Ideas científicas en la infancia y la adolescencia

by Rosalind Driver, Edith Guesne, Andrée Tiberguien

Los/las escolares inician el aprendizaje de las ciencias con sus propias ideas e interpretaciones de los fenómenos que van a estudiar, incluso cuando no han recibido instrucción sistemática en esas materias. Dichas ideas son el resultado natural de la experiencia cotidiana de las actividades físicas prácticas, de los comentarios con otras personas y de la influencia de los medios de comunicación. Este libro documenta y explora los conceptos infantiles y adolescentes sobre diversos fenómenos naturales la luz, el calor, la fuerza y el movimiento, la estructura de la materia y la electricidad. También analiza el modo en que estas concepciones cambian y se desarrollan con la enseñanza. DRIVER, GUESNE y TIBERGHIEN reúnen en esta obra las experiencias de diversos profesores de ciencias de distintas partes del mundo, cuyos trabajos se centran en un mismo esclarecer las ideas infantiles en estas materias, de modo que se favorezca su enseñanza y que el aprendizaje resulte más atractivo para alumnos/alumnas y profesores/profesoras.

Genres: Science, Teaching

312 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[Courtney Williams]

I took this book out of the library because I work for a company that delivers science days to school pupils, as well as doing similar activities myself independently as a STEM Ambassador. There were quite a few copies of it so I wonder whether it's an assigned text for Imperial's Science Communication MSc. If it is, I can see why, as this book could help anyone whose business it is to communicate science, but particularly those who work with children and young people.

Each chapter of this book explores a different area of science learned in schools, such as heat, light and electricity. They describe studies done with young people concerning how they think about experiments and concepts in science. Often these follow the young people through their school years, charting how their ideas shift and how much. The book shows how children and young people can understand things in ways that make total sense to them, but only become "scientific" later in their school careers (or even beyond). They can perform an experiment correctly or view one being explained in the accepted manner, but take something completely different and unintended from it. I particularly liked the interviews with young people explaining their ideas, which really livened up the text and gave some helpful illustrations. There is also insight into how young people's ideas and conceptions can be dealt with in the classroom without simply dismissing them.

If you teach science in any capacity, I would definitely recommend this book. It's a bit dry at times, but it has a lot of great information about how to teach in a way that works with students' preconceptions, the language they use to describe phenomena and the counter-intuitiveness of many areas of science. It's even helped me think about how I as a university student conceptualise ideas in physics!

[Emma Yunjaeyoosumin Casshipper]

good