Abstract:
Scientific observation and observation records are central science process skills to the understanding in science. Nevertheless, there is a lack of curriculum materials developed to teach these skills to science teachers in training at the undergraduate level in Brazil. This study reports the perceptions of a group of preservice biology teachers regarding the scientific processes of observation and observational recording during a teaching unit. The study's authors collected qualitative data through semi-structured student interviews, questionnaires, photographs, assignments, and videotaping/audiotaping of class activities. The study's findings show that students refined their perceptions of observation and recording processes during the teaching unit, labeling them as subjective, detailed, influenced by the observer's previous knowledge, and by instruments. These characteristics corroborate an epistemological perspective in that observation and observational records are defined as dependent on the theoretical background and practical training of a scientist who also interprets phenomena according to a historically situated theory.
Keywords:
Undergraduate teaching; Biology teaching; Scientific research; Observation