Argumentação em salas de aula de biologia sobre a teoria sintética da evolução

Abstract

This project deals with a series of actions that articulate the discourse of students who are embedded in processes of learning science. Our focus of study is the reasoning that students of the grade 12 of high school carry out when they approach aspects regarding evolution, in particular, those that have to do with the synthetic theory of evolution. The main question we have asked in this investigation has been: How do students develop arguments in the discussion of questions regarding the synthetic theory of evolution? This general question can be divided into others that refer to more specific aspects: (1) What kinds of discursive movements do the students make evident in the discussion? (2) What kinds of concepts of evolution do the students mobilize in their discussions? (3) In what levels of epistemic abstraction are the concepts of evolution that the students use in their justifications articulated? After the didactic units of evolution developed by the particular teachers, the discussion of aspects that have to do with the synthetic theory of evolution occurred in three groups (A, B and C). The didactic units belonging to these groups have also been analyzed with the purpose of checking aspects that are closely linked to them, such as features of the schools where they took place, the dynamics used by the teachers in the development of their lessons, the topics the teachers dealt with, some discursive interactions between teachers and students such as the initiation of episodes and de kinds of their discourse, how the students took place sharing emphasis in the concepts and epistemic practice that they made clear in statements and questions of their episodes of content as well as the adjustments that they required from the teachers part. A better understanding of these aspects that are peculiar to a group has made us understand the results of our analysis regarding the argumentation that is applied by the members of the aforesaid groups. Our investigation shows that students belonging to groups A and C have developed better arguments than those used by students belonging to group B. This conclusion must be considered taking into account the relevant differences found in the context of groups A and C compared with that of group B. In groups A and C students have displayed a better mastering of the conceptual knowledge of evolution if we compare it with the knowledge that group B students have. These students, in general, have articulated concepts regarding evolution in a coherent way, exploring different epistemic levels of abstraction, working with theoretical aspects and data about evolution. In turn, students who belong to group B have displayed problems regarding concepts of evolution and concepts studied in other didactic units; they even had problems that had to do with other educational levels. Groups A and C where placed in the same high school, with a tradition linked to investigation activities. On the contrary, group B students belonged to a traditional high school where research was not stimulated. Also, the teacher was initiating her career as investigator. In addition, teachers of groups A and C had limited the discussion in their lessons to the field of science, something that was respected by students. This has not been the case in group B, in which students interrupted the development of the lessons to discuss religious aspects or to challenge scientific points of view, despite the efforts made by the teacher to move forward in treating evolutionary concepts.