Enseignement/apprentissage de la chimie : construction du concept de molécule chez les apprenants de la classe de troisième (13-15 ans) du collège d’enseignement secondaire général de ntuissong – Obala.

Abstract

This study examines the need to use the Peircian iconic sign in its triadic form as a relevant didactic tool in the conceptualization of the molecule by learners in the third year of secondary school (13-15 years old), during the teaching during the teaching/learning of chemistry. To this end, an experiment paper/pencil experiment was conducted on a sample of 34 students (aged 13-15) from the « Collège l'Enseignement Secondaire de Ntuissong-Obala these learners were divided by reasoned choice into two distinct groups: a control group and an experimental group, each containing 17 learners. The results of the questionnaire administered to these two groups of learners, indicate a low rate of conceptualization of the molecule, i.e. 17.00% in the absence of the Peircian iconic sign. The experimental group that participated alone in teaching/learning the molecule using the Peircian iconic sign had a 100.00% rate of conceptualization of the molecule on analysis of the post-test questionnaire. Moreover, the critical value of t, i.e. 2.13 in the post-test is higher than the statistical t value of -15.83 in the pre-test for a significance level of 0.05. This study, based on an analysis of the learners' discourse obtained from the videoscopic transcription of the test, has made it possible to understand how Peircian iconic representations help these learners to conceptualise the molecule, given the high level of involvement of the learners in the experimental group in the test activities. Thus, the Peircian iconic sign in a Representamen-Object-Interpretant triad is a relevant didactic tool in the conceptualization of the molecule by learners in the « Troisième » class (13-15 years old) because, it helps them to give meaning to the concept of the molecule and to produce rather than reproduce the related scientific knowledge.