Science teachers’ in-service education to enhance students’ critical and creative thinking

Abstract

Science and Technology have a major impact in the way people live in modern societies. Therefore, Science Education plays a vital role in students’ preparation for the possibilities the unknown future presents. Its addition is considered a fundamental setting for thinking competencies that encourage innovative solutions and reflective reasoning, particularly critical and creative thinking (CCT), closely linked, according to international education guiding principles, with a conscious and responsible citizenship.

However, some argue that the didactic proposals used in science classrooms are, in general, distant from those guidelines providing little development of CCT in a stated and structured manner. Therefore, it is important to rethink science teachers’ education and provide opportunities for a specific preparation since teachers’ pre-service education does not include instructions on how to promote CCT in an intentionally, explicitly and systematically way.

Critical Thinking and Creative Thinking are two productive, deliberate and transversal ways of thinking that are vital to effective learning and to an active and informed citizenship. The strong natural link of complementarity that can be inferred between CCT enables the making of informed decisions, the prediction and logical assessment of the impact of those decisions, the autonomous development of adaptive and innovative ideas to solve problems and the understanding of socially contextualized scientific processes and phenomena.

This communication intends to present the characteristics of a theoretically based proposal related to an in-service education programme that prepares and qualifies teachers to respond to the difficult task of promoting students’ CCT. Accordingly, this education programme, a part of an initial undergoing PhD research, consists of 25 hours, 12 of which presencial and 13 in an autonomous work regime, covering: i) awareness of the relevance of CCT to students’ education; ii) CCT conceptual clarification; and iii) CCT pedagogical, teaching and assessment practices.

The described in-service education programme emphasizes reflective collaborativeworkand considers the findings of earlier researches that point at the importance of providing professional learning opportunities throughout teachers long-term careers. Its implementation aims the renewal of didacticpractices in science classes to enhance students’ thinking skills and deepen their engagement in the learning process.