What do college science teachers say about content, methodology and assessment? An analysis from the educational practice.

Abstract

The goal of this analysis was to explore the beliefs of science college teachers about content, methodology and evaluation. A Likert questionnaire was given to 13 college teachers and the data analysis was performed using a descriptive interpretative method. This was followed up by a case study to inquiry about the identified set of beliefs from the questionnaire and to establish how these relate to the teaching practice. The data was gathered by non-participatory observations of 2 lessons and examined using content analysis method with the Atlas Ti software. The main results indicate that the teaching practice is directed to teach academic knowledge of the discipline. Preliminary evidence indicate the existence of traditional beliefs about content, methodology and evaluation that are built from personal experience. As a result, the belief framework is what defines and sustains, in conscious or unconscious manner, the teaching practice of Science College Teachers. The evaluation of the findings calls for incorporation of a theoretical foundation to help college teachers gain awareness of their teaching practice.

Keywords

• creencia, docente universitario, ciencias biológicas, contenido, metodología, evaluación