Enseigner et apprendre les sciences Scientific education and acquisition Ouvrage écrit sous la direction de Monique Goffard et Annick Weil-Barais, chez Armand Colin. LE livre bilan des recherches du LIREST

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Too abstract, too difficult, elitist, unsuitable for new state schools…: the teaching of science is the subject of numerous criticisms.  Yet, the educational value of its tuition is undeniable; it encourages the intellectual development of young children and adolescents, it helps develop responsible and informed citizens capable of taking part in society's major debates (the GM issue, the management of the planet's resources, energy choices, etc.)  In short, it provides a foothold for entry into a large number of professions in a varied number of sectors (agriculture, arts and craft, economics, the environment, industry, the health service,...)  How then should this education be organised so that it is accessible to all students?  What objectives should be followed?  What are the relevant activities?  What are the educational strategies, and how should the impact of these on students be evaluated?

This work, written by a team of authors, uses more than two decades worth of research carried out by LIREST (Laboratoire Interuniverstaire de Recherche sur l'Enseignment des Sciences et des Techniques); a pioneer in France in the research of science and technology education at both junior and senior high school level.  It takes up what is at the origin of the questions being tackled as well as the strategic choices carried out in regards to these, and offers an assessment of the research contributions as much from the point of view of the comprehension of the processes in play as from the teaching recommendations.  Alternating between interviews with people who are highly involved in the reform of teaching and research, a guide to teaching aids, summaries of research papers on the essential subjects like the solution of the problem, and the modelling or assessment of experiments, this book details, in a lively manner, the evolution of ideas in regards to scientific education.

The first work of its kind in French incorporating a considerable amount of research, this book forms  an indispensable tool for all those interested in scientific and technical education.

Monique Goffard, visiting researcher at the Unité Mixte de Recherche STEF-ENS Cachan-INRP, and Annick Weil-Barais, professor of psychology at the University of Angers and director of the  "Thought Process" psychology laboratory, have assured the general co-ordination of this work which brings together the contributions of  more than twenty specialists.

Authors :
Daniel Beaufils, Michel Beney, Michel Caillot, Elias Chalouhi, Alain Chomat, Suzana Coelho, Goéry Delacôte, Alfa Oumar Diallo, Andrée Dumas Carré, Michelle Dupont, Daniel Gil- Perez, André Giordan, Monique Goffard, Léonidas Gomatos, Babacar Gueye, Faouzia Kalali, Claudine Larcher, Joël Lebeaume, Gérard Lemeignan, Jean Louis Martinand, Marie-Geneviève Séré, Christian Souchon, Andrée Tiberghien,