Socio‐scientific controversies and students' conceptions about scientists

Science Teachers’ Use of Mass Media to Address Socio-Scientific and Sustainability Issues

“…The transfer of information between scientists and journalists, for example, is often limited by a variety of factors including the journalists' understanding of the underlying concepts and process of scientific inquiry and the scientist's ability to communicate his or her work in a way that is understandable to the general public (Hartz and Chappell 1997). Research has also shown that public perceptions of and reservations towards science are influenced by both negative and positive presentations of science in media (Nisbet 2002), and that representations of science and scientists in media affect students' and teachers' conceptions about science (Reis and Galvao 2004;Michail et al 2007).…”

“…Second, we were interested in investigating how teachers used resources that students and adults were likely to access outside of the classroom. Research has shown that students rely on mass media more than textbooks or teachers for their information about science (Reis and Galvao 2004). Third, we needed a way to make the study Fig.…”

Using the Dast-C to Explore Colombian and Bolivian Students’ Images of Scientists

“…These images seem to be related to future career choices (Mason, Butler-Kahle & Gardner, 1991), attitudes toward the study of this subject (Tobin & Fraser, 1987;Finson, et al, 1995) and participation roles in science classrooms (Faye-Neathery, 1997). With very few exceptions (Sala & de Gómezgil, 1975), the bulk of research has centered on assessing students' images of scientists in school communities from most developed countries (MDCs), particularly the USA (Barman, Ostlund, Gatto & Halferty, 1997;Bodzin & Gehringer, 2001;Farland & McComas, 2008;Faye-Neathery, 1997;Jones & Bangert, 2006;Painter, Jones, Tretter & Kubasko, 2006), Australia and Canada (Chambers, 1983) and Europe (Raty & Snellman, 1997;Reis & Galvão, 2004). Surprisingly and despite the substantial amount of research devoted to this issue, similar research efforts are non-existent in Latin America.…”

“…Efforts put forth by institutions such as the Third World Organization for Women in Sciences (TWOWS), the Bolivian Organization for Women in Science (BOWS) and the "2007 Women, Science and Technology Summit" are intended to give girls the tools to become independent learners, which is an essential piece of the model being suggested by these organizations to achieve a more balanced participation of children in science and therefore the consolidation of the scientific disciplines in school classrooms (Quiroga, 2007). If we know that the way in which students depict and view a typical scientist is influenced by their cultural background (Song & Kim, 1999) and that "science conceptions are built on a specific socio-cultural reality" (Reis & Galvão, 2004, p. 1622, then it should be reasonable to consider and contribute to science education practices in less developed countries (LDCs) from a social-cultural standpoint.…”

"Como trabalham os cientistas?": potencialidades de uma atividade de escrita para a discussão acerca da natureza da ciência nas aulas de ciências

“…Assim, partilhar e discutir histórias imaginadas num contexto de sala de aula pode criar condições para que os alunos conheçam outras interpretações e experiências de vida, facilitando a expansão da compreensão individual acerca da ciência e da atividade científica, assim como potenciar a discussão de inúmeros aspetos processuais, políticos, sociais, ambientais e éticos inerentes à ciência atual (REIS; GALVÃO, 2004GALVÃO, , 2007. No entanto, introduzir uma discussão reflexiva na sala de aula requer, da parte do professor, um leque de estratégias pedagógicas para iniciar e dar suporte à argumentação, para orquestrar a discussão, de forma a que as diferentes visões sejam explicadas, comparadas e contrastadas, e para facilitar a decisão sobre que posições oferecem a melhor interpretação (SIMON; OSBORNE, 2006).…”