Emociones y aprendizaje en las actividades prácticas de Biología en Educación Primaria y en el Grado de Maestro en Educación Primaria

  1. Marcos Merino, José María
Supervised by:
  1. Vicente Mellado Jiménez Director
  2. Jesús Antonio Gómez Ochoa de Alda Director
  3. María Rocío Esteban Gallego Director

Defence university: Universidad de Extremadura

Fecha de defensa: 21 February 2020

Committee:
  1. Susana García Barros Chair
  2. Pedro Guilherme Rocha do Reis Secretary
  3. Florentina Cañada Cañada Committee member

Type: Thesis

Abstract

According to current educational theories, and its experimental evidence, learning is modulated by student's emotions towards academic activities and achievement (academic emotions), as well as by the subjective value they assign to this achievement. In spite that both variables, emotions, and values, are essential to maintain motivation towards science, educational research has neglected their interactions with learning during science teaching. This lack of research is particularly critical in pre-service teachers since their emotions and values towards science can be transferred to their future Primary School students and may influence their professional performance. The main objective of this doctoral dissertation is to examine these interactions in a sample of 1045 pre-service teachers (students of the Bachelor's Degree in Primary Education at the University of Extremadura) and 740 pupils of the 6th grade of Primary Education in Badajoz. In the former, we assessed their retrospective emotions towards lectures and practices of Biology during Secondary Education, as well as their emotions before (anticipatory emotions) and after three active Biology practices (Cell Biology, Microbiology, and Evolutionary Biology). In the sample of primary education pupils, we analysed their habitual emotions towards lectures and practices of Biology, as well as their emotions before (anticipatory) and after an active practice of Microbiology. Altogether, results highlight the ability of active learning as emotion modulator and provide additional support to current educational theories ascribing a fundamental role of emotions and task-values in learning. The development of active methodologies in science lessons could prevent the drop in motivation for science through school years.