Academic experiences of workshops of Natural Sciences aimed at teachers of junior high schools

In our country, the results of indicator exams, as it is the case of PISA (Program for International Student Assessment), has led to some institutional concerns. Such tests applied to young people of 15 years of age, reflect the level of the education systems of the countries members of the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development). The Secretary of Education of Guanajuato State, supported by the Council of Science and Technology of Guanajuato, has recently proposed a strategy to improve the quality of the education of basic level in the State of Guanajuato. Statistics that showed results of evaluations in natural sciences (physics, chemistry and biology) applied to students at the secondary level were used for this purpose. These evaluations detected items of greater problems in each of these sciences under institutional programs of study. Based on the thematic issues proposed, workshops separated by discipline (physics, chemistry and biology) were developed to support teachers of junior high school. The objective was that at the same time they initiated their students in the knowledge of these sciences. The aim of improving the quality of education interacting with teachers active in the educational system is not a novel idea. However, these workshops were intended to encourage the teacher to acquire competencies and skills needed to develop scientific projects at the level of their knowledge, and to convey motivation and enthusiasm for the study of science. Themes were exposed in several workshops, under a different approach for each discipline. In the case of physics, two workshops were propose