"Um amigo cientista": a circulação de ideias entre a universidade e a educação básica para a compreensão da história da ciência

Abstract

Discussions on Science Education and on the incorporation of the History of Science (HS) into educational practices have intensified in recent years, especially in light of the need for students not only to understand science and its historical developments, but also to be shaped and transformed by them. This thesis articulates three theoretical axes that underpin the methodological and analytical choices: contemporary understandings of the History of Science, Ludwik Fleck’s epistemology, and the STS (Science, Technology, and Society) approach. Based on the premise that scientific knowledge is socially constructed and historically situated, the study introduces, in the educational context, the perspective of the (present) History of Science. Grounded in this framework, the objective of the research was to elaborate theoretical referents capable of supporting the development of a digital platform designed to foster the circulation of ideas between basic education and higher education, thereby enhancing the understanding of the contemporary construction of the History of Science. To meet this objective, the investigation articulated two methodological paths: a bibliographic path and a development path. In the bibliographic path, a systematic literature review was conducted through the Methodi Ordinatio, which revealed a gap regarding the use of Fleckian epistemology in studies addressing the insertion of the History of Science in Science Education, particularly in the Brazilian context. Complementarily, Pierre Lévy’s conceptions of technology were employed to support the second specific objective, focused on the systematization of theoretical-methodological referents for the development of the digital platform. In the development path, the “A Science Friend” platform (Um Amigo Cientista) was constructed, guided by the principles of Design-Based Research (DBR). The design of the digital environment was grounded in Pierre Lévy’s ideas on technology and in Fleckian concepts such as thought style, thought collective, and inter and intra-collective circulation, articulated through the systematized referents. The platform’s design was conceived to enable basic education students to exchange messages with registered scientists, fostering dialogues that contribute to understanding the contemporary construction of the History of Science. Development occurred in iterative cycles, in which each functionality was tested, adjusted, and, when necessary, reformulated until reaching the final fully functional version. The results indicate that the History of Science, understood in its present dimension and articulated with Fleck’s epistemology and the STS approach, constitutes a powerful resource for promoting critical, contextualized, and socially relevant science education. Furthermore, they show that technological mediation, when intentionally oriented toward the circulation of ideas among different thought collectives, enhances more dialogical and meaningful formative processes in Science Education. The study concludes that the educational platform developed represents an innovative and promising technological tool to support basic education students in understanding the contemporary construction of the History of Science.