Problematisation, Narrative and Fiction in the Science Classroom

This paper focusses on the didactic functions of problematisation, narrative and fiction in the science classroom. The approach we propose to address these issues takes into account the epistemological specificities of biology (functionalist and historical sciences). Based on this epistemological foundation, we will first present the theoretical framework of problematisation developed over more than 20 years in France, before exploring the more recent notion of realistic fiction by situating it in relation to work in biology didactics that borrows from the frameworks of narrative and/or fiction. Our two-part paper aims to initiate a dialogue between these different theoretical frameworks and to question their points of convergence and divergence through examples taken from our research work (blood circulation, molecular renewal, animal metamorphosis). To what extent can fictional narratives contribute to constructing problematised biological knowledge? How does the shift to extra-ordinary modes of reasoning allow us to move away from storytelling?