Modelling in the scientific approach to teaching life and earth sciences: Views and practices of Moroccan teachers

Modeling is a fundamental tool in the teaching and learning processes of life and earth sciences. It serves as an investigative instrument that enables students to test hypotheses and solve scientific problems. This paper presents the findings of a survey conducted among 96 Moroccan life and earth sciences teachers teaching students at the primary, junior high and high school levels. The study aims to highlight the role of modelling in life sciences instruction and explore teachers' understanding, approaches and perceptions towards models and modeling practices. A questionnaire-based methodology was employed to collect data on teachers' awareness of the significance of models in life sciences and the instructional approaches that are adopted in these models. The findings reveal Moroccan teachers' clear grasp of models' significance in teaching life sciences. Moreover, they employ similar approaches to models and modeling practices. The research highlights instructors' awareness of models' potential to increase the effectiveness and appeal of scientific instruction. It establishes modeling's pivotal role in instructing life sciences, emphasizing the need to incorporate modeling activities into the curriculum to nurture students' scientific inquiry and problem-solving skills. The study's practical implications suggest the value of training programs and professional development initiatives for teachers to promote model use in life sciences instruction. Enhancing teachers' knowledge and pedagogical strategies related to modeling can enrich science education leading to increased student engagement and achievement in the life sciences

Aperçu Sur La Place De La Demarche D’investigation En Sciences Experimentales Dans L’enseignement Du Secondaire Qualifiant Cas De L’academie De La Ville De Fes

The investigative approach (DI) demonstrates more and more its potential in teaching. Indeed, it enables students to develop skills, attitudes and interests, which are necessary to live in a society increasingly dependent on the applications of science. This study falls within the framework of research studies questioning the application of the investigative approach in the teaching of science in Morocco. In this work, we aim to highlight the representations of secondary school teachers about the concept of investigative approach, see whether this approach is adopted or not in the teaching of experimental sciences disciplines (Science of life and earth, Science of physics and chemistry) and determine the constraints and the obstacles to its implementation. In order to achieve these objectives, a questionnaire was drawn up and was the subject of an exploratory study among 45 teachers of experimental sciences practicing in different secondary schools in Fez city. The results of this survey reveal, firstly, that the teachers questioned seem to have confusions about the investigation process and secondly, they highlight the presence of a set of constraints and difficulties which prevent its application in the classroom

The Impact of an Interactive Approach on the Evolution of Moroccan University Students’ Conceptions of Neurotransmission

Currently, it is taken for granted that teachers have to take into account the conceptions in order to achieve some efficient learning, the latter are generally resistant and may hinder the learning. Studies have shown that learning amounts to make conceptions evolve which play a determining role in the appropriation of scientific concepts such as neurotransmission, which is the subject of our study. This concept is present in the Life Science syllabus as early as high school. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of an interactive approach on the evolution of students' conceptions of neurotransmission. For this purpose, a questionnaire was administered to the first two years’ students (second year) in the Life Sciences stream at Dhar El Mahraz Faculty of Science in Fez during the academic year 2016-2017. This questionnaire was in the form of a pre-test and a post-test on learning/teaching of neurotransmission. The results of the study showed that the approach which was adopted had a positive effect on the evolution of the students' conceptions of neurotransmission in that it apparently contributed to a conceptual change for them

Evaluation of the Analysis of Classroom Practices of Future Moroccan Teachers

The Moroccan education system has undergone several reforms, the latest reform aimed at improving the qualifying training of future teachers by integrating the basis of the teaching profession professionalization; which requires the development of professional competencies. In fact, the future teacher must learn to take a critical look at his classroom practices, to describe his professional gestures and to analyze his teaching practices in order to assess their efficiency. However we can ask the following question: is the future teacher trained in such a way able to question his classroom practices constantly? To answer this question, we developed an analysis grid of teaching practices, which was addressed to primary school trainees, within the city's Regional Center of Education and Training Professions of Fez in Morocco, in order to analyze the teaching practices of a future teacher in full action by peers, this analysis is made based on viewing a video capsule. The processing of the data collected from the grid revealed that the majority of these future teachers have not been able to acquire the capacity to analyze these teaching practices in an efficient manner. The use of the analytical grid has been of crucial importance in determining the profile of future teachers capable of competently exercising their teaching profession

Evaluation of the Analysis of Classroom Practices of Future Moroccan Teachers

The Moroccan education system has undergone several reforms, the latest reform aimed at improving the qualifying training of future teachers by integrating the basis of the teaching profession professionalization; which requires the development of professional competencies. In fact, the future teacher must learn to take a critical look at his classroom practices, to describe his professional gestures and to analyze his teaching practices in order to assess their efficiency. However we can ask the following question: is the future teacher trained in such a way able to question his classroom practices constantly? To answer this question, we developed an analysis grid of teaching practices, which was addressed to primary school trainees, within the city's Regional Center of Education and Training Professions of Fez in Morocco, in order to analyze the teaching practices of a future teacher in full action by peers, this analysis is made based on viewing a video capsule. The processing of the data collected from the grid revealed that the majority of these future teachers have not been able to acquire the capacity to analyze these teaching practices in an efficient manner. The use of the analytical grid has been of crucial importance in determining the profile of future teachers capable of competently exercising their teaching profession