School scientific imagination: social and cognitive act.

Authors

Keywords:

Scientific imagination, Science education

Abstract

Scientific imagination is not a skill to be developed explicitly in basic education; neither is an
object of systematic teaching. However, the scientific imagination is developed tacitly within
the learning processes of science. We assume that scientific imagination is an ability that
could be improved through explicit teaching and learning processes, for example, through
thought experiments, model simulation, storytelling, and so on. Our position implies
overcoming the traditional vision that reduces the scientific imagination to a genius or
unusual intellect. We suggest that scientific imagination is a cognitive and social activity. Our
purpose is to discuss an explanatory mechanism of how the school scientific imagination
converges as a cognitive and social activity. We explain school scientific imagination as
dialectically constituted by external and internal elements: an external content is a stimulus
to trigger cognitive tendencies in the people who imagine. We consider it relevant to expose
our explanatory mechanism to begin to generate proposals that encourage the explicit
development of the scientific imagination along with the learning of scientific content.

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Published

2025-09-13

How to Cite

Ruvalcaba Cervantes, J. M., Ruiz González, H. L., & Quintero Zazueta, R. (2025). School scientific imagination: social and cognitive act. Sincronía, 26(81), 487–500. Retrieved from https://revistasincronia.cucsh.udg.mx/index.php/sincronia/article/view/422

Issue

Vol. 26 No. 81 (2022): Sincronia Journal

Section

MISCELLANY

License

Copyright (c) 2021 José Manuel Ruvalcaba Cervantes, Heidy Lea Ruiz González y Ricardo Quintero Zazueta

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