Modeling in Pre-service Secondary School Teacher Education: developing an School Scientific Model of Energy

Abstract

In this document, we will present the results of an investigation carried out in initial teacher education for pre-service secondary school Physics and Mathematics teachers in Chile. A Teaching and Learning Sequence (TLS) was iteratively designed following a Design-based research approach and implemented to promote the construction of an adequate School Scientific Model (SSM) of energy. This SSM is based on the well-known work on energy related concepts in physics education, including the ideas of energy degradation, conservation and transference. The methodology followed in the TLS is based on modeling and model-based inquiry. Subsequently, we have analyzed pre-service teachers’ qualitative productions to identify which model of energy they master at both the beginning and the end of the program. This allowed us to get hints of a learning progression in this field.