The Didactic Environment for Biology in Upper Secondary Education: Methodological Approaches, Experimentation, and Technological Resources for the Development of Scientific Thinking
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21713083Keywords:
Biology Didactics, High School, Inquiry-Based Learning, Fieldwork, School Bioinformatics, Formative Assessment, STSE Approach.Abstract
Teaching Biology at the High School level (students aged 15 to 18) represents a crucial pedagogical space for consolidating scientific thinking, biotechnological literacy, and environmental awareness. At this stage of developmental evolution, students decisively transition from concrete-descriptive thinking to analytical, abstract, and hypothetico-deductive reasoning. However, traditional instruction in this discipline has historically suffered from a memoristic and encyclopedic bias, where life is reduced to memorizing complex nomenclatures and decontextualized biochemical cycles.
This research paper offers a comprehensive theoretical, methodological, and practical framework to restructure the high school biology learning environment. It examines approaches focused on Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL), the Science, Technology, Society, and Environment (STSE) framework, the reconceptualization of laboratory work through genuine experimentation, the use of citizen science tools, and the critical integration of digital simulations, school bioinformatics, and Generative Artificial Intelligence. Furthermore, a multilevel formative assessment matrix is proposed, designed to measure procedural scientific competencies rather than mere lexical retention. It is concluded that a scientifically rigorous and didactically contextualized biology environment transforms the student from a passive spectator into an active agent capable of making informed decisions regarding the ethical, health, and environmental challenges of the 21st century.
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