MULTIMODALITY AND ICT IN THE TEACHING OF SCIENCE. FRACTALS AND OSCILLATING CHEMICAL REACTIONS AS EXAMPLES

The multimodality is defined as the use of different modes of communication in creating meaning. In this sense, teaching and learning are multimodal activities. Even though the information society we live in, the use of videos, animations and simulations are already regular expressions, the teaching of science in technological environments and multimodal projects remain awaiting.

Despite its potential, ICT are often underused in schools that already have them and still have not effectively integrated in the teaching practice. To make these technologies an integral part of science teaching, it is necessary to know the potential benefits of their use in classrooms and outside them, and based on this, teachers can choose the appropriate technological tools to the learning objectives of each topic. By integrating these to the didactic proposals, it will be possible to avoid designing activities that allow the passive use of ICT, as the mere act of observing an animation, as this is an activity with a very low cognitive demand for students.

In this paper, we present two of the multimodal didactic sequences, which integrate the use of ICT, we are developing in the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Mexico (UNAM). The subjects we choose to exemplify the work done are fractals and oscillating chemical reactions. These sequences are designed as support materials for teachers and, among others, are intended to present a comprehensive theory, experiment and theoretical model of current scientific issues, looking for relationships between the three levels of scientific explanation: the macro (experiment), the nano (model) and the symbolic.

For each issue, we present:
The conceptual treatment of the phenomenon (theoretical explanation).
A laboratory work that allows the students a macroscopic observation of the phenomenon and the identification of the experimental variables that determine it.
A python language simulation, with which students can interact to understand the theoretical model that explains the observations in the laboratory.
An animation, designed in order to promote a better understanding of the theoretical model and establish the bridge between the macroscopic and nanoscopic interpretations.
A video and a photo gallery of the experiment.
Teaching-learning sequences in which we presented the integration of the above elements to promote the learning of the concepts involved.