Experimentoteca culinária : uma perspectiva lúdica na discussão do conceito de reação química na formação continuada de professores

Abstract

This work intends to build up and analyze, with the chemistry teachers of public schools in Primavera do Leste – MT, a continuing educational project in the context of the Chemical Cuisine based on practical activities. I realize, in the condition of a chemistry teacher trainer, that some teachers were not motivated by their activities, so they requested training to teach them how to make the discipline more engaging and contextualized. With demands from them for suggestions for more dynamic classes, and specific training focused on practical activities, a project was proposed to enable them to make use of the chemistry involved in food preparation. All municipal teachers were invited to participate. And 18 teachers accepted, these were science teachers from the 3rd grade of the cycle III and Chemistry teachers of the 1st year of high school. The methodology was qualitative, with bias in action research. After the first interviews, we realized the need to systematize a practical teaching tool that would help teachers to build important concepts of Chemistry as substance, compound, atoms and molecules, and chemical reactions, among others. The construction and structure of the educational product called “Cooking Experiment Collection” (EC) whose objective was to study the use of play activities and games as a teaching resource to assist in the teaching and learning of chemical concepts began from the engagement of all teachers with the challenges of being a Science and Chemistry teacher. Over three training meetings, the tool EC was being built along with the teachers. It consists of practical activities involving food preparation, the discussion of the chemical phenomena involved, and recreational activities related to each content. The teachers’ perceptions were made known at each step, failures or inconsistencies were re-discussed and strategies for achieving students’ improvement were deployed. The participating teachers were asked to develop practical activities at the schools where they work. Reports of these experiences were collected, and questionnaires evaluating the EC tool were applied to teachers. The results showed that the use of practical activities contributes to the construction of the concept of chemical reactions with the students; also, to plan study groups enables that the continuing formation become more significant and effective. Moreover, the teaching tool EC contemplates several potential pedagogical and recreational aspects that can assist teachers in the construction of chemical concepts in a pleasant, contextualized and meaningful way.