Most research on emotions and behaviors in science education has used observational or declarative methods. These approaches present certain strengths, but they have important limitations for deepening our understanding of the affective domain. In this work, we develop a method for analyzing the dynamics of affective variables during an inquiry-based activity with an artificial intelligence system that recognizes facial expressions. Although the study was carried out on 12 students, here we analyze data from one person to describe the method in detail. The videos were processed with a software which outputs behavioral and emotional signals. To analyze them, we applied centered moving averages with different widths. This allowed us to align and interpret the dynamics of emotional, behavioral, and learning actions. We found spikes of Surprise when the student seemingly implemented their models, and their predictions were not met. Our analysis suggests the existence of four phases in the inquiry-based activity with specific dynamic profiles. This work lays the foundations for researchers and teachers to develop tools to monitor emotions and behaviors.

Temperature maintenance and detection are essential for the survival and perpetuation of any species. This review is focused on thermosensation; thus a detailed and traced explanation of the anatomical and physiological characteristics of each component of this sensation is given. First, the proteins that react to temperature changes are identified; next, the nature of the neurons involved in thermosensation is described; and then, the pathways from the skin through the spinal cord to the brain are outlined. Finally, the areas of the brain and their interconnections where thermoperception arises are explained. Transduction of the external and internal temperature information is essentially mediated by the transient receptor potential ion channels (TRPs). These proteins are embedded in the neurons’ membrane and they hyper- or de-polarize neurons in function of the intrinsic voltage and the temperature changes. There are distinct TRP sensors for different temperature ranges. Interestingly, the primary afferent neurons have either cold or hot receptors, so they are dedicated separately to cold or hot sensation. The information is transmitted by different pathways from the skin to the brain, where it either remains separated or is integrated to generate a response. It seems that both the determination of how thermoperception is produced and how we interact with the world are dependent on the particular arrangement and nature of the components, the way of transduction of information and the communication between these elements.

Do pre-service teachers have the same beliefs in superstitions and pseudoscience as the members of their generation? We expect so, because they are slightly different in at least two of the variables that explain differences, namely family income and level of studies, and also, normatively, because beliefs among teaching staff appear to be a key matter in the scientific literacy of citizens. In this work, we compare data from the general public of the same age to our sample of 578 pre-service teachers from five Spanish universities, using the same questionnaire. Multivariate regression analysis is then used to study the factors that affect defence of such beliefs and the differences between pre-service teachers and their age group. We have found that, on the contrary to what was expected, beliefs among pre-service teachers are not far from those of their age group in the population at large. Within that relatively homogenous group, a favourable attitude toward pseudoscience and superstition mainly depends on their educational level and basic knowledge of science, but that knowledge probably depends on their spontaneous interest in scientific matters and a prior favourable attitude. These results have implications in training scientific teachers and in the scientific literacy of the population. Thus, we must consider such non-scientific beliefs when designing classroom proposals and when communicating scientific content in social contexts.

An in-depth understanding of pre-service primary teachers’ progression towards teaching science through inquiry is critical for improving teacher education programmes and, ultimately, improving the...

El estudio de la influencia de las emociones en el aprendizaje es una tendencia emergente en la investigación en didáctica de las ciencias. Varios trabajos han demostrado la función crítica que desempeñan las emociones en el proceso de la enseñanza y el aprendizaje. Por tanto, es determinante que, tanto profesores como alumnos, dispongan de los conocimientos necesarios para poder controlarlas y gestionarlas. En este trabajo se presenta una actividad de aprendizaje por indagación en la que se analizaron las emociones mostradas por los estudiantes. La propuesta fue implementada con alumnos de la Facultad de Educación-CFP-UCM, divididos en grupos de observadores y observados. Los observadores realizaron un registro de las emociones que mostraban sus compañeros durante las diferentes fases de la indagación del contenido de una «caja negra». Para ello, utilizaron un formulario, disponible mediante enlace a docs.google.com. El análisis muestra que la frustración y la confusión son las emociones detectadas con la frecuencia más alta en este tipo de trabajo de indagación. Además, las manifestaciones de los distintos tipos de emociones muestran un flujo emocional relacionado con las fases de la indagación. Este trabajo confirma la importancia de las emociones activadoras -positivas y negativas- para la realización de tareas de aprendizaje; también, nos anima a promover la inclusión de la capacidad de gestión de las emociones en la formación docente.