Initial explanatory models of deaf students on plant tropisms

Abstract

The study presents the preliminary results of a research in Didactics of Natural Sciences, University of Córdoba, Colombia. The identified problem is related to the difficulties that deaf students face in understanding the adaptive responses and stimulus responses exhibited by plants, with a particular focus on tropism phenomena. The purpose of the study was to characterize the initial explanatory models, highlighting the importance of identifying possible learning barriers, knowledge gaps, or alternative interpretations that deaf students employ when explaining plant responses to stimuli. To this end, a qualitative approach with a case study design was used. Although progress is evident, considering that students exhibit a variety of explanations, many of them based on observation, experience, and analogy, challenges persist in the conceptual transition with animistic models and non-scientific explanations. It is necessary to strengthen the explanation of physiological mechanisms and the appropriation of scientific language, especially in contexts of sensory and linguistic diversity. The results allow for the identification of particularities in the learning of this population, also highlighting the importance of modeling to make the initial explanatory models of deaf students visible, by identifying their initial state and, based on that, planning pedagogical interventions that favor a conceptual progression enabling them to develop a greater understanding, significantly improving educational practices and promoting inclusion in the teaching of Natural Sciences.