Escrito nas estrelas: concepções alternativas de estudantes do ensino básico de Uruguaiana/RS sobre astronomia

Abstract

Astronomy is one of the most ancient sciences of humanity and is part of the school curriculum. Along the Common National Curricular Base (CNCB) we find several insertions of content related to Astronomy, from Elementary School to High School. On the other hand, several studies show the need to verify which are the alternative conceptions about astronomy that the students have. Alternative conceptions are those ideas that students bring with them, which do not coincide with scientific knowledge, also called “common sense” or “mistaken ideas”. Alternative conceptions about astronomy can come from non-school spaces, popular information, conceptual errors in textbooks, or even from unprepared educators who end up passing on misinformation. With the advancement of technology, young people are submerged in social networks and digital platforms and are exposed to a large number of fake news and disinformation, which ends up reinforcing their alternative conceptions. The main objective of this research is to investigate alternative conceptions in Astronomy at different levels of Basic Education in the light of the CNCB, with a focus on Elementary Education. For this, a questionnaire on alternative conceptions in Astronomy was elaborated and validated, based on some existing questionnaires and improved to cover all contents related to Astronomy present in the CNCB. The target audience was 78 basic education students from Uruguaiana/RS, from different levels of education, studying in schools that have BNCC as a guiding document for their curriculum. The questionnaire presented 23 objective questions that were statistically analyzed and discussed in the light of other similar studies. The results agree with the data obtained in other researches in the area, pointing to strong alternative conceptions about Astronomy that are rooted in the students’ ideas and, in addition, some analyzes point to an estrangement with some concepts, which shows the lack of contact/discussions on these topics in the classroom. It is hoped that the results of this research can be used for the establishment of new teaching tools in Astronomy, aiming at the main alternative conceptions in order to remedy them. Still, as a legacy, that studies on alternative conceptions to become more frequent, discussions more endorsed, and ideas enriched with scientific information, which, in addition to contemplating the beauty of the cosmos, can understand it.