- Athens, Attikí, Greece
- PhD, in Science Education, Department of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens MSc, in Chemistry ... morePhD, in Science Education, Department of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
MSc, in Chemistry Teaching, Department of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Chemical Engineer, National Technical University of Athens
Science and Technology Teacher, Secondary Education, Greeceedit
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to explain how activities focusing on the material culture of science, on science communication and on the contextual approach of scientific topics, created a new tradition for the teaching of... more
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to explain how activities focusing on the material culture of science, on science communication and on the contextual approach of scientific topics, created a new tradition for the teaching of experiment in our school and rendered the science laboratory a pole of attraction for students of different interests and inclinations...https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004499676_012
Research Interests:
Jules Verne would have felt perfectly comfortable amongst the showcases of the laboratory of the historic Gymnasium of Chios , . Everything would be there: the Ruhmkorff coils, the volcanic rocks, the magic lamps permitting to dive... more
Jules Verne would have felt perfectly comfortable amongst the showcases of the laboratory of the historic Gymnasium of Chios , . Everything would be there: the Ruhmkorff coils, the volcanic rocks, the magic lamps permitting to dive safely “in the centre of the earth”, the series of manometers, barometers and thermometers to record the various atmospheric conditions; in other words, every piece of equipment that would be employed by 19th century explorers of nature . Just as Jules Verne was inspired by the scientific instruments of his times , today’s visitor to Chios is equally fascinated by the shape, size and construction materials of the older instruments of the laboratory, dated from Jules Verne’s days. Our visitor easily understands that at the time when these instruments were obtained, science teaching was highly prestigious. Taking the historic laboratory of Chios as our starting point and based on documents and objects related to equally important Greek educational institutions in Smyrna (present day Izmir), Kydonies (present day Ayvalik) and Lesbos, we will reveal aspects of the teaching of science in the region of North Aegean from the beginning of the 19th century until the 1920s. The educational life of this period was seriously interrupted by two events of major national importance, the Greek Revolution and the Greco-Turkish war of 1919-1922 (Asia Minor Catastrophe).
Let’s call upon 19th century travellers to speak…
Let’s call upon 19th century travellers to speak…
Research Interests:
Τα ιστορικά πειράματα ως εργαλεία ανάδειξης διαφορετικών όψεων του πειράματος και μετασχηματισμού του εργαστηρίου φυσικών επιστημών σε «επιστημονικό μουσείο» Περίληψη Αντικείμενο της παρούσας εργασίας είναι να δειχθεί πώς η ιστορική... more
Τα ιστορικά πειράματα ως εργαλεία ανάδειξης διαφορετικών όψεων του πειράματος και μετασχηματισμού του εργαστηρίου φυσικών επιστημών σε «επιστημονικό μουσείο» Περίληψη Αντικείμενο της παρούσας εργασίας είναι να δειχθεί πώς η ιστορική προσέγγιση της διδασκαλίας των φυσικών επιστημών μπορεί να μετασχηματίσει την ζωή του σχολικού εργαστηρίου, προσδίδοντας στην πειραματική διδασκαλία πλούσιο διαθεματικό προσανατολισμό. Σύγχρονοι προβληματισμοί πάνω στα είδη και τη φύση των επιστημονικών οργάνων, τη σχέση τους με την εγκαθίδρυση της πειραματικής επιστήμης, μελέτες πάνω στη φύση και τα είδη των πειραματικών διαδικασιών, θέματα επιστήμης και κοινωνίας μπορούν να αποτελέσουν άξονες για τον ανασχεδιασμό της πειραματικής διδασκαλίας. Ένα τέτοιο εγχείρημα μπορεί να καταστήσει το σχολικό εργαστήριο πόλο έλξης για διαφορετικούς τύπους μαθητών.
Research Interests:
During the last decades there has been a rising interest in the preservation of historical scientific instrument collections and the development of research activities related to them. The role of universities in this enterprise is... more
During the last decades there has been a rising interest in the preservation of historical scientific instrument collections and the development of research activities related to them. The role of universities in this enterprise is prominent and sheds fresh light on the weaving of an interdisciplinary field including science, history of science, and science communication issues. The restoration of eighteenth century physics cabinets and nineteenth century historical laboratories, the reconstruction of historical scientific equipment and experiments, the organization of exhibitions and science communication events, the reconstruction of historical lecture demonstrations, the creation of films and theatrical plays, and the one-line display of scientific instrument collections are only few examples of this multifaceted activity of European universities.
This new importance given to the study of the material culture of science is strongly related to the recent historiographical turn, according to which history of science is not only the history of ideas but also the history of institutions, instruments, experimental processes, and teaching cultures. Giving specific examples from our latest research activity, we will argue for the fact that the scientific instrument heritage of Greek universities bears information of the highest importance for historians of science and science educators.
This new importance given to the study of the material culture of science is strongly related to the recent historiographical turn, according to which history of science is not only the history of ideas but also the history of institutions, instruments, experimental processes, and teaching cultures. Giving specific examples from our latest research activity, we will argue for the fact that the scientific instrument heritage of Greek universities bears information of the highest importance for historians of science and science educators.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Under the new light shed on the historical scientific instruments by the recent science education and history of science research, thousands of historical instruments are regarded as centers of new learning processes. Within this... more
Under the new light shed on the historical scientific instruments by the recent science education and history of science research, thousands of historical instruments are regarded as centers of new learning processes. Within this framework, we will analyze our five-year experience on the designing and realization of a science education programme at the historic 'School of Chios', which, established within the intellectual movement of the pre-Revolutionary period, hosts today a valuable 19 th and early 20 th century scientific instrument collection for educational use. Having as initial points the reasonable visitors' questions " What do these instruments do? " and " How important are they for the history of scientific culture? " we weaved, based on historical scientific documents, a web of stories and experiments around the exhibits and created series of educational scenarios. The air pump, electrostatic generators, vacuum tubes, magnetic compasses, the spectroscope and telescope, became centres of specifically prepared lecture-demonstrations, which, combining narration, audiovisual presentation and performance of experiments, proved able to captivate the interest of more than 4000 visitors – students, teachers and general public – during the period 2003-8. During 2007-8, in situ learning activities and learner-centered projects added an active learning perspective to the museum programme, when school students aged 12-14 and Second Chance School adult learners were invited to identify the instruments, conduct experiments and reconstruct simple equipment, within the framework of two European projects. In parallel, both the lecture-demonstrations and many of the in situ learner-centered projects were supported by the creation of educational material that permitted their use as distance-learning tools.
Research Interests:
The rising interest during recent decades in contextual science teaching contributed to the development of an interdisciplinary field interweaving issues of science, history and philosophy of science, history of education, and history of... more
The rising interest during recent decades in contextual science teaching contributed to the development of an interdisciplinary field interweaving issues of science, history and philosophy of science, history of education, and history of scientific instruments. Within this framework we will describe a science teaching proposal titled " How Would the Earth Be without Air? " aiming at mobilizing a 19 th and early 20 th century scientific instrument collection for educational use. Giving it a form of a lecture-demonstration comprising narration, audiovisual presentation, performance of experiments and discussion games, we lead the participants to realize that different phenomena, such as falling objects, sound, flame, the temperature of boiling water, the shape and colour of the lightning, the colour of the sky, the limitations of water pumps and the takeoff of airplanes are linked with the presence of air and atmospheric pressure. Inspired by the discovery method and the constructivist teaching approach, we develop a continuous transfer back and forth from the museum laboratory to the history of science scene, using as links the experimental observations or the scientific ideas of the participants. Through the proposal content and activities, we reveal aspects of the nature of science, referring to the methodology, the historical development and the dissemination of science. Presented to more than 1300 students and teachers ‒ visitors to the Science Museum of Chios during the period 2004-2008 ‒ the lecture-demonstration proved interesting and was easily followed by participants of different science literacy levels, while it was characterized as enhancing scientific curiosity, imagination and thinking. The software prepared for its presentation permits its use as a distance-learning tool as well.
Research Interests:
Η διδακτική πρόταση αποτελεί εξερεύνηση θεμάτων οπτικής με τη βοήθεια ιστορικών πειραμάτων. Βασιζόμενοι στα σχέδια και τις σημειώσεις του Νεύτωνα, αναπαριστούμε τέσσερα πειράματα που αφορούν στην ανάλυση και στη σύνθεση του λευκού φωτός.... more
Η διδακτική πρόταση αποτελεί εξερεύνηση θεμάτων οπτικής με τη βοήθεια ιστορικών πειραμάτων. Βασιζόμενοι στα σχέδια και τις σημειώσεις του Νεύτωνα, αναπαριστούμε τέσσερα πειράματα που αφορούν στην ανάλυση και στη σύνθεση του λευκού φωτός. Ο τρόπος με τον οποίο ο Νεύτωνας οδηγείται από τη σκέψη στο πείραμα, ελέγχει τις υποψίες του, δημιουργεί νοητικά σχήματα, εξηγεί πειραματικά αποτελέσματα αποτελεί ένα εξαιρετικό εργαλείο ανίχνευσης της φύσης και ειδικότερα της μεθοδολογίας της επιστήμης. Μέσα από τις δραστηριότητες που προτείνουμε, προσπαθούμε να φέρουμε σε επαφή τους μαθητές με το ερευνητικό πνεύμα του Νεύτωνα και να τους μεταφέρουμε κάτι από την ακρίβεια, την απλότητα και την ελευθερία των συλλογισμών του. 1. Το θεωρητικό πλαίσιο Η προσπάθεια εισαγωγής της ιστορίας και φιλοσοφίας της επιστήμης στη διδασκαλία των φυσικών επιστημών μέσα από ιστορικά πειράματα ή ντοκουμέντα ή που αναβιώνουν το ιστορικό πλαίσιο, αποτελεί έναν δημοφιλή και ενδεδειγμένο τρόπο για την ανάδειξη στοιχείων της μεθοδολογίας επιστήμης. Ο Kipnis (Kipnis 1998) προτείνει την εμπλοκή των μαθητών στην πειραματική διαδικασία με τρόπο ώστε να τους φέρει αντιμέτωπους με την επαναανακάλυψη ιστορικών πειραμάτων μέσα από τη διατύπωση ερωτημάτων, την απομόνωση παραμέτρων, την εξαγωγή συμπερασμάτων, και οργανώνει πάνω σ' αυτή την ιδέα πρόγραμμα εκπαίδευσης των καθηγητών. Οι Allchin (Allchin 1999) χρησιμοποιεί την ιστορία της επιστήμης για τη διδασκαλία των φυσικών επιστημών στο επίπεδο της τριτοβάθμιας εκπαίδευσης και εργάζεται στο πρότυπο που προτείνει το βιβλίο ορόσημο του Conant (Conant 1957). Ωστόσο, επιλέγει να εμπλέξει τους φοιτητές σε μια διαδικασία διερεύνησης στην οποία καλούνται να κατασκευάσουν οι ίδιοι ιστορικές πειραματικές συσκευές και να εκτελέσουν με αυτές μετρήσεις και πειράματα. Η Cavicchi (Cavicchi 2006) οδηγεί τους φοιτητές να ανακαλύψουν στοιχεία της ιστορίας και της φύσης της επιστήμης μέσα από ανοιχτές διαδικασίες, τοποθετώντας τους στη θέση του ερευνητή και αφήνοντάς τους να αλληλεπιδράσουν με τα ιστορικά πειράματα και να βρουν το δικό τους μονοπάτι «ανάγνωσης» της
Research Interests:
Η διδακτική πρόταση συνίσταται στην παρουσίαση θεμάτων της παρατηρησιακής αστρονομίας με τη βοήθεια αφήγησης, εκπαιδευτικού λογισμικού και ιστορικών πειραμάτων. Ο σχεδιασμός της βασίστηκε στην παρατήρηση του ουρανού από τον Αύγουστο ως... more
Η διδακτική πρόταση συνίσταται στην παρουσίαση θεμάτων της παρατηρησιακής αστρονομίας με τη βοήθεια αφήγησης, εκπαιδευτικού λογισμικού και ιστορικών πειραμάτων. Ο σχεδιασμός της βασίστηκε στην παρατήρηση του ουρανού από τον Αύγουστο ως τον Σεπτέμβριο του 2006 και στο διάνθισμα των παρατηρήσεων με σελίδες της ιστορίας της αστρονομίας. Αξιοποιεί τη φιλοσοφία της επιστήμης, ανατρέχοντας σε βασικά επιστημονικά ερωτήματα της ιστορίας της αστρονομίας με στόχο την προβολή της επιστημονικής σκέψης ως κουλτούρας. Αποσκοπεί στην κινητοποίηση του ενδιαφέροντος και της περιέργειας μαθητών και ενηλίκων για τις φυσικές επιστήμες. Η διδακτική πρόταση έχει εφαρμοστεί σε 314 άτομα.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Recently we have examined the realistic view of Jules Verne in his novels and the way he incorporates in his texts extensive and accurate scientific information, so that the careful reader could easily recreate representative images of... more
Recently we have examined the realistic view of Jules Verne in his novels and the way he incorporates in his texts extensive and accurate scientific information, so that the careful reader could easily recreate representative images of the 19th century scientific scene by decoding his texts. However as we have also highlighted, Jules Verne’s texts are multilayered. Reality is interweaved with the myth in a virtuosic way. As a kind of modern natural magician, he uses his language as an imaginative kaleidoscope and as a phantasmagoria in order to magnify reality and make it multifaceted. In this paper we will read his Journey to the Center of the Earth as a way to communicate scientific information and at the same time as a passage from cognitive world to the realms of the soul. The heroes slip from the real world to an imaginative land, following their instinct, their knowledge and their ambitions. Their passage from the center of the Earth is a scientific adventure and also a trial for their knowledge, their beliefs and their incentives. In parallel, it constitutes an alchemical transmutation our perception. Jules Verne guides us to project the idol of contemporary man and science on a sheet of multiple queries and helps us to distinguish the various cultural links between myth, science, nature and man.
Research Interests:
Jules Verne in his “Journey to the center of the earth”, equips his explorers with portable Geissler tubes, equipment that permits them to pass safely through underground galleries of inflammable gases. Inspired by the Ruhmkorff coil and... more
Jules Verne in his “Journey to the center of the earth”, equips his explorers with portable Geissler tubes, equipment that permits them to pass safely through underground galleries of inflammable gases. Inspired by the Ruhmkorff coil and the vacuum tubes technology, he offers accurate information about the operation of the tubes. He gives exact and realistic information about the specific instrument his heroes carry. He also informs the reader that “Mr. Ruhmkorff … has just obtained, in 1864, the prize of 50,000 francs that France awards every five years for the most ingenious application of electricity”. All this information is the prelude to his imaginative center of the earth, lighted by a huge aurora phenomenon: “If I was able to look so far across this sea, it was because of a special light… No, the luminous power of this light, its flickering diffusion, its clear dry whiteness, the lowness of its temperature, its brilliance, superior even to the moon’s, all pointed to an electrical origin. It was like an aurora borealis, a continuous cosmic phenomenon, filling this cavern big enough to hold an ocean”.
The fact that Jules Verne imagination is deeply rooted in reality makes his novels a valuable source for the study of the 19th century scientific scenery, as well as for the study of the links between 19th century science and society. In this paper we will explore the way we weaved a science communication scenario for the exploration of a 19th century scientific instrument collection with the help of Jules Verne texts combined with historical scientific documents and experiments.
The fact that Jules Verne imagination is deeply rooted in reality makes his novels a valuable source for the study of the 19th century scientific scenery, as well as for the study of the links between 19th century science and society. In this paper we will explore the way we weaved a science communication scenario for the exploration of a 19th century scientific instrument collection with the help of Jules Verne texts combined with historical scientific documents and experiments.