Estratégias de ensino por meio de analogias : uma proposta de guia didático para professores de Química

Abstract

This research is part of the studies on the use of analogies in Chemistry Teaching. In view of the abstract nature of Chemistry, many teachers resort to analogies as an aid to students' understanding of complex and abstract concepts of this Science. Its use can facilitate the process of appropriating new concepts, since the analogy establishes comparisons between two domains, one known and the other unknown. The present research had as general objective to contribute for Chemistry teachers to use analogies as teaching strategy, in their pedagogical practices, in a conscious and systematic way, from the elaboration of the didactic guide type educational product. The study method used inserted the research in a qualitative approach, based on the Case Study techniques. As data collection instruments, questionnaires and semistructured interviews were used with six professors, masters from the Graduate Program in Teaching Natural Sciences (PPGECN), from the area of concentration in Chemistry Teaching, from the Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT). The methodology used for data analysis was the Discursive Text Analysis (DTA), since it allows a rigorous analysis and subsequent synthesis, and enables the construction of new knowledge, in order to expand the meanings of the researched phenomenon. Initially, a survey and categorization of the research already carried out in the academic environment was carried out, which included the terms ‘analogies and Chemistry Teaching’, which served to verify some research gaps and trends on the subject. In order to contextualize the theme, some essential considerations about analogies were presented, as well as their role in conceptual change in a second step, the analysis of the analogies present in the textbooks approved by PNLD / 2018 was carried out, in which the objective was to identify how the analogies were presented by the authors of the collections. This analysis showed little concern on the part of the authors to discuss the corresponding and non-corresponding attributes, as well as the limitations of the analogies present in the investigated works, leaving the professor in charge of such a mission. Subsequently, the research subjects' conceptions about the use of analogies as a methodological strategy were raised. As a result, it was observed that the subjects recognize that analogies are a resource of great potential in Chemistry Teaching, however they were insecure and confused when considering them as metaphors and / or examples. Although the insecurity observed, the recurrent use of analogies by the subjects was found, and it often occurs spontaneously. For some, its use happens according to the course of the class, that is, instinctively. Thus, it is believed that this fact may reflect the lack of theoretical information on the subject. The results punctuated in this research alert to the fact that teachers need more specific guidelines, in relation to the use of analogies as teaching strategies. Thus, the educational product entitled 'Chemistry with Analogies, a guide with guidelines for the use of analogies in Chemistry Teaching' was proposed, whose intention was to subsidize teachers to use them in their classes, in an attempt to minimize the pedagogical obstacles inherent in the use of this feature. Finally, in order to verify the viability of the didactic guide, it was evaluated. From the analysis of the evaluation of the involved it was possible to conclude that the didactic guide presents itself as a useful and viable didactic material, since the results were satisfactory and all the subjects approved it, especially when they informed that its use would be viable in the planning of your classes. It is hoped that, by having knowledge related to the use of analogies, teachers are able to include them in their planning, as well as to use them in a structured way, which contributes to their use to include their function, to facilitate the understanding of abstract thinking, from what is familiar to students.