Master's Degree
Area of Concentration: Teaching, Learning and Training of Science and Mathematics Teachers
1. Mandatory Disciplines
Group I
Basic Disciplines of Teaching and Learning Epistemology and Teacher Training
Science and Mathematics Assessment (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: It is notorious that the evaluation process is not seen as an important dimension in the process of teacher education, considering that for a long time it was not even in the curriculum of undergraduate, a discipline that covers this important element of the teacher-knowledge-student relationship. This topic was approached as a sub-item of pedagogical disciplines, such as Teaching Practice. Today, there are already some degrees that present in their curriculum the Assessment discipline. The problem is that the topic seems to be discussed in a general manner, which might be something that jeopardizes the specific formation of the teacher, since the evaluation must be made based on the teacher-knowledge-student relationship, demanding to take into account methodological but also epistemological and psychological aspects. Given this, we propose this discipline with the following topics: the theory of meaningful learning and assessment; conceptual field theory and evaluation; didactic obstacles and assessment; error analysis in the evaluation process; evidence planning; the correction of evidence.
Epistemological Bases of Science and Mathematics Education (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Approach of theoretical perspectives about science and the production of scientific knowledge (rationalist, empiricist and dialectic). Limits and possibilities of rationalist, empiricist and dialectical approaches to research in science education and mathematics. Approximations and differences between school science and scientific practice from different teaching models. Discussions about the epistemology of science and science teaching with focused discussions, such as objective, content, tools and practices with a view to weaving relationships between scientific practice and school scientific practice.
Science and Mathematics Education and Sustainability (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: To problematize the teaching of science and mathematics, in the apprehension of the current social and environmental problems, notably in its dialogue with the constitutive aspects of the current development model, of unsustainability and of the relations Science, Technology and Society (STS), privileging, even the Amazonian scenarios. We follow the theoretical and methodological paradigm of Education for Sustainable Development to (re)think about the necessary renewal of science and math education. In this sense, topics such as globalization, economic growth, poverty, environmental degradation, consumption, climate change, socio-biodiversity, among others, will be addressed and anchored in the actions recommended by the Global Agenda 21, in the Earth Charter, in alignment with the assumptions of the National Curriculum Parameters (PCN – Portuguese Acronym).
Researcher Teacher Training of Own Practice (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: In this course, we will study epistemological aspects of the training of reflective-research teachers, from the perspective of research on the teaching practice itself.
2. Elective Disciplines
Group II
Theoretical-Methodological Disciplines of Specific Contents
Amazon Biodiversity (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Nature, biodiversity and environment: definitions, origin and application of terms; history of occupation and use of resources in the Amazon (exploitation and land use, resource degradation, impacts of large government projects - hydroelectric, highways); protected areas in the Amazon; sustainable use of natural resources: traditional management and co-management; use of traditional knowledge and biopiracy in the Amazon.
Mathematical Contents Under the Learning-Teaching Relationship in the Early Years of Schooling (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Study of fundamental contents of mathematics referring to the early years of elementary school, in current perspective, based on studies and research in the area of Mathematical Education. The contents are considered in the perspective of the intra / interdisciplinary mathematical construction, based on theoretical and epistemological references of this subject (mathematics) that simultaneously appreciate didactic relations for teaching in coherence with the target audience of early years in the elementary School.
Human Body (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: It is intended to study the 'human body', in close articulation with social aspects of meaning for students of basic education and related to the living and interactive body. It provides a broader view of “our body” in operation and in constant interaction with the environment. 'Innovative teaching models' are assumed that reshape teaching practice and highlight the importance of treating the Human Body as a whole, without losing sight of parts, systems, organs, so that each function performed by both cells and organs can relate to other vital functions performed by the body and that, working together, it is possible to understand that it is this form of 'integrated functioning' that provides us with the necessary conditions for the maintenance of health and life.
Classroom Math Didactics (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Epistemological and didactic obstacles. Conceptual fields. Mental calculation. Structure of fundamental operations and teaching materials. Geometric perceptions in the plane and space. Preparation of teaching materials. Mathematical didactics and other media.
School Mathematics Teaching and Learning (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Numbers and operations. Quantities and measures. Space and form. Information processing. Methodological guidelines: games, manipulative materials and evaluation. Critical-reflexive view of use in both the social context and the solution of practical problems involving mathematical objects.
Phenomena, Models, and Language in the Study of Chemical Concepts (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Study of chemical concepts considering the construction of the relationship between phenomena (visible), concepts and models (the invisible) and chemical language (representation); the research resulting from the teaching and learning process that involves teacher-student-chemical knowledge interaction; contributions of chemistry history to science classes.
Local Cultural Science and Education Institution (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: The objective is to know the insertion of science and education in the local culture, as well as its origin, its institution and its role in society, which, in the present case, is the Amazon. This knowledge will be developed through written texts, as well as through direct contact with local school and scientific institutions that have become historical heritage of the region and are still fully operational today.
Basic Education Mathematics (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: To develop skills that provide methodological improvements in teaching and the elaboration and resolution of exploratory items of the following mathematical skills: build meanings for natural, integer, rational and real numbers; use geometric knowledge to read and represent reality and act on it; build notions of quantities and measures for understanding reality and solving everyday problems; build notions of quantities and their variations for understanding reality and solving everyday problems; model and solve problems involving socioeconomic or technical-scientific variables, using algebraic representations; interpret scientific and social information obtained from reading graphs and tables, performing trend prediction, extrapolation, interpolation and interpretation, analyze exams and tests: ENEM, vestibular, olympics and the like.
Class Research (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: In this course, the theoretical foundations of classroom research will be studied, as an educational principle for the scientific initiation of the student of basic education, with a view to the formation of citizenship, and conducted investigative activities under the guidance of the teacher, based on thematic / problematic of specific content defined by the group.
Relations between Algebra, Arithmetic and Geometry (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: In this course will be discussed the relationship between Arithmetic, Algebra and Geometry in order to provide support for research and teaching of these topics in elementary, middle and higher education.
Biochemistry Topics (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Water cycle, water in the human body and in food. Human biology, organic, cellular, bone and muscle components. Photosynthesis and food production. Action of environmental pollution on quality of life: recurrent diseases and food contamination. Amazonian food chemistry: biological, chemical and functional action.
Information Processing (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Data collection, organization and description. Reading and interpretation of information presented in an organized manner (through lists, tables, diagrams and graphs). Creation of personal records for communication of collected information. Exploring the function of number as code in organizing information. Interpretation and elaboration of lists, tables and graphs. Production of written texts from the interpretation of lists, tables, diagrams and graphs.
Use of Mathematics History in Mathematics Teaching (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Fundamentals about the History of Mathematics and about the History of Mathematical Education. Approach of types of relations that seeks to promote between the historical elaboration of mathematical knowledge in the past and the personal production / appropriation of such knowledge in the present. Proposition of investigative activities for the classroom.
Group III
Specific Disciplines of Methodologies and Advisement and Production of Material for Teaching and Learning in Science Education and Mathematics
Algebraic Computing as a Science and Mathematics Teaching and Learning Tool (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Introduction to algebraic computing (AC): definition, history, main AC systems; possibilities of use in research and education; similarities between major AC systems; option to use of the Máxima system in the course because it is free software. Introduction to Máxima: Basic Commands and Syntaxes; direct applications in calculations and graphing. Organization of problem solving into Máxima sections, with emphasis on the logical structure that connects multiple calculation points. Discussion of the exploratory power that the section allows: short-term conjecture testing and testing by changing the initial parameters of the problem and verifying their implications. Perception that a complete section that focuses on problem solving can be automated in a single command, and how this reinforces the perception of the logical structure of problem solving. Introduction to programming with Máxima: elaboration of basic routines. Exercising insight into the logical structure of problem solving by designing Máxima sections and automating them in a single routine. Exercising conjecture testing and verification and how this can lead to alteration of the elaborate routine, forming a learning cycle. Didactic applications. Besides algebraic computation: (i) discussion of other programming languages (with playful characteristics) that allow didactic applications - the use of the Scratch software; (ii) the use of animations in understanding science and math concepts - the use of the Phet project interfaces.
Construction and Use of Experimental Videos in Science Teaching as a Facilitating Element (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Fundamental concepts of geometric optics, depth of focus and field, numerical aperture, exposure, composition and postprocessing of digital images. Capture and edit moving images, audio and video editing. Subtitle and soundtrack synchronization. Students are evaluated throughout the process so that after 60 hours of work they are ready to design, capture, edit, subtitle and choose soundtracks for genesis of their own problem-based biology teaching videos from experimentation so as to bring moving images and emotion into the classroom.
Experiments, Investigative Practices and Science Teacher Training (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Experiment in science education. Investigative Practices. Relations and differences between experiment and investigative practices. Discussion of existing research proposals in science education. Analysis of existing understandings of science teacher education in / for investigative practices. Construction of activities meeting principles recognized as proper of the investigation process for basic education. Scientific dissemination events as a space for communication of investigative processes generated in training environments.
Introduction to Educational Research Methods and Techniques (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Philosophical assumptions of scientific research; debate between contemporary paradigms of the social sciences; comparing similarities and differences between quantitative and qualitative research; examples and applications of educational research methods; planning and evaluation of educational research.
Playfulness in Science Teaching (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Playfulness, concepts, presentation forms and classifications. Play activities and their importance in the critical and reflective educational process. Educational aspects of the playful categories in science teaching. Playfulness and its contribution in the process of integral formation. Playfulness and the traditional games. Playfulness in the 21st century. Science, playfulness and science education.
Active Learning Methodologies as a Didactic Possibility for Science Teaching (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Problem-based learning - evidence-based learning - problem solving - problematization methodology - investigative experimentation for problem solving (history, characteristics, epistemology and practical application in science and mathematics teaching and learning).
Narrative Research in Science and Mathematics Education (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: The narrative research of teaching in the context of qualitative research in the area of teaching science and mathematics. Epistemological-methodological foundations of narrative research. The multiple 'I's' in narrative research. The plot and the context. Ethics and co-authorship. The multi-referentiality. The narration and the interpretation. (Auto) biographical methods. The place of narrative research in the teaching of science and mathematics in research on the practice itself.
Production of Digital Pedagogical Material for Teaching Science and Mathematics (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Digital literacy of the teacher in the information society. Internet and digital media in science and math education: building Blog, WebQuest, Flog and collaborative environment. TV and video in the classroom: the (re) invention of the teacher; Authoring Software: the subject-student, the subject-teacher. Construction of digital pedagogical material and its respective usage planning.
Group IV
Didactics-Pedagogical Reflection Forums on Learning Scientific Concepts
Didactic-Pedagogical Reflection Forum on Learning Scientific Concepts (2 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: This is a Science Education Forum, a space in which episodes of teaching and learning of scientific content are discussed, preferably occurring in the classroom, seeking to relate to content and discussions present in specific subjects and those related to teaching and learning, which gives rise to reflections on the practice of teaching specific content. In this forum, the contents are listed by the group members (master’s students and professors) at each beginning of the semester. The forum has weekly attendance, lasting 4 hours, over 3 semesters, each with 60 (sixty) Credit Hours and 2 Credit Units, making a total of 180 Credit Hours and 6 Credit Units.
Didactic-Pedagogical Reflection Forum for Learning Mathematical Concepts (2 Credit Units, 60 Credit hours)
Syllabus: This is a Mathematical Education Forum, a space in which episodes of teaching and learning of mathematical content are discussed, preferably occurring in the classroom, seeking to relate to contents and discussions present in specific knowledge subjects and those related to teaching and learning, aiming to reflect on the practice of teaching specific content. In this forum, the contents are listed by the group members (master’s students and professors) at each beginning of the semester. The forum has weekly attendance, lasting 4 hours, over three semesters, each with 60 (sixty) Credit hours and 2 credit units, making a total of 180 credit hours and 6 credit units.
3. Workshops
Specific Content Pedagogical Workshops (1 Credit Units, 20 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Specific content workshops will be offered for the practical treatment of crucial teaching content in Basic Education, such as chemical transformations, chemical kinetics, equilibrium, corrosion, chemical additives, pesticides in foods, number, rule of 3, fraction operations, metabolism, hormones in the human body, etc. Other workshops may deal with the construction of teaching materials such as booklets, video, stories, including not only their construction in terms of authorship, but the use of resources that allow their realization. These workshops may be offered by professors from PGDECIM, or by professionals invited by the Program coordination, meeting specific demands of master's students and advisors. At least one workshop per semester will be offered from the 3rd semester on.