A abordagem da radioatividade no ensino em Portugal : uma lacuna nos currículos do ensino básico e secundário
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2014
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A Física e a Química envolvem conteúdos teóricos que estão constantemente
presentes no nosso quotidiano. Contudo, é do consenso geral que o ensino destas
disciplinas continua a incidir sistematicamente em alguns temas em prejuízo de outros,
originando lacunas concetuais que se refletem no dia-a-dia enquanto estudantes e
posteriormente em idade adulta, em contexto socio cultural.
Pretende-se com este trabalho realizar um estudo exploratório sobre a existência
daquilo que consideramos como lacuna nos conteúdos de Física e Química no Ensino
Básico e Secundário em Portugal, mais concretamente no que se refere à Radioatividade.
Para o efeito, apuraram-se os conhecimentos que os alunos de três níveis diferentes do
ensino Básico e Secundário (9º ano, 10º ano e 12º ano) possuem sobre o tema em estudo.
De modo a verificar o nível de conhecimentos em idade adulta, realizaram-se estudos com
indivíduos em contexto laboral, obtendo-se assim dados quanto à extensão e pertinência do
estudo da radioatividade.
O estudo foi realizado através da aplicação de um teste de associação de palavras,
o qual apresentava vários estímulos relacionados com a Radioatividade. No caso do grupo
escolar, foram feitas duas aplicações do teste, antes e após uma intervenção didática
teórica e outra prática. Quanto ao grupo não escolar, o teste de associação de palavras foi
aplicado apenas uma vez, não tendo havido intervenção teórica.
Após a recolha de dados procedeu-se à sua análise quantitativa, apenas para o
grupo escolar, e qualitativa para ambos os grupos, o que permitiu elaborar uma
aproximação simples de mapas concetuais nos dois contextos (escolar e não escolar) e
compará-los entre si.
Através da análise dos resultados obtidos, e tendo em conta que se trata de um
estudo exploratório, foi possível concluir que a disciplina de Física e Química lecionada nas
escolas, não tem abordado adequadamente os conteúdos relativos à radioatividade, nem no
presente, nem num passado recente, o que se reflete em idade adulta.
Como tal sugere-se a realização de estudos de natureza investigativa mais
abrangentes de modo a verificar a existência desta lacuna no Ensino Básico e Secundário,
que a ser confirmada poderá ser mitigada através da realização de atividades práticas,
recorrendo a exemplos do dia-a-dia, concretizando a perspetiva Ciência - Tecnologia-
Sociedade - Ambiente que os programas do Ministério da Educação enfatizam.
Physics and Chemistry include theoretical contents that are frequently present in our daily life. However, the teaching of these disciplines continues to focus systematically in some areas, excluding others, thus producing conceptual gaps which are reflected in daily life of students and later on, in socio-cultural context, of adults. This work aims at undertaking an exploratory study about the existence of a gap in Secondary School Physics and Chemistry contents in Portugal in the area of Radioactivity. For that purpose, students’ knowledge about radioactivity was investigated in groups of students at three age levels (9th, 10th and 12th grades). In order to get an idea about the consequences for adults, already in work context, of the lack of this content in the curricula, some research was carried out. This allowed obtaining some results indicating that teaching this topic would be relevant. The study was undertaken using Word Association Tests with several stimuli related to radioactivity. In the case of the groups in school context the tests were applied before and after a didactic intervention consisting of a lecture followed by practical work about this theme. For the non-scholar group the word association test was used only once, and no didactical intervention took place. After collecting the data, a quantitative analysis only for the scholar group, and a qualitative analysis for both groups, was carried out. The qualitative analysis allowed the construction of simplified conceptual maps in both contexts that could be compared. From the analysis of data obtained, but taking into account that this was only an exploratory study, it was possible to observe that the courses of Physics and Chemistry in secondary schools do not approach adequately the teaching of contents related to radioactivity, neither presently, nor in a recent past, and this has consequence for students and adults. A suggestion of more detailed research studies, in order to detect the existence of the referred gap in the curricula of Basic and Secondary School teaching, is presented. If this gap is confirmed with greater evidence, the remediation proposed could be by means of practical activities using, in some cases, daily life examples, in line with the Science- Technology-Society-Environment perspective emphasized by the official programs of the Ministry of Education.
Physics and Chemistry include theoretical contents that are frequently present in our daily life. However, the teaching of these disciplines continues to focus systematically in some areas, excluding others, thus producing conceptual gaps which are reflected in daily life of students and later on, in socio-cultural context, of adults. This work aims at undertaking an exploratory study about the existence of a gap in Secondary School Physics and Chemistry contents in Portugal in the area of Radioactivity. For that purpose, students’ knowledge about radioactivity was investigated in groups of students at three age levels (9th, 10th and 12th grades). In order to get an idea about the consequences for adults, already in work context, of the lack of this content in the curricula, some research was carried out. This allowed obtaining some results indicating that teaching this topic would be relevant. The study was undertaken using Word Association Tests with several stimuli related to radioactivity. In the case of the groups in school context the tests were applied before and after a didactic intervention consisting of a lecture followed by practical work about this theme. For the non-scholar group the word association test was used only once, and no didactical intervention took place. After collecting the data, a quantitative analysis only for the scholar group, and a qualitative analysis for both groups, was carried out. The qualitative analysis allowed the construction of simplified conceptual maps in both contexts that could be compared. From the analysis of data obtained, but taking into account that this was only an exploratory study, it was possible to observe that the courses of Physics and Chemistry in secondary schools do not approach adequately the teaching of contents related to radioactivity, neither presently, nor in a recent past, and this has consequence for students and adults. A suggestion of more detailed research studies, in order to detect the existence of the referred gap in the curricula of Basic and Secondary School teaching, is presented. If this gap is confirmed with greater evidence, the remediation proposed could be by means of practical activities using, in some cases, daily life examples, in line with the Science- Technology-Society-Environment perspective emphasized by the official programs of the Ministry of Education.
Descrição
Orientação: Maria Elisa Maia ; co-orientação: Lina Maria Cardoso Lopes
Palavras-chave
MESTRADO EM ENSINO DE FÍSICA E QUÍMICA NO 3.º CICLO DO ENS. BÁSICO E SECUNDÁRIO, EDUCAÇÃO, EDUCATION, ENSINO SECUNDÁRIO, SECONDARY EDUCATION, ENSINO DA FÍSICA, PHYSICS EDUCATION, ENSINO DA QUÍMICA, CHEMISTRY EDUCATION, TÉCNICAS DE LABORATÓRIO, LABORATORY TECHNIQUES, TESTES, TESTS, ENERGIA, ENERGY, RADIAÇÃO, RADIATION, ESTUDOS DE CASO, CASE STUDIES