Inserção de um tópico de física moderna e contemporânea no ensino médio: elaboração de uma unidade didática com foco em nanociências e nanotecnologia

Abstract

This work relates to the insertion of a Modern and Contemporary Physics topic in high school. More specifically, the topic refers to the production, characterization and application of nanoparticles. Special attention is given to the importance of “didactic transposition” which refers to the transformations undertaken by a body of knowledge from “scholarly knowledge”, which is produced in academia, to “taught knowledge”, which is actually taught at schools, in the classrooms. In this process, Interdisciplinarity should be pointed out as an important element, considering the diverse aspects of science, including Biology, Health Sciences, and Humanities, that are involved in and related to nanoscience and nanotechnology. The work consisted in elaborating a didactic unit regarding the chosen topic. The didactic unit was used in high school Physics classes taught to students attending the last year of secondary education, in the city of Curitiba, Brazil. The results obtained reveal that the didactic unit was efficient to arouse student’s interest towards nanoscience and nanotechnology, and mobilized their engagement with the topic. The results also show that students understand the multidisciplinary nature of nanoscience and nanotechnology, including its process of constant building of scientific concepts. In addition, students comprehend its importance to technological development.