Ciênsação, an open online repository for hands-on experiments, has been developed to convince teachers in Latin America that science is best experienced first hand. Permitting students to experiment autonomously in small groups can be a challenging endeavour for educators in these countries. We analyse the reasons that cause hesitation of teachers…

Ionizing radiation one of modern physics experimental teaching in colleges and high school can be easily implemented today due to low coasts of detectors and also electronic circuits and data acquisition interfaces. First it is interesting to show to young's students what is ionizing radiation and from where they appears near ground level? How it…

A laboratory experiment has been developed to illustrate environmental and sustainability aspects, focusing on the wastewater treatment by means of superparamagnetic nanoparticles functionalized with humic acid. The experiment, conducted by a group of high school students, involves nanoparticle synthesis and minor characterization, followed by…

Remote robotics laboratories have been successfully used for engineering education. However, few of them use mobile robots to to teach computer science. This article describes a mobile robot Control and Programming Environment (CPE) and its pedagogical applications. The system comprises a remote laboratory for robotics, an online programming tool,…

The methodology used in this study was action-research and the considered activity is been applied successfully for at least five years to undergraduate and to master classes for Industrial Engineering students in Brazil. It showed a significant result in both cases, providing the basis for the deepening in the subject in further lessons.…

This paper evaluates the viability of using controversies in teaching. An educational project has been elaborated in which some historical-philosophical clashes were introduced into the classical syllabus of physics. The historical-philosophical controversy dealt with here, took place between the French physicists Biot and Ampere in the 19th…

The Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE) is an international, non-profit educational organization. The Association's purpose is to advance the knowledge, theory, and quality of teaching and learning at all levels with information technology. "EdMedia + Innovate Learning" took place in Amsterdam, The…

Assuming that textbooks give literary expression to cultural and ideological values of a nation or group, we propose the analysis of chemistry textbooks used in Brazilian universities throughout the twentieth century. We analyzed iconographic and textual aspects of 31 textbooks which had significant diffusion in the context of Brazilian…

Teaching collections are of great importance for science instruction at any level. There are several problems linked to the handling and curatorial management of this kind of collection. Among these is the relatively short life-span of specimens, due to the damage from continuous handling by students. Often the specimens used to replenish the…

Constant technological advancement has facilitated access to digital cameras and cell phones. Involving students in a video production project can work as a motivating aspect to make them active and reflective in their learning, intellectually engaged in a recursive process. This project was implemented in high school level physics laboratory…

The substitution of petroleum-based fuels with those from renewable sources has gained momentum worldwide. A UV-vis experiment for the quantitative analysis of biofuels (bioethanol or biodiesel) in (petroleum-based) diesel oil has been developed. Before the experiment, students were given a quiz on biofuels, and then they were asked to suggest a…

This paper investigates physics teacher class planning and its consequences during implementation in class mainly focusing the contradictions emerged among teacher's and students' expectations of the class. This situation is analysed from a socio-cultural-historical point of view mainly supported by Activity Theory. We highlight the components of…

Understanding the scientific method fosters the development of critical thinking and logical analysis of information. Additionally, proposing and testing a hypothesis is applicable not only to science, but also to ordinary facts of daily life. Knowing the way science is done and how its results are published is useful for all citizens and…

In this article we describe two simple experiments using an ion accelerator as an aid to the teaching of electromagnetism to high-school students. This is part of a programme developed by a Brazilian State funding agency (FAPERJ) which aims to help scientifically minded students take their first steps in research.

This paper presents the experiment being conducted in the Electric Circuits II course (ELE1103) at PUC-Rio's Electrical Engineering Department since March 1997. This experiment was held in both the fall and the spring semesters of 1997. The basis for the experiment was concurrent teaching methodology, to which the principles of entrepreneurship…