Uma estratégia para inserção da física experimental nas séries finais do ensino fundamental e séries iniciais do ensino médio

Abstract

Although physics is an experimental science, few students in elementary school seem to remember this fact. Typically, students associate physics with only the many "formulas"they need to memorize and the corresponding mathematical treatment. Among other factors, this is due to the way the discipline is presented to students. In this work, we present a strategy for the introduction of the experimental method in final classes of Elementary School and the beginning of High School. In this context, we developed an Educational Product consisting of an apparatus and a Didactic Sequence that allows the realization of experiments by students who are having their first contact with Physics. The Educational Product was applied in a class of the first year high school belonging to the public educational system of the State of Pernambuco. The product allows the class to take measurements, tabulate the data, draw the corresponding graphs and determine a quantitative relationship between the quantities involved in the phenomenon observed. Here, we limit ourselves to situations in which the functional dependence between the quantities involved is expressed by a first-degree function. Nevertheless, statistical methods were used to determine the parameters of the function. In addition, we employ a spreadsheet in a part of the data analysis. Our work follows the proposal of the Open Laboratory suggested by the Sequence of Teaching by Research (SEI). During the application of the product, we reached the goal of guiding a class of 32 students in the process of measuring, analyzing the results and establishing a quantitative relationship between two quantities. The class engaged vividly in the activities and we noticed a significant change in the attitude of the students in the other relevant activities of the discipline throughout the semester.