Simulação em realidade virtual imersiva aplicada no ensino e aprendizagem da física moderna: dualidade onda-partícula/efeito fotoelétrico

Abstract

This thesis investigates the impact of implementing an Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) simulation on the teaching and learning of the concepts of wave-particle duality and the photoelectric effect in the context of Modern Physics. Grounded in Vygotsky’s constructivist perspective, the study examines how IVR, acting as a pedagogicaltechnological mediation tool, can enhance students’ Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and thereby help overcome the abstraction inherent to these concepts through the articulation of theory and experimentation. The methodological approach followed a mixed methodology, structured in three phases. Phase I consisted of systematic literature reviews (Methodi Ordinatio and the PRISMA 2020 protocol) to map the use of IVR in Physics education. Phase II involved the development of an IVR simulation of Thomas Young’s diffraction experiment and Philipp Lenard’s photoelectric effect experiment using Blender and Unity. Phase III, focused on implementation and analysis, included the evaluation of the simulation by expert Physics/Physics Education teachers and by students from Electrical Engineering and Physics Teacher Education programs, through mixed questionnaires and phenomenological analysis. This phase examined students’ interactions, collected data on their conceptual performance, and analyzed their experiences within the immersive environment. The discussion addresses the challenges and possibilities of using IVR in educational contexts, emphasizing the understanding of phenomena discussed in Modern Physics. In particular, the study investigated how IVR can be interpreted through the lens of the ZPD, enabling students to advance their learning through interaction with simulated environments, assisted and guided by teachers. IVR is analyzed as a resource that enhances visualization and understanding of these phenomena by facilitating the learning of complex concepts through pedagogical-technological interaction. Accordingly, this work proposes and discusses the theoretical model called Pedagogical-Technological Mediation of Specific Knowledge (MPTCE) as a framework to help teachers understand and didactically plan the use of immersive technologies by integrating pedagogical intentionality and technological resources. The MPTCE model offers a way for teachers to understand the processes involved in using a technological tool-conceptualized within each theoretical component-and was developed to provide a strategy that supports instructional planning to improve teaching-learning processes. Therefore, this research provides insights into the operationalization of IVR as a pedagogical mediation tool, demonstrating its potential to connect theory and experimentation while fostering the ZPD to overcome high levels of conceptual abstraction.