Banca de DEFESA: MAGNO BARBOSA DIAS

THE ROLE OF ASTRONOMY IN PHYSICS TEACHING BASED ON DIALOGICAL AND MOTIVATIONAL ACTIVITY

motive; scientific teaching; universe.

ABSTRACT

Since the most remote ages, themes related to the universe arouse human fascination and interest. One of the justifications for astronomy teaching in basic education is that universe related themes motivate interest in scientific knowledge. However, we observe that the motivational approach is not fully explored in a way of demonstrating how astronomy may develop the students’ interest in parallel with another scientific knowledge. In this paper, we explore this subject theoretically, starting from the following question: what are the motivational factors related to Astronomy and how do they articulate for the development of physics in High School? This fundamental research problem leads us to discuss the historical-epistemological bases of the universe view and its implications for physics teaching in Brazil. Considering the role that motive plays on the subject of learning, our theoretical support is based on two guiding lines: Leontiev’s Activity Theory (from 1978-1984) and an analytical study on types of interaction in the classroom as a social space (MORTIMER & SCOTT, 2002; 2003). Leontiev's classic works give us the basis to discuss the concept of “motive” whereas Mortimer and Scott’s analytical approach enables us to understand “dialogue” in the discursive and social context of scientific teaching. This research methodological path uses historical sources with the purpose of untangling the characteristics of astronomical thought, which contribute to the premises arising from our theoretical study. We depart from a broader historical context to unveil the main philosophical and epistemological commitments that motivate the pursuit for physics knowledge in its connection with astronomy. The synthesis of such historical study gives us tools to discuss socio-scientific factors that influenced physics teaching in Brazil in the middle of the 20th century. In addition, we investigate the main reasons for the rise of educational research in astronomy in Brazil and the motivations that lead educational researchers to carry out research on universe related themes in school, especially with regard to high school physics. Our findings allow us to discuss the characterization of three approaches to knowledge, as they result from the motivational articulations between school physics and astronomy. One of the virtues of this study is to demonstrate that astronomy plays a fundamental role for physics teaching, due to the fact that motivation with the knowledge of the universe is also an element in development for the subject of learning. In short, human beings learn to admire the universe and are motivated to understand physics, which enables them to make fascinating discoveries about the world. Therefore, we believe that the motivation to understand the universe is a development factor for physics teaching.