In the FOI approach we shift the focus in the science lesson from the scientists’ point of view to the pupils’ point of view in comparison with the scientist’ point of view.
Pupils must not only try to understand and reproduce the scientists’ way of thinking, but also become aware of their own reasoning and the differences with the scientific way of thinking. Following the theory on conceptual profiling by Mortimer et all., the intuitive conceptual profile is considered to be valuable and does not need to be abandoned. The scientific conceptual profile is strengthened and pupils become aware of the contexts in which it is more effective.
The teacher takes a different stand and the structure of the science lesson changes. The dialogue in the class is not a one way dialogue of a teacher trying to pass scientific reasoning in the didactically best possible way and pupils trying to grasp this reasoning, but a two way dialogue in which the interplay of pupils ideas and scientists ideas drives the lesson.
The ideas mentioned above result in an adjusted lesson plan in which waking up, identifying and shaking of pupils’s intuitive ideas are part of the structure and the dialogue and teachers’ stand is altered. In the introduction phase the core of the scientific concept is taught to the pupils as an alternative for the unscientific intuitive idea that was identified in the identify phase. Pupils explore and secure this scientific approach in the secure phase in inquiry based achievable problems, supported by the teacher who is the interpreter of the scientific point of view. In the final use phase, pupils are submitted to problems in science integrated contexts.