Fatores inerentes à prática de atividades experimentais no ensino de ciências

Abstract

Considering experimentation as a methodological proposition that can contribute substantially to the teaching-learning process in Sciences, it is relevant to investigate this theme in school spaces. In this sense, aiming to elucidate the context of experimental practices in urban schools in the public network of Uruguaiana / RS, a field research with a qualitative approach was carried out, in which a questionnaire with open and closed questions was used as a data collection instrument. The main objective of the study was to understand the factors inherent to the practice of experimental activities in science teaching and as research subjects 63 teachers of Primary Education Sciences of the final years of urban municipal and state schools in that municipality. The research took place in the context of school performance of the participants. Data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel® and content analysis. The main results show that: most teachers work in the profession between 24 and 44 years old; works in two or three schools; teach classes in more than one curricular component; has no specific training in the area of Sciences and; a small number has postgraduate degrees in the area or participates in continuing education courses. As for the context of experimentation in the teaching of science, it was found that the most frequent indications among those surveyed, both referring to conceptual definition, as the goals assigned to the experimental activities, refer solely to the correlation theory/practice. In general, such activities are considered relevant to the teaching of science, but they are not common among teachers and when they occur, have a negligible bias. Finally, it is considered that the findings and discussions raised by this study, may favor important redirections of teaching practice in the face of experimentation in the teaching of Sciences, both in the context researched, as in other educational areas.