Modelos moleculares : uma ferramenta para o ensino de química orgânica no ensino médio

Abstract

The present investigation exposes perceptions of an experience carried out with a group of students from a public school in Bagé / RS. The third year classes of evening high school presented, according to the conducting teacher, difficulty in appropriating the introductory contents of Organic Chemistry. It is a qualitative research that has as its central axis the realization of an intervention with the groups that participated in this study. The difficulty in perceiving the three-dimensionality of molecules by students is considered to be an obstacle to learning the concepts involved. The use of models is the tool used in the search to mitigate the obstacles of understanding in the study of hydrocarbons. The intervention provided students with the opportunity to work with models of organic molecules produced with simple Styrofoam balls and toothpicks. The research was carried out through observations of the group of students, intervention and application of an investigative questionnaire about the activity performed and the student's perception of the discipline of Chemistry. The analysis was performed based on the researcher's observation records and the responses to the questionnaires that were judged through the Discursive Textual Analysis. The questionnaires were evaluated by producing weightings for each of the four questions in a specific way. The meanings attributed to each of the responses were generated through considerations and categorizations (ATD). From this research, valid considerations emerged that confirm the students' visuospatial difficulties, however, before this, there are much simpler questions to be considered.