La pedagogie experimentale en Belgique

Sans résumé     

New experiences and old knowledge: Towards a model for the personal awareness of science and technology

The use of the phrase 'the public understanding of science' has been under attack for some time because of its incompatibility with modern theories of learning. In an attempt to find a more acceptable model, interviews were conducted at Questacon, the Australian National Science and Technology Centre, with visitors of a wide range of ages who had used the interactive exhibits there. The study showed that, when using an exhibit, a visitor has a reminding of a similar experience that forms the basis for interpretating the exhibit. An individual's existing 'personal awareness of science and technology' (PAST) draws on this prior experience to produce an understanding of the exhibit and, to some extent, an understanding of the underlying scientific model. A model for PAST embracing these factors is proposed and is used to interpret the learning resulting from interaction with such exhibits and other kinds of science-based experience.     

The symbiotic roles of empirical experimentation and thought experimentation in the learning of physics

This study was an attempt to identify the epistemological roots of knowledge when students carry out hands‐on experiments in physics. We found that, within the context of designing a solution to a stated problem, subjects constructed and ran thought experiments intertwined within the processes of conducting physical experiments. We show that the process of alternating between these two modes — empirically experimenting and experimenting in thought — leads towards a convergence on scientifically acceptable concepts. We call this process mutual projection. In the process of mutual projection, external representations were generated. Objects in the physical environment were represented in an imaginary world and these representations were associated with processes in the physical world. It is through this coupling that constituents of both the imaginary world and the physical world gain meaning. We further show that the external representations are rooted in sensory interaction and constitute a semi‐symbolic pictorial communication system, a sort of primitive ‘language’, which is developed as the practical work continues. The constituents of this pictorial communication system are used in the thought experiments taking place in association with the empirical experimentation. The results of this study provide a model of physics learning during hands‐on experimentation.