Didactic transposition is a process in which scientific or academic knowledge undergoes a series of transformations to adapt it to a less technical level, accessible to non-specialised students. That is, it consists of modifying a wise or erudite knowledge to make it plausible to be taught.

This idea was originally put forward by Michel Verret (1975) and later reintroduced by Yves Chevallard, a theorist of mathematics education who originally applied it to this discipline, although this concept has subsequently been extrapolated to other fields of knowledge.

This process is of great importance in teaching since, if it is carried out in an adequate manner, it will be possible to provide students with useful, current and scientifically based knowledge, but without abusing technicalities or too much specialized information.

What is didactic transposition?

Erudite or scientific knowledge is that which has been obtained and elaborated by specialized institutions in a certain field of knowledge, such as biology, chemistry, psychology, among many others. Since it is a very technical knowledge, it is necessary that it be modified in such a way that it can be learned by people who are not specialized in the subject.

Didactic transposition involves a series of phases in which scientific knowledge is progressively adapted to the level of the students . This knowledge is shaped according to the objectives of the curriculum proposed by the educational authorities and, both the authors of the school books and the teachers themselves in the classroom are involved in this process, making the knowledge useful for the students.

Scientific knowledge is subject to two main transformations. First, it is modified in such a way that it can be taught and become an object of learning. In this first transformation, didactics and experts in the field of education are involved.

Later, the second transformation takes place, in which the teacher takes this knowledge that has already been modified and adapts it according to the characteristics of his or her classroom.

It is of fundamental importance that the teacher, as a participant in the didactic transposition, takes into account the characteristics of the students that make up the classroom: socioeconomic differences, stage of development, cultural diversity, learning difficulties, linguistic differences, number of students in class…

The teacher should ask himself three questions in relation to the knowledge he is going to teach:

  • What are you going to teach?
  • What are you going to show it for?
  • How are you going to show it?

How to adapt the knowledge to the level of the students?

When transforming knowledge, it must be done in a way that it is not distorted or presented too widely and the essence of its content is lost. It is essential to avoid, in the reformulation and simplification of this knowledge, contradicting the scientific knowledge from which it originates.

It is very important to be up to date with scientific knowledge , given that science advances very quickly and what it even did relatively well can be refuted after a while. If teachers do not update their knowledge, they may run the risk of teaching knowledge that has become outdated and misleading for their students.

As an example of outdated knowledge to teach we have the already famous case of Pluto when it was relegated to the category of a dwarf planet. Many textbooks continued to present it as the ninth planet in the Solar System for years.

Approach to teaching

The teacher must be especially careful when teaching the contents in the classroom, since two types of distances can occur:

1. Distance between the knowledge to be taught and the knowledge taught

The teacher must ensure that the knowledge to be taught and that which is finally taught in the classroom correspond , or at least do not show themselves to be too distant in terms of their fundamental content.

2. Distance between the knowledge taught and the knowledge learned by the students

Students have a knowledge base prior to the acquisition of a new one, which may facilitate or hinder new learning. Also, it may be the case that the new learning has not been correctly adapted to the level of the student body.

It is very difficult for all the content taught to students to be fully learned. The teacher must take this into account, as well as encourage motivation and the desire to learn in the students.

Characteristics

When the process has been completed, the knowledge to be taught presents a series of characteristics which facilitate its learning:

1. De-creation of knowledge

The knowledge to be taught, although it originally belongs to a certain field, differs from it in that it is less specific. It continues to start from the field in which it originated, but allows it to be formulated by explaining more general knowledge.

2. Depersonalization of knowledge:

All academic knowledge has one or more authors behind it . As it adapts to less specialized levels, it becomes detached from the name of the one who elaborated it.

3. Programmability of knowledge acquisition

The knowledge to be taught has been elaborated in such a way that allows it to be introduced, explained and concluded in a clear way . In other words, it is designed to be explained in a school context in a progressive manner and to guarantee that the students understand and learn it.

4. Advertising and social control of learning

By being modified to less specialized levels, the knowledge to be taught can reach a wider audience, allowing exposure in the media. As a result, a certain social control can be exercised over the general culture of the population.

Bibliographic references:

  • Gómez-Mendoza, M. Á. (2005). Didactic transposition: history of a concept. Revista Latinoamericana de Estudios Educativos, 1, 83-115.
  • Chevallard, Y. (1991) La Transposition Didactique du Savoir Savant au Savoir Enseigné. Grenoble, La Pensée Sauvage éditions.