Beliefs of Teachers in Training about Dowsers and Application of the Aquifer Model
Abstract
Science teaching should make it easier to discriminate between scientific and pseudoscientific information. This work collects the arguments given by teachers in training (TT) to give credibility or not to the dowsing technique as a strategy to find groundwater. The participants had previously participated in a modeling sequence on the functioning of a karst aquifer. Individually written responses were analyzed. Half of the TT believed in the technique, but few arguments included justifications or refutations. Several TT applied the aquifer model when explaining the finding of water, but turned to electromagnetism instead of justifying their answer. Difficulties were found for TT to argue and to transfer the constructed knowledge, fundamentally due to not adequately identifying the model involved in the context, which contributed to its credulity. Educational implications are discussed.
Keywords
Model, Critical thinking, Teachers, PseudosciencesReferences
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