Study on Didactic Transposition for Inferential and Analogical Thinking, Reasoning and Transfer of School Knowledge for Societal Context-of-Use

This study demonstrates the effectiveness of a candidate hypothetico-deductive thinking and
reasoning program for didactic transposition inspired by Klopfer’s taxonomy and the concept of
nature-semiotic communication, in teaching critical thinking skills, analogies and transferability of
knowledge for problem-solving now and for the future in the experimental sciences. It was conducted
in four socio-cultural zones of Cameroon involving 307 high school students (166 English-speaking
and 141 French-speaking). Four lessons on the human skeleton were used. A researcher-made Likert
questionnaire to investigate the level of appropriation of the tool was administered in the pre- and
post-intervention treatments. Data was analysed in SPSS v.20.0 and pair-wise t-test analysis revealed
a significant difference in mean scores between pre- and post-interventions with a moderate effect
size. A two-way factorial ANOVA to determine the main and combined interaction effects of distal
variables, further confirmed the results. Within limits, the results led to the conclusion that the
candidate didactic transposition program inspired by Klopfer’s taxonomy enhanced the development
of critical thinking skills, analogical reasoning for transferability and problem-solving in novel contexts
among high school students. From the results, we recommended the adoption of the program as
framework guide for classroom practice in teaching the experimental sciences. In conclusion
therefore, one of the best ways for ensuring that school knowledge is used to solve societal problems
and therefore establish a clear link between school and society is to turn to nature and copy from its
perfect and precise skills in problem-solving. Work in progress seeks to demonstrate how the
hypothetico-deductive thinking and reasoning candidate theory of didactic transposition, teaching and
learning of the experimental sciences, can be used as a tool to foster the development of
metacognition skills and enhance memory in students.