The activity was developed in two modules, made up of workshops, both aimed at the impact of science in the classroom.

In a joint connection with the environment between the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso and the University of La Serena, the workshops "Thinking scientifically in the classroom: From observation to modeling" were carried out by Dr. Dirk Krüger, academic at the Institute of Biology Education at the Freie Universität Berlin, and “How to teach Biology using Scientific Thinking?”, taught by PUCV academic, Dr. Hernán Cofré.

In-service biology teachers, students of the ULS Biology and Natural Sciences Pedagogy program and academics from the institution participated in the activity.

The first workshop had the objective of establishing the characteristics of observation, experimentation and working with models, through the implementation of three scientific activities that can be developed in school classrooms and that highlight the importance of the modeling activity, and the characteristics of models in science. 

In the second workshop, in which the content of biological evolution was used as a case study, the objectives were to recognize the different approaches in teaching biology, recognize the different obstacles that must be overcome to understand evolution and execute and analyze different activities that include working on scientific thinking skills along with developing an understanding of evolution.

For the PUCV academic, Hernán Cofré, these instances are enriching “because we are lucky to be able to interact with teachers who are in the classroom and who connect us with reality, in addition to being able to transfer knowledge to other regions, through the collaborative work that "We have through different projects, in this case the MEC of FONDECYT 1181801, which allowed us to bring Dr. Krüger."

MEC is the National Competition to Attract Advanced Human Capital from Abroad, Short Stay Modality, which seeks to promote the exchange and dissemination of knowledge between researchers from abroad and Chilean students and researchers, the formation of international networks and strengthen the formation of human capital advanced, especially at the graduate level.

“These instances are of vital importance, since they allow multi-experiential work, with a direct impact on teaching, since it allows work between teachers and students, as well as in research in education, since it opens spaces to reflect and communicate the results of recent research in areas of biology teaching,” said the Director of LIITEC-ULS, academic Francisco López.

Instances were also generated to socialize the experiences of using educational technological resources for science teaching, in particular, mobile applications of the cell cycle and atomic model, an activity that was led by academic Francisco López.

Written by Patricia Castro, DirCom