The Notion of Praxeology as a Tool to Analyze Educational Process in Science Museums

Abstract

The transformation of scientific knowledge with the purposes of teaching and dissemination in museums can be analyzed with the Anthropological Theory of the Didactic (ATD), proposed by Yves Chevallard and colleagues, in order to identify the knowledge produced by museums through their educational activities. Understanding dioramas as didactic objects produced for the purpose of teaching and learning entails studying them in a praxeological perspective, because it allows to highlight the relationship between the theoretical and the practical dimension of the object. Praxeology is thus a theoretical framework that at the same time works as a tool that is informed by the theoretical perspective to reveal teaching intentions. A qualitative analysis identified the theory and technology in the context of this exhibition and also the tasks and techniques proposed for one of the dioramas from the Museum of Zoology, University of São Paulo, Brazil. In this text we show how the concept of praxeological organization, from ATD, can be used to identify the intentions related to what and how to teach in museums, revealing the didactic potential of teaching ideas about ecology and biodiversity. For example, we identified a task named “recognize epiphytism,” and to accomplish it, the visitor should be able to perform techniques such as observe the diorama, identify and recognize the plant’s habitat, and raise the assumption of cause and effect. Additionally, we discuss the potential and limitations of dioramas for teaching and disseminating the biodiversity aspects from the concept of epistemological vigilance and propose the concept of museographic vigilance to discuss the control process for producing dioramas in museums.