Sofía Judith Garófalo

Redes semánticas poblacionales: un instrumento metodológico para la investigación educativa

We report a qualitative, innovative and original methodology for research in science education. We use the concept of Semantic Network as idea for displaying students´ responses to a problem on a given topic. We proposed a problem with multiple resolutions on the metabolism of carbohydrates to university students of Biology and Biological Chemistry from different careers. Students’ answers were organized in cognitive pathways, using a methodology derived from the Information Processing Model. Graphical representation of all individual cognitive pathways allowed us to construct semantic networks from each studied population. In this way the declarative knowledge of each population could be easily represented. These networks allowed us to detect: (a) answering strategies, (b) general trends of mistakes, and (c) mistakes that appeared in specific populations.