Difficulties in reconstructing problematized knowledge in the life sciences: A study of an ordinary sequence on natural selection

Abstract

We are interested in the problem of constructing problematized knowledge, based on the observation of an ordinary sequence (in the 2nd year of the baccalauréat). The hypothesis of this research is that certain notions are not accessible to a majority of students because they are not problematized or even taught in a problematized form. The problem-based learning framework offers tools to better understand how students formulate, construct and solve problems, as well as the dynamics of this construction during teamwork. Our study aims to identify the difficulties of reconstructing and accessing problematized knowledge in the field of population genetics through the analysis of ordinary classroom teaching practices. To model and better understand teaching practices, we use tools derived from the theoretical framework of problematization. A detailed analysis of an ordinary classroom sequence shows that students often encounter difficulties when dealing with problematized knowledge. Problematization, in this context, consists in transforming knowledge into a problem to be solved, which requires students to mobilize analytical and critical skills. However, the teaching practices observed tend to simplify this process, focusing more on identifying the correct solution than on the intellectual path leading to it. There seems to be a certain difficulty in accessing problematized information. The epistemological and didactic conceptions of teachers, as well as the usual form of scientific knowledge at school, seem to justify these difficulties. These difficulties, identified by the analysis of the session, can be the subject of ongoing training for teachers in problematization.