Area
social Sciences
Sub-Discipline
Education Sciences
Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso
- City: Valparaìso,
- Commune: Valparaìso,
- Region: Valparaíso Region
goals
The overall objective of the Program is to train specialists in the field of Science Education, with the capacity to conduct research in order to, on the one hand, contribute to the improvement of their own practices, and on the other hand, generate knowledge about the teaching and learning of science. This is achieved through a training process that involves the formation of working teams, contributing evidence to the processes of understanding and improving the quality of science teaching at the basic, secondary, and higher education levels, and through deepening their knowledge in both Science and its Didactics, as well as through collaborative reflection processes.
Applicant Profile
Science teachers (Biology, Chemistry, Physics) or Basic Education teachers with training in Science and Professionals with a degree or title related to science who carry out some type of teaching or are involved in science education processes.
Graduate profile
The program seeks to train a science education professional who: – Demonstrates a deep understanding of science didactics, including how science learning occurs and what the current teaching strategies and approaches are that promote students' scientific literacy.
– Demonstrates disciplinary, epistemological knowledge and core scientific skills to promote in his students the construction of a contemporary vision of scientific work.
– Reflect on your own practice, valuing the use of evidence in the construction of your own professional knowledge.
– Conducts research aimed at producing original and relevant scientific knowledge in the field of science education. (Academic profile).
– Makes changes in their practice through the generation of innovative teaching proposals and critical reflection on their work as a teacher (Professional Profile).
Lines of investigation
The faculty of the MDCE Program has a distinguished track record in science research and science education. In the latter area, there are nearly 150 publications in the last 10 years, including books, book chapters, and articles in mainstream journals indexed in ISI, Scopus, or SciELO (see Appendix 1). Similarly, it is worth noting that the Program's faculty have carried out 18 research projects funded externally to PUCV through the National Commission for Science and Technology. The majority of this scientific output focuses on three lines of research: a) Initial and ongoing training of science teachers; b) Epistemology, Philosophy, and Nature of Science; and c) Science Teaching and Learning.
These lines of inquiry are in constant interaction with two areas of professional development addressed in the program, primarily related to two themes: a) Design of learning sequences and progressions, and b) Teacher reflection, collaboration, and research on practice. These areas of development are reflected in: the participation of academics in the creation of books on the subject, ongoing work with teachers in the education system (whether through courses offered by the Faculty or training programs developed by the Ministry of Education), consulting, and participation in expert panels on topics such as the development of questions for the INICIA test, the creation of training standards for science teachers, and commissions for the accreditation of science programs, among many others.
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