Conceptual demand of practical work: a multidisciplinary approach for analysing the pedagogic discourse in the science classroom
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5212/PraxEduc.v.12i1.0002Abstract
The study addresses the issue of the type and the level of complexity of practical work present in high school science classes, in the context of the Portuguese educational system. The concept of osmosis was selected in the article as an exemplar case to exemplify the theoretical and methodological approach of a multidisciplinary character, followed in the study. Theoretically, the study is based on concepts of an epistemological, psychological and sociological nature, with a particular emphasis on Bernstein’s theory of pedagogic discourse. On the basis of this theoretical framework, the level of complexity of practical work was appreciated through its level of conceptual demand, which contains aspects related to the what of pedagogic discourse (complexity of scientific knowledge and cognitive skills) and to the how of pedagogic discourse (degree of relation between theory and practice). The study uses a methodological mixed approach. Two teachers of two socially distinct schools were selected. The results showed that the two teachers’ practices had in general a low level of conceptual demand which is mostly a consequence of the low level of complexity of scientific knowledge and skills required and also of teachers’ scientific inaccuracies. The type of practical work selected by teachers (laboratory activities generally illustrative) also contributed to lower the level of conceptual demand. The consequences of this low level of conceptual demand in terms of students’ scientific learning is discussed. In theoretical and methodological terms, the conceptualization and procedures followed in the study constitute an innovative approach that gives greater rigor to the analysis.
Keywords: Practical work. Conceptual demand. Pedagogic discourse. Osmosis.
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