出版社：Escola Superior de Educação do Instituto Politécnico de Santarém
摘要：Nowadays societies claim for a citizenship supported on science knowledge (Santos, 2005). Though, the promotion of classroom practices designed to develop competencies as argumentation are a must. Those practices are a contribution from the educational system to develop the citizens’ critical evaluation through the analysis of several arguments presented by different parts and concerning socio-scientific issues. This competency allows the citizens to assume democratic and scientifically supported positions concerning those issues. The implementation of collaborative work, namely peer interactions, in the classrooms, seems to be an important contribution to the development of those kinds of competencies.
This work is part of the Interaction and Knowledge project. This project includes several classes from different subjects (Mathematics, Philosophy, and Science). The main goal of the I&K project is to understanding the complex reality and social interactions dynamics in the classes through the implementation of innovating pedagogical practices – collaborative work. Due to the intervention scope of this work we implemented an action-research project, assuming a historic-cultural and situated approach, inspired by ethnographic methods. This study was developed in the Earth and Life Sciences classroom at a 10th grade class with 22 students from a secondary school around Lisbon. Data were collected by several observers who elaborated observation reports, and also including audio taped peer interactions from several classes, interviews to privileged informers, questionnaires and documents.
Qualitative/interpretative data analysis illuminates that: (1) at an initial stage, the students are only able to mobilise poor argumentative competencies; (2) peer interactions contributed to develop argumentative competencies, although this is shaped by characteristics of the interactions; and (3) students developed argumentative competencies through all the school year although they showed a high level of diversity. This empirical evidence illuminates the importance of implementing discussions on social-scientific issues in the sciences classes.
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