Un modèle didactique de littérature de vulgarisation scientifique destinée à de jeunes lecteurs
Nowadays, different literary resources of popular science, including children's literature, are used to address the scientific content in elementary classrooms. Without trying to replace textbooks, these non-formal educational tools offer different narrative and informative texts that present demonstrations of science. In addition to developing scientific curiosity, children's trade books propose scientific texts of high quality. However, these texts would not be without some level of weakness. In particular, they sometimes present erroneous concepts leading to misconceptions. To support the science writers in the popular science resource development suited to alternative conceptions of young learners, and ultimately to get them to change these conceptions, we identified a didactic text designed primarily for classroom work called refutation text. To promote conceptual change, the text first sets out an alternative design, refutes the alternative conception, and then presents scientific explanation. After the analysis of three refutation texts, we were able to identify some didactic concepts at the heart of this text pattern; the concept map, the learner’s knowledge level, and didactic transposition. Inspired by these concepts, we have developed a didactic model of popular science to accompany a science writer, step by step, in the design of appropriate resources for young readers. The Design Experiment model has allowed us to test and improve this experimental model of popular science through the participation of two science writers who each developed two popular science texts. One writer composed two narrative texts, another wrote two informative texts for a group of 83 students in fifth grade. Topics covered in these texts were white sharks, beluga whales, and muscles and training. To study the evolution of student conception, each answered pre-test and post-test questions and some students were also asked to participate in group interviews with the science writers. This research brought together didactics and popular science. Science writers were able to measure the relevance of taking into account the views of young readers’ conceptions, the use of refutation text, and the adaptation of the texts to learner’s knowledge level.
popular science alternative conception refutation text trade book didactic model science writer informative text narrative text