Abstract
The Chromosomal Theory of Inheritance (TCI) developed in the early of twentieth century proposes that the Mendelian factors were linked to chromosomes. Here we performed a qualitative analysis on teaching and learning of the TCI, through the analysis of Biology textbooks and semi-structured interviews with high school students. The results suggest that students were not able to establish relationships between Mendelian inheritance and meiosis. Regarding the textbooks, we observed the clear dissociation of the contents between Mendel's laws and meiotic cell division. One way to overcome this difficulty would be a focus in the epistemology of the TCI using the history of science. This proposal has basis on the idea that historical and philosophical contexts can humanize the sciences and further may contribute to the critical formation of the student as well as support meaningful learning on the development of concepts related to the topic studied.
Keywords:
Chromosomal Theory of Inheritance; Genetics teaching; High School