La didáctica de las ciencias en la Educación Primaria y su relación con los planteamientos de comienzos del siglo xx

Abstract

This article attempts to highlight the fact that science teaching in primary education, from the entry into force of the LOGSE and up to the present day, is closely related to the pedagogical approaches of several teachers in teacher training colleges, most of whom were linked to the Institución Libre de Enseñanza at the beginning of the twentieth century. The teaching method developed in this article encompasses three models, which Aurelio Usón Jaeger describes as: active, paidocentric and vitalist. Active teaching, characterised by a methodology based on the effective participation and constant development of the pupils, in which they learn as they go along, with special importance being given to the observation of natural beings and processes "invivo", and experimentation through the carrying out of diverse and simple experiments. Paedocentric teaching, in which the scientific content is more in tune with the child's interests, intellectual capacity and particular way of perceiving nature. Finally, vitalist teaching focuses on inculcating multiple educational values, which are preparatory and, at the same time, useful for children in their later life and in its broadest sense, such as the acquisition of the habit of scientific enquiry (Usón, 2003, p.100).