CONFERÊNCIAS
Towards a more social pedagogy in science education: The role of argumentation
Jonathan Osborne, King’s College London, Inglaterra
Abstract
This presentation will argue that one of the major problems school science suffers from is a pedagogy which is dominated by the conduit metaphor where teachers conceive of themselves as didactic disseminators of knowledge. In a contemporary context where young people have access to a growing range of interactive technologies and media for engaging in creative and autonomous self-expression the predominance of such authoritative modes of interaction can be functionally ineffective. Therefore, this presentation will argue that dialogic modes of interaction which offer students the opportunity to engage in deliberative interaction about the ideas of science are an important and essential strategy for learning science that should form an essential part of any science education.
Drawing on the work that I and colleagues have conducted in argumentation, I will show how the four essential elements to any science education – the development of conceptual understanding; the improvement of cognitive reasoning; improving students’ understanding of the epistemic nature of science; and affording an affective experience which is both positive and engaging – can all be facilitated through a focus on argumentation.
Comprensión de la naturaleza de la ciencia y sus implicaciones para la enseñanza de la ciencia
Mansoor Niaz
Epistemology of Science Group, Department of Chemistry
Universidad de Oriente, Venezuela
Abstract
Research in history and philosophy of science and science education shows that science does not advance by just doing experiments and having the data. Progress in science inevitably leads to controversies and alternative interpretations of data. There is a fair amount of consensus in the science education community with respect to the following aspects of nature of science: 1) Scientific knowledge relies on observation, experimental evidence, rational arguments and skepticism; 2) Observations are theory-laden; 3) Science is tentative/fallible; 4) There is no universal step-by-step scientific method; 5) Scientific progress is characterized by competition among rival theories; 6) Different scientists, based on their presuppositions, can interpret the same experimental data in more than one way; 7) Development of scientific theories at times is based on inconsistent foundations. The objective of this presentation is to explore strategies for facilitating science teachers understanding of nature of science. Results obtained from two studies based on in-service teachers’ experience of understanding nature of science within formal graduate courses are reported. It was found that these courses facilitated teachers’ understanding of scientific method, objectivity, empirical basis of science, role of presuppositions and controversy in scientific progress. Finally, it is important to note that understanding nature of science is difficult as most science curricula, textbooks and teachers in most parts of the world present science as ‘normal science’ (Kuhn, 1962), which is quite different from what science is all about.