Didactics and Epistemology of Biology I [SAGRM203]

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student will be able to : • describe the tasks of education and the current education system; • to understand the biology syllabus and references; • to propose course sequences based on active teaching methods; • to think about their course in a scientific way; • design a laboratory session; • to have a critical look at the tools at their disposal; • to make concept maps.

Objectives

The objectives of this course are to • to prepare students to teach biology in secondary schools; • to construct learning sequences (theory, exercises and laboratories); • develop and critique methodologies for learning biology; • identify the main difficulties encountered by pupils in teaching biology and provide appropriate didactic solutions; • observe and analyse the practices of biology and experimental science teachers in secondary schools.

Content

The didactics and epistemology course does not focus on the subject but on the way it is taught. It is therefore necessary to have a sufficient level of knowledge in biology to understand the ins and outs of the subject. During the course of this unit, the student will be required to : • analyse the topics of the biology curriculum for the 1st , 2nd and 3rd grades of secondary education; • working on preconceptions in biology ; • carry out a laboratory ; • designing a concept map ; • criticize the different tools available around the same theme; • develop lesson plans; • Consider teaching strategies for sensitive topics; • Reflect on the use of ICT in biology ; • ...