Abstract
Science education needs to develop skills such as constructing explanations of natural phenomena with scientific support. This ability allows going beyond the description and explanation of daily life through the usage of scientific knowledge. In this study we implemented fading scaffolds in cycles of inquiry primary science, in two groups of 5th grade students in a learning unit about microorganisms and their proliferation. They wrote several explanations aided by scaffolding material. The trajectory of some students identified relationships between the outcomes of their explanations and the type of scaffold applied. The results showed a learning progression, however not linear. We concluded that scaffolding is useful not only for the design of supportive strategies, but also for students to monitor their own advances and, therefore, the development of metacognitive skills. Projections in the field of didactics of primary science are discussed, as well as considerations for teaching practice and students’ learning.
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Funding from CONICYT_PAI, Program for Returning Researchers from Abroad, call 2013 grant number 821320002 and PIA-CONICYT Basal Funds for Centers of Excellence Project FB0003 is gratefully acknowledged.
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Sommer Lohrmann, M.E., Cabello, V.M. (2018). Supporting the Construction of Explanations of Natural Phenomena in Primary School Pupils. In: Andre, T. (eds) Advances in Human Factors in Training, Education, and Learning Sciences. AHFE 2017. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 596. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60018-5_41
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60018-5_41
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