Controvérsias sobre a natureza da luz: uma aplicação didática

Researches in the field of Science Teaching have shown, in recent decades, that students from high school level have difficulties in understanding basic concepts of science, in general, and physics, in particular. The specific literature indicates, as a priority for a scientific education of better quality, a more structured understanding about science. This work proposes the introduction of elements of History and Philosophy of Science in high school as an aid to learning the concepts of optics, in general, and of aspects concerning the nature of science, specifically. Making use of historical episodes regarding the controversy on the nature of light, especially during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, as well as clippings of the history of optics in relation to the development of models that explain the process of vision, we formulated a teaching unit and implemented it on two night high school classes of a public school in the city of Parnamirim (RN). The unit involved, primarily, the reading of three historical texts containing written questions followed by a collective debate ("moot"). The results indicated some difficulties in overcoming the misconceptions related to the process of vision and the nature of light. Nevertheless, we believe that the teaching unit has succeeded in relation to the learning of most students, both in relation to a better understanding of science as well as concepts of optics

Educação científica no contexto pós-ontológico: por uma concepção plural de conhecimento e educação

The development of this work arises from the research of sociological and philosophical characters contemplating also other approaches which aims to answer the followingquestions: what is the responsibility of science teaching for the image one has about science? ; which scientific education should be designed for nowadays? . After considering the assumptions brought along by rationalism and the criticisms to the illuminist model proposed by sociology and philosophy of science, as well by the biology of the knowing process, going through discussions concerning post-modernity issues, one is given to understand that the image of science has become the central point of discussion in the last hundred years, including what concerns the area of science teaching, and that practically none of those discussions really reached natural science classes indeed. We adopt the term postontological to characterize the recent proposals on philosophy and sociology, because we evaluate that this term allows a better identification of the scientific realism crisis, which supports the existence of an ontological domain which science, and only science, is able to understand. One notices that the general public is not aware of those discussions, mainly if they are science teachers and students. So we believe that discussing the logic in which science is structured, the new understandings concerning the scientific undertaking, especially those of an externalist character, and the relationship between science and society, all of this contributes to build up a science teaching which contemplates a reflective contribution, besides allowing the inclusion of the study of other epistemologies in the educational practice. We argue that a revisionist posture seems to be the most appropriate for the contemporary scientific education, contemplating, besides the teaching of the usual science contents, discussions on the issues involving that knowledge, as well as respecting epistemologies alternative to the modern Western scientific one, in order one can work on the perception of local knowledge generated from other epistemological bases. We describe here practical activities we did involving teachers (short-term courses) and high-school students in an inland school in the Rio Grande do Norte state, in Brazil, as a way to demonstrate the possibility of interventions which can take those conceptions, discussions and changes to the classroom

História da ciência como estratégia didática no ensino médio: um breve olhar de conteúdos da óptica

From a critique of aspects of the current teaching of physics, we propose in this paper an investigation into the conceptions of Nature of Science (NOS) submitted by students from the high school level, as well as the inclusion of discussions about some elements of NOS, through the History and Philosophy of Science, understanding them as facilitating strategy for more effective learning of Physics and, more specifically, the contents of optics. Based on the historical period corresponding to Greek antiquity to the mid-nineteenth century, built and applied a teaching unit to a high school class at the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Rio Grande do Norte (IFRN) Ipanguaçu campus. Our teaching unit involved the reading and interpretation of texts with historical content, observation and assembling five experimental activities, among other activities. Data analysis occurred through questionnaires investigative applied before and after the completion of the teaching unit, as well as questionnaires for content present in the texts. Although not significant, the results indicated that the application of the teaching unit allowed the (re) construction of some conceptions about NOS targets students present in our work, and contribute to a better learning content and greater optical science approach and its nature

Ensinando sobre a natureza da ciência: uma abordagem explícita e contextualizada a partir da história do vácuo

In last decades, the importance of including the contents of the Nature of Science (NOS) in Science Education has been emphasized. Several studies have focused on investigating the conceptions of NOS, supported by students and teachers, as well as design, implement and evaluate proposals that aim to provide a reflection on this theme in the educational context. Considering the complexity of such content, studies indicate the need for explicit and contextualized approaches and the History of Science (HS) is one of the possible paths to this inclusion. We started from the premise that, through a historical study, that aims to discuss the meaning and the basis of our "beliefs", we can know the process of building on what we "believe" and better understand its meaning. This thesis is part of this perspective, proposing to explore the History of the Vacuum, a themed high didactic potential still little used, in order to collaborate with the teaching content of NOS. We present actions on different fronts that originated three products in the context of this research. On the first front, we insert the research and production of instructional materials (three historical texts) to subsidize people interested in the implementation of HPS for educational context through this material. The relevance of this front is justified by the existence of gaps with regard to the production of such material for the context of teacher training. However, we consider that the preparation of instructional material of good quality and accessible does not guarantee that these resources will be used, if they will not be accompanied by discussions in teacher training, on how to use them, contexts and obstacles to be faced. The second part presented refers to the organization and implementation of a workshop for undergraduate students in physics and physics teachers, considering the instrumentalization of these individuals to the preparation and use of teaching strategies to approach aspects of NOS through episodes of History of the Vacuum, as well as the preparation of the text orientation for people interested in implementing the instructional material for secondary education. This guidance text contemplates the difficulties anticipated by the literature of the area and the main challenges faced by the participants about the didactic transposition of HPS for the educational context they were noted during the workshop. The relevance of this second front, in particular, is justified by the existence of gaps with regard to the inclusion of the theme of NOS and the HPS teacher training

Fontes primárias da história do vácuo e da pressão atmosférica na sala de aula: cartas e jornais históricos em articulação com o livro-texto do ensino médio

The use of the History and the Philosophy of Science (HPS) for the teaching of science and scientific subjects has been advocated in recent decades. It has been pointed out that the History of Science could make for a deeper learning of scientific concepts, since it would promote a contact with the problems which that knowledge has set out to solve. Furthermore, historical episodes would serve to put the discussions about the nature of scientific knowledge into context. With a view to explore those potentialities, the literature in the field has sought to identify the challenges and obstacles for the didactic transposition of subjects from the History of Science. Amongst many aspects, the deficiencies in the training of teachers, so that they can work with the insertion of HPS in the classroom have been highlighted. Another aspect that has been mentioned to be a challenge has to do with the didactic transposition of the Primary Sources, that is, of the original texts on the History of Science. The Primary Sources have significant potentialities: making a connection possible between scientists and concepts, showing the difficulties faced during scientific endeavors, perceiving the role of mistakes as obstacles to be surpassed, not as defeat, etc. On the other hand, there has been little exploration of these concepts in an educational context, due to their own peculiarities. The original texts are often hard to understand and their interpretation demands knowledge of the historical and scientific context in which they were written, as well as skills pertaining to the conduction of research in the field of the History of Science. With this scenario in mind, the research towards this Professional MSc degree starts from the challenge of elaborating and discussing proposals which could enable the didactical transposition of the Primary Sources. We have worked specifically with Primary Sources on the History of the Vacuum and of the Atmospheric Pressure, because of the insertion of these subjects in the Brazilian High School curriculum, in connection with the didactical textbooks. "Historic Journals" were made up from clippings of the original historical texts, as was a Didactical Unit, which takes the usual textbooks as a basis and contemplates using the Journals and the entire Primary Sources in High School. At last, we have elaborated and implemented a course designed for the preparation of teachers and for being an opportunity for the discussion of the feasibility of putting these kinds of proposal into practice

Linguagem, cognição e mundo: o livro do desassossego e a construção discursiva da realidade

This study analyzes the processes of meaning construction in the Livro do Desassossego, by semi-heteronym Bernardo Soares - Fernando Pessoa. We use theoretical grounds from an interface between Cognitive Linguistics and Textual Linguistics to observe how certain linguistic mechanisms build a reality that tells us of a time, a being and his conceptions of language and writing. We focus on description and explanation of procedures of categorization and referentiation accomplished, for example, through metaphor and metonymy. For the construction of the intended theoretical interface, we use analytical categories proposed and developed by the Socio-cognitive Approach of Language, Conceptual Metaphor Theory and Mental Space Theory. Armed with this theoretical background, we observed the dynamics of language in relation to its social, cultural and historical features, as well as the cognitive aspects that underlie it. We seek, therefore, encourage discussions about the functioning of language considering primarily the creative processes that allow us to organize and shape our experiences. We also try to provide an approximation of Linguistics, Literature and Philosophy, with a view to relations between language structure, cognitive activity and socio-cultural organization. From the results obtained, we found that a literary text attests, with a particular property, the mutual relations between language, cognition and culture, as indicates cognitive approach to language studies

Entre Millôr e Derrida: o humor enquanto experiência da alteridade e do impossível

Brazilian humorist Millôr Fernandes has a widespread work, from literature to visual arts and journalism. Yet there is the indelible mark of humor, wherever it is. In this dissertation, I propose a reading of his work by deploying French philosopher Jacques Derrida, emphasizing how the construction of the other happens. I aim at Millôr Definitivo: A Bíblia do Caos, but other works will be contemplated when necessary. In order to carry out the analysis, I will offer a general exposition of Millorian work (especially Millôr Definitivo:A Bíblia do Caos) and a general sketch of Derridian philosophy, centered on his discussion on Western philosophy, literature and alterity. At the analysis itself, I will set the methodological axis on the quasi-concept of invention. The analysis shall stress the hypothesis of humor as the experience of alterity and impossible, showing off the humorist as the totally other. In the Millorian text, that experience is characterized by conflictivity, without possibility of resolution

Medicina filosófica: as relações entre medicina e filosofia na Grécia antiga e em Kant

This work deals with the relationship between medicine and philosophy, which has existed since Antiquity, and will also be discussed here from Kant s perspective. It presents the historical context formed by reciprocal influences of common notions regarding health/disease, balance/justice, and just measure, which are present in the medical discourse as much as in the philosophical one. It considers that Hippocratic medicine emerges from concerns about dietetics, thus creating the link between philosophy and medicine, which is important for our analysis on Kant s contributions to Hippocratic legacy. Taking into account these considerations, the work distinguishes between two aspects which are associated within the dietetics presented by Kant in his work The conflict of the faculties, studied here in the light of his Doctrine of virtue, particularly the duties to oneself in regard the care of one s body and the teleological conception. In this sense, the work indicates the role of Kantian thinking not only to enrich medical dietetics, by lending to it moral value, but also to enrich philosophy by highlighting its therapeutic effects

Heráclito na filosofia do jovem Nietzsche

In the early 1870s, the German Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, professor of philology in Basel, researches the ancient Greek philosophers. These studies result in texts as The Preplatonic Philosophers, also known as Lessons on Pre-platonic Philosophers, and Philosophy in Greek tragic age. Using both texts as sources, this dissertation aims elucidating the Nietzsche's interpretation about Heraclitus, in other words, comprehend how Nietzsche recognizes in Heraclitus a philosopher with an aesthetic vision of the world, a contemplative and cheerful view of the world, the becoming, defined by the incessant change, as a child's play that builds and destroy sand castles on the shore. This spectacle, as Nietzsche believed, would be unveiled first by Heraclitus and must be contemplated eternally

Produção do mestrado profissional em ensino de ciências naturais e matemática da UFRN (física e química/2005-2012): papel dos documentos oficiais e características dos produtos educacionais

The importance of the Professionals Master in the field of science education is revealed by the recognition that they provide, to practicing teachers, in particular, training spaces for reflection and application of knowledge. This work appears in the context of the project "Research and training in teaching science and mathematics: a cutout of academic production in the northeast and overview of formative action in basic education" on the Centre for Education program, which main objective was to conduct studies description, analysis and evaluation of the academic production of Postgraduate Programs in Science Teaching of UFRPE, UFRN and UEPB and investigate the contribution of continuing education in stricto sensu level, of graduated teachers to improve the quality of basic education . We sought to examine a cut of academic production PPGECNM / UFRN, taking as reference dissertations of Natural Sciences, finished between the years 2005 and 2012, which have developed and applied educational products for high school students. More specifically we sought to conduct a general characterization of the dissertations analyzed for basic descriptors, to understand if and how the official documents governing the Brazilian education, especially science education, subsidized development of dissertations and identify current trends for science teaching are addressed and which ones are used in preparing the product of dissertations. The survey was based on documentary analysis, a type of qualitative approach in which the documents are objects of study in themselves. The results revealed that most of the work was developed in public schools, on subjects of physics and chemistry. During analytical reading of the text of the dissertations was observed that, in its construction, most of them addressed somehow, official documents governing the Brazilian educational system, that the products are basically teaching units and teaching approaches that are more focused on Experimentation and History and Philosophy of Science

Inércia e Natureza da Ciência no Ensino de Física: uma sequência didática centrada no desenvolvimento histórico do conceito de inércia

During the last decades the area of science education has discussed issues related to the inclusion of the History and Philosophy of Science (HFS) in the practice of science teaching. Among the arguments put forward in favour of this approach, it is pointed out the possible enhancement of scientific content learning and the understanding of the nature of Science (NoS). In spite of such considerations, we still have a very small number of research papers reporting results of practical interventions that utilize the historical approach, moreover, there is a lack of teaching materials in this perspective. Our work has sought to contribute to this area with regard to two aspects: on the one hand, with the production of didactic material, by drawing up texts on the history of inertia for graduate students. On the other hand, we investigate whether the arguments mentioned above in relation to the didactic use of HFS sustain themselves, in a particular context. We developed and applied a didactic sequence, using the texts that we built, to teach the concept of inertia and discuss selected contents of NoS. The didactic sequence was applied in two graduate classes, one from a course of Geophysics (BSc.) and another from the Physics (teaching formation), both from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN). An initial survey exposed that students, even having approached the concept of inertia in basic education, presented conceptions of common sense regarding the relationship between force and motion. The questionnaire also allowed us to identify the existence of elements of concepts considered inadequate as regards to NoS. At the end of our research, our data indicated a greater number of positive hits on the issues concerning the concept of inertia. Regarding the aspects of NoS, we were able to identify, in a few cases, a move towards a more appropriate understanding, however, certain distortions persisted, highlighting the limitations of the approach used

Correspondências científicas como uma relação didática entre história e ensino de matemática: o exemplo das cartas de Euler a uma princesa da Alemanha

Lettres àune Princesse d'Allemagne sur divers sujets de physique et de philosophie (Letters to a Princess of Germany on various topics of physics and philosophy) is the work taken as an object of study of this thesis. It is a literary success written in the eighteenth century by the Swiss mathematician and physicist Leonhard Paul Euler (1707-1783) in order to meet a request from the Prussian king, Frederick II, the Great (1712-1786) to accept to guide the intellectual education of his niece, the young princess Anhalt-Dessau (1745-1808). The method of teaching and learning through letters elected to the education of the German monarch resulted in a collection of 234 matches in which Euler theory is about music, Philosophy, Mechanics, Optics, Astronomy, Theology and Ethics among others. The research seeks to point out mathematical content contained in this reference work based on the exploitation and adaptation of original historical works as an articulator of development activities for teaching mathematics in basic education and in accordance with the National Curriculum Parameters of Mathematics (NCP) work. The general objective point out the limits and didactic potential of Lettres à une Princesse d'Allemagne sur divers sujets de physique et de philosophie as a source of support for teachers of basic education in developing activities for teaching mathematics. The discussions raised point to concrete possibilities of entanglement between the extracted mathematical content of the bulge of the work with current teaching methodologies from resizing the use of letters according to Freire's pedagogical perspective of the correspondence, and especially the use of new communication channels in the century XXI, both aimed at dialogue and approximation between those who write and those who read.

Formação docente para a inserção da história e filosofia da ciência no ensino: textos histórico-pedagógicos em discussão

The present dissertation focuses on specific problems in the educational context: challenges in the construction of historical narratives for pedagogical use as well as the difficult task of using them in the classroom. In this context, we seek to work in teacher training for insertion of History and Philosophy of Science (HPS) in classroom, and historical narratives become mediation elements to advance the dialogue with this specific audience. This initiative is in line with a recurring concern: one of the main challenges related to the didactic transposition of HFC would be the lack of teacher preparation. Historical contents and Nature of Science are still absent in classrooms. Insecurity and lack of knowledge by teachers are often mentioned as factors that contribute to this situation. It is important, therefore, that teachers (active and in training) take part in discussions concerning the inclusion of HPS in classroom. It is relevant that they know examples of historic-philosophical didactic proposals to address science and contents on science, develop skills to adapt them to their specific contexts and to develop their own proposals. It is believed that these issues are significant to undertake conscious initiatives to insert HPS in classrooms. It is considered that adapting educational proposals to particular educational contexts depends on understanding what these proposals indeed mean and how flexible they can be. In order to address these objectives, we elaborated an educational product, a didactic material focused on teacher training, which was used in an extension course at UFRN. The didactic material discusses the role of HPS in Education, Nature of Science and historiographical issues. It presents a series of dialogical activities on aspects of didactic transposition of HPS, especially those regarding historical narratives. A set of historicpedagogical texts on the History of Vacuum and Atmospheric Pressure is used as a mediation element in discussions. We address potential, possibilities and limitations historical narratives. To carry out the course, it was taken into account methodological concerns of so-called action research. There have been expected changes, modifications and effective actions in the own teacher training material in face of the experience of the researcher-lecturer in interactions with the participants of the course as well as in face of impressions reported by the participants. Developments in this direction have been incorporated into the teacher training material.

O eterno retorno como paródia e como colagem na filosofia da diferença de Gilles Deleuze

Gilles Deleuze hás commented on many philosophers, but his relationship with Nietzsche plays a singular role in his thought: appropriating the concept of the “eternal return” to think the central axis of his thesis, Difference and repetition (1968). Terms “difference” and “repetition” appeared associated to eternal return in his Nietzsche and philosophy (1962). Our dissertation thesis analyzes the presentations of that concept in bothworks. Chapter one presents the style construction and critical, methodological aspects of Nietzschean philosophy, fundamental elements to understand Deleuze’s interpretation. It subsequently analyzes the first presentation of that concept, expressed in the following terms: the aesthetic existence, either innocent or justified from the figure of game. We will see how the image of game implies another concept of chance, that leads Deleuze to think of an affirmative philosophical “type”, capable of creating new values. Chapter two evaluates the existential, “ethical-selective”, “physicalcosmological” character of the concept of eternal return, as much as the difficulties it imposes upon Nietzsche’s interpreter. We present afterwards Deleuzian comprehension of eternal return as a “parody” or a “simulacrum of doctrine”. Chapter three analyzes that interpretive position as a transvaluation of values from a rearrange of perspectives in order to overcome the negative comprehensions of existence. We want to question the way Deleuze builds another image of thought from the concept of eternal return – an image that, by a sort of “colagem” and selective elimination of the negativity, proposes a historiographic work and unfolds a lineage of thinkers of immanence and difference, a detour from the thought of identity, the same and the similar. We want thus to understand Deleuze’s critique of “dogmatic image of thought”.

O eterno retorno como paródia e como colagem na filosofia da diferença de Gilles Deleuze

Gilles Deleuze hás commented on many philosophers, but his relationship with Nietzsche plays a singular role in his thought: appropriating the concept of the “eternal return” to think the central axis of his thesis, Difference and repetition (1968). Terms “difference” and “repetition” appeared associated to eternal return in his Nietzsche and philosophy (1962). Our dissertation thesis analyzes the presentations of that concept in bothworks. Chapter one presents the style construction and critical, methodological aspects of Nietzschean philosophy, fundamental elements to understand Deleuze’s interpretation. It subsequently analyzes the first presentation of that concept, expressed in the following terms: the aesthetic existence, either innocent or justified from the figure of game. We will see how the image of game implies another concept of chance, that leads Deleuze to think of an affirmative philosophical “type”, capable of creating new values. Chapter two evaluates the existential, “ethical-selective”, “physicalcosmological” character of the concept of eternal return, as much as the difficulties it imposes upon Nietzsche’s interpreter. We present afterwards Deleuzian comprehension of eternal return as a “parody” or a “simulacrum of doctrine”. Chapter three analyzes that interpretive position as a transvaluation of values from a rearrange of perspectives in order to overcome the negative comprehensions of existence. We want to question the way Deleuze builds another image of thought from the concept of eternal return – an image that, by a sort of “colagem” and selective elimination of the negativity, proposes a historiographic work and unfolds a lineage of thinkers of immanence and difference, a detour from the thought of identity, the same and the similar. We want thus to understand Deleuze’s critique of “dogmatic image of thought”.