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Presented by Maria Elizabeth Gastal Fassa, Anaclaudia Gastal Fassa, Neice Müller Xavier Faria at the Public Engagement Workshop, 2-5 Dec. 2008, KwaZulu-Natal South Africa, http://scienceincommunity.wordpress.com/
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Maria Elizabeth Gastal FassaAnaclaudia Gastal FassaNeice Müller Xavier Faria
The importance of understanding the learning process when trying to improve public engagement with health research
5a CRE
Outubro,2008
Human being wonders, thinks, and learns
It is a natural part of being human to look at the world around us and wonder to build questions
It is a natural part of being human try to make sense of all we see, hear, notice to search for answers
It is a natural part of being human to learn to harvest data, to compare, to classify, to conclude
Life is learning, we only survive if we learn if we research
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Learning is essential to survive
to make sense of the environment to be able to deal with it
for the own sake of the mind functioning
Stimuli are the mind’s nutrition. If a human being does not have this nutrition he/she perishes (as the child in hospitalism)
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Sometimes learning does not occur
This natural feature of the human being, the impulse for learning, is sometimes distorted
when it is overruled
there is no space
for the own sake of the mind functioning
to make questions
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Sometimes learning does not occur
This natural feature of the human being, the impulse for learning, is sometimes distorted
when the information is transmitted, is imposed
there is no space
to make sense of the environment
to search for answers myself
The human being does not learn does not harvest data, compare, nor classify, does not conclude
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Learning is a construction
learning requires
effort / willingness it is not a neutral act
a question that awakes the natural sense of wonder, the natural impulse to make sense
a question with which for some reason I identify myself
Learning requires motivation / engagement
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Learning / Engagement
Learning requires engagement without engagement it is only possible to repeat mechanically some algorithms
Engagement is a learning process the engagement arises as part of the knowledge construction
It is like two faces of the same coin
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Teaching / Learning
Traditional education
each one plays own role inside fixed rules fixed and universal curriculum evaluation through tests
stereotyped behaviors teacher teaches what he/she already knows student hear and answer what is expected There is no dialogue, no space for surprise, creation
Teacher pretends to teach and student pretends to learn, there is no real learning
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Teaching / Learning
Participatory education (Paulo Freire / Montessori)
Student builds own knowledge
Teacher organizes environment, stimuli, learning opportunities
Teacher and students are learning partners and lifelong learners
Different power distribution. Different distribution of active roles. Different process’ subject.
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Scientific knowledge communication / traditional culture communication
Scientific knowledge communication think about grand parents’ time
classrooms conference hall
front pulpits low level audience seats one person exposing his/her abstract knowledge
There is not engagement, there is not knowledge building Similar to traditional education Still the most common
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Scientific knowledge communication / traditional culture communication
Traditional culture communication
people sit in a circle at the same level
opportunities for eye contact
personal experience reported through stories
emotion communicated
There is engagement and knowledge building Similar to the new participatory approach for scientific
communication, as the “scientific cafés”
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Teaching / Learning
Human beings are not teachable
Human beings starve for learning
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Amount of available information
It would be impossible for each human being to make the whole path humanity walked in the knowledge evolution, to master all available information
The process of building fundamental concepts, universal values of culture, not having those superimposed, is the basis for understanding any other piece of human knowledge
Using the basis of the fundamental concepts and universal values for critical thinking, it is possible to make any part of this knowledge a personal property/feature through engagement and learning
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What makes people engage and learn?
Person must be subject in the learning/engagement process. Both are processes of subjectivity construction
The process must be self-referenced, people need to have the opportunity to identify themselves with it
Engagement and learning are personal construction, they are effective only from inside, does not work from outside
Engagement and learning imply incorporation, appropriation, “make it mine”
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Transforming information into personal knowledge
One way to transform information in personal knowledge is acting over the information
bringing it to our ground
comparing universal data with our community’s data
comparing stories with the ones we know from people around us
Researching in our community, building opinion and making decisions, choices
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Difference between academic research and engaged learning
Academic research is universal, impersonal, general the number included in the research is anyone no one sees oneself as that specific number
Engaged learning self-referred, particular,
the number is myself, my students, persons with names and faces
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What we are doing
Working with rural teachers
chosen topic: Pesticides
a teachers’ real concern
a teachers’ experiential knowledge
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Methodology
dialogue based on the teachers knowledge about their community and the researcher team knowledge about the universal aspects of the issue research chain
research team representative teachers teachers in the schools students community
every chain’s link will follow all research steps
to build a question to create an instrument to collect data to analyse data to write report
Everyone will be a responsible participant that will have voice to construct a process that is cultural, sociological, political and economical
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Actions resultants from teacher’s research
To divulgate research’s findings and promote better
practices when using pesticides these chain will develop
activities interventions printed materials videos radio programs
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First question
What is the profile of pesticides use in my community?
To become engaged the person needs to identify him/herself with the issue. The “number” is myself, is my student…
The question makes the focus self-referenced
It is important to be aware that from this general question can arise different specific questions that will be the central question of the research of one of the chain’s link.
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We need to be “glocals”.
Contextualize the research to the
community.
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Teacher research
Bridge between the global knowledge and the local context
Focus on question of the community’s specific interest Turns the research from
“general”, not referring to anyone that is next to me to an issue referred to people with faces and names
Teacher researches own reality
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Research word that scares
Research is a state of mind completely aware willing to live entirely the present willing changes, searching solutions instead of “letting
it be” In some sense everybody researches ➠ children
research incessantly Children knows how to approach father or mother
“maybe = no” and “eventually = yes”
Research gives us control over our environment
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Demystifying...
Every teacher has questions searches for solutions tries strategies takes conclusions
researches, even not writing the report …
in the same way as mothers and cookers and everybody who loves their own work do
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Demystifying...
Good teachers Observe the student Analyze his/her needs Adjust the curriculum to meet these needs
Teacher research is a natural extension of the good pedagogical practice. So, we begin where the teachers have ground
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Teacher research
Systematic process to discover essential questions gather data analyze them to answer the questions
personal and real questions
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My questionAnswer makes
difference in my daily life
Teacher Research
In relation to public engagement, aims deeper reflection better comprehension of the reality better comprehension of the students the habit of systemic thinking the habit of writing thoughts and observations to
compare and follow processes to be a learning model to the students, involving students
in research
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Reports on teacher research
Similar to good literature
Rich in anecdotes and personal stories Immediate, first-person tone Metaphors as a way to highlight key findings Stories as critical tools to illuminate deeper theories or
subterranean processes
These are reports that teachers read and information they use in their classrooms!
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Teacher’s interest to be a “bridge”
To be heard To have voice in the decisions that affect their
community To better support their community in the search for life’s
quality
Numbers are the base for the government decisions Quantitative reports are not useful as model, they do
not promote identification
Many times stories can be completed with quantitative tables
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Social interest in having teacher as “bridge”
Human beings “story tellers” learn and pass on culture through stories
Attitudes are modeled only in a “personal” and meaningful context
Teachers are able to integrate research findings important for our communities in personal and meaningful contexts➠ transforming them in stories, making them attractive for public engagement
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Student research
Learning through project = through research excellent outcomes
Students questions naturally personal and in the context can be inserted in the curriculum
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Teacher research/ student research
Search answers through research
Write reports on their process
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Teacher’s research outcomes
engagement of teachers and students on health research community’s use of research findings for bettering people life
best practices when using pesticides empowerment of teachers and students
the generalization of an attached to reality, investigative, critical and systematic approach to other relevant issues in the community
understanding about the potential impact of health research on the improvement of their life
more openness to use other scientific knowledge
Teacher’s research is a powerful tool that will bring teacher to another level of thinking and will be available to these teachers from now on to continue researching
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“Glocal” research leads to changes in attitudes
Reasons why teacher research brings changes the teacher natural leadership
the teacher and research integration in the context
his/her direct relationship with his/her students
The teacher will translate his/her conclusions to the community not only with numbers, but also with the tissue of the life of the observed with stories
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“Glocal” research leads to changes in attitudes
Reasons why student research brings changes the question is personal and contextualized
the adolescents are building attitudes and behaviors and will stand on their discoveries for this building
they are open minded
they have influence over their parents behavior and ideas
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Education / public engagement
education fosters public engagement public engagement fosters education
promoting critically and systemic thinking bringing thinking to a formal level
All children should fulfill their own potential Children engagement with research and children health
awareness, since very little, foster a formal level of thinking Leading to education equity health equity➠
Obviously we would not see the results in short term, but these results would be incredibly worth
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Maria Elizabeth Gastal [email protected]