An Investigation of Concepts about “Gases” through Didactic Transposition in Higher Education

Abstract

Didactic transposition theory examines the development from scientific / academic knowledge being produced by scientists to it becoming learned knowledge constructed by learners. According to the theory, four kinds of knowledge exist: scientific knowledge, knowledge to be taught, taught knowledge and learned knowledge. In this study, learning and teaching processes and the transition between different types of knowledge were investigated in detail for the concept of “Gases” in higher education General Chemistry-I courses. The study was designed as a qualitative case study. Data were collected by lesson observations, semi-structured interviews, the Diagnostic Form and Word Association Test. The results revealed that the didactic preferences of the instructors were highly effective in influencing taught knowledge. It was additionally observed that the “knowledge to be taught” of the instructors affected “the taught knowledge,” and that the learned knowledge of the pre-service teachers was closely connected to “taught knowledge” with individual characteristics. It can be concluded that the interaction between the instructor and pre-service teacher positively affected the learned knowledge of pre-service teachers. It was also found that pre-service teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge and hidden curricula are effective for taught and learned knowledge.