Análise da mobilização de significados sobre a natureza da ciência e seu ensino por professores de Química em uma comunidade de prática

Abstract

The goal of this study is to analyze the meanings mobilized about the nature of science and its teaching developed in the context of a community of practice of Chemistry teachers. Studies on the nature of science have pointed to the need to promote training spaces that enable the elaboration and application of strategies that stimulate discussions, interactions and reflections on the nature of science and its teaching, through the development of a multiplicity of thoughts and sharing of experiences that relevantly address the various aspects of the nature of science and ways of teaching them. In this scenario, we propose to investigate a community of practice of Chemistry teachers as a space for mobilizing meanings about the nature of science and its teaching. For this, a community of practice was organized with four Chemistry teachers, in which the analysis of everyday situations with a scientific character were discussed in six meetings, in addition to the elaboration and adaptation of activities on the nature of science. To carry out the research, video recordings of the meetings and materials prepared by the teachers were used as data. The construction and analysis of the data was guided by the appropriation of elements of Ethnography in Education (GREEN et. al. 2005), and to use of the Microethnographic Discourse Analysis tools (BLOOME et al. 2005, 2008), which helped organize the data. The results indicate that the teachers manifested meanings from the spontaneous discussions that developed through the interactions and perceptions of the teachers about everyday situations of a scientific nature presented to them in the activities. Regarding the meanings about the nature of science, the interactions between professors enabled the mobilization of epistemic meanings such as the methodology of science and observation and inference, for example, and the non-epistemic aspects of science such as the influence of science on society and aspects ethics and morals of science. This situation indicates that the mobilization of meanings about ND by teachers was diverse and encompassed a variety of situations that represent scientific processes. As for the meanings mobilized about the teaching of the nature of science, the results indicate that from the negotiation of meanings, meanings related to the discussions and identification of aspects about the nature of science in the activities were mobilized. In addition, meanings about activities and plans that motivate the teaching of the nature of science were also presented. Regarding the role of the community of practice in the mobilization of meanings, the results show that the social practices developed in this group enabled the development of engagement, respect, identity, trust and collaborative work among professors, which contributed to that broader discussions and meanings about the nature of science and its teaching could be manifested. The context of the CoP encouraged the exploration of teachers' real knowledge and experiences, providing recognition among peers and confidence in sharing experiences and repertoires that, when discussed in groups, helped teachers to reflect on their practices and learn about new experiences and meanings that they added their teaching profession. Finally, our study indicates that the community of practice is a relevant space for social interaction that contributes to the development of discussions about the nature of science and its teaching.