Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Des mises en histoire aux savoirs scientifiques : le cas de lycéens confrontés à quelques problèmes de tectonique des plaques

2007; Volume: 44; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.4267/2042/16810

1961-988X

Denise Orange Ravachol,

Hermeneutics and Narrative Identity

Much research on the teaching of the sciences has shown that students instinctively resort to rudimentary stories for a better understanding of a problem, a process which both helps and hinders the building of scientific knowledge. This article takes a closer look at these problems in the field of earth sciences through 2 cases of problem building with 16-17-year-old students specialized in the sciences which obliged them to work with 2 specific geological phenomena. The first concerns sea-floor build-up and the sedimentation process that directly affects it whilst the second looks at explaining volcano distribution and seismic activity. The question being how do students go about inventing stories with related elements ? How do they view time and space ? Under what conditions are they able to do without a basic analogical story ? The research results reveal the importance of the simultaneous tackling of geological problems which do not take place in the same time and space frame.