Establishing common elements among some science education references as a resource to design a Didactics of Physics program for teachers initial education

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Future Brazilian teachers imaginaries about physics teaching in adults education

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Pedagogical practices carried out during an in-service teachers education project: approaching history and philosophy of science to physics teaching

We report here part of a research project developed by the Science Education Research Group, titled: "Teachers’ Pedagogical Practices and formative processes in Science and Mathematics Education" which main goal is the development of coordinated research that can generate a set of subsidies for a reflection on the processes of teacher training in Sciences and Mathematics Education. One of the objectives was to develop continuing education activities with Physics teachers, using the History and Philosophy of Science as conductors of the discussions and focus of teaching experiences carried out by them in the classroom. From data collected through a survey among local Science, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics teachers in Bauru, a São Paulo State city, we developed a continuing education proposal titled “The History and Philosophy of Science in the Physics teachers’ pedagogical practice”, lasting 40 hours of lessons. We followed the performance of five teachers who participated in activities during the 2008 first semester and were teaching Physics at High School level. They designed proposals for short courses, taking into consideration aspects of History and Philosophy of Science and students’ alternative conceptions. Short courses were applied in real classrooms situations and accompanied by reflection meetings. This is a qualitative research, and treatment of data collected was based on content analysis, according to Bardin [1].

Physics teachers initial education and professional performance: what do future teachers have to say?

This research deals with the discussion about Physics teachers’ undergraduate education and professional performance related to the knowledge acquired during this initial education. More specifically, we try to answer questions like: How do future teachers evaluate the knowledge acquired during their initial education as in terms of specific knowledge as pedagogical knowledge? What are their formative needs and future expectatives about professional performance and the school teaching environment? Data was constituted from a sample of 26 future high school physics teachers, one semester long, that were taking the supervised curricular training in a undergraduate Physics education program (called Licenciatura in Brazil), in São Paulo State public university. Besides the final report of this training, future teachers were asked to answer a questionnaire aiming to take their conceptions about their initial education program, their formative needs, future professional expectatives and high school teaching environment. According to the future teachers, the program they were about to finish was satisfactory in terms of Physics specific contents; however, about the pedagogical content knowledge and the pedagogical practice, they showed to be unsatisfied and insecure. The majority of the questionnaire responses demonstrated that they feel lack of teaching experience. Moreover, teachers emphasize other factors related to the future professional performance: possible difficulties to deal with students’ indiscipline, schools’ bad physical structure, limited number of Physics classes in high school level, lack of didactical laboratories and also they seem to be frightened that the expertise teachers do not be collaborative with the new ones. In this sense, the research outcomes shows the necessity of discussions about questions involving teachers knowledge, related to either, the Physics conceptual domain and the pedagogical one, since it matters directly to future teachers professional performance. Discussions in this sense can also help evaluation and restructuration of programs designed to initial and continuous teachers’ education.

The force, power, and energy of the 100 meter sprint

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

História da ciência, interdisciplinaridade e ensino de física: o problema do demônio de Maxwell

Propomos que uma evolução de idéias científicas seja usada como instrumento de aprendizagem de conteúdos específicos e, em particular, para ressaltar como os conteúdos se articulam entre as disciplinas. Como exemplo, apresentamos um estudo sobre a proposta do demônio de Maxwell e discussões sobre sua exorcização, isto é, um estudo sobre a compreensão da natureza de um ser inteligente que atua dentro de um sistema físico e de como seria essa atuação. Estão envolvidos nesse problema fenômenos relacionados com várias teorias - Termodinâmica, Física Molecular, Mecânica Estatística, Teoria da Informação - dentro das disciplinas de Física, Química, Biologia, Computação. Entre diversas questões epistemológicas e conceituais aí contidas, será enfatizada a questão do objeto limitado de uma eoria científica, isto é, da limitação de seu significado aos fenômenos por ela compreendidos. A delimitação dos fenômenos estudados e as teorias e técnicas caracterizam a compreensão que vai realizar sua emergência concreta nos laboratórios. Essa compreensão vai dar também a possibilidade de atuação interdisciplinar.

Experimental study of the centripetal force

We describe an experimental set-up for studying and determining the centripetal force acting on a body whose mass and radius of circular trajectory are known. The experimental behaviour is determined and compared with theoretical predictions by using a system that allows for the evaluation of the angular velocity by means of electric current measurements, and by assuming a potential dependence of the force on the body mass, radius and angular velocity. © 2007 IOP Publishing Ltd.

A história da ciência e as concepções alternativas de estudantes como subsídios para o planejamento de um curso sobre atração gravitacional

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

O erro em sala de aula: subsídios para o ensino do eletromagnetismo

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Discursos presentes em um processo de reestruturação curricular de um curso de licenciatura em física: o legal, o real, e o possível

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Uma estruturação para o ensino de didática da física na formação inicial de professores: contribuições da pesquisa na área

Pós-graduação em Educação para a Ciência - FC

Física dos anos iniciais: estudo sobre a queda livre dos corpos através da metodologia da mediação dialética

The model used in Brazilian schools, based on both traditional and progressive education, transmits information without worrying to show the real meaning of things, and without taking into consideration the previous knowledge of the pupil. How to work with the contents of human knowledge in a meaningful way? One alternative way is the Methodology of Dialectical Mediation (MDM), which consists in four steps or pedagogical moments, rescuing, problem posing, systematizing and producing. This theoretical option considers the educational work as a relationship involving teaching, learning and contents, which are taken as independent moments tightly connected to the ongoing work, instead of isolated elements or static terms. The aim of the present work is to clarify the Methodology of Dialectical Mediation and develop a class proposal according to the MDM approach to the problem of the free falling bodies (gravity, material means and shape). To evaluate the methodology, questionnaires were applied after experiments, with the involvement of students at each predominant moment. The results suggested that the MMD, combined with experimental activity, is a tool that enhances the overcoming of immediate knowledge, allowing students to reach a better understanding of the scientific knowledge.

Interações entre docentes da licenciatura em física em grupos de planejamento conjunto: uma análise a partir da teoria do Agir Comunicativo

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

O ensino de física nos primeiros anos da educação básica: possibilidades lúdicas e experimentais

We discuss in the work the importance of experiential activities for Physics Teaching in the first years at Elementary Education. For this we start from the experience provided by the Teaching Project Initiation under Pibid CAPES, linked to the Department of Education from the Institute of Biosciences and activities of the Graduate Diploma in Physics Supervised, at Rio Claro Campus, São Paulo State, in partnership with Basic Education schools of the city. Based on some patterns and studies on the Teaching of Science in Elementary Education and particularly in the Ferreira’s work with Instrumentation for Physics Teaching, Electrostatic was chosen as base theme. We opted for the use of didactic experiments that provided in its construction the utilization of low cost materials, easy access and portability. Teaching strategies were aimed at inserting experiential activities during Elementary School I (first and third years of elementary school), intending to rescue the trial of Physics Education and Science for Basic Education. These experimental teaching activities were analyzed in this paper from the perspective of playfulness. We argue that experimentation with recreational attributes when properly used provides the interaction of individuals with the knowledge of Physical Sciences

Desenvolvimento e aplicação de uma maquete sobre as leis de Kepler para inclusão de alunos com deficiência visual no ensino de física

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)