Uma sequência didática sobre calor e temperatura em uma visão microscópica para licenciandos em pedagogia

Abstract

This study aims to design, implement and evaluate a teaching sequence on the concepts of heat and temperature on a microscopic approach to undergraduate students in Pedagogy course in a context of history of science. The didactic sequence was designed combining computer simulation activities that were adapted from the Molecular Workbench Project showing microscopic aspects of the concepts of heat and temperature, concrete activities to build molecular models with low cost resources and activities with the timeline panels of history of science to the heat concept. The didactic sequence was implemented in the second semester of the school year 2014 with a class of 33 students of the Pedagogy course at a Brazilian public university, in the curricular component of the History of Science. For data collection, the study uses an tool available in the literature to assess the conceptions of students about the scientific work and scientific modeling, and a multiple-choice knowledge test with questions adapted from the literature to assess the conceptions of heat and temperature, both administered before didactic implementation. The study also uses a test available in the literature on motivation to learn and a questionnaire with open questions about atom and molecule, both administered before and after the didactic implementation, as well as computer simulation activity guides and timeline panels of history of heat concept developed by the participants during teaching practice. Analysis of results on conceptions of science, model and scientific modeling has indicated that the prevailing conception of the participants prior to the implementation of the proposal is empiricist inductivist for scientific work. Analysis of the results of the knowledge test on the concepts of heat and temperature was based on the ideas of the participants according to the non-rational and rationalist views, indicating that participants mostly had a non-rationalist conception for heat and temperature concepts before implementation the proposal. Analysis of responses to activity guides with computer simulation developed by the participants during the implementation of the proposal for the concepts of heat and temperature showed improvement within the conceptual profile. The report presented based on observation of the researcher during the pedagogical practice indicated that the construction of timeline provided a closer view of the scientific work and the use of computer simulations provided an opportunity to construction of heat and temperature concepts in a microscopic approach allowing easier understanding of the concept of heat as a process of energy transfer between two samples. The hypothesis test for the motivation to learn of the participants indicated that there was no statistically significant improvement in motivation to learn from the implementation of the proposal. The didactic sequence developed is the educational product of this work and can contribute to improving the teaching of heat and temperature concepts in the context of the history of science.