Procesos de modelación generados por estudiantes de educación media alrededor del fenómeno de dilatación térmica

Abstract

The main objective of this research was to develop modeling processes in high school students from a public school in Bogota city, facing the phenomenon of thermal expansion. These modeling processes were evaluated based on the construction of explanatory models by students, according to the proposal of Gutiérrez (2004) iabout Ontological, Epistemological, and Psychological model (ONEPSI). Data collection was developed through a didactic intervention planned and applied by the researcher, during three times in four moments. we collected writing material and video recording. Data were analyzed using content analysis techniques, always looking for evidence of mental modeling process in the students. In summary, the results obtained allowed us to describe modeling processes generated by the students with shreds of evidence about theoretical and practical explanation models, which starts from ontological aspects, going to the epistemological and finally the establishment of correlations. It is clear that this process was not linear, but occurred in a cyclical way, where both the research teacher and the students were increasingly refining their ability to organize ideas in a model with internal coherence, approaching the conceptual model of science regarding thermal expansion, explained from the molecular kinetic theory. We demonstrate the potential of this strategy in chemistry teaching and learning process