Scientific literacy (SL) and critical thinking (CT) are key components of science education aiming to prepare students to think and to function as responsible citizens in a world increasingly affected by science and technology (S&T). Therefore, students should be given opportunities in their science classes to be engaged in learning experiences that promote SL and CT, which may trigger the need to build and develop knowledge, attitudes/values, thinking abilities, and standards/criteria in an integrated way, resulting in their ability to know how to take responsible action in contexts and situations of personal and social relevance. This paper reports on a study to design, implement, and assess science learning experiences focused on CT toward SL goal. Results support the conclusion that the learning experiences developed and implemented in a grade 6 science classroom had a significant influence on the students' CT and SL. Within this elementary school context, the theoretical framework used appears to be a relevant and practical aid for developing learning experiences that promote CT/SL and in supporting teaching practices that are more in line with the goals of critical scientific literacy.

IntrodUçãoHoje é amplamente aceite o carácter crucial e imprescindível da intervenção da escola na promoção da literacia científica e matemática das crianças e jovens para que todos os cidadãos possam participar activa e adequadamente no planeamento e resolução de problemas e necessidades pessoais, profissionais e sociais, de forma que viabilize o desenvolvimento de modos de vida produtivos, mais justos e democráticos. Com efeito, documentos de referência internacional, de que é exemplo o relatório Science education now: a renewed pedagogy for the future of Europe (Rocard et al., 2007), têm aturadamente frisado a necessidade de uma educação em ciências, tecnologia e matemática capaz de desenvolver ideias e maneiras científicas de pensar e de reforçar a uma cultura baseada em pensamento racional de modo que habilite cada cidadão a viver e trabalhar numa sociedade do conhecimento.A necessidade de promover, de forma eficaz, uma formação geral dos cidadãos no domínio da ciência e da matemática numa perspectiva de literacia reflectiu-se e continua a reflectir-se em revisões curriculares. De entre as propostas curriculares para o ensino das ciências numa perspectiva de literacia, destaca-se o Project 2061: science for all americans (Ciência para todos) (Rutherford; Ahlgren, 1990)

No quadro da atual reorganização curricular do Ensino Básico português, salienta-se a idéia de que o ensino das ciências deve ser visto, acima de tudo, como promotor da literacia científica. Nesse sentido, a perspectiva CTS deverá constituir o eixo integrador e globalizante da organização e da aquisição de conhecimentos e do desenvolvimento de capacidades de pensamento. Mas qualquer inovação, reforma ou reorganização curricular obriga a equacionar a formação de professores, enquanto a questão central da inovação curricular residir sobretudo no que os professores vão fazer das orientações curriculares para o ensino das ciências na sala de aula. Neste artigo, pretende-se dar conta de um estudo desenvolvido com a finalidade de descrever e analisar os contributos de um programa de formação continuada de professores na construção de práticas CTS. Dos resultados obtidos, concluiu-se que o programa de formação contribuiu para que os professores envolvidos promovessem práticas didáticopedagógicas com orientação CTS.

Purpose The research aims to evaluate whether this educational approach is being implemented in a Portuguese public university and looking for explicit references to education for sustainable development (ESD) in the online descriptions of course units (CU). Design/methodology/approach The research design adopted for this qualitative research follows the principles of a case study with exploratory, multiple and collective features. Findings It was possible to find direct matches with key ESD expressions in fifteen of CU. In addition, nine CU were identified in the second stage of analysis of the teacher training master programmes. Research limitations/implications One of the limitations of this study which the authors identified, and which was responsible for considerably reducing the probability of finding matches, was that only results in which the key expressions appeared in the description of the CU in exactly the same form as in the research instrument were recorded. Practical implications The need for an educational programme for teachers to be developed and implemented in the near future. Social implications A training workshop will be proposed with the main aim of supporting teaching staff in making the necessary shift in their pedagogical practices to include a ESD orientation in their CU. Originality/value The instrument eveloped that appears in Appendix - Analysis Tool with key ESD expressions.

Science education become one prioritie of modern societies, with the purpose of forming scientifically literate youth and adults. They play an active role in solving the problems existing in society, making critical and informed decisions. In this paper we discuss the need for scientifically literate citizens and the relevance of practical work as a key strategy for science learning in the early years. We'll describe the investigative process which supported in real-life educational contexts of a set of Didactic Strategies. We'll focus on the results of the 'Materials Lotto' detailing the results in science teaching and learning in kindergarten. The results show that children mobilize a wide array of skills and attitudes/ beliefs, showing scientific knowledge at different degrees of complexity. We concluded that practical work in science education in the early years is an effective strategy for science teaching and learning, as groundwork for future science literacy of kindergarten children.

Recent literature suggests that the development of cognitive skills should constitute explicit learning objectives in design education. The work describes an educational intervention designed with the intention of promoting the creative and critical thinking performance of a group of Portuguese design students. To this end, creativity and critical thinking tests, pre and post intervention, were applied to the experimental group and to a control group. The intervention was based on two fundamental theoretical assumptions: (1) students' thinking skills can be promoted by the introduction of Design Thinking as a learning content, and (2) this work should be complemented by the promotion of students' metacognitive reflection. Comparing the learning process, by analogy, with a backpack journey, a Logbook concept as an educational tool to potentially promote students' self-reflection was developed. Compared with the control group, results indicate a positive evolution of creative thinking skills in the experimental group.

The present paper is part of a wider study, focussed on the development of a digital educational resource for Science Education in primary school, integrating an Educational Data Mining framework. The proposed conceptual framework aims to infer the impact of the adopted learning approach for the development of scientific competences and students' self-regulated learning. Thus, students' exploration of learning sequences and students' behaviour towards available help, formative feedback and recommendations will be analysed. The framework derives from the proposed learning approach, as well as from the literature review. Before introducing it, the authors present an overview of the digital educational resource learning approach and the adopted Educational Data Mining methods. Finally, we present the proposed conceptual Educational Data Mining framework for Science Education, focussing its relevance on the development of students' scientific competences and self-regulated learning.

The development of meaningful environments at school for the learning of Science as well as of foreign languages is an educational concern. CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning), aimed at the students’ acquisition of both the foreign Language and specific subject Content, is an approach that may promote the learning of English in use during subject classes and could result in the improvement of conditions and practices of Science education. Research, actually, reveals that teaching methodologies aware of language – such as CLIL – and other semiotic modes implied in Science are beneficial for the learning of Science. Studying a CLIL programme (“English Plus” project, EP), in which Science is taught/learnt with/in English, is thus relevant. A case study on the EP project and its participants (English and Science teachers, students involved in different school years) in one lower secondary state school in Portugal was carried out. In the present research, qualitative data collected through teacher interviews are presented and discussed, with the goal of understanding the role of Language(s) (verbal language in the mother tongue or English and other representation modalities) in the teaching of Science for EP teachers, both in conventional and project classes. A greater teacher awareness and use of Language(s), when an additional language (English, here) is also present for Science education, results from this work. This contributes to research on CLIL Science studies and teacher reflections on adopting a language-focused approach for Science education, also when the mother tongue is spoken. Keywords: CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning), EFL (English as a foreign language), language-focused science education, qualitative design, reflections on teaching.