Scientific explanation in a science classroom. Some didactic considerations from students’ explanations
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55767/2451.6007.v33.n2.35199Keywords:
School scientific explanations, Teaching practices, Semantic dimension, Levels of conceptualizationAbstract
The work is oriented by two questions: what are the characteristics of the explanations formulated by secondary education students
and how to define criteria for analyzing them and teach them to future teachers, as inputs for didactic intervention. The research
adopts a qualitative perspective and an instrumental case study approach. The case corresponds to the explanation elaborated by a
group of high school students in a Physicochemistry classroom. Discourse analysis was used, from a linguistic, logical and representational perspective and the semantic dimension of the Theory of Legitimation Codes from the notions of levels of conceptualization and
decontextualization / contextualization of discourse. The analysis identified an adequate use of conditional inference and that, with
the incorporation of the school scientific model, students intertwine causal relationships; but also, that the explicitness of the entities
involved in the modeling is lacking and that some conclusions are stated without justification from the school scientific model (constancy of pressure). Consequences for teaching practices are discussed.
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