Abstract
In this research, we will preview the historic development of atomic theories since the time of the Greek until our days. This survey will permit to put in evidence the epistemological ruptures in the perspective of Bachelard (1968) or the paradigmatic change notion in the perspective of Kuhn (1970) that marked the evolution of the atomic theories, since the “naïve” vision of the atom until the modern quantum vision. We will describe the atomic models from Dalton to Heisenberg while tempting to show that they are in logical discontinuity, since the ways of constructing knowledge, imagined by all, are not founded on the same epistemological premises. Besides, this survey of the different models will permit us, thereafter to characterize in the discourse of Quebec chemistry and physics teachers, the epistemological rupture notion in the development of atomic theories.
Highlights
The research activities are related to the scientific representations of students at primary and secondary levels before and after intensive teaching
According to the above considerations, we can conclude that physics and chemistry teachers have maintained relatively naïve representations of atomic theories
How can they address the issue of conceptual change and, help students in understanding the concepts of atomic theories? It seems clearly that Justi and Gilbert (2000) and Niaz (2009) studies confirm that there is an urgent need to rethink about the training of teachers in order to include components that emphasizes the importance of science history and science epistemologies
Summary
The research activities are related to the scientific representations of students at primary and secondary levels before and after intensive teaching. The daily-life phenomena include, but are not limited to: heat and temperature (Harrison et al, 1999; Romer, 2001), light (Mumbaa et al, 2015), states of matter and their transformations (Tatar, 2011), chemical transformations (Othman et al, 2008), law of conservation of matter (Özmen and Ayas, 2003) and behaviour of matter at microscopic level (Aydeniz and Kotowski, 2012; Boz, 2006) These representations often describe the scientific phenomena inaccurately and, more sadly, impede effective teaching (Duit, 2007). The study will identify the representations of secondary school and college teachers as pertaining to this development
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