Conceptual demand of science curricula: Studying practical work in high school biology and geology. Paper presented at 2012 NARST Annual International Conference, Indianapolis, USA

1. CONCEPTUAL DEMAND OF
SCIENCE CURRICULA
STUDYING PRACTICAL WORK IN HIGH SCHOOL
BIOLOGY AND GEOLOGY
Sílvia Ferreira
Ana M. Morais
Institute of Education, University of Lisbon

2. General diagram of the study
OPD
Official Documents
Practical work in Biology
and Geology teaching
THE WHAT
Teachers’ Conceptions
THE HOW
Type of practical work
Scientific knowledge
Cognitive skills
Intra-disciplinary relations
Discursive rules
Hierarchical rules
Teachers’ Practices
CONCEPTUAL DEMAND
Ferreira & Morais, 2012

3. Motivations
• Practical work in science education is central to the
development of scientific literacy.
(e.g. Hofstein & Naaman, 2007; Lunetta et al., 2007)
• MES directions indicate (2007) that formal moments of
assessment of practical work should take place, having a
weight of 30% in the overall students evaluation of the Biology
and Geology discipline.
Ferreira & Morais, 2012

4. Problem
What is the message transmitted by the official pedagogic
discourse (OPD) of the Biology and Geology curriculum
with regard to dimensions related to what is taught and
how is taught in the case of conceptual demand of practical
work, and what is the extent to which that message may
condition students scientific learning?
Ferreira & Morais, 2012

5. Model of analysis
P
R
O
D
U
C
T
I
O
N
O
F
P
D
<http://essa.ie.ul.pt/>
adapted from Bernstein, 1990
FIELD OF
STATE
Field of
Symbolic
Control
Field of
Economy
DOMINANT
PRINCIPLES
(GRD)
Level II
Recontextualization
Bernstein´s
Model of
Pedagogic
Discourse
Level I
Generation
International Field
Official Recontextualizing
Field
OFFICIAL PEDAGOGIC
DISCOURSE
(OPD)
Pedagogic Recontextualizing
Field
PEDAGOGIC DISCOURSE OF REPRODUCTION
Ferreira & Morais, 2012

6. Practical work in science education
All teaching and learning activities in the sciences in which the
student is actively involved and that allow the mobilization of
science processes skills and scientific knowledge and that may
be put into practice through paper and pencil activities or
observing and/or manipulating materials.
Lab activity
Bibliographical research
Simulation
Guided discussion activity
Field trip
Application of knowledge
Ferreira & Morais, 2012

7. Metodology
THE WHAT of
teaching
Practical work
Scientific
knowledge
Cognitive skills
OPD
Curricular
documents
Intra-disciplinary
relations
THE HOW of
teaching
MES-teacher
relation
Ferreira & Morais, 2012
Relation between
theory and
practice
Relation between
practical
activities
Evaluation
criteria
CONCEPTUAL DEMAND
Types of practical
work

8. Metodology
Cognitive skills
Section
Degree 1
Degree 2
Degree 3
Degree 4
Knowledge
Aims
Degree of complexity
based on the taxonomy
created by Marzano and
Kendall
Methodological
guidelines
Evaluation
(Marzano & Kendall, 2007, 2008)
Ferreira & Morais, 2012

9. Metodology
Cognitive skills
(Marzano & Kendall, 2007, 2008)
Ferreira & Morais, 2012

10. Metodology
Cognitive skills
Section: Aims
Degree 1
Cognitive skills of
low level of
complexity, involving
cognitive processes
of retrieval.
Degree 2
Degree 3
Cognitive skills of
level of complexity
higher than degree
1, involving cognitive
processes of
comprehension.
Cognitive skills of
level of complexity
higher than degree
2, involving cognitive
processes of
analysis.
Ferreira & Morais, 2012
Degree 4
Cognitive skills of
very high level of
complexity, involving
cognitive processes
of knowledge
utilization.

11. Metodology
Cognitive skills
Observing cells at the optical microscope.
(Biology 10th, p.78)
Comparing and evaluating explicatory models of the emergence of
unicellular eukaryotes.
Degree
2
Degree
3
(Biology 11th, p.11)
Problematizing and formulating hypotheses.
(Geology 11th, p.18)
Ferreira & Morais, 2012
Degree
4

12. Metodology
Relation between theory and practice
Section
C++
C+
C-
C- -
Knowledge
Aims
Bernstein’s concept of
classification
Methodological
guidelines
(Bernstein, 1990, 2000)
Evaluation
Ferreira & Morais, 2012

13. Metodology
Relation between theory and practice
Section: Methodological guidelines
C++
The suggested
strategy/
methodology is
focused on
declarative scientific
knowledge only.
or
The suggested
strategy/
methodology is
focused on
procedural scientific
knowledge only.
C+
C-
The suggested
strategy/
methodology is
focused on
declarative scientific
knowledge and on
procedural scientific
knowledge, but do
not make the
relation between
them.
The suggested
strategy/
methodology is
focused on the
relation between
declarative and
procedural scientific
knowledge, being
given higher status
to declarative
scientific knowledge
in the relation.
Ferreira & Morais, 2012
C- The suggested
strategy/
methodology is
focused on the
relation between
declarative and
procedural scientific
knowledge, being
given equal status to
these two types of
knowledge in the
relation.

14. Metodology
Relation between theory and practice
Application of stratigraphic principles to paper and pencil problem
C++
solving on relative dating.
(Geology 11th, p.30)
In order to solve the problem “What happens to the dynamics of an
ecosystem when that ecosystem is subjected to change?”, a field trip
in articulation with classroom/ laboratory activities, to be made before
and after the field trip, is suggested. As object(s) of study, real
environments are suggested, located, as far as possible, near to the
school […].
(Biology 10th, p.79)
Ferreira & Morais, 2012
C- -

15. Results
References to practical work
100%
80%
60%
without PW
with PW
40%
20%
30
38
27
29
20
19
0%
General
Biology
Biology
10th
Biology
11th
General
Geology
Geology
10th
Geology
11th
Ferreira & Morais, 2012

16. Results
Types of practical work
100%
80%
FT
60%
GD
BR
40%
AK
S
LA
20%
0%
General
Biology
Biology
10th
Biology
11th
General
Geology
Geology
10th
Geology
11th
Ferreira & Morais, 2012

17. Results
THE WHAT of practical work teaching
100%
80%
60%
4
3
2
40%
1
20%
0%
Bg
B10 B11
Gg
G10 G11
Complexity of
scientific knowledge
Bg
B10 B11
Gg
G10 G11
Complexity of
cognitive skills
Ferreira & Morais, 2012

18. Results
THE HOW of practical work teaching
100%
80%
60%
C- -/ F- C-/ FC+/ F+
40%
C++/F++
20%
0%
Bg B10 B11
Gg G10 G11
Relation between
theory and practice
Bg B10 B11
Gg G10 G11
Relation between
practical activities
Bg B10 B11
Gg G10 G11
Explicitness of
practical work
Ferreira & Morais, 2012

19. Conclusions
The curricular documents give low emphasis to practical
work, namely to laboratorial activities with an investigative
character, in Biology and Geology education for high
school.
The curriculum has a low level of conceptual demand with
respect to the transmission context of practical work.
Ferreira & Morais, 2012

20. Conclusions
Scientific knowledge
Desirable situation: Unifying themes are acquired by
understanding complex and simple knowledge within a balanced
degree of complexity of scientific knowledge (the approximate
case of Biology).
Cognitive skills
Desirable situation: A balance between complex and simple
cognitive skills, where the latter necessarily include memorization
(the approximate case of Geology).
Relation between theory and practice
Desirable situation: Predominance of relations between theory
and practice, with more status being given to theory in the relation
(the approximate case of Biology).
Ferreira & Morais, 2012

21. Conclusions
The evaluation context of practical work is largely ignored
in all parts of the curriculum.
Although the MES seems to value practical work in science
high school at the level of the curriculum general
guidelines, this official agency does not make such
intentions explicit at the level of Biology and Geology
specific guidelines.
The instruments constructed and the methodology followed
may be used in further studies, after the necessary
adaptations to the respective contexts.
Ferreira & Morais, 2012

22. CONCEPTUAL DEMAND OF
SCIENCE CURRICULA
STUDYING PRACTICAL WORK IN HIGH SCHOOL
BIOLOGY AND GEOLOGY
Sílvia Ferreira
Ana M. Morais
Institute of Education, University of Lisbon
http://essa.ie.ul.pt