Abstract
We present a study on teacher education and, in particular, on Physics. Our assumption is that General Didactics and Disciplinary Didactic constitute two fundamental components of teachers’ professional development and therefore both must be used to interpret didactic phenomena adequately. This research involves a sample of 274 prospective teachers, enrolled in the Primary Education Sciences degrees in three Italian Universities (Milano Bicocca, Udine, Urbino,). It concerns the study of the spontaneous representations produced by students to foster understanding of the force concept and on the reasons given to motivate their effectiveness on an educational level and disciplinary one. The research tools and methods were developed by crossing the literature of General Didactics and Physics Education, identifying analytical categories that emerge from two different and complementary perspectives. In the broad spectrum of students’ conceptions, given by this double perspective, some aspects stand out: most of the representations do not include the representation of the forces at play, but rather imply a precise didactic approach inherent to the concept of force. This is confirmed by the analysis of the didactic and disciplinary motivations, in which a frequent identification of the two types of motivations emerges.
Highlights
The research consists of an exploratory study of the spontaneous representations of the concept of force aimed at a better understanding of it, performed by the students of the undergraduate course in Primary Education
A table of Founding nuclei and Conceptual Aspects related to the concept of force, according to a didactic–disciplinary perspective (Table A1— Appendix B) was constructed; a summary of scientific concepts and common sense ideas related to these concepts was developed by analyzing the literature on learning processes (Table A2—Appendix C); a review of the representations of force in secondary school and university textbooks was carried out
The first section required students to produce a drawing; the second section asked them to describe the proposed representation; the third section asked them to justify the didactic effectiveness of the representation; and the fourth section asked them to justify the disciplinary effectiveness of the representation
Summary
The relevance of scientific education to meet the challenges of the 21st century is claimed, but on the other hand, widespread difficulties in the learning of scientific disciplines are detected, as the OECD 2019 report highlights This paradox prompts us to question the specific conditions of teaching and learning physics (as a particular scientific discipline) already from the lowest school levels, so that it becomes first and foremost available as a form of knowledge, capable of guiding new generations in a society increasingly influenced by science and technology. Such a cultural project requires special attention to Kindergarten and Primary School Teacher Education. Unlike degree courses whose teachings have high epistemic proximity, the study plan of Primary Education Sciences includes a heterogeneity of disciplinary areas
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