Publications

Abstract This paper focuses on developing and assessing a non-obtrusive and transformative method, based on virtual reality, to evaluate science communication projects in science centres. The method was tested using deep-sea cutting-edge scientific content. We applied a mixed design, with 72 adult participants randomly assigned to experimental conditions (with/without exhibition exposure). Results showed that the exhibition promoted a better understanding of science. The non-obtrusive measures on awareness and engagement were positively related with questions posed via questionnaire and interview. The study adds theoretical and empirical support to the design and implementation of non-obtrusive and transformative evaluation experiences in science exhibitions in science centres and museums.

Abstract This paper examines the relationship between science and religion in the education system of Roman-Catholic Portuguese society. In particular, we explored perceptions of the relationship between science and religion for religious education teachers. We surveyed 198 Portuguese religious education teachers about how they view science and religion. The questionnaires' results revealed a number of similarities: religious education teachers are highly involved in religious practices and exposed to science; they perceived a compatibility between science and religion; and they have an openness to dialogue between both. They do not adhere to anti-scientific perspectives, but they simultaneously try to limit what can be explained by science. Thus, an interpretative view of dialogue and/or integration seems to best explain the perceptions of religious education teachers of the relationship between science and religion. These findings allow a space of discussion, enabling teachers to possibly foster the science-religion dialogue in their contexts of pedagogical activity.

Abstract Recently, new data about deep-sea ecosystems has stirred scientific, economic, and ecological agendas, but little is known about the public’s perspectives of the deep sea. Our goal is to explore the public’s common sense knowledge of the deep sea, with a view to inform science communication efforts. Based on social representations theory, we investigated the relationship between the public’s meanings associated with the deep sea and psychosocial and positional variables, such as attitudes and education level, and reflected on the implications of the findings for science communication. The study was conducted in Portugal, a coastal, sea-connected country. The sample consisted of 315 adults from different age groups and social strata. Participants were asked to elicit and rank their thoughts about the deep sea using a ranked association technique and fill in questions about sociodemographic information, perceptions, and attitudes concerning the deep sea. Results showed that the social representations of the deep sea were structured as emotional versus rational views and as superficial ocean knowledge versus novel or unusual views. Moreover, results evinced a relationship between representations and psychosocial and positional variables. The gap between scientific and common sense knowledge was evident amongst participants with a low education level and low science engagement, whilst highly educated and science-engaged participants’ representations seemed to be narrowed by instrumental views on science. This research is significant to better directing science communication to increase well-informed public participation in decision-making related to deep sea management and other socio-scientific issues by responding to audience’s background knowledge.

Abstract This paper focuses on the problematic role of digital tools in STEM activities for Physics teaching. A group of 47 teachers of Physics and Chemistry, from middle and secondary education, attended a continuous professional development training course during the academic year 2019/2020 that aimed to promote the development, adaptation, and implementation of STEM activities, centered on various topics in Physics (sound, electricity, kinetic and potential energy, mass and weight, gravitational pendulum and free fall) in teachers’ practices. Most of the activities already had an integration proposal for digital tools. Results revealed that teachers’ options range from adding specific and unspecific tools to implement STEM activities. In most cases, they only replace other non-digital tools. This work contributes to foster the action and reflection related to teachers’ knowledge and experience to introduce digital tools productively, amplify their options, and explore other related areas. © 2021, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Abstract In this paper, we draw upon the empirical research about the social representations of the Internet in order to propose a theoretically-driven agenda. A systematic review of empirical, peer-reviewed literature was conducted. The corpus of analysis consisted of 12 papers which fell into five themes: (i) the Internet and quality of life; (ii) the Internet as a moving representation; (iii) the Internet and ageing; (iv) the Internet and mobile culture; and (v) the Internet and education. The research about the social representations of the Internet is still limited in number, depth and breadth. Notwithstanding, it conveys important insights about the evolving, symbolically-loaded meanings of the Internet as a prosthesis of knowledge and as a means of communication, with consequences for identity and intergroup relations, contributing to expand the theoretical and empirical debates on the field of digital media. The research agenda for studying the Internet from a social representations’ perspective includes three major theoretical foci: social cognition; social identity and intergroup relations; and social thinking in times of big data. Social representations can provide the field with powerful conceptual tools to learn how people deal with novelty and to navigate through huge quantity of data generated online. In change, digital media can contribute to further social representations theory developments. To learn how communication flows on the Internet and how people make sense of the Internet and Internet-related phenomena (including automatically generated contents, mass and social media accounts) equals to set the clock for the present time schedule. © 2021. Moreira, Luciano, Paiva, João C. and Morais, Carla.

Abstract Mobile devices seem to be more present in language education and classrooms, but the role of such technologies on educator's identity and practice is still at its early stages. This investigation aimed to gather a better understanding around the use of mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) through the lenses of educators that base their practices on the second language acquisition (SLA) theory, what are their perceptions on the relevancy of mobile devices for language acquisition and its potential role on their professional identities (as well as their views on using mobile technologies to promote opportunities for second language acquisition to occur). Since second language acquisition education and professional identity are not covered alongside in MALL literature, the goal of this research was to gather data on the perceptions around mobile devices used for language acquisition from the educators' perspective and their professional identity. A semi-structured interview script with open questions was developed to cover all three main topics as well as to promote participants' insights around the current use of mobile technologies in their language education scenarios. The research included 12 second language acquisition educators from Brazil, acting in different educational scenarios were selected to be interviewed via Skype. The data gathered was analyzed using NVivo and interpreted by using the guidelines provided by grounded theory. Results showed that: a) participants consider mobile devices as ad-value for language acquisition when they recognize relevancy in using such devices in what they describe as "acquisition opportunities". The use is not standardized and varies according to the educator. The lack of support from schools is accounted as a factor for non-use. b) Second language educators view themselves as facilitators between students and language. They understand that their professional identities are in constant change by social, cultural, and economic factors, and adding new tools and methodologies to their practices are expected; therefore, mobile devices are not viewed as threats to educators' professional identity. However, participants showed concerns that the mandatory use of mobile devices and technologies in classes without previous training and debate around its proper use might contribute to an unwanted professional identity change. c) Participants do not consider themselves proficient in what they understand to be an ideal use of mobile devices for language acquisition. However, this lack of understanding does not impede them from using mobile devices as a pedagogical instrument as they seem fit. The discussion focuses on the paradox between the relevancy recognized by educators in mobile devices for language acquisition and their lack of repertoire for the use of such devices.

Abstract This study aimed at assessing the learning effects of different ways of integrating digital educational resources in chemistry education. The alternative hypothesis is that digital educational resources contribute more effectively for students’ learning than pen-and-paper consolidation worksheets. A sample of 61 students participated in a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design with four conditions (control, and three digital-based approaches: Outside the classroom individual approach, inside the classroom individual approach, inside the classroom group approach). Three digital educational resources were developed to address three chemistry themes (particle motion, gas pressure, and electric current through a solution). Results revealed that the inside the classroom individual digital-based approach and the outside the classroom individual digital-based approach were more effective in helping students to perform better, thus partially supporting the alternative hypothesis. The study contributed for the progress of the state of the art by drawing our attention to the plethora of phenomena around the use of computer-based technologies in education, in particular, highlighting the need to consider carefully the resources and pedagogical strategies underpinning one-to-one computing. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019.

Abstract The goal of this paper is to understand the way multimedia and virtual reality are being integrated into the communication practices of science centers and represented by their directors or responsible personnel, from the perspective of the social representations theory. Through a three-phase, mixed-methods approach, we focused on the 21 institutions of the Portuguese network of science centers (Rede de Centros Ciencia Viva). Phase I consisted of a documentary analysis of the science centers websites and Facebook pages, in order to draw a preliminary map of the activities, scientific areas, multimedia and virtual reality devices of the centers. In phase II, we surveyed 16 directors or responsible personnel of the science centers via an online questionnaire, to corroborate the results obtained in the documentary analysis and also to identify the role of multimedia in science centers and which of them had virtual reality activities. Phase III consisted of semi-structured interviews with six directors or responsible personnel of six science centers from North to South of Portugal to explore their social representations, as well as to obtain in-depth information about the role of multimedia, virtual reality and visitors in the science communication strategy of the centers. Data were analyzed with the support of Excel, SPSS, and NVivo. Results showed that exhibitions are the most common kind of activities, followed by laboratories and workshops. Physical-natural sciences were represented in more than 75% of the science centers; mathematics, robotics, and informatics were present in less than 50% of the centers; social sciences and arts were underrepresented. Whereas projection devices and computers were used in more than 80% of the centers, virtual reality devices, tablets, and touch screens were used in less than 15%. Results of phase II, besides corroborating data from phase I, showed that the integration of multimedia seems to be associated with different degrees of interactivity allowed for the visitor. Virtual reality devices were mainly used to demonstrate their immersive capability rather than to explore the specificities of the science contents. As for the social representations, we found that multimedia was associated with the integration of image and sound and anchored to learning purposes and young audiences. Virtual reality was defined as "simulation" and "reality that does not exist", therefore objectifying the concept of interactivity. It was perceived as a means to attract more audience. Though a central role was assigned to the visitor, contextualization seemed to be the more frequently adopted model of science communication. The findings suggest that, though multimedia plays a central role in the centers, it does not meet up the promise of allowing for higher levels of interactivity and public engagement and that virtual reality became the ultimate technology for making sense of interactivity and extension of reality. This study urges for a framework to promote a balanced integration of the multimedia with the activities of science centers to support the adoption of bidirectional models of science communication, in which evaluation is essential. This line of research is being explored in a science communication project (I SEA) by a multidisciplinary team. Based on the affordances and social representations of virtual reality, the main goal is to develop a non-obtrusive method of evaluation of science communication in non-formal spaces.

Abstract In this study we focused on the social representations of digital teaching among Higher Education agents, considering their reported experience (more or less diversified) and type of access (mobile devices or not, large-screen devices or small screen-devices). The context of the study was a public Higher Education institution in the North of Portugal in which the Moodle was adopted years ago to support learning activities. The participants were 36 teachers (39% males, 61% females), aged between 25 and 55 years old, and 144 freshmen students (19% males, 81% females), aged between 18 and 57 years old, enrolled in different programs in the area of Health care. They answered to a questionnaire that consisted of: free association tasks around stimuli such as digital teaching and Moodle; a semantic differentiation scale on the attitudes towards Moodle; multiple choice questions about the levels of use and type of access to the platform; and demographic questions, including age and sex. A content-analysis of the qualitative data was conducted, using a macro developed in Excel. Words evoked by the participants were reduced to their most common form and phases rewritten to their common theme. Words and themes were then grouped under overarching categories. A descriptive analysis of the quantitative data was also performed. Results revealed that whereas for the teachers the semantic field of digital teaching consisted of the categories accessibility (47%), evolution (42%), and distance (39%); for the students it consisted of technology (97%), evolution (59%), and easiness (37%). The Moodle was seen as a kind of repository by the majority of the students (89%). Such an image is shared by less than one-half of teachers (36%), and it was more common among those who declared to use more functionalities of the learning management system (LMS). It is worth mentioning that almost one-half of students associated the Moodle with knowledge (49%). Errors and the dependency on the Internet were pointed out as the main constraints of the LMS, while accessibility and easiness of use were the main advantages. Concerning access, the portable computer was the device most used by both teachers and students (90%). Desktops were used by more than 80% of teachers and by less than 20% of students, while the reverse picture was found in the access by mobile phone (around 20% of teachers and around 70% of students). This study provides clues about the relation among the social position of the agents, their practices and their representations. The social representations seem to be more homogeneous among students than among teachers, suggesting that there is a relation with practices. The fact that the image of the Moodle as a repository is more present among the teachers who reported having used more functionalities of the Moodle is somewhat counter-intuitive and urges for more studies. It is also very suggestive that the agents use different anchors to represent digital teaching: distance in the case of the teachers and technology in the case of the students, though they converge in seeing it as a sign of evolution. Although mobile access seems to be more frequent among students, big screen devices are more used than small screen devices. These results do not support the idea of a screen-device gap among the participants, but should nevertheless open a discussion about what kind of affordances are being explored in digital teaching.

Abstract In formal education, evaluation is often an intrinsic part of learning. However, in non-formal contexts, such as science centers and museums, evaluation methods are usually invasive and conflicting with visitors' agendas. The I SEA project - a science communication project - intends to develop an immersive virtual reality experience (VRE - I SEA), combining science communication and its evaluation in the same experience, becomes a meaningful procedure for both visitors and institutions. The VRE - I SEA will be hosted at two Portuguese science centers (Planetarium and Expolab). Fieldwork on these centers was developed with the following goals: characterizing each center (i.e., mission, public, models of science communication), perceiving expectations and conditions for integrating the VRE - I SEA, acknowledging experience with virtual reality (VR), and learning their vision about communicating deep seas ecosystems contents. An interview script was developed to cover these themes. Two researchers visited both centers, interviewing a total of 10 intervenients (5 percent), among stakeholders, staff members, and visitors. Data were analyzed with NVivo and cross-compared to participant observation, field notes, and audiovisual records. Results point out different visions concerning the integration of the VRE - I SEA. In the Planetarium, a science center focused on space - astronomy contents, in Porto, most participants identified common characteristics in space and deep seas ecosystems exploration and between the immersiveness of the Planetarium's sessions and the technology to be used in the VRE - I SEA. In Expolab, an Azorean science and technology center, the location was one of the main themes referred by the interviewed when discussing deep-sea ecosystems. In addition, VR is familiar to this center, as Expolab provides VR applications to several science subjects. As for science communication, the analysis of the interviews and the activities available at the time of the visits show a prevalence of a deficit and a contextual model. In fact, personnel from both centers highlight the public's search for contact with the experts and the development of the public's scientific literacy as key points in their mission. Inferring from the viewpoints of the interviewees, what distinguishes science centers from formal education is exactly the absence of systematic evaluation. In addition, science evaluation is sometimes confounded as feedback, which neither of the centers seems to have implemented in a systematic manner. However, there are several attempts for public dialogue (through interactions at the end of science sessions) and obtaining of informal feedback. In sum, the centers' flexibility in integrating and justifying a new theme of deep-sea ecosystems is remarkable, however, considering that one of the I SEA project's purpose is to incorporate a method for science communication evaluation in non-formal contexts, these results lead us to challenge the current communication models in both centers. The I SEA project leads us to rethink the purpose of science communication evaluation, through the development of non-invasive methods, with benefits for both science centers and visitors. Also, the integration of science communication evaluation into the science communication channels may present an essential component towards a more dialogical communication model for science centers, replicable in other non-formal contexts such as museums.