MICROSCOPIC AND MACROSCOPIC ASPECTS OF STUDENT KNOWLEDGE IN ELECTRIC CONDUCTION IN METALS

Abstract

This paper presents some preliminary results of a research aimed at portraying individual models of description/explanation of electrical conduction in metals shown by physics prospective teachers and at studying how a specifically designed pedagogical environment can support an adequate evolution of their knowledge and disciplinary competencies. A teaching/learning sequence (TLS) on the subject matter, making use of custom Information Technology tools, aimed at facilitating and scaffolding learning, is shortly described. Some relevant points of the research pilot phases, like the analysis of prospective teachers’ spontaneous models of electrical conduction, the identification of significant correlations between microscopic and macroscopic aspects of knowledge, and the study of the improvement that a pedagogical environment based on experimental and modelling activities can give to prospective teachers’ model building abilities are discussed, in the light of specific research questions.