The story of a controversy in the History of Technology for learning about the Nature of Technology: Tesla vs. Edison-The War of the Currents

Abstract

The Tesla vs. Edison controversy known as «The War of The Currents» in the History of Technology is presented. It is focused on addressing in classroom a set of questions related to the Nature of Technology (NOT) from an explicit and reflective approach. The teaching proposal is aimed to the prospective Secondary Education teachers training in NOT issues and its didactics. Attention is given to both epistemic and non-epistemic aspects in the text of the controversy and the NOT questions asked. Also, some methodological recommendations for implementing and assessing the didactic proposal in science classroom are offered.