Plant awareness disparity (PAD), formerly known as plant blindness, refers to the fact of overlooking or failing to perceive plants, perhaps due to poor ‘species literacy’. Despite numerous efforts made by scientists and educators over the years, PAD is still present in students at all educational levels. An assessment was carried out on 259 students from primary school to university in the Spanish education system to evaluate their species literacy, especially regarding local flora and fauna, its possible improvement across educational levels, and to assess whether PAD was a reality among students. A biased perception towards animals was confirmed with strong statistical support. Animals were recognized and identified more than plants at all educational levels. Even if a positive correlation for animal-plant literacy was found, the values were weak. Although the curricula set out content and learning outcomes related to local environment and flora, their teaching has been proven to be unsatisfactory. The recently implemented curricula have the mission to reverse this trend, which can be done by improving students’ interest in plants through specific educational programs and activities, as well as comprehensive training in the field of botany and the effective implementation of activities for current and future educators.

El objetivo principal de esta investigación fue analizar los recursos TIC y las metodologías didácticas utilizadas por los profesores de secundaria antes y durante el estado de alarma decretado por el estado español para combatir el COVID-19, así como la opinión del profesorado sobre su propia formación en competencias digitales. La recogida de información se realizó a través de un cuestionario diseñado ad hoc dirigido a todo el profesorado de Biología y Geología de la comunidad autónoma Castilla y León que impartía docencia en centros de ESO, Bachillerato y/o Formación Profesional durante el curso académico 2019/2020 (n=145). Los resultados obtenidos muestran que el uso de TIC aumentó considerablemente durante el estado de alarma permitiendo la adaptación de la programación didáctica y la metodología. Los docentes encuestados consideraron que su uso facilitó el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje, sin embargo, un alto porcentaje aseguraron no tener la formación ni los recursos necesarios. Nuestro estudio también sugiere la existencia de una brecha digital en el sistema educativo español ya que un elevado porcentaje de los docentes indicaron que no todos sus alumnos disponían de los medios y/o la formación necesaria para utilizar entornos virtuales de aprendizaje o herramientas virtuales de comunicación educativa.

Resumo: Tal como a nível internacional, também em Portugal é grande a importância atribuída ao manual escolar, reconhecido como um dos recursos mais utilizado por professores e alunos. Por isso, o manual escolar converteu-se num objeto de estudo de diversas investigações no âmbito da Didática das Ciências. Uma das linhas de investigação diz respeito ao enfoque Ciência-Tecnologia-Sociedade-Ambiente (CTSA), considerado por muitos investigadores como uma das tendências atuais do ensino das ciências capaz de desenvolver a literacia científica dos alunos. Neste estudo, essencialmente qualitativo, construiu-se e aplicou-se um instrumento de análise para perceber se os manuais escolares portugueses de Ciências Naturais do 6.º ano exploram os conteúdos científicos relacionando-os com a tecnologia, a sociedade e o ambiente e se apresentam atividades de índole CTSA. Os resultados mostram que o enfoque CTSA está incorporado nos manuais analisados, mas de forma insuficiente e pouco explorada.

In this paper, we analyse the conceptual and procedural difficulties that university students of the Primary Education Degree have about respiratory physiology. To carry out this study a questionnaire was designed in order to assess the knowledge of these future teachers before and after studying the first subject of natural sciences of the degree. The results obtained revealed that the surveyed students have a low level of knowledge about the subject before their arrival at university, which became more evident when they were subjected to procedural and/or comprehension exercises. It has also been found that after completing the subject course, the level of knowledge increases significantly; however, there are still basic conceptual errors and a notable deficit in certain skills or competences on the part of these students that must be resolved.

Teachers' subject matter knowledge is a substantive component of the teaching-learning process. For a teacher to be able to transform and integrate into the classroom all the knowledge and experience they have acquired in the course of the professional activity, it is first necessary to acquire a deep and solid knowledge of the matter. The aim of the research was to analyse the understanding that pre-service teachers have about the physiology and anatomy of the human body. The alternative conceptions that pre-service teachers held about the nutritional function in living beings were also explored. The research was conducted on a biology course of the Primary Education Bachelor’s Degree during the 2018/2019 academic year. Drawings and open-ended questions were collected from 96 pre-service teachers. The results reveal that the students surveyed have limited knowledge of the subject before entering university. The use of drawing proved to be an excellent tool for detecting previous conceptions and evaluating the progression made by the students in their learning. Numerous alternative conceptions were identified among the students, thus demonstrating the need to think about the scientific methodology used to teach these contents. Keywords: alternative conceptions, human body, human nutrition, pre-service teacher’s drawings, subject matter knowledge