Atividades de experimentação como resolução de problemas no ensino de eletromagnetismo

Abstract

Our schools are blind to teaching and learning approaches, what implicates a huge necessity of changes. In fact, the public schools’ practices are traditional, namely, concepts are taught through abstract lectures, without connection to its material reality, and teachers are used to employ only black board and chalk. Due to the lack of interest and the difficulties showed by students in learning physics, especially in electromagnetism, we present a teaching unity that avoid the traditional teaching method and, we believe, that will enrich the teacher’s practice. Therefore, concepts of electricity, magnetism and electromagnetism were linked to experimental situations to make their signification easier for students. Through this teach unity, our aim was that students could understand a technological artefact of social use, Hydroelectric Power Plants. Simultaneusly with experiments, we applied other forms of representation: mathematical formalism, animations, simulations and lectures. This work was developed among 19 students in first year of high school at Escola Estadual Doutor Emílio da Silveira, in Alfenas, Minas Gerais. During the development of the teaching unity, the classes were recorded in audio and video and students did writing activities. We analyzed this data searching for students’ conceptions and their changes in relation to important concepts for the understanding of Hydroelectric Power Plants. The results show that the development of the teach unit occurred as planned, since the contact of students with experiments allowed them to build abstract knowledge linked to concrete elements. There was improvements between initial and final conceptions of students about electromagnetism concepts. Students presented diversified answers, during the teaching unit, their answers were not restricted to reproductions of the teacher’s speech. Besides that, students were concerned about the use of scientific language.