The objective of this study is to describe the way in which two important biological phenomena, namely diffusion and osmosis, are addressed in the classroom. The study builds on extensive research conducted over the past twenty years showing that students' appropriation of these two phenomena remains partial and incomplete. To understand some of the difficulties these students face in understanding such concepts, we have geared our research toward analysis of classroom practices based on a theoretical framework involving general and specific dimensions of teaching science. Using a case study (a course made up of eight periods), we collected data in three stages: interviews with the teacher regarding his planning; a video recording of the entire course; and feedback interviews with the teacher subsequent to the course. The study's results show that the difficulties encountered by the students cannot be attributed solely to their personal characteristics (state of development of the scientific mindset, prior learning, etc.). Instead, they appear to be largely associated with teaching practices and the potential these practices hold in terms of allowing students to appropriate these concepts. The results presented in this article are significant in their contribution to improving teaching methods for diffusion and osmosis, and thus to facilitating their understanding by students. The paper also presents an example of a conceptual and methodological framework for the study of classroom practices with a view to addressing the gap between educational research and classroom practice.

Cet article présente les résultats d’une étude exploratoire menée auprès de cinq enseignants de sciences et technologies (S & T) québécois du secondaire sur l’enseignement des modèles et de la modélisation. Le cadre conceptuel et méthodologique vise l’analyse de leurs pratiques d’enseignement sous l’angle de deux dimensions : la dimension épistémologique (quelles significations attribuent-ils aux modèles et à la démarche de modélisation ?) et la dimension fonctionnelle (pourquoi recourent-ils aux modèles et à la démarche de modélisation en classe ?). L’analyse de leur discours révèle que ceux-ci ont une compréhension partielle de ces objets et de leurs finalités dans l’enseignement et l’apprentissage des sciences et souligne la nécessité d’assurer leur formation continue sur ces questions.This article presents the results of an exploratory study of five secondary science and technology (S & T) teachers in Quebec on teaching models and modeling. The conceptual and methodological framework aims to analyze their teaching practices in terms of two dimensions: the epistemological dimension (what meanings they attribute to the models and the modeling process?) and the functional dimension (why they use the models and the modeling approach in the classroom?). The analysis of their discourse reveals that they have a partial understanding of these objects and their purposes in teaching and learning science and emphasizes the need for continuing education on these issues

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This text lays the conceptual foundations for a framework to analyse the relationships between school disciplines, particularly those in the natural sciences and the humanities, and “Éducations à” in order to conduct comparative analyses of curricula in the French-speaking world. The text first discusses the main characteristics of “Éducations à” and then circumscribes the areas of tension that arise from their handling by school disciplines. The conceptual basis presented subsequently leads to the identification of four theoretical configurations that can support the analysis of the relationships between school disciplines and “Éducations à” in terms of the educational purposes, targeted learning, status of disciplinary knowledge, and preferred modes of instruction.