A large-scale survey on nature of science conceptions of the brazilian biology undergraduates and the potentially associated education factors

Azevedo, Nathália Helena; scarpa, Daniela lopes

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Ensaio Pesquisa em Educação em Ciências (Belo Horizonte)

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Article • Ens. Pesqui. Educ. Ciênc. (Belo Horizonte) 19 • 2017 • https://doi.org/10.1590/1983-21172017190121 copy

A large-scale survey on nature of science conceptions of the brazilian biology undergraduates and the potentially associated education factors

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

ABSTRACT:

The results of a study on conceptions of the nature of science (NOS) among Biology undergraduate students are presented here. Four factors potentially associated with the conceptions of this public were statistically tested: educational stage, course type (for pre-service biology teachers or biologists-in-training), contact with meta-scientific themes, and participation in science initiation. The participants were 691 students from 14 Brazilian universities, who answered a contextualized questionnaire about research in Ecology. There was no variation in conceptions between the different educational stages neither from contact with meta-scientific themes, nor participation in scientific initiation. Nonetheless, undergraduates attending only teacher-training courses presented less-informed NOS conceptions when compared with two other groups, one formed only by biologists-in-training and the other by a combination of biologists-in-training and teaching-training students. Among the 11 aspects of NOS investigated, the students presented less-informed conceptions about those addressing instrumentation and experimental practices. The discussion was directed to certain implications associated with the scenario presented.

Keywords:
NOS conceptions; Biologists-in-training; Pre-service teachers

University	Region	Type	Number of participating students	Number of students initiating college	Number of students at the end of college
1	Southeast	Public	93	93	0
2	Southeast	Public	72	31	41
3	South	Public	71	31	40
4	Southeast	Public	68	49	19
5	Southeast	Public	52	18	34
6	Southeast	Public	49	26	23
7	North	Public	49	21	28
8	Southeast	Public	46	39	7
9	Northeast	Public	42	22	20
10	Southeast	Public	40	0	40
11	Southeast	Private	36	22	14
12	Northeast	Public	27	19	8
13	Southeast	Private	24	17	7
14	Southeast	Private	22	13	9
Total			691	401	290

	Epistemological theme	Number of statements
A	Observations and reasoning	10
B	Methods of investigation	23
C	History and creativity	13
D	Human and cultural context	3
E	Social interactions among scientists	15
F	Cognitive processes	6
G	Economy and funding	5
H	Instrumentation and experimental practices	4
I	Communication and transmission of knowledge	11
J	Characteristics of scientific theories	17
	Total number of statements	81*

Situation 5. In order to check whether the size of a certain clam would interfere in its chance of being preyed on, a group of scientists took samples. They collected shells from randomly marked-out parcels on a beach, calculated the area of each, and recorded whether they showed any mark that was characteristic of predation.
Code	Statement for respondent’s appraisal	Theme and subtheme used as guides for elaborating the statement
S5A	Describe a scientific practice, involving systematic collection.	Observations and reasoning (The role of systematic observation)
S5B	Since no experiment was carried out, it cannot be considered a scientific practice.	Methods of investigation (Lack of a unique method)
S5C	The conclusion can only be generalized if data collection is repeated in several locations.	Methods of investigation (Replication and sample size)
S5D	The conclusion can only be generalized if the collection of data is undertaken with a very large sample.	Methods of investigation (Replication and sample size)
S5E	For scientists to reach a conclusion, they should take into consideration the possibility of predation being by chance.	Observations and reasoning (The role of probability in inference)
S5F	The results of the study will only be accepted by the scientific community if they are presented in graphic form.	Communication and transmission of knowledge (Nature of the graphs)
S5G	The results of the study will be accepted by the scientific community, even when due care was not taken in the collection of data.	Observations and reasoning (Evidence relevance)
S5H	The results of the study will be accepted by the scientific community if data receive some statistic treatment.	Methods of investigation (Statistical analysis of data and error)
S5I	The choice of statistic treatment could interfere in the final results	Methods of investigation (Statistical analysis of data and error)
S5J	Describes a scientific practice, since scientists have formulated a testable hypothesis that has been confronted with the observations.	Methods of investigation (The role of hypothesis in research)

Questions and options for replies as presented in the instrument
1.	How many semesters of the course have you already completed?
2.	Is this your first undergraduate course? [A] Yes [B] No
3.	What type of undergraduate course are you taking? [A] For biologist-in-training [B] For pre-service biology teacher [C] Both
4.	Have you already participated in scientific initiation? [A] Yes [B] No, but I’m interested [C] No, and I’m not interested [D] I don’t know what this is
5.	During the course, did you attend disciplines that formally dealt with the themes*: [A] Scientific knowledge [B] Philosophy of Science [C] History of science [D] Scientific Methodology [E] Nature of Science [F] Critical Thinking [G] Scientific Practices
6.	What do you intend to do when you finish your course? [A] Follow an academic career. [B] Follow a technical career in the field of biology. Work, for example, in: consultancy, laboratory analysis, environmental advisory and management, sanitary vigilance, ecotourism, landscaping, parks, museums, research, pest control, bio-restoration, bioethics, etc. [C] Give classes in basic education. [D] Start another undergraduate course. [E] Follow another profession. [F] I don’t know yet.
*Each question can be marked with “Yes”, “No” or “I don’t know”.

Option in the questionnaire	Percentage of responses
Follow an academic career	35%
Follow a technical career	27%
Give classes in basic education	10%
Start another undergraduate course	4%
Follow another career	1%
I don’t know yet	23%

Faculdade de Educação da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais Av. Antonio Carlos, 6627, CEP 31270-901 Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil, Tel.: (55 31) 3409-5338, Fax: (55 31) 3409-5337 - Belo Horizonte - MG - Brazil
E-mail: ensaio@fae.ufmg.br

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[1] Contact:Universidade de São Paulo, Instituto de Biociências, Departamento de Ecologia Geral Rua do Matão, 321 - Travessa 14, n.101, Sala 254 - Cidade Universitária CEP 05.508-090 - São Paulo, SP - Brasil URL da Homepage: <http://ecologia.ib.usp.br/bioin>