Aquecendo o conhecimento nas aulas de termologia: da teoria à prática experimental

Abstract

Through our daily teaching practice we have seen the growing lack of interest of high school students in mathematics and natural sciences, which use mathematics as a language, especially Physics. This behavior is based on the fact that these students leave elementary school without the proper command of elementary mathematical concepts (ratio and proportion, direct and inverse proportional magnitudes, equations, etc.), basic arithmetic calculations (addition, subtraction, division and multiplication), reading graphs and tables, and reading and interpreting texts. Thus, the main objective of this research is to analyze the real effect provided by the use of experimentation as a pedagogical tool in the meaningful learning process of high school students. We start from the conception that experimental activity is a way to provide the establishment of a connection between the world of objects, the world of concepts, laws and theories, and the world of symbolic languages. In this context, we suggest strategies for teaching the content of calorimetry, through practical classes, as a way to develop the students' interest in knowing and understanding important physics content and to participate in the discussions fostered in the classroom about the issues worked on. The pedagogical methods adopted have the intention of leading students to identify physical phenomena related to calorimetry in their daily lives, seeing that they are widely applied in our everyday situations, to a greater or lesser extent, most of the time without the assimilation that they are important scientific concepts. Therefore, through this work, we will show that both the proper understanding of the physical concepts inherent in each phenomenon and the proper mathematical reading, with the rigor that is required, are significant and inseparable, and that, therefore, the "boring and difficult" part is the language used to describe the phenomena of nature. In order to teach the content of calorimetry we will reproduce a didactic sequence based on playfulness (activities that provide entertainment and social interaction) through the making of models and simple experiments, with easily accessible materials that can be reproduced outside the school environment. The results of these activities will be experienced and explained by the students in class to their classmates.