Science Education and Epistemology

This course builds upon the course from Semester 1. It delves deeper into various didactic and epistemological issues and problems addressed in the previous semester. Students will be asked, based on a few examples, to analyze and explain certain specific features and commonalities (both didactic and epistemological) of the fields of study explored in the first semester. They will be asked to refine their understanding of the characteristics associated with a didactic approach to the conceptualization, modeling, and dissemination of scientific knowledge. The goal is to highlight, through a few examples, the value—for the didactics of a discipline—of epistemological and historical studies that allow for a reflection on how concepts are developed within the parent discipline, in interaction with other disciplinary fields and other approaches and issues arising from the didactics of other disciplines. 

• Mathematics Education: 
  • Decimal Numbers 
  • Modeling 

• Teaching Physics and Chemistry: 
  • Optics 
  • Chemical Elements 

• Science Education: 
  • Introduction to the Pedagogy of Scientific Ecology 
  • The Investigative Process 
  • Understanding and Solving Problems Related to Scientific Literacy 

Demonstrated Skills (Specific, Cross-Functional) 

• Develop a critical awareness of knowledge within a field and/or at the intersection of several fields 
• Conduct a reflective and objective analysis that takes into account the issues, challenges, and complexity of a situation 
• Identify the processes involved in the production, dissemination, and application of knowledge. 
• Develop a critical awareness of knowledge within a field and/or at the intersection of several fields.