La formulación química en la formación inicial del profesorado: Concepciones y propuestas

Chemical formulation in Spain is taught in middle school. Because of its difficulty, it is a considerable challenge for secondary school teachers. This problem is a serious one because when chemical formulation is not well taught, something that happens all too frequently, students can acquire a negative attitude towards chemistry. This can subsequently lead them to reject the subject completely and even make them decide against studying science at all. Most research on this topic is centered on the student. However this study focuses on the teacher and the difficulties inherent in teaching chemical formulation. As such, it is particularly relevant for preservice secondary school teacher training. For this purpose, a study was made of teachers’ conceptions of how formulation should be taught. The results obtained showed that these conceptions are in consonance with a set of tendencies and patterns that constitute a spontaneous teaching model. After a critical analysis of this model, a training course is presented that takes these tendencies and patterns into account. It includes a didactic proposal of how to teach chemical formulation more effectively.La enseñanza de la formulación química, que se realiza en la segunda etapa de la ESO, constituye por sus dificultades un verdadero reto para el profesorado del que difícilmente sale airoso. El problema es delicado porque, además, puede generar actitudes de rechazo de los alumnos que muchas veces conducen a un abandono de los estudios de ciencias. El presente trabajo aborda el tema centrándose en el profesor y, concretamente, en el profesor en formación. Se han estudiado las concepciones que tiene acerca de cómo llevar a cabo la enseñanza del tema y se ha comprobado que responden a unos patrones que constituyen lo que podría llamarse un modelo docente espontáneo. Tras la crítica correspondiente, se ha diseñado una secuencia para el curso de formación que tiene en cuenta estas concepciones e incluye, además, una propuesta alternativa de enseñanza inicial de la formulación.Palabras clave: enseñanza de las ciencias; formulación química; formación inicial del profesorado; preconcepciones sobre enseñanza.Chemical formulation in the initial training of secondary school teachers: conceptions and proposals Chemical formulation in Spain is taught in middle school. Because of its difficulty, it is a considerable challenge for secondary school teachers. This problem is a serious one because when chemical formulation is not well taught, something that happens all too frequently, students can acquire a negative attitude towards chemistry. This can subsequently lead them to reject the subject completely and even make them decide against studying science at all. Most research on this topic is centered on the student. However this study focuses on the teacher and the difficulties inherent in teaching chemical formulation. As such, it is particularly relevant for preservice secondary school teacher training. For this purpose, a study was made of teachers’ conceptions of how formulation should be taught. The results obtained showed that these conceptions are in consonance with a set of tendencies and patterns that constitute a spontaneous teaching model. After a critical analysis of this model, a training course is presented that takes these tendencies and patterns into account. It includes a didactic proposal of how to teach chemical formulation more effectively.Key words: science teaching; chemical formulation; preservice teacher training; preconceptions of teaching