Claudia Vergara

LA EDUCACION CIENTIFICA EN CHILE: DEBILIDADES DE LA ENSEÑANZA y FUTUROS DESAFIOS DE LA EDUCACION DE PROFESORES DE CIENCIA

In this article we review the existing background about science teaching in Chile, focusing on three main issues: science teaching practices, the competencies that teachers believe to be the most necessary, and the main educational guidelines that currently exist in training programs that educate teachers of science. * Este trabajo se desarrolló en el marco del proyecto MECESUP UCS0705, “Diseño de una nueva carrera de pedagogía en ciencias basada en competencias con mención en química o biología para la enseñanza media”, adjudicado a la Universidad Católica Silva Henríquez.

Chilean Pre-service and In-service Teachers and Undergraduate Students’ Understandings of Evolutionary Theory

Despite the importance of the theory of evolution to scientific knowledge, a number of misconceptions continue to be found among teachers and undergraduate students. The aim of the present study was to describe and characterise knowledge about evolution among 120 freshman undergraduate students of two natural sciences programmes (environmental biology and veterinary medicine), 80 pre-service science teachers (elementary and biology) and 45 in-service teachers (elementary and biology high school) in Santiago, Chile. The research was carried out based on an eight-question questionnaire about evolution acceptance and understanding. The instrument included seven Likert-scale questions and one open-ended question. An analysis of the data revealed that more than 70% of teachers (pre-service and in-service) and undergraduate students recognised the theory of evolution as established scientific knowledge. When participants discussed the mechanism of evolution in the open-ended question, the most prevalent responses from students and teachers (33%) explained evolution as need-driven changes for survival purposes. Only 13% of the responses could be considered Darwinian, and 10% of responses included more than one view of evolution. The Darwinian responses generally included three important aspects: variation, inheritance and differential reproduction. The implications for biology teacher education are also discussed in this study.

The effect of teaching the nature of science on students’ acceptance and understanding of evolution: myth or reality?

Abstract The results of studies of the nature of science (NOS) as a factor that enhances students’ understanding of evolution have been inconclusive. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to test the role of NOS instruction in enhancing students’ learning about evolution. We used a quasi-experimental design with pre- and post-tests to investigate the impact of teaching evolution with and without NOS in two classes with 15–16-year-old students, who were randomly assigned to these two classes. To measure their understanding of NOS and their acceptance and understanding of evolution, we used three different instruments that have been shown to generate reliable and valid inferences in comparable populations. The main results of this study were that, in the class in which the teaching of evolution included NOS instruction, the students’ understanding of NOS and their acceptance of evolution significantly improved. However, irrespective of the use of NOS instruction, both classes increased their understanding of evolution. These results support the claim that NOS instruction may influence students’ acceptance of evolution but not their understanding of evolution and natural selection.

Una primera aproximación a la comprensión que tienen estudiantes universitarios en Chile de la Teoría de la Evolución

Resumen es: Dada la importancia que tiene la Teoria de la Evolucion (TE) como conocimiento cientifico, el objetivo del pre - sente estudio fue caracterizar la compre...

Theory, Evidence, and Examples of Teaching the Nature of Science and Biology Using the History of Science: A Chilean Experience

A significant number of science educators have recognized the importance of the history of science (HOS) in understanding the nature of science (NOS) and scientific content. However, there is little empirical evidence for this effect in the South American educational context. This article shows empirical data about the contribution of HOS in enhancing in-service biology teachers’ understanding of NOS and the effect of HOS in enhancing the understanding of evolution and NOS in high school students. The authors used the VNOS-D+ questionnaire to assess teachers’ and students’ views of NOS at the beginning and the end of interventions. The inclusion of writing artifacts such as lesson “tickets-out”, content tests, and lesson plans for teachers enriched the analysis. The students’ understanding of evolutionary theory was assessed using the ACORN questionnaire. Some of the most important results of the project are the significant improvements observed in teachers’ understanding of NOS, although they assigned different levels of importance to HOS in these improvements, and a significant effect of HOS with students’ understanding of NOS. There was no significant difference between students’ understanding of evolution in treatment and control classes. The authors make suggestions for science teacher education and future research to improve the effect of HOS on students’ and teachers’ understanding of NOS and scientific content.

An initial approach to Chilean undergraduate students' understanding of the Evolution Theory

Resumen es: Dada la importancia que tiene la Teoria de la Evolucion (TE) como conocimiento cientifico, el objetivo del pre - sente estudio fue caracterizar la compre...

Uma primeira aproximação da compreensão que têm estudantes universitários no Chile a respeito da Teoria da Evolução

Resumen es: Dada la importancia que tiene la Teoria de la Evolucion (TE) como conocimiento cientifico, el objetivo del pre - sente estudio fue caracterizar la compre...

A Educação Científica no Chile: debilidades do ensino e futuros desafíos da educação dos professores de ciencia

In this article we review the existing background about science teaching in Chile, focusing on three main issues: science teaching practices, the competencies that teachers believe to be the most necessary, and the main educational guidelines that currently exist in training programs that educate teachers of science. * Este trabajo se desarrolló en el marco del proyecto MECESUP UCS0705, “Diseño de una nueva carrera de pedagogía en ciencias basada en competencias con mención en química o biología para la enseñanza media”, adjudicado a la Universidad Católica Silva Henríquez.

Science Education in Chile: weaknesses in teaching and future challenges of the education of the teachers of science

In this article we review the existing background about science teaching in Chile, focusing on three main issues: science teaching practices, the competencies that teachers believe to be the most necessary, and the main educational guidelines that currently exist in training programs that educate teachers of science. * Este trabajo se desarrolló en el marco del proyecto MECESUP UCS0705, “Diseño de una nueva carrera de pedagogía en ciencias basada en competencias con mención en química o biología para la enseñanza media”, adjudicado a la Universidad Católica Silva Henríquez.