Investigating the structure and the content of pupils’ written explanations during science teaching sequences focused on conceptual obstacles

Abstract

The present paper aims at investigating the structure and the content of the written explanationsproduced by primary school pupils’ (aged 11-12) during teaching sequences focused onthe didactic elaboration of obstacles regarding temperature and heat. At first, teaching sequencestargeted at the pupils’ destabilising, restructuring and identifying the obstacles weredesigned and implemented. Next, the pupils’ written explanations were analysed with respectto their structure and content. The results of the analysis indicate: (a) the differentiated levelsof pupils’ written explanations with regard to their structure and content, (b) the evolution ofthe levels concerning the structure and the content of the written explanations produced duringthe teaching sequences and (c) the relation between the levels concerning the structureand the content of pupils’ written explanations.