The Impact of an Interactive Approach on the Evolution of Moroccan University Students’ Conceptions of Neurotransmission
Ihsane Kouchou
,
Fatiha Kaddari
,
Nezha Bennis
,
Abdelrhani Elachqar
Currently, it is taken for granted that teachers have to take into account the conceptions in order to achieve some efficient learning, the latter are.
- Pub. date: April 15, 2019
- Pages: 567-579
- 447 Downloads
- 1132 Views
- 0 Citations
Currently, it is taken for granted that teachers have to take into account the conceptions in order to achieve some efficient learning, the latter are generally resistant and may hinder the learning. Studies have shown that learning amounts to make conceptions evolve which play a determining role in the appropriation of scientific concepts such as neurotransmission, which is the subject of our study. This concept is present in the Life Science syllabus as early as high school. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of an interactive approach on the evolution of students' conceptions of neurotransmission. For this purpose, a questionnaire was administered to the first two years’ students (second year) in the Life Sciences stream at Dhar El Mahraz Faculty of Science in Fez during the academic year 2016-2017. This questionnaire was in the form of a pre-test and a post-test on learning/teaching of neurotransmission. The results of the study showed that the approach which was adopted had a positive effect on the evolution of the students' conceptions of neurotransmission in that it apparently contributed to a conceptual change for them.
Keywords: Initial conceptions, neurotransmission, interactive approach, conceptual change, evolution
References
Abraham, J. K., Perez, K. E., & Price, R. M. (2014). The dominance concept inventory: A tool for assessing undergraduate student alternative conceptions about dominance in Mendelian and population genetics. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 13(2), 349-358.doi: 10.1187/cbe.13-08-0160
Astolfi, J. P., & Peterfalvi, B. (1993). Obstacles et construction de situations didactiques en sciences experimentales [Obstacles and construction of didactical situations]. Aster, (16), 103-141.
Bachelard, G. (1938). La formation de l’esprit scientifique [The training of scientific spirit]. Paris, France: Vrin.
Bec, J. L., & Favre, D. (1996). Le systemenerveux dans le programme de Biologie: Quel(s) concept(s) veut-on enseigner? [The nervous system in the Biology program: What concept(s) to teach?]. Trema-Lesspecificites de la biologie et de son enseignement[The specificities of biology and its teaching], (9-10), 97-104.
Bertrand, C. (2014). Soutenir la transformation pedagogique. Rapport de ministere de l’enseignement superieur et de la recherche [Support the educational transformation: Report of the Ministry of Higher Education and Research]. Retrieved from https://www.letudiant.fr/static/uploads/mediatheque/EDU_EDU/2/5/253025-rapport-pedagogie-vdiff-01-07-14-original.pdf
Bireaud, A. (1990). Les methodes pedagogiques dans l’enseignement superieur [The teaching methods in higher education]. Paris, France : Editions d'Organisation.
Bouayad, A. (2015). Liaison chimique : conceptions et difficultees d’apprentissage en cycle Licence [Chemical Bonding: conceptions and learning difficulties in bachelor degree] (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez, Morocco.
Bouchard, R., & Parpette, C. (2007). Initiation a une discipline universitaire, commentaire terminologique general et enseignement du vocabulaire specialise / Le cas des CM de Droit [Introduction to a university discipline, general terminological commentary and teaching of specialized vocabulary / The case of MC of Law]. In E. Calaque (Ed.), Enseignement et apprentissage du lexique [Teaching and learning lexicon] (pp. 199-211). Brussels, Belgium: De Boeck.
Clarac, F., & Ternaux, J. P. (2008). Encyclopedie historique des neurosciences. Du neurone a l'emergence de la pensee [Historical Encyclopaedia of Neuroscience. From the neuron to the emergence of thought].Brussels, Belgium: De Boeck.
DeVecchi, G. (1992). Aider les eleves a apprendre [Help students to learn]. Paris, France: Hachette Education.
DiSessa, A. A. (1993). Toward an epistemology of physics. Cognition and Instruction, 10(2/3), 105-225.
DiSessa, A. A. (1996). What do”just plain folk“ know about physics? In D. R. Olson & N. Torrance (Eds.), Handbook of Education and Human Development (pp. 709-730). Malden: MA: Blackwell Publishing.
Disessa, A. A. (2002). Why “conceptual ecology” is a good idea. In M. Limon & L. Mason (Eds.).Reconsidering conceptual change: Issues in theory and practice (pp.28-60).Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer.
Doudin, P. A., & Tardif, E. (2016). Neurosciences et cognition : Perspectives pour les sciences de l’education [Neuroscience and cognition: Perspectives for the sciences of education]. Brussels, Belgium: De Boeck.
Driver, R. (1989). Student's conceptions and the learning of science. International Journal of Science Education, 11(5), 481-490.
Duit, R. (1999). Conceptual change approaches in science education. In W. Schnotz, S. Vosniadou & M. Carretero (Eds.). New perspectives on conceptual change (pp. 263-282). Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Dupont, J. C. (1999). Histoire de la neurotransmission[History of neurotransmission]. Paris, France: PUF-Presses universitaires de France.
El Hassouny, E. H. (2014). Les TICEs en classes de sciences physiques: Enjeuxetetude d’impact [ICTs in physical science classes: Issues and impact study].(Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez, Morocco.
Felouzis, G. (2003). Les mutations actuelles de l’Universite [The current changes of the university] (1st ed.). Paris, France: PUF-Presses universitaires de France.
Giordan, A. (1996). Les conceptions de l’apprenant comme tremplin pour l’apprentissage...! [The learner's conceptions as a springboard for learning...!] . Sciences Humaines [Human Sciences].Retrieved fromhttp://www.andregiordan.com/articles/apprendre/concepttapp.html
Giordan, A. (1998). Apprendre! [Learn!]. Paris, France: Debats Belin.
Giordan, A., Girault, Y., & Clement, P. (1994). Conceptions et connaissance [Conceptions and knowledge]. Bern, Switzerland: Peter Lang.
Glickstein, M. (2006). Golgi and Cajal: The neuron doctrine and the 100th anniversary of the 1906 Nobel Prize. Current Biology, 16(5), 147-151.doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2006.02.053
Hewson, P. W., Beeth, M. E., & Thorley, N. R. (1998).Teaching for Conceptual Change. In B. J. Fraser & K. G. Tobin (Eds.). International Handbook of Science Education (pp.199-218). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer Netherlands.
Hewson, P. W., & Thorley, N. R. (1989). The conditions of conceptual change in the classroom. International Journal of Science Education, 11(5), 541-553.
Houssaye, J. (1993). La pedagogie: une encyclopedie pour aujourd’hui [Pedagogy: an encyclopedia for today]. Paris, France: ESF Editeur.
Joshua, S., & Dupin, J. J. (1989). Representations et modelisation : le debat scientifique dans la classe et l’apprentissage de la physique [Representations and modeling: the scientific debate in the classroom and the learning of physics]. Bern, Switzerland: Peter Lang.
Joshua, S. & Dupin, J. J. (1999). Introduction a la didactique des sciences et des mathematiques [Introduction to the science and mathematics didactics]. Paris, France: PUF- Presses universitaires de France..
Kaddari, F. (2005). De l’atome a l’atomistique. Etude des principes et des conceptions [From the atom to the atomistic. Study of principles and conceptions] (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez, Morocco.
Kampourakis, K., Silveira, P., & Strasser, B.J. (2016). How do preservice biology teachers explain the origin of biological traits? A philosophical analysis. Science Teacher Education, 100(6), 1124–1149.
Kochkar, M. (2007). Les determinismes biologiques. Analyse des conceptions et des changements conceptuels consecutifs a un enseignement sur l’epigenese cerebrale chez des enseignants et des apprenants tunisiens [Biological determinisms: Analysis of conceptions and conceptual changes resulting from teaching on cerebral epigenesis among Tunisian teachers and learners].(Unpublished doctoral dissertation).University of Tunisia & University of Claude Bernard – Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France.
Laribi, R., Marzin, P., Sakly, M., & Favre, D. (2010). Etude des conceptions des eleves de premiere et de terminale scientifiques sur la transmission synaptique en Tunisie et en France [Conceptions study of the first and final scientific students on synaptic transmission in Tunisia and France], RDST, (2), 193-214.
Loewi, O. (1935). The ferrier lecture on problems connected with the principle of humoral transmission of nervous impulse. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences, 118(809), 299-316. doi: 10.1098/rspb.1935.0058
Macbeth, D. (2000). On an actual apparatus for conceptual change. Science Education, 84(2), 228-264.
Migne, J. (1994). Pedagogie et representations [Pedagogy and representations]. Education permanente [Permanent education], (119), 11-31.
Ozmen, H. (2004). Some Student Misconceptions in Chemistry: A Literature Review of Chemical Bonding. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 13(2), 147-159.
Paccaud, M. (1991). Les conceptions comme levier d'apprentissage du concept de respiration [Conceptions as a learning lever for the breathing concept]. Aster, (13), 35-58.
Potvin, P., & Thouin, M. (2003). Etude qualitative d’evolutions conceptuelles en contexte d’explorations libres en physique mecanique au secondaire [Qualitative study of conceptual evolutions in the context of free explorations in secondary mechanical physics]. Revue des sciences de l’education [Journal of Educational Sciences], 29(3), 525–544.
Sadi. O. (2014). Students’ conceptions of learning in genetics: A phenomenographic research. Journal of Turkish Science Education, 11(3), 53-63.
Schneider, M., & Stern, E. (2010). The developmental relations between conceptual and procedural knowledge: A multimethod approach. Developmental Psychology, 46(1), 178–192.
Soudani, M. (1998). Conceptions et obstacles dans l’enseignement-apprentissage de l’oxydoreduction: Contribution a une epistemologie appliquee a la construction curriculaire [Conceptions and obstacles in teaching and learning of oxidation-reduxtion concepts. Contribution to an epistemology applied to the curriculum construction](Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Montpellier II, Montpellier, France.
Thouin, M. (2004). Enseigner les sciences et la technologie au prescolaire et au primaire [Teaching science and technology at the preschool and elementary]. Quebec, Canada: MultiMondes.
Viau, R. (1994). La motivation en contexte scolaire [Motivation in school context]. Paris, France: De Boeck.
Viennot, L. (1988). Obstacles epistemologiques et raisonnements en physique: tendance au contournement des conflits chez les enseignants [Epistemological barriers and reasoning in physics: a tendency for teachers to avoid conflict]. In B. Bernadrz & C. Garnier (Eds.).Construction des savoirs : obstacles et conflits [Building knowledge: obstacles and conflicts](pp. 117-129). Montreal, Canada: CIRADE.
Vosniadou, S. (2002). On the nature of naive physics. In M. Limon & L. Mason (Eds.), Reconsidering conceptual change: Issues in theory and practice (pp. 61-76). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic.
Vosniadou, S., & Ioannides, C. (1998). From conceptual development to science education: a psychological point of view. International Journal of Science Education, 20(10), 1213-1230.