Abstract

Objectives: The aim of the study, in the context of the historical development of didactics, is to analytically explain the theoretical construct of content transformation including the structure of its sub-terms, to justify its operationalization for the research of relations between teaching and learning through semantic-logical networks (S-L networks) and to demonstrate the application potential of this approach by replication in the teaching of physics, geography and mathematics. The aim of the research was to describe and explain the reasons that caused pupils' difficulties in understanding scientific schemes during the transformation of content in the classroom.

Methods: For the analysis of relations between teaching and learning through educational content, a modified 3A methodology extended by the cognitive layer was used. The methodological starting point of the analysis is the comparison of S-L networks of the three basic dimensions of content transformation: scientific scheme, thematisation of scientific content in the educational environment and representation of pupils' mental schemes in problem solving.

Results: Theoretical constructs and their methodological operationalisation were verified by replication in the educational disciplines of physics, geography, and mathematics. In each of these disciplines they enabled to explain the influence of teaching details on changes in the structure of pupil knowledge with respect to the specific content of the given discipline.

Conclusions: It has been shown that even detailed moments of the S-L structure, difficult to capture in practice, can have a strong influence on pupils' understanding of the structure of scientific knowledge. In doing so, theoretical and methodological constructs have been successfully replicated. The acquired knowledge can serve to directly support educational practice in relevant areas of the curriculum.