TITLE:
Circumstantial Indications Emitted by the Teacher during Discursive Activity
AUTHORS:
Carlos Eduardo Laburú, Osmar Henrique Moura da Silva, Marcelo Alves Barros, Andreia de Freitas Zômpero
KEYWORDS:
Teaching, Semiotics, Signals, Circumstantial Indications, Discourse
JOURNAL NAME:
Creative Education,
Vol.8 No.8,
July
26,
2017
ABSTRACT: This study makes use of a reading of Prieto’s semiotics with the aim of shedding
light on semiotic elements that occur during the discursive process in the
classroom. Taking as reference an overview of this author’s theories in the
context of science education, the paper focuses on the semiotic element of
circumstantial indications. Circumstantial indications are a collateral and not
always explicit type of sign in the teacher’s communication that assist the
meaning of messages conveyed by signals. Compared with indications, signals
are signs transmitted explicitly and openly that constitute the main axis of the
discourse. In the course of classroom communication, teachers emit circumstantial
indications in parallel with the transmitted signals. The signals refine
the understanding of the messages of the scientific concepts being taught in
order to make them more meaningful. This study investigates one Physics
teacher’s class in a lab in which an empirical activity is guided at various moments
through discursive activity based on problem-solving methodology.
The paper identifies and qualifies some types of circumstantial indications
emitted by the teacher, contextualizing their role in the discursive process
during teaching.