Pedagogical and Epistemological Contributions in Texts of Experimentation in the Chemistry Teaching

Abstract

We have investigated the characteristics of the discourses about purposes of the experiments published in the section “Experimentação no Ensino de Química” of Química Nova na Escola magazine. From a pedagogical and epistemological approach, the goal of the data analysis was to rethink the methodological aspects of experimentation in fundamental and high school Chemistry classes, and to raise questions relevant to teacher formation. Some aspects are pointed out, such as: relation between experimental activity and motivation; the need for a reflection on epistemological nature of the experimentation in teaching; the importance of a dialogical context for learning; material conditions for the development of experimental activities; and characteristics of the contents taught through experiments.