The construct of epistemological obstacle for an interpretation in a didactic way of the relationship between naive knowledge and formal knowledge in physics
Monica Tombolato
The influence of naive conceptions on students’ formal learning of physics, being the focus of many researchers in the field of learning and education since the 70s, requires addressing the transmission of scientific knowledge in the light of commonsense knowledge acquired through interaction with the natural and cultural environment. In the attempt to provide a solution to the difficulties raised by this complex issue, conceptual change theorists pay specific attention to students’ mental representations.
The aim of this work is to show how these contributions – fundamental but partial because exclusively focused on the Subject – can be included within the construct of epistemological obstacle. For this purpose it has been proposed a reassessment of the original concept of epistemological obstacle based on the integration of Bachelard’s and Brousseau’s perspectives, in order to let this construct gain more relevance from a didactical point of view.
Keywords
Naive physics, epistemological obstacle, didactic transposition.
