Health Science

The Proposal
The proposal for the Graduate Program in Science Teaching, in the Science and Mathematics Teaching concentration area, involves professionals from Science, Mathematics and Pedagogy fields. The courses aim to create scientific knowledge able to contribute directly to the training of Science and Mathematics educators allowing, according to its curricular structure, multi-interdisciplinary approaches of respective current contents, experimental and laboratorial research techniques applied to teaching, as well as the study of new information and communication technologies application to the teaching. Based on the course’s objective and student’s profile, the proposal aims to prioritize the production of academic research in the areas of Science and Mathematics, either integrating technology or not. It also involves the training of teachers’ educators, especially in the context of bachelor’s degree in education in the areas of Science, Mathematics and Pedagogy, aiming at generating knowledge for teachers who will work with higher education, highly committed to act critically and relying on up-to-date research in their area of activity.
Areas of Concentration: Science and Mathematics Teaching
 
Target Audience:
The Graduate Program in Science Teaching, at the master’s and doctoral levels, is open to professionals in the areas of Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics, who work at various levels of education, as well as professionals from related areas who want to dedicate themselves to research in teaching.
 
About the Master’s and Doctorate Program in Science and Mathematics Teaching
Recommended by CAPES in 2007, the academic-nature Science Teaching Program of Cruzeiro do Sul University belongs to the Teaching Area. It comprises master’s courses in Science Teaching and Doctorate in Science and Mathematics Teaching, all within the same area of concentration. Located at Liberdade campus, it concentrates research activities and graduate programs in addition to a number of undergraduate courses.
With recognized nationwide reference in the professional training and qualification of teachers, the Program is committed to educational and social demands, as well as to the development of research in the area of Science and Mathematics Teaching. The Program investigates and generates knowledge in the field of teaching and promotes the integration between teaching, research, and extension. It focuses deeply on the training of master’s and doctors to act as transforming agents both in Basic Education – which encompasses pre to high school in Brazil- and in Higher Education, especially in bachelor’s degrees in education courses, in addition to meeting the social demands and educational challenges in this beginning of century. It produces debates and analyses of official documents that are central for the curriculum guidance and teacher training such as the so-called Base Nacional Comum Curricular ( BNCC), the Curriculum National Common Base, for the training of Elementary Education teachers and the Curricular Reform of High School.
The actions carried out in the Program involve the production of theoretical and methodological knowledge, both in the development of research and in the preparation, analysis and assessment of curricular materials (didactic material), as well as in scientific initiation and dissemination processes and in various advisory services to bodies that promote public policies for the teaching of Science and Mathematics.
Scientific knowledge related to formal and non-formal learning spaces, with theoretical and methodological quality and applicability in society, is also developed in the Program. Relevant topics such as innovation, knowledge construction and impacts of its actions as well as strengthening of the area are also discussed.
In line with the institutional mission set up in the Plano de Desenvolvimento Institucional (PDI) 2024-2028, (the Institutional Development Plan), the Program connects with the “Participation in the process of construction and dissemination of knowledge and culture, in a creative and innovative way, making them affordable to the society and contributing to the development of the human being in all its potentialities, thus promoting regional changes and national and international discussion through teaching, research, and extension” (PDI 2024-2028, p.19).
The actions of the Program support the institutional Mission as they transit between basic science and the application of the knowledge produced, allowing to make the Program affordable to society and contributive to advances in the school and academic spheres.
The University’s vision is “To be a national and international reference in professional training and qualification, committed to socio-environmental responsibility, social demands and the country’s development” (PDI 2024-2028, p. 20). The Program shares this vision in the sense of being a local, regional, and national reference in the training and qualifications of students with responsibility and academic criteria, seeking to meet the emerging social demands of Basic and Higher Education, as well as developing quality education in the country.
The aforementioned PDI (p.20) indicates the University’s Values: Ethics, Transparency, Innovation, Responsibility, Respect for identity and diversity, as well as Social Commitment.
Such values are treasured by the Program which prioritizes mainly Ethics, Innovation and Transparency in research, in addition to social responsibility, especially in regard to Basic Education, respect for the identity and diversity of students, not to mention the social commitment to the academic community and the social community which the research is carried out in, always giving feedback to the communities involved.
 
Objectives and purposes
The PDI 2024-2028 points out the aims and objectives of the University (p. 22 and 23) and highlight is given here to the objectives that directly or indirectly refer to Graduate Studies: continuously search for quality and sustainability in the scope of teaching, research, extension, distance education and academic management; Increase the search for research and extension funding; Encourage and implement mechanisms that promote the internationalization process through partnerships and academic mobility at the undergraduate and graduate levels; Promote the restructuring of academic-administrative processes, seeking efficiency, agility and ease of access to data and information; Search for strategies and resources that allow continuous monitoring of students; Ensure that the institutional assessment process, together with the various assessments, favors the advancement of all academic activities; Involve the faculty and students in activities related to the teaching/research/extension trinomial, in the face-to-face and distance modalities; Generate knowledge and services that guarantee the University’s performance in society; Expand extension and culture actions; Stimulate differentiated and innovative proposals for undergraduate and graduate education for both face-to-face and distance modality.
The objectives proposed by the Program, as described in the next paragraph, comply with the objectives mentioned in Institution’s PDI in the previous paragraph.
* Develop research that transits between academic knowledge generated by investigations and its application in educational processes at all levels of education, oriented towards social demands as well as local, regional, and national needs;
** Develop research of an interdisciplinary nature, focusing on new teaching methodologies and support of digital technologies, which contribute to the improvement of basic and higher education and to the professional development of the teacher who works in areas of knowledge related to the Program;
* Develop research oriented towards the promotion of reading and writing skills, scientific and mathematical literacy, as well as the use of digital technologies that contribute to creating mechanisms of interaction between doing and teaching Science and Mathematics;
* Train teachers and researchers to work and research in the Basic and Higher Education level (especially in bachelor’s degrees courses), within areas of knowledge involved in the Program, thus promoting changes in these teaching segments;
* Contribute and intervene in the process of initial and continuing teacher training, both in formal and non-formal teaching contexts.
In addition to complying with the University objectives described in the PDI, the aforementioned Program objectives are in line with the profile of students and graduates (professors who work with Basic and/or higher education) and are connected with the area of concentration, research lines and projects of the Program current curricular structure.
 
Research Areas
Construction of Knowledge in Teaching and Learning of Science, Mathematics, and their Technologies:
The given line proposes studies and research on conceptual, theoretical, and methodological aspects related to the teaching of Science, Mathematics, and their Technologies. It studies and investigates the epistemological, scientific, cultural , social, environmental, and inclusive foundations associated with the production of knowledge. It comprises innovative, contemporary perspectives and trends aimed at formal and non-formal teaching and learning environments. It aims at the training of critical and scientifically competent individuals to exercise citizenship. Several approaches and methodologies are included in the investigations which impact the betterment of learning at all levels of teaching.
 
Curriculum, Assessment, and Teacher’s Training for the Science and Mathematics Teaching
This line of research intends to bring together studies whose themes are associated with the field of curriculum, assessment and teacher training, considering different theoretical and methodological approaches. Curriculum research comprises different approaches and multiple dimensions such as the analysis of curricula in different curricular instances, the production of curricular materials, and even the practices involved in curriculum development in schools. It presents discussions about conceptions and assessment practices developed in the school environment or affecting it, therefore influencing curricular practices. Research in this theme also involves training processes (initial and continuing) of Science and Mathematics teachers, considering contemporary trends in the teaching of such area, theoretical and methodological references of face-to-face or distance teacher training, as well as their implications in these areas of Teaching. It encompasses the specificities of the training process mediated by technologies and the use of technological resources in the teaching of Science and Mathematics. It investigates and evaluates Virtual Teaching-Learning Environments, Computational Thinking, Artificial Intelligence, Educational Games and other digital artifacts in Science and Mathematics Teaching. Finally, the line includes investigative and intercultural studies in the disciplinary, multi and interdisciplinary perspectives in the field of Basic Education, Higher Education and Non-formal Education.
 
Líneas de Investigación
Construcción del conocimiento en la enseñanza y aprendizaje de la ciencia, las matemáticas y sus tecnologías.
La línea propone estudios e investigaciones sobre aspectos conceptuales, teóricos y metodológicos relacionados con la enseñanza de la Ciencia, las Matemáticas y sus Tecnologías. Estudia e investiga los fundamentos epistemológicos, científicos, culturales, sociales, ambientales e inclusivos asociados a la producción de conocimiento. Comprende perspectivas y tendencias innovadoras y contemporáneas orientadas a entornos de enseñanza y aprendizaje formales y no formales. Su objetivo es la formación de individuos críticos y científicamente competentes para ejercer la ciudadanía. En las investigaciones se incluyen varios enfoques y metodologías que influyen en la mejora del aprendizaje en todos los niveles de enseñanza.
 
Currículo, Evaluación y Formación de Profesores en Enseñanza de Ciencias y Matemáticas
Esta línea de investigación pretende reunir estudios cuyos temas están asociados con el ámbito del currículo, la evaluación y la formación docente, considerando diferentes enfoques teóricos y metodológicos. La investigación curricular comprende diferentes enfoques y múltiples dimensiones, como el análisis de planes de estudio en distintas instancias curriculares, la elaboración de materiales curriculares e incluso las prácticas implicadas en el desarrollo curricular en las escuelas. Presenta debates sobre concepciones y prácticas de evaluación desarrolladas en el entorno escolar o que lo afectan, influyendo así en las prácticas curriculares. La investigación en este tema también implica procesos de formación (inicial y continua) de profesores de Ciencias y Matemáticas, teniendo en cuenta las tendencias contemporáneas en la enseñanza de dichas áreas, referencias teóricas y metodológicas de la formación presencial o a distancia, así como sus implicaciones en estas áreas de la enseñanza. Abarca las especificidades del proceso formativo mediado por tecnologías y el uso de recursos tecnológicos en la enseñanza de Ciencias y Matemáticas. Investiga y evalúa entornos virtuales de enseñanza-aprendizaje, pensamiento computacional, inteligencia artificial, juegos educativos y otros artefactos digitales en la enseñanza de la ciencia y las matemáticas. Finalmente, la línea incluye estudios investigativos e interculturales en perspectivas disciplinares, múltiples e interdisciplinarias en el ámbito de la Educación Básica, la Educación Superior y la Educación No Formal.