Revista de Estudios Sociales (Dec 2004)
Cuando El Cambio Pedagógico es Sólo Metodológico
Abstract
We present the qualitative analysis and results of part of a research project exploring the effects of a module of the material Insights- Pequeños Científicos in the learning of six preschool and primary teachers and of children from grades 0, 2 and 5, in a public school in private concession in Bogota, Colombia. The module was used during the first semester of 2002, with the pedagogical support of a group from Centro de Investigación y Formación en Educación, CIFE, at the Andes University, and the partial financial support of Instituto para el Desarrollo Educativo y Pedagógico de la Secretaría de Educación de Bogotá, IDEP. The researchers, also from CIFE, gathered data while the module was being used, within a project partially financed by Instituto para el Avance de la Ciencia, del Banco de la República. This part describes the teachers' learning. After a year of close support, hey changed their ideas about their role and the student's in learning and put them effectively into practice. It was clear that these changes in pedagogical practices corresponded to a big change in the teachers' conceptions about their students' abilities. Nevertheless the teachers just started the process of adjusting their conceptions to what these changes really mean in terms of learning in general and, specifically, in terms of learning in the natural sciences. This showed in their definitions of learning, still quite traditional, and in their conclusions about the effects of their new practices in their students. These were more related to disciplinary control and social learning than to the processes and concepts clearly pertaining to the natural sciences. We discuss the nature of the pedagogical support that should be given to teachers if they are to understand the authenticity of their disciplines and actually create effective learning environments, not only follow instructions.
