What do the teachers think about the experimental activities in Biology?

Abstract

In this work, we present results about the study of Argentinean Biology teachers' conceptions about Experimental Activities (AE). We sought to conceptualize from epistemology, the historical-epistemological relevance of articulating Functional Biology and Evolutionary Biology. The study was carried out from a qualitative perspective, based on the content analysis and using a questionnaire validated by experts as a data collection technique to investigate the perceptions regarding the thematic nuclei considered in the AEs, the objectives, the advantages and disadvantages of such activities. The survey was organized in three axes and distributed through the mailing list of the Association of Biological Sciences Teachers of Argentina. The sample was made up of fifty-six professors. The results show the predominance of traditional teaching models with a classical image of the sciences considering the EA as necessary activities to reinforce theory with an empirical-inductivist cut. A considerable number mention institutional obstacles linked to the infrastructure available in laboratories and working conditions. The preferred thematic nuclei were those from the field of Functional Biology.