Scientific competencies and modeling: a case study in teacher training

Abstract:

This paper is based on the conception of modeling as a didactic strategy that promotes doing science in the classroom and developing scientific skills. It was proposed to gain knowledge of which scientific skills are developed when students build explanatory models of biological processes. The study experience, at the tertiary level, is part of a biophysics course in teacher training in the hybrid modality. The development of scientific competencies was assessed among 81 biological sciences teaching students while they built explanatory models of responses to stimuli in fictitious biophysical situations. To identify developing competencies, a pre-tested and validated repertoire of scientific competencies was applied. Content analysis was applied in a qualitative approach. The results allow us to affirm that modeling constitutes a rich learning instance in terms of the scientific competences that it enables. Improvements have been suggested to increase the usability of the used repertoire.

Keywords
Biology teaching; Higher education; Scientific literacy; Teacher training