research consisted of indicator achievement, selfassessment of creative thinking training through genetics student worksheet,
and student responses about lecturers ability to develop creative thinking
skills. The result showed that there was an improved indicator achievement
with average g score = 0.6 (medium-g) (Table 1). This score indicated
that genetics student worksheet could fairly engage students to conduct
creative thinking skills.
Table 1. Pre-test and post-test result of DNA isolation and bacteria
mutation
Student
Score
Category
Pre-test
Post-test
37.5
83.0
0.73
medium
46.3
77.5
0.58
medium
38.8
90.0
0.84
high
46.3
75.0
0.54
medium
48.8
82.5
0.66
medium
43.8
84.5
0.72
medium
27.5
76.5
0.68
medium
48.8
87.5
0.76
high
52.5
65.0
0.26
low
10
35.0
62.5
0.42
medium
11
48.8
58.0
0.18
low
12
38.8
72.5
0.55
medium
13
42.5
90.0
0.83
high
14
35.0
89.5
0.84
high
15
60.0
82.5
0.56
medium
Average
43.3
78.4
0.61
medium
76
Table 3. Student self-assessment of self-capability

Answer
Percentage
(%)
Negative Positive
No.
Aspects
1.
I acquire opportunity to create many ideas to solve

the problem (fluency)
100
2.
I acquire opportunity to create original idea to solve

the problem (originality)
13.3
86.7
3.
I acquire opportunity to modify equipments, materials,

procedures of experiment (flexibility)
100
4.
I acquire opportunity to relate experiment result

with the theory of DNA isolation/bacteria mutation
(elaboration)
13.3
86.7
Total
26.6
Total Percentage (%)
373.4
93.3
The capability/behavior that students want to be improved:

Most of students wanted to improve their ability to conduct experiment
by raising original and creative ideas. Students also wanted to improve
honesty, discipline, carefulness, and thoroughness in learning and to
operate laboratory instruments and materials including from the simple
to complex technology.
Table 4. Student response in the learning activities of DNA isolation
and bacteria mutation
No.
Answer
Percentage (%)
No
Yes
Aspects
1.
The capability of lecturer to improve students

ability conducting problem analysis.
100
2.

ability raising many ideas to solve the problem
(fluency)
100
3.

ability raising original ideas to solve the
problem (originality)
ability modifying instruments, materials, and
experiment procedures (flexibility)
100
100
6.7
93.3
Total
6.7
493.3
Total Percentage (%)
98.5%
4.
5.

ability relating experiment result and theory of
DNA/bacteria mutation (elaboration)
Average gain in pre-test and post-test affected learning outcomes.

Increased learning outcomes were indicated from the increased achievement
percentage. First pre-test achievement indicator that represented students
ability to analyze correct sample in DNA isolation increased from 34.2%
to 100% (Table 2). Since the students had never been involved in isolating
DNA before, the low score in the pre-test is caused by inadequate prior
knowledge to determine which sample that was most suitable in experiment.
The correct sample of DNA isolation experiment was chicken liver because
the texture was easy to be disrupted and did not have cell wall; therefore
this sample was easier to be treated. Most of the students answered young
leaf and chicken liver. Even though all of the samples could be categorized
as correct sample in DNA isolation, the accuracy of the answer that asked
the most suitable sample was also important aspect in creative thinking
assessment.
Second achievement indicator in DNA isolation topic that was covered
students ability to modify DNA isolation experiment showed improvement
from 19.4% to 65.9% (Table 2). Many students overcame difficulties to
modify DNA isolation experiment. Although some student groups failed
to conduct the experiment, there was a group that could modify the
procedure well so they could obtain the correct result. Modifying DNA
isolation procedure could be conducted in these steps: 1) the application
of vortexer was replaced by continuous filtration; 2) the usage of SDS
solution was replaced by using detergent because this chemical household
was colorless and contained high concentration of active SDS that led to
easier DNA extraction step. This second indicator allowed the students to
gain opportunity to modify laboratory instruments, materials, and procedures
(flexibility) to promote creative thinking learning. According to Crammond
et al., (1990), in order to improve creativity, there are many commercial
products and programmes planned, including worksheet that encourages
divergent creative thinking and help record and organize ideas.
In the bacterial mutation experiment, the achievement percentage
increased from 61.3% to 80.7% (Table 1). This high achievement was
represented by the increased achievement indicator. First indicator gained
77.8% to 100%, second indicator gained 26.7% to 45.7%, and third indicator
improved from 74.7% to 100% (Table 2). The first indicator in the bacterial
mutation was about analyzing the most suitable sample for the bacterial
mutation experiment. The students did not overcome any difficulties to
analyze the sample regarding to the their earlier experiment in microbiology
lectures. The suitable sample for the experiment was E. coli or Sigella.
Both of these bacteria were easier to take from environment and safe to
be kept in laboratory. Even though these bacteria were not malignant, the
students were aware to conduct safety procedures to maintain their own
health. The second indicator was about analyzing behavior or manipulating
bacteria mutation experiment. Students creative thinking could be seen
based on the their fair modification in the experiment. This modification
consisted of applying various exposure distances to the UV light, various
colchicine concentrations and various exposure times to the UV light.
This creatively modified step produced highly variable experiment results
that could enrich students learning experiences. The second indicator
provided opportunity to raise many ideas to solve the problem (fluency)
and raise the original idea to solve the problem (originality); therefore
this learning activities triggered creative thinking skills. Similar to this
current result, Maharani et al. (2015) stated that creative thinking ability
is required to solve problems in everyday life. The third indicator was
about the procedure of bacteriai mutation increased from 74.7% to 100%.
This indicator taught the students to conduct experiment by using the
correct procedure. Experiment that was conducted by the students was
very good because the technique had been applied in the microbiology
lab session. This prior laboratory experiences made the students familiar
with the procedure used in the bacterial mutation experiment. The
third experiment developed the students ability to think creatively by
providing opportunity to modify laboratory instruments, materials, and
procedures (flexibility). Furthermore, after the students discovered the
experimental result, they had the opportunity to present and relate the
result of experiment with theory that had been learned (elaboration)
which was also one of the critical thinking learning aspects. Angawi
(2014) explained that creative thinking expands the student to explain
concepts, interpret spectral data, and eventually, evaluate and criticize
various solutions. All of the test result improvement was consistent with
student self-assessment that showed the students were capable of creative
thinking skills (Table 3).
Student self-assessment that assessed students capabilities indicated
that most students were able to do creative thinking during their learning
activities. However, the percentage of students that could not create
original ideas to solve the problem (originality) and relate experimental
result with the theory of DNA isolation/bacteria mutation (elaboration)
was 13.3% (Table 3). Student response also showed that 6.7% of students
negatively assessed that their lecturer was able to improve their ability to
relate experiment result with the theory (Table 4). This result showed that
the learning activities involving the genetic worksheet should be refined
to help student to improve their capability in originality and elaboration
aspects. Open comments in the self-assessment revealed that most students
wanted to improve their honesty, discipline, carefulness, and thoroughness
in the learning activities, and be able to use simple and complex laboratory
technology.
Student worksheet as a part of teaching resources can foster students
to generate their own thinking, ask questions, make connections,
evaluate outcomes, so that the autonomy of the students increases as
well (Chappell & Craft, 2009). Although an improvement in test was
observed in the students, average gain of student worksheet engagement
was only detected at medium level with positive self-assessed creative
thinking indicators. As noted by McCormack (1971), creative-training
may affect very little the actual ability of a person to be creative, but
have much more impact on the attitudes and values regarding creativity.
Therefore, creative training should include evaluation instruments that
involve higher level of thinking, including creative thinking skills. Teacher
candidate students should also possess broad understanding of creativity
because they will teach mainstream classroom that needs positive impact
of creative teaching (Seo et al., 2005).
However, any student worksheets cannot be generalized to improve
creative thinking skills in the same way because the sample size was too
small. The result of this research tentatively showed that student worksheet
which emphasizes creative thinking indicators could be effective to develop
creative thinking skills until the future researches with larger sample
size confirm and strengthen the findings. These further researches will
be needed to study the correlation effect of creative teaching, creative
learning resources, and developed creative thinking skills that will provide
more information about creative thinking skills improvement of teacher
candidate students. Evaluation instrument that facilitate creative thinking
assessment would be also helpful.
CONCLUSIONS
Genetics student worksheet was fairly effective to develop creative
thinking skills regarding to the increased test score and creative thinking
achievement indicator, positive self-assessed creative thinking capability
from the students, and positive student response to lecturers ability to
develop creative learning activities. It is recommended that creative
thinking-student worksheet should be also supported by creative teaching
to increase originality and elaboration aspects.
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connectivity. Unpublished Dissertation, Vanderbilt University, Tennessee, 2006
Title: DNA Isolation (Susantini, et al, 2014)

Introduction: Genetics research has been directed to molecular research.
Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid (DNA), the genetic material of living organisms
that acts as blueprint of genetic information, is important research object
in molecular genetics. DNA analysis can be conducted when the DNA
has been isolated or extracted from the sample. DNA isolation consists of
three stages: 1) extraction, to separate the DNA from the cell using SDS/
CTAB/Triton-X as active detergent and concentrated NaCl, 2) purification,
to separate extracted DNA from any contaminants, cell debris, protein, and
RNA using phenol: chloroform: isoamylalcohol, and 3) precipitation, to
precipitate the DNA as transparent or white fiber using cold 96% alcohol.
DNA isolation technique is determined by the character of the sample used.
Simple DNA isolation steps are as follows:
1.
2.
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Prior to homogenization, 0.5 gram of sample was placed in the sterile

mortar and added with physiological buffer
Homogenate was filtered using filter paper and placed in the sterile
centrifuge.
Filtrate was mixed with 5 ml of SDS 20% and 5 ml of 5M NaCl
using vortexer
Suspension was centrifuged to separate cellular components with
cell debris
Supernatant was removed into new tube
Cold 96% ethanol was carefully added to the new tube through its wall
Please observe whether a white or transparent fiber occurred on the
suspension surface
DNA isolation can be taught to high school students using materials around
us. Try to conduct DNA isolation experiment by modifying provided
instruments and materials
Objective: To modify the procedure of DNA isolation using available
materials in the environment
Materials and instruments: mortar and pestle, tube and rack, filter paper,
beaker glass, pipette, spatula, mineral water, raw water, young leaf, mature
leaf, chicken epidermis, chicken liver, salt, sugar, detergent, dishes soap,
liquid soap, alcohol
Discussion:
1.
Create flow sheet procedure of your experiment
2.
What is your sample? why do you choose that?
3.
What is the material can be used to replace physiological buffer? Why

do you choose that?
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International Journal of Psychology, 36, 225-241, 2001
4.
What is the material can be used to replace 20% SDS and 5M of NaCl?
Why do you choose those?
Raven, J. Implication of the case of creative people for psychometrics. American

Psychologist, Vol. 57, 374-375, 2002
5.
What are the steps you modify to the existing standard procedure?
Ministry of Education and Culture. Policies of Ministry of Education and Culture

Number 69 Year 2013 about Basic Structure of Secondary School Curricula.
Jakarta, Ministry of Education and Culture, 2013
Rhodes, M. An analysis of creativity. In S. G. Isaksen (Ed.), Frontiers of creativity

research: Beyond the basics (pp. 216-222). Buffalo, New York: Bearly, 1987
Seo, H., Lee, E. A., & Kim, K. H. Korean Science Teachers Understanding of
Creativity in Gifted Education. The Journal of Secondary Gifted Education,
Vol. XVI, No. 2/3, 98-105, 2005
Simonton, D. K. Scientific creativity as constrained stochastic behavior: The
integration of product, person, and process perspectives. Psychological Bulletin,
Vol. 129, 475-494, 2003
Susane, H. Teaching resources for genetics. Nature Journals of science and society
Vol.7, 223-229, 2006
Susantini, E., Isanwawi, & Lisdiana, L. Petunjuk Praktikum Genetika, Surabaya:
University Press, 2014
78
Please create presentation about your experiment result and attach the
picture of your DNA
Appendix B
Title: Bacteria Mutation (Susantin, et al., 2014)
Introduction: Research in mutation is more effective to be conducted
in prokaryotes. All of the prokaryotes genomes are exons that encodes
functional protein. Therefore, little change in prokaryotes gene causes
change in the produced protein. This change that is inherited to the
offspring called mutation. Mutation can be caused by mutagen like
ultraviolet (UV) radiation or colchicines. Mutation is defined as a
permanent change in DNA and can be seen in the phenotype. Mutation
can be classified into two groups: 1) spontaneous mutation, which is
caused by one or more unknown factors, and 2) artificial mutation,
which is artificially made by known factor. This experiment asks you
to learn about spontaneous mutation in Escherichia coli and calculate
the mutation rate.
What are the possible research questions of this experiment?
Materials and instruments: culture of E. coli, nutrient broth, nutrient
agar, sterile 0.1 M MgSO4, 40 watt of UV light, sterile Erlenmeyer, 9
tubes which are filled with 9.9 ml of sterile nutrient broth and labeled
as K 10-2, K 10-4, K 10-6, L 10-2, L 10-4, L 10-6, D 10-2, D 10-4, and D 106
, 3 tubes which are filled with sterile nutrient broth and labeled as K
10-7, L 10-7 and D 10-7, 6 Petri dishes which are filled with nutrient agar
and labeled as NA-1, NA-2, NA-3, and NA-4, 6 Petri dishes which are
filled with nutrient agar and 30 mg/l of penicillin (or another antibiotics)
and labeled as NAA-1, NAA-2, NAA-3, NAA-4, NAA-5, and NAA-6,
sterile tubes, cotton buds, 1 ml and 0.1 ml sterile syringes, 70% alcohol,
antibiotics, and tin foil.
Please construct the experiment procedures related to the bacteria
spontaneous mutation by using the materials and instruments above
Received 07-05-2015 /Approved 30 -04- 2016
Science student teachers ideas about the structure of the ear

OSMAN CARDAK, MUSA DIKMENLI
Necmettin Erbakan University A. K. Faculty of Education, 42090 Konya, Turkey
ocardak@konya.edu.tr
Abstract
The ear is of great importance for human beings when considered as a sense
organ which fulfils the functions of hearing and balance in itself. The purpose
of this research was to introduce the learning levels of science student teachers
about the structure of ear. The learning levels of science student teachers about
the structure of ear were researched by using a drawing technique in line with
this purpose. In this research, 125 science student teachers were asked to
draw the structure of ear and show the organs on it. Upon the analysis of the
drawings made by the science student teachers one by one, it was concluded
that most of them had partial understanding of the anatomic structure of ear
(45%). However, it was found that some of them had some misconceptions and
missing knowledge about where the malleus was found, where the auditory
canal was found and what the internal ear, middle ear and external ear organs
were in relation to the structure of the ear. It was important to reveal those
findings from the science student teachers. The importance of the findings was
analysed in detail in the light of the literature. Suggestions were presented in
the light of these results.
Key words: ear structure, students ideas, drawing methods.
Resumen
El objetivo de este estudio es exponer el nivel de comprensin de los candidatos
para profesor en ciencias fsicas en cuanto a la estructura de la oreja as como las
estructuras que se encuentran en ella. Con este motivo se llev a cabo un estudio
sobre el nivel de comprensin de los candidatos respecto a la estructura de la oreja.
En este estudio se pidi a 125 candidatos para ser profesor en ciencias fsicas, dibujar
la estructura de la oreja e indicar los rganos comprendidos en ella. Cuando fueron
analizados los dibujos hechos por los candidatos uno por uno, se revel el resultado
de que la mayora tena conocimiento parcial de la estructura anatmica de la oreja
(45%). Pero se constat que algunos de ellos tenan conceptos errneos en lo que
se refiere a la estructura de la oreja; a la ubicacin del martillo, del canal auditivo,
y no saban identificar los rganos del odo interno, medio y externo as como les
faltaba ciertos conocimientos. La constatacin de estos datos ha sido reveladora.
La implicacin de estos datos se analiz a la luz de la literatura. Se ofrecieron las
propuestas con el fin de ayudar a estructurar la informacin con vista a eliminar
los problemas.
Palabras clave: estructura de la oreja, ideas de los estudiantes, mtodos para
dibujar
INTRODUCTION
It is expected to turn knowledge into behaviour in the meaningful
structuring of knowledge. Meaningful learning of the concepts is the
process of structuring learning and settlement. Meaningful learning
becomes much easier when teachers and students add their own
comments. Recently, most of the studies on learning have focused on
active learning. The constructivist approach is one of these approaches.
During this process, students establish a connection between the
knowledge that they have obtained before and the knowledge they
have obtained later. The knowledge of each of the students may be
different from the others when their past experiences and knowledge
are taken into account (Gagnon & Collay, 2001; Michael, 2006).
The mental models of the students are of importance in structuring
the knowledge (Hatano & Inagaki, 1997). Learning concepts and
establishing relations with other concepts is also of great importance
in obtaining meaningful learning (Novak & Gowin, 1984). According
to Gagnon and Collay (2001), constructivism highlights learning
rather than teaching. It takes the mental moulds of the learners
into account. It gives importance to the content of the constructed
learning. It gives the learners a chance to create new knowledge and
comprehension from real experience. Some of the reasons which
complicate learning and teaching biological science related topics are
listed as: the topic involves invisible biological events and abstract
concepts; there are too many interconceptual relations; the concepts
in the topic are pronounced very similarly; the topic remains beyond
the cognitive levels of the students; and the topic is not suitable for
performing tests (Bahar, Johnstone & Hansel, 1999).
In the research which has been done recently about understanding,
many techniques are used to set forth the conceptual understanding of
the students. Open-ended questions (Eisen & Stavy, 1988), two-tier
diagnostic tests (Maier, Wolf & Randler, 2016; Haslam & Treagust,
1987), interviews (Abdullah & Scaife, 1997), concept maps (Novak &
Gowin, 1984), word association tests (Bahar, Johnstone & Sutcliffe,
1999) and drawings (Cardak, 2015; Prokop & Fancovicova, 2006) might
be given as examples of these techniques. Using drawings to access a
students thinking has been a feature of educational research. Students
can present a broad spectrum of ideas through drawings (Rennie & Jarvis,
1995). This is in contrast to what is exposed by standard written texts,
where students can repeat what they learned in class without revealing
their misconceptions (Scherz & Oren, 2006). Drawings introduce many
dimensions of understanding rather than a single dimension. Whether or
not the change which is expected during learning occurs can be set forth
through the drawings made by the students. The drawing technique is used
in order to determine whether the knowledge is meaningfully learned.
Research also shows that the drawings of the students are a useful means
to reveal the understanding of the students in studies in the science field.
(Bahar, Ozel, Prokop & Usak, 2008; Cardak, 2009, 2015; Dikmenli,
2010a; Dikmenli, 2010b; Kose, 2008; Prokop & Fancovicova, 2006).
79

As a technique for exploring ideas, drawing taps holistic understanding
and prevents students from feeling constrained by attempting to match
their knowledge with that of the researcher (White & Gunstone, 1992).
Thus, science researchers use the drawing technique in order to reveal
the understanding of the students. The drawing technique could have
some disadvantages besides some advantages just like every technique.
Strommen (1995) found that childrens drawings of forests yielded less
information than interviews. In this study, the researcher found that the
students drew a limited number of animal and plant examples rather than
different species. It had a limited value in setting forth the species diversity
of the living things according to the drawings of the students (Dove,
Everett & Preece, 1999). Several researchers used childrens drawings
to examine their ideas about the digestive system (Cardak, 2015), cell
division (Dikmenli, 2010a), carbon cycle (Dikmenli, 2010b), the water
cycle (Cardak, 2009), the heart (Bahar et al., 2008), the functioning
of plant organs (McNair & Stein, 2001) and the internal structure of
animals (Prokop, Prokop, Tunnicliffe & Diran, 2007) in order to reveal
the understandings of the students.
In his research on science student teachers understanding about the
digestive system and organs in 2015, Cardak revealed some misconceptions
about the fact that digestive system learning levels and digestive system
organs are disconnected structures and which organs are responsible for
digestion. In their study, Bahar et al. (2008) revealed insufficient knowledge
and misconceptions about the internal structure of the heart based on the
drawings made by the science student teachers. Prokop and Fancovicova
(2006) also revealed that a maximum of 47.4% of prospective primary
school teachers had such misconceptions about the function of the heart
as heart beating prolongs life.
Recent research has emphasized the importance of teaching anatomy
and physiology topics. The preliminary knowledge of the students
was of importance while teaching these topics. A limited amount of
research has been made about face-to-face, hands-on, constructive
laboratories in relation to teaching anatomy and physiology. Many
studies were located which explore the use of online or virtual
laboratories versus hands-on (Hilbelink, 2009; Johnston & McAllister,
2008; OByrne, Patry & Carnegie, 2008). Drawing technique was
used not only to reveal the understanding of the students but also
as a means of teaching in anatomy and physiology lessons (Clavert,
Bouchaib, Duparc & Kahn, 2012; Kotz, Mole & Greyling, 2012;
Naug, Colson & Donner, 2011).
We perceive our environment through our sense organs. We see most
things through our sense organs such as eyes, ears, nose, tongue and
skin. When considered in this regard, the sense organs in the human
body are important. The human body receives alerts from the external
environment through the receptors in the sense organs and transmits
them to the brain. Being one of our sense organs, the ear is of great
importance as it is related to hearing and balance. There are several
topics in biology which students have difficulty in understanding. Human
anatomy and physiology related topics are among them. Research about
ear structure and hearing is limited. In the Turkish education system
curriculum, ear structure is taught in several lessons in elementary,
middle and high school. Additionally, university science students
learn about ear structure in general biology and human anatomy and
physiology lessons.
This research aims to reveal the science student teachers state of
understanding the structure of ear. What are the levels of understanding
of the science student teachers regarding the structure of ear? Moreover,
an answer was sought for the question: What are the misconceptions of
the science student teachers about the structure of the ear?
METHODOLOGY
In this study, drawing technique was used in order to reveal the
understanding levels of the science student teachers about the internal
structure of ear.
Participants
A total of 125 student teachers who are studying at Necmettin
Erbakan University Ahmet Kelesoglu Education Faculty participated
in this study in Turkey. University science student teachers
voluntarily participated in the study. The age average of the student
teachers who participated in the research was 20.7 (range = 18
25). Approximately 78% of the participant students were female.
80
However, gender differences were not taken into account in this

study. This research was carried out in March 2015. The participants
of the research gained their knowledge about the structure of the ear
in elementary, middle and high school, social studies, science and
technology as well as biology lessons. Additionally, science student
teachers learned their knowledge about the internal structure of ear
in general biology, human anatomy and physiology and teaching
technologies and material design lessons. The ear topic was taught
in teaching technologies and material design lessons through model
and material design.
Data collection and analysis
The students who participated in the research were asked to draw and
show the structure and sections of ear in the human being in an empty
A4 paper. The science student teachers were given 30 minutes to draw
and show the internal structure of ear. The drawing technique allows
the students to reveal their understanding levels deeply and in a detailed
manner (Rennie and Jarvis, 1995). There is evidence that student
science teachers drawings may serve as a useful tool for probing their
level of understanding of natural phenomena and for identifying the
gap between students misconceptions and scientific ideas (Reiss &
Tunnicliffe, 2001; Tunnicliffe & Reiss, 1999). The student science
teachers answers to the drawing activity were analysed using a coding
framework prepared by Kose (2008) and Reiss and Tunnicliffe (2001).
And then, the drawings were given scores one by one by the researchers.
Moreover, the drawings were also evaluated by two different biology
and science education experts. The results were compared; score
differences about a few cases were opened for discussion, and then a
final decision about the scoring was made. The drawings were addressed
as a whole and analysed through a scoring method that took the units on
the drawing into consideration. The elements on the ear drawings were
taken into account rather than the drawing capacities in the evaluation of
the drawings. Five understanding levels were determined for the student
teachers: no drawing, non-representational drawings, drawings with
misconceptions, partial drawings and comprehensive representation
drawings. Details of the levels are as follows (Cardak, 2009; Dikmenli,
2010a; Kose, 2008):
Level 1: No Drawing: Students replied, I dont know, or no response
was given to the statement.
Level 2: Non-Representational Drawings: These drawings included
identifiable elements of the structure of the ear. In addition, the answers
which included diagrams or formulations instead of the drawings were
evaluated in this category. This category is illustrated by examples in
Figure 1.
Level 3: Drawings with Misconceptions: These types of drawings
showed some degree of understanding of the structure of the ear but also
demonstrated some misconceptions; however, these were misconceptions
held by scientists or stated in science texts. This category is illustrated in
Figures 2a and 2b.
Level 4: Partial Drawings: The drawings in this category demonstrated
partial understanding of the concepts. Drawings of the structure of the ear
were included (Figure 3).
Level 5: Comprehensive Representation Drawings: Drawings in this

category were the most competent and realistic drawings of the ears
internal structure (Figure 4). Drawings showing sound understanding
contained seven or more elements of the validated response for that
particular statement (Table 1).
RESULTS
In this research, in order to reveal the conceptual understandings of
the student science teachers from their drawings, levels were created
as follows: no drawing, non-representational drawings, drawings with
misconceptions, partial drawings and comprehensive representation
drawings (e.g. Bahar et al., 2008; Dove, Everett & Preece1999;
Reiss & Tunnicliffe, 2001; Simpson & Marek, 1988; Usak, 2005);
regarding the knowledge about anatomy of the researchers and the
outcomes regarding ear structure mentioned in the Turkish biology/
science curricula. These five categories proved useful for classifying
the science student teachers responses in this study. The categories
are shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Levels of science students conceptual understanding of the
structure of the ear
Level
Understanding
N(125)
Level 1
No drawing: Students replied, I dont

know, or no response was given to the
statement.
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
Total
malleus which is found in the middle ear. He did not draw the anvil
and the stapes bones. Likewise, this student teacher did not draw all
the organs in the internal ear which are responsible for hearing. He
only drew the cochlea. He did not draw the semicircular canals and
hearing nerves.
Table 2. The most frequent structure drawn by students
Non-representational drawings: These

drawings were without identifiable elements
of the ear structure. Answers, which included
diagrams instead of the drawings, were also
evaluated in this category. This category is
illustrated in Figure 1.
11
Drawings with misconceptions (These

types of drawings showed some degree of
understanding of the structure of ear but also
demonstrated some misconceptions Figures
2a and 2b.)
17
Partial drawings (The drawings in this

category demonstrated partial understanding
of the concepts. This category is illustrated
in Figure 3.)
56
Comprehensive representation drawings

(Drawings in this category were the most
competent and realistic drawings of the ear
structure. This category is illustrated in Figures
4.)
37
125
14
45
30
100
Based on the drawings of the student teachers, the most dominant level
was level 4 where partial drawings were made as seen in Table 1 (45%).
A total of 45% of the science student teachers made drawings with partial
understanding. The category with comprehensive understanding drawings
was 30%. The representative drawings of the student teachers were very few
(9%). Student teachers know the structure of the ear partially. Additionally,
it was clearly revealed that there were some misconceptions and missing
information in some drawings (14%). The percentage of the science student
teachers who had misconceptions was important. It is necessary to focus
on them when we consider the fact that they will become teachers in the
forthcoming years. All these results show that the student teachers had
some insufficient information about the structure of the ear. Only four of
the student teachers did not make drawings.
Drawings were analysed one by one, and the frequency of the organs
which were drawn by the student teachers with regard to the structure of
ear is shown in Table 2. In the drawings, there were mainly ear structure
organs which are mostly responsible for hearing such as pinna, eardrum,
ear canal, cochlea, malleus, incus, stapes, eustachian tube, semicircular
canals, oval window, hearing nerves and vestibule. Most of the student
teachers (82.4%) drew pinna; 62.4% of them drew the eardrum; 56.8%
drew the ear canal. Other percentages are shown respectively in Table 2.
It was found that student teachers drew the external ear, middle ear and
internal ear organs in their drawings.
Figure 1 shows a non-representational level 2 drawing by a science
student teacher. The science student teacher drew a diagram instead
of a drawing. Figures 2a and 2b show the drawing samples of level
3 student teachers with misconceptions. As is seen in Figures 2a and
2b, the student teachers have misconceptions about the structure and
location of the organs of the ear which are responsible for hearing.
In Figure 2a, the student teacher thinks malleus, anvil and stapes
bones are found in the internal ear. Moreover, the student teacher who
made this drawing did not draw the nerves which are responsible for
hearing and the semicircular canals in the internal ear. In Figure 2b,
on the other hand, the science student teacher thinks the ear path is
the eustachian tube. Moreover, this science student teacher drew only
N(125)
% from total
Pinna
103
82.4
Eardrum
78
62.4
Ear canal
71
56.8
Cochlea
55
44.0
Malleus
51
40.8
Incus
41
32.8
Stapes
40
32.0
Eustachian tube
33
26.4
Semicircular canals
32
25.6
Oval window
29
23.2
Hearing nerves
19
15.2
Vestibule
17
13.6
In Figure 3, there is a partial drawing (level 4). The student teacher

drew the pinna, the eardrum and cochlea in the internal structure, the
semicircular canals and the Eustachian tube. However, there are some
missing things. This science student teacher had a partial understanding
of the structure of the ear (Figure 3). In Figure 4, there is a drawing by
the student teacher with comprehensive understanding who did not have
any misconceptions. The student teacher drew and wrote the names of
more than seven organs. The student teacher fully drew all the organs
of the external ear, middle ear and internal ear. All the organs of the ear
were in their correct place. In Figure 5, on the other hand, the student
teacher only drew the pinna. He did not draw the organs in the middle
ear and the internal ear (Figure 5).
Figure 1. Example of level 2 (non-representational drawing) (Student 35)
81
Figures 2a and 2b. Examples of level 3 (drawing with misconception)

(Student 61 and Student 70)
Figure 6. Drawing with misconceptions in relation to the internal structure

of ear (Student 56)
DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS

Figure 3. Example of level 4 (partial drawing) (Student 18)
Figure 4. Example of level 5 (comprehensive representation drawing

(Student103)
In Figure 6, the student teacher drew the malleus which is in the middle
ear on the pinna. And, he did not draw the stapes. The student teacher
also had misconceptions about the location of the organs in the structure
of ear (Figure 6).
Figure 5. Drawing with misconceptions in relation to the internal structure

of ear (Student 42)
82
The purpose of this study was to determine the understanding of the science
student teachers about the structure of the human ear by using the drawing
technique. In general, the findings of this study showed that science student
teachers had knowledge with partial understanding. And, they also had
some insufficient knowledge and misconceptions about the structure of the
ear and the location of the organs. One of the misconceptions of the student
teachers was that the malleus is located on the pinna. Another one was that
the ear path was shown as the Eustachian tube. Also, some of the student
teachers drew the malleus, anvil and stapes bones within the internal
structure borders. Additionally, another student drew sound entering from
the internal ear and hearing starting from the internal ear. In this research,
nearly half of the student teachers (45%) had partial understanding (Figure
3). The student teachers with partial understanding were those who could
not fully draw all the elements which are scientifically acceptable. They
showed less than seven organs in the structure of the ear. A total of 30% of
the student teachers made comprehensive drawings. These student teachers
were those who showed at least seven of the organs of the ear. The results
of this study showed that the drawing technique was effective in revealing
the understanding conditions as in the other studies (Bahar et al., 2008;
Cardak, 2015; Dikmenli, 2010a; Kose, 2008; Prokop et al., 2007).
As we have previously mentioned, the drawing method had some
advantages as well as disadvantages in revealing the understanding levels
of the student teachers (Dove et al., 1999).In this study, the science student
teachers were informed about the drawing method, and a practice session
was done. However, it seems that the limitations of the method may have
caused difficulties since the drawing of the structure of the inner ear may
require more skills than drawing an ordinary concept.
One reason why the science student teachers had all these misconceptions
and insufficient knowledge could originate from the teaching methods and
techniques used, for misconceptions are quite resistant to change (Bahar,
2003; Pfundt & Duit, 2004). Wandersee, Mintzes and Novak (1994) state
that misconceptions cannot be removed by traditional teaching strategies.
Additionally, forming and correcting mental maps and models through
constructivism and hands-on learning is extremely advantageous (Wandersee,
Mintzes & Novak, 1994). In most of the education level in Turkey, teachers
and lecturers use mainly teacher-centred strategies that promote memorization
and reproduction of knowledge on the day of examination where the
multiple choice format is mainly used (Bahar et al, 2008; Bahar, 2003).
Recently, there has also been research about the effectiveness of the of use
of face-to face, hands-on, constructive laboratories, drawing technique in
teaching anatomy and physiology topics (Clavert et al., 2012; Kotz, Mole
& Greyling, 2012; Naug, Colson, & Donner, 2011). Some research even
revealed that online and virtual laboratories should be used (Hilbelink,
2009; Johnston & McAllister, 2008; OByrne, Patry & Carnegie, 2008).
The teaching strategies in which student teachers will be more active
should be used in order to avoid the misconceptions about the internal
structure of the ear and minimize and change the missing knowledge and

misconceptions of the student teachers. Learning by doing and through
experience, face-to-face, hands-on learning strategies will be effective
in preventing and changing misconceptions. Primarily, it is necessary
to determine the misconceptions in order to change the misconceptions
of the students. Moreover, teaching technologies and virtual reality
techniques are certainly effective in teaching internal ear structure topics
and providing conceptual change in order to assist meaningful learning.
Missing knowledge and misconceptions can also be eliminated by using
exploring creative constructivist approach strategies where students are
active during teaching. When we consider science student teachers as
teachers of the future, the importance of misconceptions becomes greater
and misconceptions should be eliminated. Being an important source of
knowledge for students and to be most effective, teachers should teach
by using face-to-face, hands-on, virtual laboratory, online laboratory etc.
activities in teaching anatomy and physiology lessons.
CONCLUSION
In general, the findings of this study showed that science student teachers
had knowledge with partial understanding. And, they also had some
insufficient knowledge and misconceptions about the structure of the ear
and the location of the organs. One of the misconceptions of the student
teachers was that the malleus is located on the pinna. Another one was that
the ear path was shown as the Eustachian tube. Also, some of the student
teachers drew the malleus, anvil and stapes bones within the internal
structure borders. Additionally, another student drew sound entering from
the internal ear and hearing starting from the internal ear. In this research,
nearly half of the student teachers (45%) had partial understanding (Figure
3). The student teachers with partial understanding were those who could
not fully draw all elements which are scientifically acceptable.
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83
Analogies in mathematical problem posing

Miguel CruZ raMireZ1, Mauro garCia PuPo2, osvaldo roJas velZqueZ2, JOS SIGARRETA ALMIRA3
University of Holgun, Cuba, 2 University Antonio Nario, Colombia, 3 University Autonomous of Guerrero, Mxico.
mcruzr@facinf.uho.edu.cu, mauro@uan.edu.co, oropjasv69@uan.edu.co, josemariasigarretaalmira@hotmail.com
Abstract
In this paper, we study two important aspects that characterize mathematical
thinking: posing problems and the use of analogies. We start from a posing problem
theoretical model in the school context, structured by six stages that are cognitively
interconnected. In particular, through an experimental study the nature of the
analogies in the posing problem process is analyzed. In order to achieve the former,
we study the effect caused by the epistemic basis of instruction, the quality of the
analogy and its localization in the cognitive framework. The empirical evidences
suggest that in classroom, both the contextual as structural nature strongly respond
to the encouragement of critical thinking.
Key words: analogy, problem posing, problem solving, critical thinking.
Resumen
Este estudio implica dos aspectos importantes que caracterizan el pensamiento
matemtico: el planteo de problemas y el uso de analogas. Se parte de un modelo
terico del proceso de planteo de problemas en el contexto escolar, estructurado
por seis etapas que se interconectan en el plano cognitivo. Mediante un estudio
experimental se analiza la naturaleza de las analogas en el proceso de planteo
de problemas. Para ello se estudia el efecto que ocasiona la base epistmica de la
instruccin, la calidad de la analoga y su localizacin en el esquema cognitivo. Las
evidencias empricas sugieren que, tanto la naturaleza contextual como la estructural,
responden marcadamente al estmulo del pensamiento crtico en el saln de clases.
Palabras clave: analoga, planteamiento de problemas, resolucin de problemas,
pensamiento crtico
INTRODUCTION
Posing problems can be seen as a teaching activity that stands as a
professional competence, associated with the elaboration of teaching tasks
and to the graduation of its difficulty levels. Posing problems can also be
seen as a learning activity where the student makes reasonable questions
that express a higher understanding of mathematical contents (Leisen,
2006). This conception has been supported in many school curricula;
therefore, posing problems is recognized as a necessary component of
the teaching and learning of mathematics. As suggested by Kilpatrick,
in math class, problem formulating should be viewed not only as
goal of instruction but also as a means of instruction. The experience of
discovering and creating ones own mathematical problems ought to be
part of every students education (Kilpatrick, 1987, p. 123).
Researches carried out through the last years reveal several didactic,
psychological and epistemological problems related to mathematics problem
posing in the school. Usually, they explore the nature of posing problems, its
inexhaustible potentialities inherent to thinking development in classroom,
the structures of the psychological processes associated, the relations with
problem solving and the connections with the creative thinking (English,
Fox, & Watters, 2005; Leisen, 2006; Priest, 2009). When we are posing
new problems as a task of the teacher is not clear what results are going
to be obtained or even how it is going to take place or from what data the
question will be formulated.
On the use of analogies in math, distinguished mathematicians have highlighted
the importance of this logical form of thinking in connection with mathematical
creativity. For instance, referring to the mathematical discovery, Poincar points;
Discovery is discernment, selection. [] Mathematical facts worthy of being
studied are those which, by their analogy with other facts, are capable of conducting
us to the knowledge of a mathematical law, in the same way that experimental facts
conduct us to the knowledge of a physical law (Poincar, 1914, p. 51). Polya,
meanwhile, highlights the utility of using analogies for plausible reasoning as a
kind of similarity that is singularized by the individual: The essential difference
between analogy and other kinds of similarity lies, it seems to me, in the intentions
of the thinker (Polya, 1954, p. 13).
84
The study of posing problems, as a cognitive process, has been object of

researches in math education during the last years (Christou, Mousoulides,
Pittalis, Pitta-Pantazi, & Sriraman, 2005; English, Fox, & Walter, 2005;
Priest, 2009; Kar, zdemir, Sabri Ipek, & Albayrak, 2010; Yuan & Sriraman,
2011; Rosli, Capraro, & Capraro, 2014). Analogically, but in a relatively
separated field, the study of analogical reasoning has also motivated the
interest of several researches (Bernardo, 2001). As usual, the intersection
of these two fields demarcates a less explored area from the empirical and
theoretical points of view. The use of analogies during posing math problems
defines a borderland, whose study can be beneficial to dig a little deeper
into the complex cognitive processes associated with mathematical thinking.
This research has the purpose of determining what place the analogies
take during the process of posing mathematical problems and its possible
connections with the epistemic bases that support the kind of instruction.
Theoretical and empirical background
Posing problems is a complex and multifactorial activity. From the didactic
field, this concept refers both to the generation of new problems as to
the reformulation of given problems. Posing problems is an important
component of the professional abilities of a teacher. That is the more
common perspective and reflects a predominantly teaching focus. However,
if posing problems is carried out by students, then, from a less common
perspective, this reflects a predominantly learning focus.
From the psychological field it is possible to assert that solving problems
is the successive reformulation of an initial problem. It is natural that the
process of formulating problems is associated with problem solving in a
dimension that requires much creativity. Actually, it is said that the best
results occurs in a problem solving environment (Kar, zdemir, Sabri pek,
& Albayrak, 2010). Posing problem requires productive thinking, that is why
it has been very useful to measure fluency, flexibility and originality in the
thinking of individuals (Sternberg & Sternberg, 2012). There is consensus
that the generation of diverse and heterogeneous questions characterizes
creative individuals (English, Fox, & Watters, 2005).
The mathematical expression of students through self-created problems
reveals not only their level of comprehension and conceptual development,
but also their perception about the nature of mathematics and their attitude
toward that discipline (Priest, 2009; Lavy & Shriki, 2010). Therefore, a
development in education that promotes critical thinking and a dynamic
conception of mathematical knowledge is required. In general, the study of
posing mathematical problems entails a context, a result and a process. The
context is related with instruction, the result is the result is expressed in the
new problem and the process subsumes the nature of the creative insight.
Posing problems acquires special features in the formation of a math
teacher, that is why researches has been conducted both on in-service
teachers (Peled, 2007; Chen, Van Dooren, Chen, & Verschaffel, 2011)
as on prospective teachers (Crespo, 2003; Abu-Elwan, 2007; Crespo
& Sinclair, 2008; Kar, zdemir, Sabri pek, & Albayrak, 2010; Lavy
& Shriki, 2010). In this context, special abilities for posing and solving
problems are required. They even converge, at the same time, linking the
training development for teaching and the need of an active and inquisitive
learning of mathematics.
On the one hand, a math training that favors posing new problems is
needed; on the other hand, an educational training to ensure the proposal of
problems of different levels of difficulty for prospective students is required.
The NCTM highlights the role of the teacher at the selection, modification
and implementation of teaching tasks; By analyzing and adapting a problem,
anticipating the mathematical ideas that can be brought out by working on
the problem, and anticipating students questions, teachers can decide if
particular problems will help to further their mathematical goals for the
class (NCTM, 2000, p. 53). Although preservice mathematics teachers
normally have more interest in their science subject and students cognitive

development, this is not safe to take for granted that they are capable of
posing appropriate problems in the school context.
It is not only important to formulate questions rigorously and provide
problems with mathematical sense, but also to anticipate possible answers
and be able to change the cognitive demands through reformulating the task.
Recent researches indicate that most of the questions the teachers formulate
are closed and factual and focused on memorizing and reproducing low
cognitive demands procedures (Crespo & Sinclair, 2008). For prospective
schoolteachers is complicated to pose problems that promote mathematical
reasoning, taking into account that for many years of training they have
been exposed to traditional questions posed by their teachers or from
books (Crespo, 2003).
As a cognitive process, posing problems implies the execution of complex
strategies, the deployment of abilities and math skills, the activation of
metacognitive resources, the influence of beliefs and underlying conceptions
(Chen, Van Dooren, Chen, & Verschaffel, 2011). The act of posing problems
embodies specific techniques that have been identified by several authors:
accepting/what-if-not? (Brown & Walter, 1990; Lavy & Bershadsky, 2010;
Wang & Liu, 2008), what-if-more (Jim Kaput, 1984; cited by Kilpatrick,
1987), analogies and generalization/specialization (Polya, 1957), and many
more. These techniques are part of more general strategies that have been
described by the scientific literature.
Brown & Walter (1990) recognize the presence of four stages in the
insight of posing problems: choosing a starting point, listing attributes,
asking What-if-not? question asking, and analyzing the problem. Polya
(1957) observed something similar in the process of solving math problems,
four general stages (understanding the problem, devising a plan, carrying
out the plan and looking back) describe the path that the solver follows.
The identification of stages, both in posing as in solving problems, reflects
the structural nature of the two cognitive processes and the close relation
between them.
While the strategy What-if-not? becomes clear through numerous
examples provided by Brown & Walter, these authors point out that the
posing problem process is not linear and includes a sort of cycle (Brown &
Walter, 1990, pp. 55-60). Based on this strategy, Wang & Liu (2008) have
studied posing problems in analytic geometry and they have observed that
students tend to transform the problem (the data or the questions) without
keeping the consistency of its attributes, which leads to invalid problems.
The empirical evidences do not show regressive actions facilitating
metacognitive control during the process of posing, it means, students
regularly do not implement an analogical process to looking back
described by Polya (1957, pp. 14-16).
Christou, Mousoulides, Pittalis, Pitta-Pantazi, & Sriraman (2005)
establish a taxonomy of the posing problems process, their model consists
of four cognitive stages: comprehending, translating, editing and selecting.
Because of their research on six grade students, they suggest that the process
of posing problems start with comprehension, although there is a certain
propensity for editing and selecting quantitative information, which is
similar to the usual tendency to execution in the solving problems process.
In a research about posing problems by the in training math teacher, Cruz
(2006) establishes a metacognitive strategy to generate problems from a
mathematic object; the research takes into account the cyclic regressions
and the stages suggested by Brown & Walter (1990). This strategy involves
six stages: selection, classification, association, search, verbalization
and transformation. The first five stages express a lineal path, but when
transformation is included, the process becomes more complex. From
now on, this strategy will be called SCASV+T. Structurally, this strategy
(see Figure 1) begins with selecting of an given object o phenomenon,
which corresponds with choosing a starting point described by Brown
& Walter (1990) and expresses the intentionality of posing problem as a
cognitive activity.
Transformation
Selection
Classification
Association
Searching
Figure1. A strategy for posing math problems.
Verbalization
When the subject disjoints the object or phenomenon through an analyticsynthetic process, which is similar to the heuristic strategy decomposerecompose described by Polya (1957) in the solving problem process.
This second stage is called classification, a mental operation that implies
listing comparing and organizing attributes according to certain criteria
(Inhelder & Piaget, 1969).
The next stage comprises the association of concepts with elements
from the classification. Such elements can be linked with certain properties
(area, perimeter, volume). Through a process of decision making with the
aim to speculate about possible relationships or dependences, the subject
chooses a relatively small subset of such associated concepts. From this
point of view, the stage of searching is analogous to the stage devising
a plan, pointed out by Polya (1957) in the process of solving problems,
in both cases lies the enigma of insight. The last stage consists in the
verbalization of the problem, which presupposes the organization and
synthesis of the ideas. The problem or the conjecture allowing socializing of
the problem is expressed through verbalization. This cognitive subprocess
requires special communicative abilities, interconnected with the symbolic
language of mathematics. No matter how automated it is, this stage involves
difficulties with the rigor of the problem posed as well as with formulations
that can be interpreted in different ways. It is important to differentiate the
trivial making of a question from the conscious act of posing a problem.
Verbalization is the materialization of posing and emerges as the result of a
complex cognitive process, from an internal conflict related to an analyzed
object or phenomenon.
If the path is not linear, it suggests that there are regressive subprocesses
that return the information relatively differently with certain transformations.
The stage of transformation acknowledges the freedom of the subject to
make intentional changes during the strategy. Thus, it is reasonable to
think that some components of the problem can be modified before, during
and after the insight. From this point of view, the strategy What-if-not?
may be located in the relations classification-transformation, or searchtransformation. The trend to transformation can manifest in any stage of
the cyclic structure, depending on the level of flexibility and criticism
reached by the individual.
Some research has considered posing problems in an environment of
criticism (Priest, 2009), while others have focused on posing problems
as a skill or ability, (Abu-Elwan, 2007; Kar, zdemir, Sabri pek, &
Albayrak, 2010; Chen, Van Dooren, Chen, & Verschaffel, 2011). Those
are not divergent conceptions, but two views of the same construct from
different angles. Dismissing notably traditionalist approaches (although not
yet overcame) of math teaching, the following points of view are reflect of
the conceptual complexity of posing problems in the school.
Posing problems is a complex cognitive process, which presupposes a

set of interconnected stages that can be automated. Therefore, teaching
to pose problems requires the apprehension of those stages and the
quality of the learning depends on the synergy of those interconnections
Posing problems is the statement of a critical point of view of
mathematics. The stages are not the content of the teaching, but
the reflect of a critical and inquiring attitude of the mathematical
knowledge
Both perspectives provide opportunities for the teacher to promote

posing problems in the math class but, at the same time, generate some
dangers. The first variant may result in the teaching of posing problem as
some kind of algorithm, while the second warns about the inadequacy of
the teaching method separated from the very conception of mathematical
activity. If teaching emphasizes on the first approach then it maximizes
the systemic character of mathematics; if it emphasizes on the second,
maximizes the dialectic character.
The first approach allows that, the strategy SCASV+T may be seen as
the structure of an ability that can be taught. This path has been proposed
by Leontiev (1975) and leads to the searching for a guidance base for each
action, to the determination of the most elemental operations of each stage,
and to the automation of the systemic relationships that exist between
them. Under this epistemology, learning can be seen as a training process
by mental actions stages (Galperin, 1969), where the strategy requires of a
series of internalization and automation moments until it becomes a habit.
The second approach is related to social constructivism, whose less
controversial premise conceives the development of mathematics under the
influence of language and social factors. However, the most controversial
85

postulate conceives the mathematical knowledge under an analogic duality:
on the one hand, necessary and autonomous; on the other (and at the same
time), contingent, fallible and historically changing (Ernest, 1998). He has
indicated, Mathematics consists primarily of human mathematical problem
posing and solving, an activity which is accessible to all. Consequently,
school mathematics for all should be centrally concerned with human
mathematical problem posing and solving, and should reflect its fallibility
(Ernest, 1998, p. 265). By taking from this epistemology the more stable
path of critical thinking, the strategy SCASV+T would be an objective
expression of a subjective will towards dialectic denial of the math content.
Critical thinking requires motivation from the students disposition (Barak,
Ben-Chaim, & Zoller, 2007), and also includes a variety of abilities such as
the identification of the information source, the analysis of its credibility,
the reflection on the information consistency regarding previous knowledge,
and the statement of conclusions.
The use of analogies in posing math problems
Before analyzing the place that analogies take in the process of posing
problems, it is necessary to identify some methodological aspects
adopted in the following study. An analogy can be described as a thinking
mechanism, as a way of thinking and even as some kind of similarity.
According to Vosniadou (1995), the essence of analogical reasoning lies
in the identification and transfer of structures and relationships from
a well- known system (from the source) to a less well- known system
(to the target). The analogy requires maintenance, handling, activation
and selective inhibition of mental representations, aimed to establish
correspondences and inferences about similarity relations of higher
order. Besides, analogic reasoning is configured thanks to various mental
operations that are especially important in a wide sense of human cognition,
such as comparison, analysis, synthesis, generalization, classification, and
identification of cause-effect relationships.
Taking into account the volume of information transferred from the
source to the target, analogies can be classified in two types: analogies
between properties and analogies between relationships (Guetmanova,
1989). From this classification, it is possible to consider a simplified
classification of math problems analogous at the school context. In effect,
the posed problems can be structurally analogous because they contain
data or similar questions (external analogy) or they can be analogous
because of the variants solutions (internal analogies). As with other, the
analogical reasoning changes by its meaning, function, range and nature.
The learning through analogies lies in the visual perception, it means, the
heuristic use of analogies is more supported on mental images than on logic
prepositions of the reasoning. Reasoning using analogies, recognizing and
transferring numerous structures between kinds of problems, promotes
student performance at problem solving.
In the field of posing math problems, the researches about to the use of
analogies are rare. For instance, in a study on the posing of word-problems,
Bernardo (2001) establishes a strategy that promotes the analog transfer
and facilitates the retrieval of relevant analogous problems. Meanwhile,
Peled (2007) investigates the role of analogical reasoning on the design
of tasks for math teachers training. Taking into account the strategy
SCASV+T, a step forward in that direction leads to the analysis of the
place that analogies take during the implementation of the strategy. Therein
lies the general motivation of this study, with the peculiarity that it takes
into account the underlying epistemological base in the teaching method.
QUESTIONS, VARIABLES AND HYPOTHESIS OF RESEARCH

The main question of this study is. What is the nature of the use of analogies
during the posing of math problems? This purpose implies at least three
aspects to consider. In first place, the quality of analogical reasoning,
this requires from certain criteria to facilitate its evaluation. Second, the
positioning of those analogies in the process of posing, so also it requires
a kind of a structural theoretical framework that facilitates the location
in the posing process. Third, it is important to consider the environment
where it takes place, which initially can be referred to the epistemic base
underlying in the teaching method. Therefore, the overall question has
been divided in three more concrete subquestions.
SQ1: What is the effect of the epistemic basis for instruction in the use
of analogies during posing problems?
SQ2: Where are the analogies located in the framework of posing
problems?
SQ3: Is there a connection between the epistemic basis for instruction
and the location of the analogies during posing problems?
86
Three variables to concrete the study are established: Epistemic Base

for Instruction (EB), Location of the Analogies (LA) and Quality of
Analogies (QA). The variable EB entails three variants: one based on an
environment of criticism where posing problems is a natural aspect, other
based on the conception of posing problem as an ability, and a third that
entails the traditionalist perspective in which posing problems is subjected
to eventuality. The variable LA is focused on the strategy SCASV+T as a
structural framework, so that the location of the analogies may be conceived
in a more simplified way. In this case, four possible variants of localization
are identified: inside the cycle association-search-transformation, in and
out of this cycle, out of the cycle, and the no observation of analogies.
Finally, to specify the values of the variable QA, the following indicators
are established:
Skills to transfer related structures from the source to the target (in
the sense Vosniadou 1995)
Abilities to verify true analogies and to discard false analogies (taking
into account the connections with problem solving English, Fox, &
Watters, 2005; Leisen, 2006; Priest, 2009).
Variety of analogies (analogies regarding the structure of the problem,
analogies regarding solutions, and both; similar to the classification

of Guetmanova 1989).
Mathematical complexity of the analogies (relating to the identification
and transfer of numerous structures between mathematical objects

Wilbers & Duit, 2006).
The ordinal value of each indicator is proposed by the criteria of the
evaluator, following the scale 0, 1, 2. Particularly, in the case of the third
factor (variety of analogies) the values are assumed as follows: 0 = the
use of analogies is not observed, 1 = one kind of analogy is exclusively
used, 2 = both types of analogies are used together. The sum S of all the
indicators range in the next range 0 S 8, however the evaluator can
add or discount a point depending on the originality of the problem or of
the mistakes committed respectively.
From the sum S, the final assessment of the variable QA has five possible
values, as detailed in Table 1. For instance, the quantitative value QA=3
synthesizes a set of qualitative variants positioned on the middle level,
as a high mathematical complexity but without progress, a rigorous and
analogical thinking but with low math complexity, between other variants.
Table 1. Variables of research
Variable
Values
EB: Epistemic Base

for Instruction
PVI
PPH
MET
LA: Location of the DeC

Analogies
TaC
QA: Quality of
Analogies
Description
The teaching method is based on an inquisitive
point of view of math problems (critic retrospective
questions are made after solving each problem
and the possibility of posing new problem or to
reformulate the problem is analyzed).
The teaching method conceives posing problems
as an ability that can be formed by relatively stable
stages (the mental actions that structure this ability
are object of teaching).
The teaching method is traditional, in the sense that
emphasizes on posing problems and is subjected
to eventuality.
Inside the cycle association-search-transformation
In and out of the cycle.
FuC
Out of the cycle.
NoA
No observation of analogies.
1
2
3
4
Very low (S 0)
Low (1 S 2)
Average (3 S 5)
High (6 S 7)
Very high (S 8)
To study each subquestion the following null hypothesis are stated:

H1: There is no meaningful association between the Epistemic Base for
Instruction (EB) and the Quality of Analogies (QA) at posing math problems.

H2: There are not meaningful differences between Location of the
Analogies (LA) and In and out of the cycle association-search-transformation.
H3: There is no meaningful association between the Epistemic Base for
Instruction (EB) and the Location of the Analogies (LA).
METHODOLOGY
Subjects and context
The teaching of the strategy SCASV+T is not viable in the school context
since posing problems is not part of the curriculum and is barely visible
in the formulation of the objectives. However, the curricula of the math
teacher in training are more flexible and enable the incorporation of this
aspect as an object of learning. Even more if we take into account the need
to build professional skills, to design exams, to exemplify and to motivate
interest for new contents. For that reason, the study is carried out in the
Bachelor of Education, specializing in Sciences. The sample consists of
64 preservice teachers enrolled in the second year of this bachelor at three
universities of pedagogical sciences in the western region of Cuba. At the
moment of the study, all the students had recently returned to teaching at
their respective universities, after their pre-professional training in high
schools for over a month. The three professors involved have more than
ten years of experience at teaching the discipline Methodology of Teaching
Mathematics, especially in solving problems at school context. Each
teacher has an assistant who collects the data and processes the information.
Treatment
Since there is no random selection of the members, the three groups this
research uses are complete units. Each group is in a different university
and they are used as are organized. A quasi-experimental design as shown
in Table 2 is applied, which is an extended nonrandomized pretestposttest control group design utilized by some authors. The groups are
randomly assigned to a treatment condition, according to the variable
EB: two experimental groups (EXP_1, N = 21, BE = PVI; EXP_2, N =
20, EB = PPH) and a control group (CONTROL, N = 23, EB = MET).
The observation of the dependent variables is made before and after the
treatment administration. The matching-only pretest-posttest is outlined
in Table 2.
Table 2. Design of the study

Group
Pretest
Treatment
Posttest
EXP_1
21
LA, CA
PVI
LA, CA
EXP_2
20
LA, CA
PPH
LA, CA
CONTROL
23
LA, CA
MET
LA, CA
The treatment had simultaneous actions in all three groups and specific
actions in the experimental groups as described as follows:
Simultaneous interventions on the three groups:
1. The research takes three months (the time that the topic Teaching of
Geometry consumes, whose development is planned simultaneously
in the three pedagogical universities).
2. The authorization of the competent authorities was asked to modify
the syllabus of the subject Methodology of Teaching Mathematics
considering the absence of objectives related with posing problems,
This is possible thanks to the flexibility of the syllabus D.
3. A first meeting with the teachers of the three groups where the purposes
of the research are explained is conducted. All teachers consider this
study important and agree to collaborate.
4. The software Cabri Gomtre is used, which, after completion of
construction, allows the user to freely move items by dragging them,
so it is possible to observe how other elements dynamically respond
when the initial conditions are changed. This favors a dynamic
environment, where the search of relations and dependencies leads to
the formulation of conjectures. For instance, when certain elements
are moved, others seem to remain fixed, or simulate a circumference
and provide countless possibilities to imagine hypotheses that later
will have to be verified or discarded.
5. Two special practical classes are held (one at the beginning and one
at the end of Teaching of Geometry), which constitute an adequate
environment for posing geometric problems as an activity of the
professional training. These spaces are used to assess the dependent
variables in this study.

Simultaneous interventions on both experimental groups:
A special conference entitled Posing Geometrical problems at High
School is developed, where the didactic value of posing new problems
is explained. The strategy SCASV+T is presented too as a viable path
for posing problems, which can foster a creative behavior.
In a practical class the use of analogies, the technique generalization/
specialization and the strategy What-if-not? to pose geometric
problems are exemplified. The practice is developed through the strategy
SCASV+T and with the assistance of the software Cabri Gomtre.
The students are invited to present their own thinking strategies in
front of their classmates, so they can share the thinking path that leads
them to create new problems. This process is difficult given the natural
fear to open the mind in front of an audience. At the beginning, the
teachers illustrate how they imagine new problems.
Specific interventions in the experimental group EXP_1:
1.
A critical environment on the creation of math problems is established.

The tasks of solving problems are combined with tasks oriented to
encourage the posing of new problems.
2. The future teachers design new problems, aimed to apply them in
school. In small groups the effectiveness of the new problems to
assess learning is discussed, to motivate new contents, to address
the development of heterogeneous cognitive levels, among other
didactic actions.
Data
In general, scientific literature has few empiric instruments to investigate
the path of reasoning during the posing of math problems. This study
implements two instruments jointly before and after treatment. The
assessment of the dependent variables is done qualitatively integrating the
results of both instruments, according the agreed criteria of the professor
and his/her assistant.
Instrument No. 1. Special tasks to assess posing problems are designed
(Silver & Cai, 2005), which involves four stages. At the first stage, the
subjects have to pose problems related to a specific given geometric object.
At the second stage, they have to try to solve their own problem. At stage
three, they are allowed to make modifications to the problem or to the
geometric object, not only expecting to create a more challenging idea
than the original but also with the purpose of rectifying mistakes at posing
the problem, that were discovered while trying to solve it (stage four).
Instrument No. 2. For a deeper study of the cognitive activity, it use an
instrument described by Cruz (2006) on the field of problem solving. At
the vertical axis is placed a nominal scale that contains the stages of the
strategy SCASV+T; while on the horizontal axis is placed the elapsed time.
The Cartesian product gives a graphic episode that illustrates the behavior
of the activity of the subject during the process of posing problems. For
more objectivity, the oral act of creation of a new problem in front of the
blackboard is recorded and then analyzed in other work session.

Although to some extent both instruments base their findings on
introspection, they provide of objective information about the process of
posing problems. The first instrument was easy to apply, because often the
assessment of the learned is through written work. The most common was
that the problems did not have full connection between what is given and
what is searched, essentially, due lack of data and contradictions between
them. When passing to the second stage, where the student is asked to
solve the posed problem, the subjects often realized of the mistakes made
at posing. For that reason, the making of transformation allowed not only
to correct the problem but also to develop professional abilities. At the last
stage, the students tended to forget how they have imagined the problem.
Therefore, they were allowed to review the worksheets of the first three
phases.
The second instrument was designed to record the information and
for its implementation another work session was carried out and it was
private. In this case, each student was requested to reproduce on the board
what had happened during the implementation of the first instrument. The
Figure 2 shows a graphic episode of the process of posing a geometric
problem. The first three minutes offer an idea of what happened at the
first stage of work, where there was a tendency to pose in a linear path
(without transformations) that led to a badly formulated problem. When
87

dialoguing, the student quickly explains where the error is, due that he
has already detected it while trying to solve the problem for the first time.
He immediately explains the transformations that had to do and recalls a
similar situation he knew of another previously solved problem.
Working/Explaining
Selection
Classification
Silent moment
Transformation
Dialogue
Association
? Mistake
Searching
! Correct problem
Verbalization
?
0
Use of analogies
statistically significant differences between the adjusted means of the three

treatment groups, a post-hoc multiple comparisons test is needed. The results
in Table 4 show that all differences between the adjusted posttest means
of each experimental and control groups are statistically significant. The
F-test allows us to conclude that QA(MET) < QA (PPH) < QA (PVI), which allow
to reject the null hypothesis H1. Hence, there is a significant association
between the Epistemic Base for Instruction (EB) and the Quality of the
Analogies (QA) in mathematical problem posing.
Table 4. Multiple comparisons for adjusted posttest group means
using pretest as covariate
95% CI for
DM
Contrast comparison
DM SEDM dfcontrast dferror
EXP_1 vs. EXP_2
.39
.17
60
5.09*
.04
.74
EXP_1 vs. CONTROL
.91
.17
60
29.37**
.57
1.24
EXP_2 vs. CONTROL
.52
.17
60
9.23**
.17
.86
Figure 2. Graphic episode of the posing of geometric problem
Although the analogy is established after the attempt of solution,

it does not refer to the solution but to the problem structure. As a result
the subject makes some changes to the figure of the original problem.
Therefore, from the sixth minute, the explanation the student gives about
the searching of relations and dependencies can be perceived. In these cases,
he evades possible complications and ends making a question relatively
simple, similar to the problem he remembered. While the ultimate problem
is quite trivial, it expresses a tendency to rigor because the subject tries to
be more cautious after committing an error. The former can be motivated
by the fear of failure, but it leaves a favorable impression on the sense of
criticism accompanied by analytical reasoning
To assess the students performance with variable QA, there was
agreement on giving the following grades by indicator: skill = 1, ability =
2, variety = 1 (one kind of analogies), complexity = 0. All totalizes S = 4,
without deciding adding or discounting an additional point. According the
Table 1, since 3 S 5, the quality of the analogy is assess as 3 (average).
From the obtained data, the result of the analysis of possible associations
between the Epistemic Basis for Instruction (EB) and Quality of the
Analogies (QA) when posing mathematical problems are presented. Table
3 resumes the results of the variable QA (1 QA 5; where theoretically
QA is a function that depends of the EB treatment).
Table 3
Mean values (standard deviations) of the measurement of CA
variable
Treatment
Group
Pretest
Posttest
DQA
(EB)
2.81
.95
EXP_1
PVI
1.86 (1.01)
(1.12)
2.55
.55
EXP_2
PPH
2.00 (1.17)
(1.15)
1.91
.04
CONTROL
MET
1.87 (.97)
(1.08)
We test for differences among the tree treatment-groups (EXP_1,
EXP_2 and CONTROL) on the posttest using an ANCOVA to control for
group differences on the pretest. The choice of the pretest as a covariate
is appropriate given the substantive relationship between the pretest and
posttest scores and the strong Pearson correlation between them, r(64)
= .82, p < .01. A necessary first step when using ANCOVA is to test the
homogeneity of regression slopes assumption. In SPSS output, the source
Treatment*Pretest is not statistically significant, F(2, 58) = .49, p > .05.
This indicates that the factor (Treatment) and the covariate (Pretest) do not
interact and, thus, the assumption of homogeneity of regression slopes is met.
After testing the homogeneity of regression slopes assumption, we
proceed with ANCOVA to test for differences between the treatment groups
in the posttest controlling for their pretest differences. The results from the
Levenes test show that the assumption of homogeneity of variance is also
met, F(2, 61) = 2.40, p > .05. The F-test for effect of Treatment shows that
there are statistically significant differences between the treatment groups
on the posttest scores when controlling for pretest groups differences,
F(2,60) = 14.84, p < .01, h = .33. As the omnibus ANCOVA test indicates
88
Note. DM = Difference of adjusted means. SEDM = Standard error of DM.*

p < .05.**p < .01.
Although the changes seem small, the increases in the variable QA in

both groups are substantial compared with the control group. The increase
in EXP_1 is approximately DQA = 2.81 - 1.86 = 0.95 1, which almost is
a change in quality from Low to Average. The four indicators of quality
did not progress evenly for the most students. Particularly, the last two
indicators (variety and complexity) did not change significantly in this
study. The most frequent analogies focused on the solutions of the problems
and not on towards the structure of the problems. In addition, reducing the
degree of difficulty was an elusive way to accomplish the task of posing
new problems, mainly due the increase of initial data.
For the study of localization of the analogies (variable LA) the three
groups were examined as a unique sample (N = 64) at the beginning of
the experiment. Taking into account that the hypothesis H2 is outside the
experimental treatment and considers the localization of the analogies in
a natural environment, the pre-test was considered exclusively. Using a c
goodness-of-fit test, the LA values differ significantly across the uniform
distribution (c(3) = 20.13, p < .01). Categories DeC and FuC were
respectively the more and the less frequent. The correspondent standardized
residuals (SR = 3.5 and -2.5) exceed 2.0 in absolute value. This indicates
that the differences between the observed and expected frequencies in
both categories are a major contribution to the statistical significance of
c value. This analysis leads us to reject the null hypothesis H2. Hence,
there is a significant difference between the Localization of the Analogies,
into and out to the cycle association searching transformation. The results
are summarized in the following Table 5.
Table 5. Frequencies of LA variable considering the three groups as
an only sample
DeC
Observed
frequency
30
Expected
frequency
16.0
Standardized
residuals (SR)
3.5*
TaC
17
16.0
.3
FuC
16.0
-2.5*
NoA
11
16.0
1.3
Categories
Note. The SR values with asterisk (*) are statistically significant as they exceed
2.0 in absolute value.
Finally, the analysis of the results ends with the identification of relations
between the values of LA before and after the treatment, considering EB as a
stratification factor. The Table 6 shows the tabulated values and corresponding
standardized residuals SR. There can be seen some values of SR whose
absolute values exceed 2.0, suggesting the existence of certain apparent
patterns. For instance, considering the values marked with an asterisk,
the first stratum EXP_1 suggests an interesting kind of symmetry (TaC D
FuC), while the absence of analogies seems to be stable (NoA D NoA).

Table 6
Observed values (standardized residuals) in pretest-posttest cross
tabulation of LA variable
Treatment
DeC
TaC
EXP_1
Pretest
Posttest
DeC
Pretest
InC
8 (1.0)
2 (-.2)
0 (-1.0) 0 (-1.0) 10 (2.1*)
TaC
2 (-.5)
1 (-.2)
2 (2.2*)
0 (-.7)
5 (-.1)
0 (-1.1)
2 (2.2*)
0 (-.4)
0 (-.4)
2 (-1.4)
NoA
2 (-.2)
0 (-1.0)
0 (-.6)
2 (2.6*)
4 (-.5)
12 (2.9*)
5 (-.1)
2 (-1.4) 2 (-1.4)
N = 21
DeC
5 (.1)
2 (.3)
0 (-.9)
1 (.2)
8 (1.3)
TaC
4 (-.1)
1 (-.3)
2 (1.6)
0 (-.8)
7 (.9)
FuC
1 (.5)
0 (-.4)
0 (-.3)
0 (-.3)
1 (-1.8)
1 (.9)
NoA
2 (-.3)
1 (.2)
0 (-.6)
12 (3.1*)
4 (-.4)
2 (-1.3) 2 (-1.3)
DeC
5 (-.1)
4 (.9)
1 (-.5)
2 (-.4) 12 (2.6*)
TaC
3 (.6)
1 (-.1)
1 (.4)
0 (-1.0)
5 (-.3)
FuC
2 (.6)
0 (-.8)
0 (-.6)
1 (.4)
3 (-1.1)
0 (-.8)
1 (1.0)
2 (1.7)
3 (-1.1)
5 (-.3)
3 (-1.1)
5 (-.3)
N = 23
Total
CONTROL Pretest
NoA
FuC
Total
EXP_2
Total
FuC
NoA 0 (-1.1)
Total
10 (1.8)
4 (-.4)
N = 20
Note. The SR values with asterisk (*) are those that they exceed 2.0 in
absolute value.
A chi-square test of homogeneity was performed to determine the
truthful associations. Only the first layer (EXP_1) produces significant
values, contrasting LA variable in pretest against posttest. The results were
complemented using symmetric and directional measures. The contingency
coefficient (C) is a symmetric measure that attempt to quantify the strength
of the relationship. In all cases C .3 which is an evidence of a strong
connection, but only the first is statistically significant (c(9) = 23.17, p <
.01). Using the Goodman and Kruskals tau as a directional measure, we
found two issues. Firstly, in the group EXP_1 there is a bidirectional and
significant dependence between the values of LA variable, before and after
the treatment (accurately a 34.7% and 33.2% reduction in misclassification).
Secondly, in both remaining groups all measures report small and nonsignificant values, indicating that the association is almost isolated. This
information is summarized in Table 7.
Table 7. Chi-square test of homogeneity complemented by
symmetric and directional measures
Goodman and Kruskals tau
Contingency
LA
Treatment c (df = 9)
coefficient (C) LA dependent dependent in
in pretest
posttest
EXP_1
23.17**
.72**
.35*
.33*
EXP_2
6.28
.49
.14
.07
9.98
.55
.13
.15
CONTROL
Note. p < .05. p < .01.

*
**
When these results are taken into consideration, we would be able to

reject the null hypothesis H3. However, recurring to the first layer in Table
6, we can see that 15 cells (93.8%) have expected count less than 5. It is
well-known that an approximation to chi-square distribution is usually
satisfactory provided that expected frequencies in all the cells are at least
as large as 5. Consequently, evidences about an interconnection between
variables EB and LA are not conclusive in this study:
1.
the studied sample consists of prospective teachers, who are subjects

of advanced cognitive development and with some motivation for
mathematics which reduces the level of generality.
2.
the study used the actions of the strategy SCASV+T as a theoretical

model of the process of creating new problems, which still requires
more precision from the empirical point of view.
3. the instruments used and the measurement scales have not been
adequately standardized in terms of reliability and validity, although
their use has been positive to obtain information about the structure
of the posing process and the localization of analogies.
In both experimental groups, the strategy SCASV+T was incorporated
as learning objective; besides, the approach followed was predominantly
didactic and oriented towards the development of professional competencies.
The strategy stages and the fabric of its relations constitute the underlying
pattern to explain the process of posing new problems. A different path may
consist in modeling the process of posing from the psychological point of
view, but there is the risk of leaving the process of creating new problems to
spontaneity. To go deeper in the knowledge of the structures and functions
of this cognitive activity a dialectic unit between the categories formation
and development is needed.
The process of problem posing can be taught through strategies, to which
particularities individuality of the subject. It means the guidance base on
six actions whose interconnections were previously exemplified, but in
the internalizing process each individual configures their own strategies.
The strategy SCASV+T was merely a plausible path to find new problems;
therefore, the analysis focused on the way that each individual carried out
the internalization, depending on the degree of criticism in the classroom.
On the other hand, the dependent variables studied do not cover completely
the complexity inherent of the nature of posing mathematical problems.
There are other important aspects that have not been included in this study,
as the presumed relation between posing and solving problem. Related
to the former, a post-hoc analysis of experimental results revealed that
students with more aptitude towards solving problems tended to pose more
complex problems, to formulate questions consistent with the data and to
spend less time at the stage of searching relations and dependencies. The
students, with lower academic achievement, behaved in a way relatively
different; so that it may be concluded that it is a manifestation of the
close relationship between posing and solving problems. However, such
conclusion is merely apparent.
In the process of posing problems, the evidences suggest that the
quality of the analogical processes and the dynamic of their location are
relatively dependent on the level of criticism of the subject. This criticism
is interconnected with conscious retrospective analyses, and softens the
tendency, already pointed out by Wang & Liu (2008), to transform the
problem without keeping the consistency of the attributes, which was rarer
in the experimental group EXP_1. Taking in consideration the observations
from Wilbers & Duit (2006), the tendency to make analogies in the cycle
association searching transformation suggests that the connections with
mental images are activated during the most dynamic part of the process:
the cycle association searching transformation. In experimentation, it was
interesting the attention of some subjects showed regressive conducts from
the searching stage towards the association stage. That can be explained in
the sense that they went through the stage transformation automatically.
However, regressive conducts toward the stage classification were
sporadically observed which highlights the need to continue enriching
the SCASV+T strategy from the structural and functional points of view.
CONCLUSIONS
As a first approach, the nature of the analogies has been analyzed from three
perspectives: the first concerns the learning environment that encourages it
implementation during the posing of problems, the second is related with
its location in the structural framework of the cognitive process, and the
third referred to the inherent qualities of the analogies. Since the dependent
variables point to the quality of analogies and its cognitive localization,
two main conclusions of this research can be extracted.
An enabling environment that promotes the use of analogies is learning
where posing problems manifests itself consciously and is expressed
intentionally. It is not enough incorporating posing problems to the curricular
goals and even to determining or to ensure the framing basis of the mental
actions that take place. It is needed incorporating a curious conception of
the mathematical knowledge to the class, which, besides being a challenge
for a teaching and learning of a developer way of the math.
As a psychological process, posing problems entails a set of interconnected
stages, where a higher degree of complexity of the interconnections
reflects a higher level of development of the ability to pose problems. The
89

identification of these stages is useful to localize the position of the analogies,
which tends to happen at the cycle association searching transformation,
with a tendency to accentuate in a context that encourages critical thinking.
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The trailer of science in informal education in Jalisco, Mxico

HCtor eduardo gMeZ-HernndeZ1, salvador gonZleZ-PaloMares1, alFonso abraHaM olivera-torres1,
and luis Javier Plata-rosas2
Consejo Estatal de Ciencia y Tecnologa de Jalisco (State Council of Science and Technology of Jalisco). Lpez Cotilla No. 1505. Col.
Americana. Guadalajara
2
Centro Universitario de la Costa, Universidad de Guadalajara, Av. Universidad No. 203, Delegacin Ixtapa,
Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mxico, ljplata@yahoo.com, chava1142@yahoo.com.mx; chava1142@yahoo.com.mx;
Abstract
Resumen
As a strategy to strengthen the education in Jalisco, mainly with elementary

school students and teachers, and social adaptation of science, technology and
innovation, through itinerant trailers workshops and exhibitions of scientific
experiments are developed in a fun way. This strategy of social adaptation of
science has had a significant social impact, facilitating the approach of science,
not only for children who are the target population, but for various social groups
(like housewives and workers), several of whom are not attending or participating
in typical activities of public presentations of science. Furthermore, trailers
of science have served as a bridge of communication in regions that do not
have options that are specific to large urban areas such as interactive science
museums and the options offered by universities and research centers within
their academic facilities.
Como una estrategia para fortalecer la educacin de Jalisco, principalmente con

alumnos y maestros de educacin bsica y de apropiacin social de la ciencia, tecnologa
e innovacin, mediante los trileres itinerantes de ciencia se desarrollan talleres y
exposiciones de experimentos cientficos de forma ldica. Esta estrategia de apropiacin
social de la ciencia ha tenido un notable impacto social, al facilitar el acercamiento de la
ciencia, no slo a los nios poblacin meta, pero no exclusiva-, sino a grupos sociales
diversos (como amas de casa y trabajadores), varios de los cuales no son asistentes ni
participantes comunes en actividades tpicas de divulgacin de la ciencia. Asimismo,
los trileres de la ciencia han servido como un puente de comunicacin en aquellas
regiones que no cuentan con opciones que son propias de las grandes reas urbanas,
como los museos interactivos de ciencia y las opciones ofrecidas por universidades y
centros de investigacin dentro de sus instalaciones acadmicas.
Key words: trailer of science, non-formal education, science communication, social

appropriation of science, science for kids.
Palabras clave: triler de la ciencia, educacin no formal, comunicacin de la

ciencia, apropiacin social de la ciencia, ciencia para nios.
90
INTRODUCTION
The goal of science museums is providing information regarding methods
and discoveries of science and technology, providing in the population an
orientation in these topics and raising awareness in the attending audience,
so they can have the elements needed to understand, evaluate and judge
the different uses and importance of science in society (Bragana, 1997;
Beyer, 2000). The first museums were inaugurated in America in the 19th
century, with the opening of The Franklin Institute in 1824, in Philadelphia,
and the Sciences and Industry Museum of Chicago, inaugurated in 1926
(Koster, 2000).
The first museum of Science in Mexico was the Museo Tecnolgico de
la Comisin Federal de Electricidad (Technological Museum of the Federal
Electricity Commission), opened in 1964, and the first interactive museum
of science was the Centro Cultural Alfa (Alfa Cultural Centre),which
was inaugurated in 1978 en Monterrey, Nuevo Len.
Beginning in the 1990s a strong boost was given to science museums
in Mexico. In 1996 the Asociacin Mexicana de Museos y Centros de
Ciencia y Tecnologa (Mexican Association of Museums and Science and
Technology Centers) was created, AMMCCYT (by its initials in Spanish),
which holds meetings of professional training, publishes institutional statistics
and has sponsored the publication of books regarding museography and
communication of science (Padilla, 2000; Mrquez, 2001).
In Mexico, there are little more than 418 museums focused on topics of
science and technology, which mainly address basic and higher education
students, but they also receive higher education and post graduate students
and a diverse public. These museums are buildings established in the main
cities within the Mexican Republic and are distributed around the 31 States
and the Federal District; equipped with experiments of engineering and
basic sciences, their goal is to strengthen the education and the preference
for science and technology among the population, in a fun way, through
demonstrations of experiments. Most of the museums and science centers
are a mix of exhibition, demonstration and interactive elements (Medina,
2010; AMMCCYT, 2015; CONACYT, 2015).
In the particular case of the State of Jalisco, Mexico, it has 11 science
and technology museums located in strategic points within the 125
municipalities in the 12 areas into which the state is divided. However,
the population dispersion in Jalisco makes it difficult to equally include
all the social sectors, especially regarding encouraging and promoting a
scientific and technological culture.
The itinerant trailers of science, technology and innivation arose as a
strategy of appropriation and social communication of science, technology
and innovation to include those sectors that are further away from the big
urban locations. The trailers have an annual attendance of tens of thousands
of people, (Gonzlez, 2010; Gonzlez y Rivera, 2014; COECYTJAL, 2015).
This strategy for spreading science and technology on the move has been
developed in Mexico in the States of Chihuahua, Distrito Federal, Durango,
Michoacn de Ocampo, Jalisco, Morelos, Nayarit, Puebla, Quintana Roo
and Tamaulipas. The strategys name changes in every State, but essentially
has the same goal which is encouraging the preference for science within
the population. In Jalisco, it is known as itinerant trailers of science,
technology and innovation and by having 7 units it is the entity with the
greatest number of trailers (CONACYT, 2015).
Itinerant science museums imply a different concept than the one
traditional museums have, which are established physically in buildings in
one place. The trailers of science in Jalisco are designed to be exhibited in
different municipalities and have as advantages that: 1) the exposition can
be seen by more people and in different places, 2) it is a way to promote
the preference for science and technology at a larger scale. At the same
time, they have as a disadvantage the guaranteeing, in each place where
they arrive, the security of all the material goods that they contain.
It is required that the science trailer be located in a public space near basic
services (i.e., electricity, toilets and safety) with easy access for visitors.
The itinerant expositions are designed to receive small groups (around
30 people per group). The trailer design should require easy assembly
and disassembly so that it can be carried out to any place and be returned
back to its point of origin for maintenance or to be used as deemed more
appropriate. Although permanent museums have all the services as an
advantage, they are not affordable to all the entitys population due to
travel demands: distance, times and/or transportation costs. (Beyer, 1999;
Fernndez, 1999; Garca, 2002; COECYTJAL, 2015).
The goal of the trailer of science is to encourage the curiosity and
interest of the student population and the general public, over the different
scientific and technologic disciplines, to stimulate the individual and

collective potential, and to raise awareness in the population about the
essential role that science and technology play in the intellectual and social
development, having as a population target in this case the inhabitants of
the State of Jalisco.
The trailer of science is also an important tool as part of the informal
education, since it contributes, thanks to the use of several interactive
instruments, to the learning of scientific concepts outside the classrooms,
several of which are not necessarily a part of the subjects of the course
that children would cover at the basic education level. This strategy is
part of a communication dissemination program within the context of the
so called mobile science, through itinerant spaces of practical science that
have gradually consolidated at National level in Mexico and that, due its
traits, have the possibility of being self-sufficient (understanding by it
that all the material and human infrastructure that is needed to have the
teaching-learning process done, is transported by the trailer) and get to
different municipalities, so that children, adolescents and adults get in touch
with science and technology in an informal, fun and free way (Gonzlez y
Rivera, 2014; COECYTJAL, 2015; CONACYT, 2015).
The officially called Itinerant Trailer of Science, Technology and
Innovation, is an interactive itinerant teaching classroom that travels
among the municipalities of Jalisco several of them far from urban areas
where there is little possibility of participating in traditional activities
of communication of the science like the ones organized within the walls
of museums and university and research Institutes.The itinerant trailer has
the purpose of encouraging in children and youngsters the interest and
comprehension of sciences in an informal and fun way, complementing
what it is taught inside classrooms of schools and, beyond that, raising their
curiosity about how science works, particularly experimentation as part of
the scientific method (Medina, 2010; COECYTJAL, 2015).
Each trailer of science has a deployable caravan canopy that turns into a
classroom, which at the same time, serves as a laboratory for communication
of science and technology through the exposition of scientific experiments
of basic sciences, in this case mainly from the engineering area. The trailer
is regarded as a way of building communicative bridges between science
and society (Gonzlez, 2010; Gonzlez y Rivera, 2014; CONACYT, 2015).
METHODOLOGY
Graphics of the Itinerant Science, Technology and Innovation Trailers.
The trailers of science and technology of Jalisco are labelled on their entire
exterior and interior sides (Figure 1). In the external label are presented
images of the economic purpose for the planned development of certain
areas of the State of Jalisco.
Inside the caravan there are ten graphics, which are fixed on the walls
and are related to the following topics: 1) Welcome, 2) regions of Jalisco, 3)
vocation of each region, 4)recycling guide, 5) environmental education, 6)
how the trailer started, 7) you can get in the World of Science, Technology
and Innovation, 8) territorial map in 3D, 9)Health (medicine) and, 10)
Astronomy (Gonzlez y Rivera, 2014; COECYTJAL, 2015).
Figure 1. Educational Room of the Itinerant Science, Technology and

Innovation Trailer (or simply, science trailer).
91

Content of the itinerant science, technology and innovation trailers
The itinerant trailers have four areas of knowledge: 1) interactive
equipment area; 2) computer area; 3) audiovisual area; and 4) itinerant
scientific expositions.
There are 114 educational sectors that include didactic-interactive
experiments. The experiments are of: optics, laser, solar cells, mechanics,
electricity, geography, thermology, plant biology, human biology, laboratory,
astronomy, skills and abilities, robotics, chemistry, ecology, lab microscopes,
it also includes basic science books and encyclopedias (Gonzlez, 2010;
Medina, 2010; COECYTJAL, 2015).
The computer area is intended to support the enlargement of knowledge
through web access. There are computers, educational programs and
internet, screens, videoconferencing equipment and an exhibition room
where Science, Technology and Innovation are revealed. Graphics are
shown with three dimensional images, vocation information of each one
of the regions of the State and scientific, technological and innovation
topics (COECYTJAL, 2015).
The strategy in scientific expositions
Each trailer has 30 chairs, ventilation, electricity, extinguishers and
all the safety measures for people. In total, there are seven itinerant units
in the state of Jalisco. These commute to different municipalities within
Jalisco, especially toward marginalized areas. The project began in 2009
with four trailers of science and in 2010, three more units were acquired. In
each trailer of science there is a professional working, who makes itinerant
scientific expositions and is in charge of making the proper installations
for the experiments, developing workshops and keeping the unit facilities
in good conditions.
The project is coordinated by a professional who is monitoring
and guiding the work performed in the seven trailers of science. The
professionals who work in this project have scientific backgrounds
focused on engineering, science, technology and innovation. They were
previously trained to make installations in the trailer of science, handling
of the experiments, as well as in educational strategies addressed in a fun
way to the different academic levels of the students and society in general.
The exposition in the trailer of science lasts one hour per each group of
30 people. (Gonzlez, 2010; Gonzlez y Rivera, 2014; COECYTJAL,
2015; CONACYT, 2015).A record of the schools is made that attend in
each municipality, as well as the number of students, teachers and public
that visit the trailers of science in Jalisco. Sometimes besides working
through a calendar with the schools- presentations for the public are
done. As part of the portfolio of the projects evidence, pictures of the
attending groups are taken, as well as filing letters from the schools and
attendance lists. These documents support the work performedas well
as being the direct monitoring of personnel from the State Council of
Science and Technology of Jalisco (Coecytjal, by its initials in Spanish),
(Medina, 2010; Gonzlez y Rivera, 2014; COECYTJAL, 2015). Most
of the experiments presented in the trailers of science are educational
games (Gonzlez, 2010). These educational games, according to Chimeno
(2000), can be applied to science classes in every educational level to
increase the quality of knowledge of the students.
In the trailers of science of Jalisco there are board games, exercise-games
and contests of knowledge games. While in permanent museums, such
as Museo Trompo Mgico de Jalisco there is a whole group of people
in charge of designing, implementing and guiding the visitors along the
activities that the place offered (Museo Trompo Mgico, 2015), due
limiting economic factors in the trailer of science, the attendees have only
one person as teacher or guide. This implies that the guide of the trailer
of science should have a proper knowledge about several topics related to
different scientific areas presented in the trailer (Gonzlez y Rivera, 2014;
Museo Trompo Mgico, 2015).

One of the main differences between a permanent museum and a mobile
one such as the trailer of science, is that the latter has made possible the
popularity of science and technology to a larger public. The common
visitor goes to the museum. With the trailer, the museum is taken to the
visitor and, in general, this kind of visitor has bigger needs for strengthening
his/her education.
In most of the cases of locations that are far from urban centers that have
permanent museums such as Trompo Mgico, schools, teachers and parents
dont have the financial resources to attend to them. Besides, sometimes
92
they have to pay an entrance fee at these museums, while in the trailers of
science of Jalisco the service is totally free for the attendees.
Participating Institutions in the itinerant trailers of science and technology
The Project of the trailers in Jalisco comes under the Secretary of
Innovation, Science and Technology of Jalisco and Coecytjal. The
activities are carried out as a team with the Secretary of Education of
Jalisco through Regional Offices of Educational Services and also with
the Council. In each municipality where the trailer arrives, a visit to the
Council is made in advance, where the proposal is exposed to them, and
their support is requested for safety, a proper space and publicity to have
students, teachers and the public attend. The Council can use the records
of people who attended to the trailer of science for their official reports.
This way, everybody benefits, but the main beneficiaries are the students
and teacherswho receive support in their education through the expositions
with interactive experiments.
The Secretary of Education of Jalisco, on the other hand, participates
by scheduling school groups to visit the trailer of science. The trailer is
located in strategic places in the municipality and school groups go with
their teachers. (Medina, 2010; Gonzlez y Rivera, 2014).
Since its inception, the Project has been supported by the National
Council of Science and Technology (Conacyt, by its initials in Spanish).
Some of the trailers were acquired through mixed funds with funding of
Conacyt. During the last four years (2011-2014) Conacyt has financially
supported the maintenance of the units, mechanically as well as regarding
the experiments and has paid the transportation costs (driver and fuel)
through an agreement executed within the framework of the National
Strategy of Conacyt for the Social Appropriation of Science, Technology
and Innovation (COECYTJAL, 2015).
Other events in which the trailer of science participates
The trailers of science and Technology of Jalisco participate practically
in every scientific event held in a public and institutional way in Jalisco,
such as: the National Week of Science and Technology, the event Ciencia
Joven (Young Science), research congresses, cultural Weeks, and scientific
events of the Government of the State of Jalisco. The Agreement with
Conacyt has a period of one year; at the end of which reports are delivered
describing the work done, the impact, the achievements and portfolios of
evidence such as pictures and certificates that support the work (Gonzlez,
2010; Medina, 2010).
The National Week of Science and Technology is one of the strategies
of wide scope in the public communication of science, technology
and innovation in Mexico. In the case of the State of Jalisco there
are several institutions that promote the activities performed during
this week. The University of Guadalajara has 15 university centers
distributed within 12 regions of the state. Furthermore, within the state
of Jalisco there are three Federal Technological Institutes, Tlajomulco,
Ciudad Guzmn and Ocotln, 13 Superior Technological Institutes, 3
Technological Universities and several research centers and private
universities (COECYTJAL, 2015).
In most of these institutionsduring the National Week of Science and
Technologythere are conferences, workshops, projects expositions,
interactive games and other activities focused on encouraging an interest in
science and technology, mainly among children and youngsters. Generally
during these activities the itinerant trailers of science, technology and
innovation are presented, especially since the goal of the trailer of science
is consistent with those of the National Week of Science and Technology.
Besides, it is also an advantage that the organizing institutions many times
help by facilitating transportation for students and teachers to attend those
activities (Gonzlez y Rivera, 2014).
In 2014, the Secretary of Innovation, Science and Technology
of Jalisco along with the Secretary of Economic Development,
the Instituto Jalisciense de la Juventud, and the State Institute
for Youngsters and Adults, held a series of events called Camino
al Bienestar (Path to well-being). These events are celebrated in
different municipalities of Jalisco. The goal of the program includes
sharing information with the population regarding supporting funds
provided by the Secretary of Innovation, Science and Technology, the
Secretary of Economic Developmentand the Instituto Jalisciense de la
Juventud.Besides adding itself to the educational offering at the higher
level, the itinerant trailer of science has the goal of supplementing
education at the basic level.

Since April, 2014 and up to 2015, every week a Camino al Bienestar
has been held . Authorities receive directly the population with work
tables, accompanied by their consultants and managerial staff, while the
trailers of science receive students, teachers, and parents in the sessions
of interactive scientific experiments. During these sessions government
officialsvisit, witness the work done and interact with the instructors of the
trailers of science and with the public (COECYTJAL, 2015).
of the Country since several years ago, is also in Jalisco a transcendent

project of social appropriateness (Medina, 2010).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank to Conacyt its support for this project (Fund Fordecyt, project
number 254360) and to Nun Irais Kelly Gutirrez for the translation of
the manuscript.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
AMMCCYT. Asociacin Mexicana de Museos y Centros de Ciencia y Tecnologa,
2015 www.museosinteractivos.org/index.pl (Consulted: August, 23rd, 2015).
Beyer, M.E. Ciencia y cultura: el museo como vehculo de divulgacin cientfica.
Bien Comn y Gobierno. 5(53): 3134, 1999.
Beyer, M.E. El museo como foro de encuentro entre ciencia y cultura. En Primer
Coloquio Interno de la Direccin General de Divulgacin de la Ciencia,
1720, 2000.
Bragana, G.F. Museos de Ciencia y Tecnologa: Preparacin para el Futuro. En
la Popularizacin de la Ciencia y la Tecnologa, reflexiones bsicas, Eduardo
Martnez y Jorge Flores, compiladores, UNESCO, Red de Popularizacin de
la Ciencia y la Tecnologa en Amrica Latina y el Caribe, Fondo de Cultura
Econmica, Mxico, 1997.
Chimeno, J. 2000. How to make learning chemical nomenclature fun, exciting, and
palatable. J. Chem. Educ. 77(2):144-145, 2000.
Figure 2. High school students interacting with human resources and
educational equipment in the trailer of science.
COECYTJAL. Consejo Estatal de Ciencia y Tecnologa de Jalisco, 2015. www.

coecytjal.org.mx/nuevaweb/inicio.html (consulted: January, 23rd, 2015).
Impact on population
Since 2009 and up to May, 2015, more than one million people have
participated in the trailers of science. Of this amount of people that have
been received, 80% are students, 12% are teachers and the rest, general
public. Science communication through itinerant trailers of science,
technology and innovation in Jalisco is made with the commitment of
letting the general public know about improvements in science research,
mainly regarding engineering, through demonstrations of experiments in
a fun way. The whole experiment and how it works is explained including
its purpose and what the results are (Figure 3). This science communication
also enriches the knowledge of a population regarding other topics that
have a direct impact on their daily life: health, environment, education and
engineering topics (Medina, 2010; Gonzlez y Rivera, 2014; COECYTJAL,
2015).
CONACYT. Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologa. 2015. www.conacyt.mx/
CONCLUSIONS
The attendance to the expositions of the scientific experiments by students,
teachers and parents in the trailers of scienceis raising the interest for
science in Jalisco. The trailers of science strengthen education of the school
students in those regions that dont have the equipment and enough material
for practical demonstrations of the topics that teachers are teaching in their
lessons.So the trailer of science provides support for lab practices and
workshops corresponding to natural science subjects.
Beyond the cultural and academic achievements, the trailer of science is a
social space that benefits conviviality between children and their parents by
having them integrated and participating in the visits and family programs
of each trailer. The trailer promotes equity and the quality requested by a
high educational level at the national level, by making possible that this
learning takes place even in rural and marginalized areas. Jalisco is a state
recognized by its financial and social importance at a national level. The
trailer of science, which has been successfully replicated in several parts
(Consulted: January, 23rd, 2015).

Fernndez, L.A. Introduccin a la nueva museologa. Alianza Editorial. 1999.
Garca, F.V. Las ciencias sociales en la divulgacin. Direccin General de Divulgacin
de la Ciencia, Mxico. 2002.
Gonzlez, P.S. Manual de Operacin de los Trileres Itinerantes de Ciencia, Tecnologa
e Innovacin de Jalisco Consejo Estatal de Ciencia y Tecnologa de Jalisco.
Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mxico, 20 pp. 2010.
Gonzlez, P.S., y Rivera, C.L.H. Difusin y divulgacin de la ciencia, tecnologa e
innovacin: estrategia para fortalecer la educacin. Correo del Maestro. 2014.
Koster, H.E. En busca de relevancia: los centros de ciencia como innovadores en la
evolucin de los museos. En: Encuentros con la ciencia: el impacto social de
los museos y centros de ciencia, Asociacin Mexicana de Museos y Centros
de Ciencia y Tecnologa, A. C., 5153. 2000.
Mrquez, N.E. Museos y Centros de Ciencia y Tecnologa de Mxico. En: Memorias del
X Congreso Nacional de Divulgacin de la Ciencia y la Tcnica, SOMEDICYT,
Toluca, Estado de Mxico. 2001.
Medina, G.F. Desarrollo de la alta tecnologa en Jalisco: el papel de la ciencia, la
tecnologa y la innovacin en el desarrollo econmico y social. Foro Desarrollo
Industrial, Agencia Espacial Mexicana. Quertaro, October, 28th and 29th, 2010.
Museo Trompo Mgico. Museo Trompo Mgico, 2015. Zapopan, Jalisco, Mxico.
2015. www.trompomagico.com.mx/ (Consulted: August, 23rd, 2015).
Padilla, J. Desarrollo de los Museos y Centros de Ciencia en Mxico. En: Encuentros
con la Ciencia, El Impacto Social de los Museos y Centros de Ciencia. Jos
Antonio Chamizo, Coordinador, CONACYT, AMMCCYT, Mxico. 2000.

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93
The strange behaviour of carbon dioxide in rubber balloons

El comportamiento extrao del dixido de carbono en los globos
ALAN GOODWIN
Manchester Metropolitan University, UK, alangoodwinuk@yahoo.co.uk1
Abstract
When comparing the behaviour of gases such as air, hydrogen and carbon dioxide
there is a definite expectation that hydrogen will diffuse most quickly and carbon
dioxide most slowly when the conditions are the same for all three gases. Indeed many
science teachers and students refuse to believe that carbon dioxide can escape from
a high quality latex balloon faster than air or even hydrogen even when it happens
in their laboratory. The experiment described below was set up by the author to try to
convince colleagues that the behaviour of carbon dioxide is indeed anomalous and
the results exceeded even his expectations.
Key words: carbon dioxide, rubber balloons, gaseous diffusion.
Resumen
Al comparar el comportamiento de los gases, como aire, hidrgeno y dixido
de carbono no es una expectativa definida que el hidrgeno se difundir ms
rpidamente y el dixido de carbono ms lentamente cuando las condiciones son
las mismas para los tres gases. De hecho, muchos profesores de ciencias y los
estudiantes se niegan a creer que el dixido de carbono puede escapar de un globo
de ltex de alta calidad ms rpido que el aire o incluso de hidrgeno - incluso
cuando sucede en su laboratorio. El experimento descrito a continuacin fue creado
para tratar de convencer a los colegas que el comportamiento del dixido de
carbono es de hecho anmalo - y los resultados superaron incluso, sus expectativas.
the expected observations would also suggest that the particles of carbon
dioxide are larger and/or move more slowly than those of air or hydrogen.
Subsequently we learned that although the sieve model for the escape of
air and hydrogen from balloons works fairly well, in the case of carbon
dioxide, it is the solubility of the gas in the latex rubber of the balloon skin
that allows the unexpectedly high rate of escape from the balloon. (I am
not able to recall the source of this information.)
Recently, a set of circumstances led me to revisit this anomaly and to
devise an experiment to compare the properties of these three gases in
helium quality latex balloons that has close parallels with the one from
over 40 years ago.
The balloons and the 500 mL flasks to which they were attached (Figure
1) were filled with hydrogen, carbon dioxide and air. They were then then
left undisturbed for a number of days and photographed at intervals.
Palabras clave: dixido de carbono, globos de caucho, difusin de gases
INTRODUCTION
The results of the main experiment described in this paper were first
presented at the 2nd International Conference on Science Education held in
Iguacu Falls, Brazil in August 2014. I also mentioned my excitement about
this learning in an editorial to this Journal (JSE No1 Vol 16). A version of
this paper describing the strange behaviour of carbon dioxide in balloons
was recently published in the UK in the School Science Review (Goodwin
2015). Please let me know if there are any aspects of this experiment
that surprised you and whether the experience is likely to useful for you
professionally.
Shortly after I began teaching in a secondary school, a science teaching
scheme for use in the lower school (now termed KS3 in the UK) was
published and called Science for the 70s (Mee, Boyd and Ritchie, 1971).
Access to this scheme seems now to be problematic so I have provided a
summary of the suggested demonstration in the box below
Figure 1: The three flasks with their balloons just before the start. The liquids in
two of the flasks are those remaining after the preparation of the gases. (See text.)
The sequence of photographs shown in Figure 2 shows the progression

of the experiment during the first 24 hours. The only intervention was after
17 hours, when the blue balloon that had collapsed over the mouth of the
flask, was adjusted so that it was able to invert into the flask.
Box 1: Experiment 4.2 (From

Science for the 70s Mee et al
1971 p50.) This suggested that
three balloons should be filled, to
as far as possible the same size,
one with each of the following
three gases: air, carbon dioxide
and hydrogen. These were tied
securely so the gas could not
escape and then left undisturbed
for a day or two. A diagram of the
expected results is given below.
In the 1970s my students and I had considerable problems with this
demonstration since the carbon dioxide balloon invariably shrank most
quickly! Clearly, the aim of the experiment was to provide some evidence
that may support the idea that matter consists of very small particles in
motion since a suggestion (Mee et al. 1971 p50) reads. Suppose the balloons
were really acting like sieves with very tiny holes so small that you cannot
see them or detect them in the ordinary way, and suppose that the gases
were made of tiny particles which could get through the holes; this would
give us a reasonable explanation of what has happened. Presumably
1
94
First published in Science School Review, 97 (358), pp 17-22, 2015.
Figure 2: The three flasks during the first 23 hours of the experiment

It is clear that the carbon dioxide that was in the blue balloon flask
escapes most rapidly through the balloon into the air. It is also clear that
the green balloon containing hydrogen is deflating faster than the yellow
one containing air.
The pressure of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is very low thus
molecules of this gas escaping from the balloon will tend to diffuse away.
However, although I fully expected the carbon dioxide balloon to deflate
fastest I was impressed that this balloon turned inside out and went so far
into the flask. Indeed Figure 3, below shows the carbon dioxide balloon
as it was after 72 hours. It is clear that most of the gas from within the
flask and the balloon has escaped and left a partial vacuum in the system.
(See Note 1 at the end)
The experiment described in this article was stimulated by an internet

discussion started by an American science teacher who had been carrying
out the fermentation experiment in school. The teacher reported that the
experiment had been left for a few days after which a balloon had been
sucked back into the flask. Discussion ranged from the possibility of weird
chemicals being produced during late stages of fermentation to the cooling
of warm solutions. I suggested that the cause might have been due to the
escape of carbon dioxide through the skin of the balloon because of its
solubility in rubber. No one participating in the discussion seemed to be
convinced (Carbon dioxide MUST diffuse out more slowly than air!
seemed to be an undisputed expectation) I decided to use the set-up as
in the experiment described to see what happened when the balloon on
the flask contained only carbon dioxide, with no possibility of any more
complex organic ingredients! I was amazed by the effectiveness of this
demonstration.
DISCUSSION
Figure 3 : The carbon dioxide balloon after 72 hours.
Setting up the balloons: A 500mL flask was first filled with carbon dioxide
by adding hydrochloric acid to a large excess of sodium carbonate solution
in the flask. Some more acid was then added to the flask and an empty
helium quality balloon immediately fitted over the mouth of the flask.
When the flask was swirled gently the additional carbon dioxide inflated
the balloon until it was about 20cm in diameter. (Should the balloon get too
large, some gas can easily be released by carefully lifting a small section of
rubber at the neck of the flask.) The experiments were run in parallel using
similar flasks and balloons filled with air and hydrogen. For the former a
balloon was inflated using a simple party balloon pump, fixed over the
mouth of an empty flask and the size adjusted to be close as possible to
that of the first balloon. For the latter about 30g of granulated zinc were
placed in a flask and covered with water, about 20mL of concentrated
hydrochloric acid were added when the reaction had had time to displace
some of the air from the flask, an empty balloon fixed to the mouth of the
flask once the reaction has stopped the balloon size was adjusted to be
the same as the other two. (Since hydrogen is much less dense than air it
does not displace the air efficiently by this process.) All three flasks with
their balloons attached were then left undisturbed in a well ventilated room
and observed regularly over a period of about three days.
An issue for science teachers: The collection of gases in balloons is a fairly
common procedure often used in investigations to estimate roughly the
volume of gas produced. The mouth of the balloon is simply stretched over
the neck of the reaction-flask to provide a gas-tight seal and the volume of
gas formed can be estimated from the size of the balloon (An example of
this set-up is detailed on a University of Michigan website given at the end
of this article.) This method is often used in school science investigations
on the fermentation of sugar solutions by yeast and the volume of carbon
dioxide gas collected used as a measure of the amount of reaction that has
taken place. If an experiment is short term (Less than a couple of hours)
carbon dioxide produced will initially tend to lie towards the bottom of
the flask and displace air into the balloon and thus an increase in volume
should be measured fairly faithfully by the inflation of the balloon. The
balloon will continue to inflate as long as carbon dioxide is being produced
faster than it escapes through the balloon. With time however, the carbon
dioxide will diffuse into the balloon and will then escape into the air.
When left for some hours after the evolution of gas has ceased the balloon
collapses entirely. However, since the reaction flask is initially full of air
there should be little chance of the balloon entering the flask unless there
was a substantial delay in putting the balloon over the neck of the flask
and carbon dioxide from the reaction displaced some of the air.
It is clear the carbon dioxide escapes from its balloon much more rapidly
than either air or even hydrogen. This seems to go against the basic
understandings of chemists since we are accustomed to organising our
thoughts and expectations in line with the Simple Kinetic Theory of Gases
(See Diffusion, Grahams Law and Osmosis in Box 2 below). Certainly
when trials of the experiment in Science for the 70s were conducted, I
think that the anomalous behaviour of the carbon dioxide balloon could
not fail to have been noticed by the science teachers involved. Apparently,
however the problem was not reported, presumably because the teachers
blamed the balloon and felt that the experiment would have worked if
there had not been a faulty balloon. I wonder how they got around their
expectations with their students. Perhaps they re-inflated the balloon just
before their students arrived for the class?
As mentioned above, it is because of the fairly high solubility of carbon
dioxide in rubber the gas can pass through the skin of the balloon without
the need for pores or holes. (It is still not absolutely clear whether the
hydrogen and air molecules actually pass through small holes in the rubber
or whether their escape is via a solubility mechanism, both are significantly
less soluble almost insoluble in rubber than is carbon dioxide. Perhaps
both mechanisms operate together?)
Soap bubbles behave similarly to balloons (See Experiment 17 at
Demonstration Experiments web-site.) In this case when bubbles of
air are floated on a layer of carbon dioxide in an open container the gas
enters the bubble much faster than air can escape from it so the bubble
swells by osmosis.
Box 2: Diffusion, Grahams Law and Osmosis. Diffusion is the spontaneous
random movement of molecules that tends to even out their concentration
within the space available. (i.e. net movement occurs from volumes of higher
concentration to those of lower.) Thomas Graham in the nineteenth century
determined that the rates at which gases escape from a container through a small
hole (effusion) or a porous barrier (lots of small holes) under fixed conditions
of T & P are inversely proportional to the square root of their molecular mass
(cf. Atkins and Jones (1998 p 167)). This can also be derived from the Simple
Kinetic Theory (cf. Moore 1957 p166-9, or almost any physical chemistry text
beyond A-level.). It is important to realise that it does pertain to escape of gases
through barriers with small holes and does not allow for any interactions between
the barrier and the molecules effusing/diffusing through it. Presumably, the fact
that there are relatively strong Van de Waals forces between CO2 molecules and
between the poly-isoprene chains in rubber facilitates an interaction between
the gas and the rubber membrane and allows penetration by the gas.
When two different gases or solutions are separated by a porous barrier,
potentially all the molecules present will eventually become equally distributed.
However, if the barrier is impervious to the molecules of one of the substances
present (perhaps because they are too large to pass through the pores) then
the barrier is semi-permeable. When, say, an aqueous solution is separated
from water by a membrane/barrier that is permeable only to water then water
molecules will tend to diffuse into the solution (This is less concentrated with
respect to water). This movement of water into the solution is the cause of
osmotic pressure (the pressure that needs to be applied to the solution to
increase the flow of water from the solution until it is equal to the rate of flow
inwards, so that there is no net change.)
(See Note 2, at the end, for another example of anomalous behaviour

of carbon dioxide.)
95
APPLICATIONS
The permeability of gases through membranes is of considerable interest in
biology (breathing, gas exchange and respiration) and also has substantial
commercial interest. The web-site given below (Versaperm) is of a
company that specialises in permeability testing mainly concerned with
preventing the escape of carbon dioxide from plastic containers used to
contain carbonated drinks. Since we are now becoming greatly concerned
about minimising the amounts of carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere
due to the combustion of fossil fuels and other industrial processes (e.g.
cement manufacture.), it may be that membranes semi-permeable to
carbon dioxide will be important in providing a relatively economical
low-tech method for separating some of the carbon dioxide from
an effluent stream. Presumably, latex rubber would not be sufficiently
stable or strong to fulfil this purpose itself and silicone rubbers may be
more useful. In a fairly recent review of materials useable for capturing
carbon dioxide (DAlesandro, 2010) a section on membranes is included
but there is no specific mention of the use of natural rubbers. The use of
membranes for separating carbon dioxide from mixtures with many other
gases requires less energy input than other methods although it can be
slower and membranes tend to clog with dust particles. A general review
of Carbon Capture and Storage/Sequestration (CCS) or Usage (CCU) can
be found in Wikipedia.
which carbon dioxide can escape. Once the adjustment is made so that the
balloon can invert into the flask, the escape continues more rapidly. In
the experiment shown in the photographs I was absent (asleep) for much
of the time between 7 and 17 hours!
Note 2: I recall an experiment I did as an undergraduate when gases were
allowed to escape from a pressurised flask an effusiometer - through
a long straight capillary tube instead of the usual small hole. In that case
carbon dioxide escaped much faster than hydrogen whereas hydrogen
escapes much faster through a small hole. This unexpected observation is
explained by the fact that CO2 is a rod-shaped linear molecule so that the
molecules line up with the lines of laminar flow and move through the
capillary more easily than expected. This probably has no relevance to
the experiments described here, but it is another example of unexpected
behaviour of carbon dioxide.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am grateful to the large number of people who helped track down a copy
of Science for the 70s, to those who helped with the discussion and to
those science teachers who confessed that they always need to re-inflate
the carbon dioxide balloons (with air) before the next science class. The
comments from referees and the Editor of SSR have also improved the
article. .
CONCLUSIONS
BIBLIOGRAPHY
This very simple experiment has surprised the author in its effectiveness in
demonstrating the speed with which carbon dioxide can escape through a
rubber barrier. At the very least this explains why there are often warnings
on carbon dioxide cylinders NOT to use the gas to inflate car and cycle
tyres or inflatable boats. (Given a reasonable length of time the pressure
inside could well be lower than if the tyre had a large hole in it!) It also
raises issues relating to our honesty as observers in science classrooms.
When our experiments do not meet our theoretical expectations perhaps
we should be less ready to blame our equipment?
It provides a valuable insight into the nature and action of semi-permeable
membranes and hopefully exemplifies the process of osmosis to be one
of diffusion of one type of molecule into another when the barrier allows
one type of molecule to pass, but not another.
It may be worth adding that sulfur dioxide, with an even higher molecular
mass, passes through the skin of a balloon even faster than does carbon
dioxide. However, owing to its much more unpleasant and hazardous
nature, sulfur dioxide should not be used in these simple experiments.
Note 1: This experiment with carbon dioxide escaping from a balloon
attached to a flask has been done a number of times since the one
photographed. It appears to be even more dramatic when a round flask
is used. The inversion of the balloon also takes place more rapidly than
is suggested by the times in this experiment. When the balloon initially
collapses over the top of the flask it provides multiple layers of rubber
over the top of the flask and limits the area of the balloon surface from
Atkins P and Jones L Chemical Principles: The quest for insight. W H Freeman
& Co. New York, 1999.
DAlesandro D M, Smit B & Long J R. Carbon Dioxide Capture and Prospects
for New Materials. Angew. Chem. Int Ed, 49, 6058-6082. (The paper can be
viewed at http://alchemy.cchem.berkeley.edu/static/pdf/papers/paper119.pdf
(Accessed October 2015), 2010.
Goodwin A. School Science Review 97, 358 The strange behaviour of carbon
dioxide in latex balloons p17-22, 2015.
Mee A J,Boyd P & Ritchie D. Science for the 70s (Book 1), Heinemann Educational
Books Ltd. London. (ISBN: 0435575708) 1971.
Moore W J. Physical Chemistry, Longmans, Green and Co Ltd, London, 1957.
Web sites:
Demonstration experiments: (Goodwin 2007) http://www.ase.org.uk/resources/
scitutors/subject-knowledge/k34-doing-demonstrations/ Download Expt.17.
An eggsperiment and floating bubbles (Accessed October 2015)
Yeast experiments: http://herbarium.usu.edu/fungi/FunFacts/Yeast_exp.htm
(Accessed October 2015)
Versaperm: Permeability testing: http://www.versaperm.com/carbon-doxidepermeability-measurement.php (Accessed October 2015)
Wikipedia CCS & CCU http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_capture_and_
storage#Capture (Accessed April 2015)

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96
Books review
EILKS, I. & HOFSTEIN, A. (eds.). Relevant Chemistry Education
From Theory to Practice. Rotterdam/Boston/Taipei: Sense Publishers,
2015, 396 pp.
INTRODUCTION
For every 100 pupils coming into a school,
perhaps only 1% goes on to a degree in chemistry,
with, perhaps, another 2% taking a degree heavily
dependent on chemistry (REID, 2000, p. 383)
From time to time, people who are strongly
involved in chemistry education will ask
themselves questions about the relevance of their
professional activities. For example, why is it
important to teach chemistry? What meaningful
chemistry content should be taught? For whom
should this content be of interest? These questions
highlight core issues in chemistry education: why
and what to teach to whom? The responses to
these central questions not only vary for different
levels of formal education (university, college, school) but they have also
varied for different chemistry education reform projects over the past fifty
years. Finally, they vary among different stakeholders in chemistry education.
For instance, the goals of policy makers are not always aligned with those
of educators, and what these two groups value is often different from what
students judge relevant to them.
Many articles have been written about the relevance of chemistry education.
They are all dispersed in a wide range of journals, reports and other documents.
For that reason, it is not easy to get a quick and coherent overview of the
theme. Fortunately, a book has been recently published on this particular topic
comprising 20 chapters written by 42 renowned authors from 16 countries.
(EILKS & HOFSTEIN, 2015). This publication aims to reflect the current state
of the ongoing debate on the value of chemistry education and is concisely
reviewed below.
THREE DIMENSIONS OF RELEVANCE
The analysis of the relevance of chemistry education is tightly linked to the
discussion of the general relevance of formal education. For that reason, it
makes sense to firstly look at the meaning of the latter. The relevance of formal
education is often discussed along three major dimensions related to specific
educational goals. The first goal was formulated by the famous German scholar
Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767-1835) and is usually called the goal of personal
growth (Bildung). This goal corresponds to the individual dimension of
relevance. The second and third goals were expressed by the influential French
sociologist mile Durkhrim (1858-1917) and are often called the goals of
socialization and qualification. These goals correspond to the societal dimension
and the vocational dimension of relevance. The elaboration of these three
dimensions of relevance in chemistry education is the backbone of the book
under review.
The chapters in the book are clustered in four sections. An overview of
the books organization is presented in Table 1. This structure of sections is
very clear and facilitates the reading for people who would like to quickly
develop an understanding of critical aspects of relevant chemistry education.
The books structure should also help readers who would prefer to quickly
scan this resource in search of issues of their personal interest.
Table 1
Cluster structure of the book under review
Section on relevance
Number of chapters
Individual dimension
Societal dimension
Vocational dimension
Non-formal/informal education, teacher preparation
7
5
4
3
ELABORATION OF THE DIMENSIONS

The section on the individual dimension addresses the value for students of a)
experiencing the richness and excitement of knowing about and understanding
the natural world, and b) using appropriate chemical processes and perspectives
in making personal decisions (cf. NRC, 1996). These notions are elaborated in
several ways. One chapter explores the question of why it is relevant to learn
the big ideas in chemistry at school. Answers to this question show that, in
general, chemistry educators judge conceptual big ideas of and about chemistry
as more relevant than contextual big ideas of chemistry, while students are more
interested in contextual issues that affect them personally. Two other chapters
present a number of chemistry curriculum topics as case studies for students
for improving their chemical literacy. This approach demonstrates how the
chemistry taught in schools can equip students to meet the challenge of an
increasingly complex and chemistry-dependent world. There are also chapters
on learning chemistry in an academic context, the role of values in chemistry
education, and ways of promoting metacognitive skills and argumentation
skills in the context of chemistry stories.
The section on the societal dimension addresses the value for students
of engaging intelligently in public discourse and debating about matters of
chemical and technological concern (cf. NRC, 1996). One chapter discusses
the idea of filtered information and the learning about the use of chemistryrelated information in the public. Another chapter deals with the issue of STS
as a feasible paradigm for the relevance of chemistry education in emerging
countries. There is also a chapter describing the relevance of chemistry for
sustainability and presenting examples from the chemistry classroom, such
as chemistry learning embedded in socio-chemistry issues. Other chapters
discuss the fruitful use of mass media in teaching chemistry, and the differences
between boys and girls regarding their opinion of relevant chemistry education.
The section on the vocational dimension addresses the value for students
of increasing their economic productivity through the use of knowledge,
understanding, and skills of the chemically literate person in their careers (cf.
NRC, 1996). One chapter discusses the meaning of learning from and about
cases related to industrial chemistry and related businesses. Another chapter
focuses on the value of cooperative and work-integrated education in chemistry
career clarification. There are also chapters on fostering the implementation of
green chemistry ideas, and fostering chemistry students innovation competence
and employability.
The final section elaborates the relevance of chemistry education in the
context of non-formal and informal education, and teacher preparation.
COMMENTS
The concept of relevance can be thought of as a container concept that carries
a large variety of meanings. In consequence, the expression relevance of
chemistry education also has quite a broad range of connotations. It is the
merit of this book that it offers a very clear picture of relevant chemistry
education through its focus on three major dimensions: individual, societal,
and vocational.
The introduction of these individual dimensions may suggest that they
should be considered as separate aspects of relevance in chemistry education.
However, highlighting them in different clusters of chapters only serves an
analytical function for clarifying the concept of relevance. In several chapters,
the discussion about a particular leading dimension is related to one or two of
the other dimensions, either explicitly or implicitly. In other words, the three
dimensions are not isolated but only distinguished.
In conclusion, this well-structured book is a very rich and up-to-date resource
of evidence-based information, opinions, and suggestions for improving chemistry
education through making it more meaningful to students. This resource should
be of interest to a wide range of professionals in chemistry education: policy
makers, curriculum developers, teacher educators, educational researchers,
and, last but not least, preservice and inservice teachers. This is certainly a
very relevant book!
BIBLIOGRAPHY
EILKS, I. & HOFSTEIN, A. (eds.). Relevant Chemistry Education From Theory
to Practice. Rotterdam/Boston/Taipei: Sense Publishers, 2015.
NRC (National Research Council)., National Science Education Standards.
Washington, DC: National Academic Press, 1996.
REID, N., The presentation of chemistry logically driven or applications-led?
Chemistry Education: Research and Practice in Europe, 1, 381-392, 2000.
ONNO DE JONG
Utrecht University, The Netherlands
o.dejong@uu.nl
97
INDEX VOL. 17, 2016

Book reviews
Roberto Nardi, Olga Castiblanco. Didatica da Fsica. Sao Paolo, Cultura Academica,
2014. 160 pp.
Hollenbeck C. ..43
THE MUSEUM OF CHEMISTRY, FROM THE PAST TO THE FUTURE
THROUH THE LABORATORY
El museo de la qumica, desde el pasado hasta el futuro mediante el laboratorio
Cardinale A. , Santamaria B., Maccagno M., Mosconi R., Petrillo . (Italy) ...............13
LEARNING IN A COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE: THE CASE OF PRE-SERVICE
CHEMISTRY TEACHERS
El aprendizaje en una comunidad de prctica: el caso de los profesores de qumica
en formacin
Campos dos Santos V., Arroio A. (Brazil) ................................................................16
SCIENCE STUDENT TEACHERS IDEAS ABOUT THE STRUCTURE OF THE
EAR
Cardak O., Dikmenli M. (Turkey).............................................................................79
DIFICULTADES DE LOS ESTUDIANTES UNIVERSITARIOS EN EL
APRENDIZAJE DE LA CAPACIDAD ELCTRICA: EL CASO DEL
CONDENSADOR DE PLACAS PARALELAS
Difficulties experienced by university students in learning about electrical
capacitance: the case of the parallel-plate capacitor
Ceberio M., Almud J. M. , Franco A. , Zubimendi J. L. (Espaa).........................61
ANALOGIES IN MATHEMATICAL PROBLEM POSING
Cruz Ramrez M., (Cuba), Garca Pupo M., Rojas Velzquez O., (Colombia),
Sigarreta Almira J. (Mxico)...................................................................................84
Books review
EILKS, I. & HOFSTEIN, A. (eds.). Relevant Chemistry Education From Theory
to Practice. Rotterdam/Boston/Taipei: Sense Publishers, 2015.
De Jong O. ...............................................................................................................97
EDUCATIONAL IMPLEMENTATIONS OF EXPERIMENTS IN GREEN
MUSTARD (Brassica juncea l) PRODUCTION WITH COW URINE FOR
HORTICULTURE LEARNING
Aplicacin educativa de los experimentos de produccin de mostaza verde (Brassica
juncea l) con orina de vaca en el aprendizaje de horticultura
Dewa Nyoman Oka (Indonesia) ...........................................................................39
A STEP-BASED LEARNIN METHODOLOGY APPLIED TO VETERINARY
SCIENCE STUDENTS IN BIOCHEMISTRY CLASSES
Una metodologa de enseanza basada en pasos y aplicada a estudiantes de ciencias
veterinarias en clases de bioqumica
Fachini de Souza A. (Brazil) ...............................................................................22
THE SYNTHESIS OF VANILLIN - LEARNING ABOUT ASPECTS OF
SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY BY COMPARING DIFFERENT SYNTHESES
La sntesis de la vainilla - Aprendiendo sobre aspectos de qumica sostenible
mediante la comparacin de diferentes sntesis
Garner N., Siol A., Eilks I. (Germany) ..................................................................25
THE TRAILER OF SCIENCE IN THE NON-FORMAL EDUCATION IN
JALISCO, MXICO
Gmez-Hernndez H., Gonzlez-Palomares S., Olivera-Torres A., Plata-Rosas L.
(Mexico)................................................................................................................90
UNA REVISIN SISTEMICA SOBRE E-MENTORING: TENDENCIAS y

PERSPECTIVAS
A systematic review of e-mentoring: trends and perspectives
Lpez-Gmez E. (Espaa) .....................................................................................7
CHARACTERIING SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY FOUND IN SCIENCE CORE HIHG
SCHOOLS (SCHS) IN REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Caracterizacin de indagacin cientfica encontrada en las escuelas secundarias
con educacin profundizada en ciencias en la Repblica de Corea
Myeong-Kyeong Shin, Sun-Kyung Lee (Republic of Korea), lasson. (USA) ............4
METHODOLOICAL CONDITIONS FOR LEARNING BIOLOGY THROUH
WRITING AND ARGUING: UNIVERSITY STUDENTS PERSPECTIVES
Condiciones didcticas para aprender biologa escribiendo y argumentando:
perspectivas de estudiantes universitarios
Molina M., E., Carlino P. (Argentina) ..................................................................19
EL TRABAJO COOPERATIVO CON LAS TIC PARA EL TRATAMIENTO DE
CONTENIDOS DE BIOLOGA CON ALUMNOS DE 14-15 AOS.
Novalbos D. R., Martnez-Aznar M. M. (Espaa)...................................................69
A TRIAL AND EVALUATION OF EXPERIMENTAL KIT OF HAND BODYWARMER THROUH A MODEL LESSON ON THE RUSTING OF IRON
Un ensayo y evaluacin de kit experimental a travs de oxidacin de hierro
Ogawa H., Fujii H., Ikuo A. (Japan) ....................................................................28
Chemistry and science education in the 45th IUPAC World Chemistry Congress
(IUPAC-2015)
Orlik.Y......................................................................................................................3
HOW DOES THE STRUCTURE OF A COLLEGE CHEMISTRY EXAMINATION
AFFECT PEDAGOGY
Cmo la estructura de exmenes de una clase de qumica universitaria afecta la
pedagoga
Pandey R. Mayberry J., Hargis J. (USA)..................................................................53
EFFECTIVENESS OF GENETICS STUDENT WORKSHEET TO IMPROVE
CREATIVE THINKING SKILLS OF TEACHER CANDIDATE STUDENTS
Eficacia de la hoja de trabajo para mejorar las habilidades de pensamiento creativo
de los estudiantes de gentica
Susantini E., Isnawati, Lisdiana L. (Indonesia).......................................................73
VIEWS OF NATURE OF SCIENCE: ADAPTATION OF A QUESTIONNAIRE
FOR PORTUGUESE PROSPECTIVE SCIENCE TEACHERS
Visiones sobre la naturaleza de la ciencia: adaptacin de un cuestionario para futuros
profesores de ciencias
Torres J., Vasconcelos C. (Portugal)......................................................................48
A RETHINKING OF ASSESSMENT PRACTICE: AN EXPERIENCE WITH A
STAGE TEST
El replanteamiento de la prctica de la evaluacin: una experiencia con una prueba
en etapas
Trevisan A. L., Corio de Buriasco R. L. (Brazil).......................................................57
THE STRANGE BEHAVIOUR OF CARBON DIOXIDE IN RUBBER BALLOONS

El comportamiento extrao del dixido de carbono en los globos
Goodwin A. (UK)......................................................................................................94
SCIENCE EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABILITY: CAN A POWER POINT

(PP)-BASED WORKSHOP INDUCE A RELATED CONCEPTUAL CHANGE
IN SCIENCE TEACHERS?
Educacin en ciencias para la sostenibilidad: pueden talleres basados en PP inducir
un cambio conceptual en maestros de ciencias?
Zoller U., Barak M., Kortam N. (Israel)..................................................................65
THE PRODUCTION OF ECOLOICAL PAINTS AS A CONTRIBUTION TO THE

TEACHING OF CHEMICAL CONCEPTS
La produccin ecolgica de pinturas como contribucin a la enseanza de los
conceptos de qumica
Kawa de Oliveira L., Sauer E., Monteiro Castilho Foggiatto Silveira R. (Brazil) .........32
STUDING THE IMPORTANCE OF SOIL ORANIC MATTER: AN

EDUCATIONAL PROPOSAL FOR SECONDARY EDUCATION
Estudiando la importancia de la materia orgnica del suelo: una propuesta educativa
para educacin secundaria
Zuazagoitia Rey- Baltar D., Domingo Villarroel J. (Spain) .................................36
98
INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS
INSTRUCCIONES PARA AUTORES
The Journal of Science Education (REC) publishes articles, short communications and
other original materials relating to the results of investigations and new experiences in the
field of teaching natural sciences (Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Environment sciences ,
Biotechnology and other natural sciences ), in secondary (high) school and university . Also
investigations in the teaching of Mathematics, applied to education of the sciences. Opinions
and discussions on the improvement of the national and international educational policy at all
levels will also be welcomed.
Articles and short communications sent to the REC should not have been previously
published or submitted for publication to other national or international Journals.
The principal sections of REC are:
Innovations and modern active methods in the teaching of the sciences
Design of the modern curricula
Educational evaluation
Laboratories and experiments in teaching
Educational technology
Educational policy in the teaching of the sciences
Book reviews
A special section of the REC is: Physics, Chemistry, Biology and integrated Sciences in
your secondary (high) school. In this section, short communications on the sciences in
secondary school life will be published:
Innovations from teachers
News of exams and evaluations
Text books in science and other resources for teaching
Weeks, days of natural sciences
Educational games
Science Olympiads etc.
The authors should fulfil the following instructions:
The word processed manuscripts of the articles , double spaced and written in English or
Spanish should be sent in triplicate , in white paper (21,6 x 27, 5 cm), keeping margins of 3 cm.
An electronic copy must be included on diskette (PC format)
The preliminary text of the article can be sent as a .doc file in the attachment by e-mail:
e-mail: oen85@yahoo.com
The text must be elaborated in Word for Windows or compatible word processors, using 12
points Times New Roman letters .
The work must have a maximum of 15 pages, included figures, tables and bibliography.
The language must be clear and accurate. The work should be written in an impersonal style.
The authors have to present the results, propositions and conclusions in a form that can suit
better for teachers from different countries .
We recommend the following structure for article:
Title: no longer that 15 words; a translation of the title in Spanish or English must also be
included.
Authors: names and surnames of the authors, the institution to which they belong, their
electronics address (e-mail).
Abstract: not to exceed 200 words written in single paragraph. Key words: no more than five
words; Resumen : a translation of the abstract into Spanish . Palabras claves: the translation of
key words into Spanish.
The body of the text of the article must generally have the following parts:
Introduction
Methodology applied in the investigation
Results and discussion
Conclusions
Acknowledgements
Bibliography
Introduction:
general planning of the topic, objective or hypothesis of the investigation, references to relevant
previous works.
Investigation methodology:
in case of investigations on new methodologies and innovations in sciences teaching the details
of the organization of the pedagogic experiment or other methods of the educational investigation
must be presented.
Results and discussion:
Supporting evidence should be presented together with the stated results of the pedagogic experiments,
including tables , figures and photographs (black and white). and relevant statistical data. The
discussion must be short and be limited to the key aspects of the work.
Conclusions:
should be based on results and if possible the solutions to the problem outlined in the introduction
should be mentioned.
References in the text:
the name of the author and the year of issue , indicated between bracket ( for example, (Moore, 1997).
Bibliography: the list will be cited in alphabetical order .
Reference to books : authors, name of the cited book ( in italic), editorial, city, country, year of the
publication, cited pages.
Example:
Hanson, R., Molecular Origami. Precision Scale Models from Paper, University Science Books,
Sausalito, AC, 1995, p. 3-4.
Reference to articles: authors, name of the article, name of the magazine ( in italic), volume (in bold),
number between square brackets, initial and final pages, year of publication.
Example:
Rugarca, A., El ingeniero qumico para el siglo XX1, Educain Qumica 9 , [1], 46-52, 1998.
Short communications (3-6 pages) should generally contain the introduction with the problem
planning, results, discussion, conclusions and bibliography. We especially recommend this form to
teachers of the secondary (high) school.
La Revista de Educacin en Ciencias (REC) publica artculos, comunicaciones cortas y otros materiales
originales como resultado de las investigaciones y experiencias nuevas en el campo de enseanza
de las ciencias naturales a nivel de escuela segundaria y superior ( enseanza de Biologa, Fsica,
Qumica y otras ciencias naturales, sobre educacin en las ciencias del Medio ambiente, Biotecnologa
y otras ciencias integradas), y tambin investigaciones en la enseanza de Matemticas, aplicadas
a la educacin de las ciencias. Tambin son bienvenidos materiales de opinin y discusin sobre el
mejoramiento de la poltica educativa nacional e internacional de la enseanza de las ciencias para
los niveles de la escuela secundaria (bachillerato) y superior.
Los artculos y las comunicaciones cortas enviados a la redaccin no deben ser publicados o enviados
a otras revistas de nivel nacional o internacional.
Las secciones principales de la REC son:
Innovaciones y mtodos activos modernos en la enseanza de las ciencias
Diseo del curriculum moderno
Evaluacin educativa
Laboratorios y experimento (fsico, qumico, biolgico) en la enseanza
Tecnologa educativa, incluido el uso de Internet e informtica educativa
Poltica educativa y organizacin en la enseanza de las ciencias
Revisin de libros
Seccin especial de la REC : Prctica y vivencia de la Fsica, Qumica, Biologa y Ciencias
integradas en su colegio En esta seccin planeamos publicar comunicacines cortas sobre la vida
escolar en las ciencias:
Hallazgos metodolgicos de los profesores
Logros educativos
Libros de textos en ciencias y otros medios de enseanza
Semanas, jornadas, das de ciencias
Juegos educativos
Olimpiadas de ciencias y otros.
Los autores deben cumplir las instrucciones siguientes:
Los manuscritos de los artculos o comunicaciones cortas , escritos en espaol o ingls, deben enviarse
por triplicado , en papel blanco, tamao carta (21,6 x 27, 5 cm), a espacio doble , con mrgenes de 3 cm.
Debe incluirse la copia electrnica del trabajo en diskette.
El texto preliminario del artculo se puede enviar (el archivo .doc en attachment) via e-mail:
El texto debe ser elaborado en Word Windows para PC o aplicaciones compatibles , en letra Times
New Roman de 12 puntos.
El trabajo debe tener una extensin mxima de 15 pginas, incluidas figuras, tablas y bibliografa.
El lenguaje debe ser claro y preciso. El trabajo debe ser escrito en un estilo impersonal.
Se aconseja a los autores, presentar las recomendacines y conclusiones no slo de carcter local, para
que los materiales sirvan mejor a los profesores e investigadores de diferentes pases.
Recomendamos la siguiente estructura del artculo:
Ttulo: no ms de 15 palabras. Debe incluirse la traduccin del ttulo al ingls.
Autores: nombres y apellidos de los autores, la institucin a la cual pertenecen, direccin electrnica.
Resumen: no ms de 200 palabras escritas en un slo prrafo.
Palabras claves: cinco palabras claves.
Summary: una traduccin del resumen al ingls. Keywords: la traduccin de palabras claves en ingls.
La estructura del texto del artculo debe tener generalmente las siguientes partes:
Introduccin,
Metodologa aplicada para investigacin
Resultados y discusin
Conclusiones
Agradecimientos
Bibliografa
Introduccin:
planeamiento general del tema, objetivos de la hiptesis de la investigacin, referencias a los trabajos
previos relevantes.
Metodologa aplicada para investigacin:
en el caso de que la investigacin sea sobre nuevas metodologas e innovaciones en la enseanza de
ciencias, deben ser presentados los detalles de la organizacin del experimento pedaggico u otros
mtodos de la investigacin en la educacin.
Resultados y discusin:
los resultados de los experimentos pedaggicos , incluido las tablas , figuras y fotografas (en blanco y
negro).. Se recomienda presentar los resultados con los clculos estadsticos pertinentes. La discusin
debe ser breve y limitarse a los aspectos claves del trabajo.
Conclusiones:
deben basarse en los resultados obtenidos; si es posible, mencionando las soluciones al problema
planteado en la introduccin.
Referencias ( citas biblliogrficas en el texto):
el nombre del autor y el ao de edicin , indicados entre parntesis ( por ejemplo, (Moore, 1997).
Bibliografa: la lista se citar en orden alfabtico .
La referencia del libro : autores, nombre del libro citado ( en itlicas), editorial, pas, ao de la
publicacin, pginas citadas.
Ejemplo:
Hanson, R., Molecular Origami. Precision Scale Models from Paper, University Science Books,
Sausalito, CA, 1995, p. 3-4.
La referencia a un artculo: autores, nombre del artculo, nombre de la revista (en itlicas), volumen
(en negrillas), nmero entre parntesis cuadrados, pginas inicial y final, ao de publicacin.
Ejemplo:
Rugarca, A., El ingeniero qumico para el siglo XX1, Educacin Qumica 9, [1], 46-52, 1998.
Las comunicaciones cortas ( 3-6 pginas) generalmente deben contener la introduccin con el
planeamiento del problema, los resultados, la discusin, conclusiones, bibliografa. Recomendamos
especialmente, esta forma para los profesores de los colegios.
The text of the article must be sent as a .doc file in the attachment by e-mail:
The mail address of the REC is :
Journal of Science Education
36
Los textos de los artculos se envan como archivo .doc por correo electrnico oen85@yahoo.com
Direccin de la REC:
Revista de Educacin en Ciencias

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SCIENCE STUDENT TEACHERS

JOURNAL OF SCIENCE EDUCATION

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ACADMIA COLOMBIANA DE CIENCIAS

UNIVERSIDAD ANTONIO NARIO

Fundacin Revista de Educacin de las Ciencias

JOURNAL OF SCIENCE EDUCATION, N 2, VOL. 17, 2016

VIEWS OF NATURE OF SCIENCE: ADAPTATION OF A QUESTIONNAIRE FOR PORTUGUESE

La Journal of Science Education

DIFICULTADES DE LOS ESTUDIANTES UNIVERSITARIOS EN EL APRENDIZAJE DE LA

emitidas por los autores

SCIENCE EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABILITY: CAN A POWER POINT (PP)-BASED WORKSHOP

Los artculos de esta revista

EL TRABAJO COOPERATIVO CON LAS TIC PARA EL TRATAMIENTO DE CONTENIDOS DE

Bien excluido de IVA

EFFECTIVENESS OF GENETICS STUDENT WORKSHEET TO IMPROVE CREATIVE THINKING

Pgina WEB con

Address of the Journal:

ANALOGIES IN MATHEMATICAL PROBLEM POSING

Views of nature of science: adaptation of a questionnaire for Portuguese prospective

to be essential for the students understanding of science (Abd-El-Khalick,

Creativity and imagination

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Scientific theories nature

Scientific theories functions

History of science and

By comparing the NOS profiles generated by the separate analyses of

Informed Transitional Nave DiscreViews

It is a procedure organized by scientists where they change some

This model, as it is indicated by its denomination, is just an

scientific knowledge only as a contribution to the understanding of how

Although all respondents contended that theories do change, the majority

Functions of scientific theories

When asked about the usefulness of learning scientific theories, nine

Yes, theories do change. They change because technology evolves

Appendix A. Adaptation of the Views of Nature of Science Questionnaire,

Question 1. What, in your view, is science? What makes science (or a

Question 7. Science textbooks often represent the interior of the Earth

Appendix B. VNOS Interview Protocol

Can you read and better explain your answer?

What do you mean by ()?

How does your answer to question (a) relate to your answer to

How does the structure of a college chemistry examination affect pedagogy

semester on Monday, Wednesday and Friday each week from 11:00 AM

How Does the Structure of a College Chemistry Examination Affect Pedagogy

How Does the Structure of a College Chemistry Examination Affect Pedagogy

correlation between MC rankings and ranking change (Kendalls Tau-b =

Table 1. Summary statistics for the various portions of the exam.

A (MC) 64.64 12.30

B (MC) 66.20 14.40

A (MC) 26.21 10.46

A (Adj) 31.61 8.02

B (FR) 30.07 7.02

Overall 30.87 7.54

A (FR) 29.79 7.31

B (MC) 31.50 8.82

B (Adj) 34.33 7.18

One notable difference in MC and FR questions was in the variability of

Figure 1. Student decrease in ranking as a function of their MC ranking.

A closer looks at the extreme cases suggests some possible factors