Mapas conceituais e o conteúdo de cinética química do ensino médio: contribuições para uma aprendizagem significativa dos discentes

Abstract

Chemistry is a science responsible for studying matter and transformations, as well as the energy involved in these processes, being part of our lives. Several chemical reactions are observed daily, such as: the formation of rust in iron objects, the burning of a candle and the reactions that occur in the functioning of our organism. Despite these phenomena, basic education students in high school experience difficulties in understanding the approximation of the discipline of Chemistry to their reality, they do not perceive the participation of this Science in their daily lives, reflecting on learning in the school environment. Faced with this circumstance, the question arises: what is the contribution of conceptual maps in the teaching of Chemical Kinetics for the meaningful learning of students? Based on this guiding question, the work had the general objective: to analyze the contributions of concept maps in the teaching of Chemical Kinetics for the meaningful learning of students. This research had as main theoretical basis the following theories: David Ausubel's Theory of Meaningful Learning (1963) and Joseph Novak's Theory of Conceptual Maps (1972). The methodology used was the Case Study, based on the authors Gil (2002), Lüdke; André (2013) and Yin (2001), with quantitative and qualitative analyzes of the results found. The instruments for collecting data applied in the research were forms, construction of conceptual maps by students and interviews with professors. The research took place at the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Ceará, located in the municipality of Maracanaú-CE. The participating subjects were 22 students from a 3rd year class of the Integrated Technical Course in Chemistry and 2 chemistry teachers who work in this class. At the end of the research, it was found that the students were not familiar with the pedagogical tool of conceptual maps, but they managed to build their conceptual maps. The students' greatest difficulties in constructing conceptual maps were in relation to propositions and hierarchies, however, they showed ease in using as much as possible of the concepts present in the delivered script. The interviewed professors recognized the contributions of concept maps for students' learning, being excellent instruments that complement the teaching of Chemistry, through the possibility of reviewing the most relevant concepts. These results contributed to the elaboration of the educational product of an Interactive Digital Magazine, which can be handled by teachers and students in the Chemistry discipline.