Discrepant Events: From the Doubt to the Scientific Attitude

Ricardo Montañez Garavito

 Abstract

Since the early years of schooling, mathematics and language have been broached, presuming that the responsibility of their teaching lies on related areas, why do not think that solutions to problems in the apprehension and application of basic languages can be arisen from areas that use them as a fundamental tool?  To find and apply methods that guarantee the teaching and learning processes of knowledge in more structured areas, is one of the fundamental objectives of the proposal in Discrepant Events. The use of Discrepant Events, is a methodological strategy that allows to improve the learning of the natural sciences, achieving   the significant apprehension of knowledge, enhancing in its application the mathematical and communicative competences in its application.

Keywords: discrepant events, doubt and creativity, competences, transposition

 

This article is a brief description of the research thesis entitled “Uso de Eventos Discrepantes en la Enseñanza Aprendizaje de la Química” (Use of Dissenting Events in Learning Chemistry Teaching) from the Master’s Degree in Education with emphasis on Reading-writing and Mathematics from the School of Education at Universidad Externado de Colombia, finished in 2014, aimed at showing the importance of communicative and mathematical skills as fundamental resources in the teaching processes.

The hypothesis in this research stated that since the early years of school, mathematics and language are fundamental instruments in the teaching and learning processes of more structured areas, as a complementary to this point of the need to explain and understand everything that surrounds us from the natural sciences. It is something inherent to each one of us interested in it, which would make us assume that their learning is innate for any student in the education process (Barbosa, 2008).

This complementary ideal among scientific, mathematical and communicative competences is not reflected in the academic and cultural advances of students in some of our contexts. In turn, in the applicability of the knowledge perceived as apprehended, generates dissatisfaction with the teaching and learning processes in both teachers and students (Salcedo, 2010). From a variety of backgrounds, the proposal aims at identifying the benefits of this work from the methodology in Dissenting Events (1) and its importance as a teaching strategy to strengthen core competencies both communicative and mathematical, especially in students from public institutions.

According to the above, the solutions to problems in the apprehension and application of basic languages (communicative and mathematical), can be given from the teaching and learning of the areas that use them as a fundamental instrument, contributing and enhancing the processes developed by related areas.

Within our contexts, it is commonly heard that students do not address more structured knowledge due to their low level of apprehension of these competencies, the proposal has disarticulated this paradigm. From the natural sciences, the cross-cutting process of teaching – learning is achieved, enhancing training and academic self-esteem from an innovative and motivating pedagogical experience, the Dissenting Events.

The methodology in Dissenting Events is based on the fundamental principles of the first two stages of the scientific method, so it focuses on a type of Action Research organized in three phases or stages, each with its categories, subcategories and Indicators. For the first two phases (diagnosis and intervention) information gather instruments were applied and based on their results, the third phase of the proposal or analysis of the information was implemented to determine the respective findings and conclusions of the process (Montañez, 2015).

This process was initially conducted with 36 five-year students (tenth and eleventh grades) of the Los Tejares I.E.D. College, from the categories raised: study of chemical concepts communicative skills and associated mathematical concepts. The inputs and evidence for data collection were based on theoretical and practical proposals from the study of basic stochiometry, characterization of equality and mathematical proportionality and the approach and balancing of chemical equations to starting from practice in Dissenting Events (Montañez, 2015).

Currently, it is developed as a natural sciences project for more than 240 students from sixth through eleventh grades. That is, what I started as a research project in an area, at the Master’s level, has turned into a methodological and area project that develops scientific training to enhance communication skills and mathematics.

Among the numerous achievements throughout 5 years of application, we participated as speakers in the first meeting of Research in Education organized in 2015 by the Faculty of Education Sciences of the Universidad Externado de Colombia, whose support has been fundamental over the process both at the research level and at the application of the proposal. In turn, in 2018, we achieved the construction and adaptation of our physical and virtual laboratory, in Colegio Los Tejares IED located in the fifth town of Usme, where the proposal has been implemented since 2014, thanks to the academic and practice accomplishments of the students, as the main actors of the process.

Also, the participation in mathematical, scientific Olympics, research meetings and its institutional progressiveness, positioned this research study as one of the best 36 proposals at Bogota level in 2015 in the program of “Pedagogical Expeditions” whose fundamental achievement was to demonstrate the strengthening of academic and personal self-esteem in public school students and to educate them with both professional and intellectual visions.

Concerning personal level, the proposal opened the gate of the School of Education at Universidad Externado de Colombia, with emphasis on Reading-writing and mathematics, as a student sponsored by the alliance between the University and the program Advanced Training for teachers of the Secretary of District Education, a very important achievement in my education and in my career, since I earned the title of MA degree, once I fulfilled my academic expectations.

It is motivating to professional level, that in the medium and long term there is evidence of a true effective and quality education, thanks to the rigorousness, discipline and ethical principles from critical and pedagogical foundations received in the research process, developed in the postgraduate degree in education and its consolidation and implementation in the public institution to which I belong at the district level. Educating students with clear academic, personal, work and social visions. The goals attained through the based on its project of life aligned with the philosophy of the school leads us to the transformation of the educational reality of our country and the family context, as the outcome of the teachers’ devoted labor, with the recognition of society.

_____________________

1 Proposition and practical methodology based on the Socratic Mayeutic in which, the student proposes solutions abstractly to an event or event, then the same is made from observation and / or experimentation in which the student sees that his approaches in most cases were wrong.

______________________

References

Barbosa, L. H. (2008, 20 de junio). Los experimentos discrepantes en el aprendizaje activo de la Física. Latin American Journal of Physics Education. 2(3), 246-252.

Montañez, R. (2015). Uso de Eventos Discrepantes en la Enseñanza – Aprendizaje de la Química (Tesis de Maestría). Facultad de Educación Universidad Externado de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia.

Salcedo, A. (2010, 1 de abril). Deserción Universitaria en Colombia. Revista Academia y  Virtualidad, Universidad Militar Nueva Granada. 3(1), 50-60.