We present the results of a qualitative
research study designed
to explore differences in the types of reasoning triggered by information
presented to chemistry students in two different formats. One group
of students was asked to analyze a sequence of images designed to
represent critical elements in the explanation of a target phenomenon.
Another group of students was asked to analyze an illustrated text
that introduced core concepts and ideas needed to understand the same
phenomenon. Our study revealed major differences but also important
similarities in student reasoning under the two conditions. Analyses
of images led to more descriptive and limited accounts of the phenomenon
than the analyses of text. However, these latter analyses often were
plagued by conceptual confusions. Mechanistic explanations built under
the two conditions frequently invoked a single causal factor as responsible
for the phenomenon. Probabilistic effects were consistently neglected
in these explanations.
This article is the result of a master's research carried out jointly with educators, learners and people involved in the education of young people and adults in general, and with the teaching of chemistry. Through this research, we seek to understand the process of formation of an educator of young people and adults, his uncertainties, limitations and the importance of rethinking actions and attitudes that happen every day and each experience lived while teaching for this specific teaching modality. Developed from the communicative methodology of research, this research had communicative observations, communicative life reports and discussion groups as its main instruments of data collection and involved an intersubjective analysis of the information collected. The results showed, for the most part, a teaching based on the mechanical memorization of chemical contents, the result of an initial training deficient that was commented by the teacher himself; and classes with content facilitated, summarized and focused more on the difficulties to learn than on the potentialities. Also transforming elements were observed, emphasizing the improvement of both academic learning and social interaction.
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