International Teacher Education Conference 2014 1

International Teacher Education Conference 2014
Evaluation of Concrete-Mixed Models Use on Optical Isomery Concept
Teaching, Under Brazilian High School Chemistry Teachers´ Perspective
Nélio Soares Machado a*
a
University of Brasília (UnB), Brazil
Abstract
Concrete-mixed models are important scientific and technological instruments, once they play an essential role
in establishing connections between the perceiving reality and the idealized one. These connections have
implied on how constructivism can be interpreted. The representation of these models is an important compound
of the constructivist theory, constituting the basis of these models’ typology. The possible models amplitude is
defined throughout their aspects and representation modes, whose typology open the doors to future horizons on
teaching and learning research about models in classroom. As objective, this work presents evaluating the use of
concrete-mixed models on Optical Isomery (O.I.) concept teaching, under high-school Brazilian teachers'
perspective. In order of doing that, the author has raised, tested and discussed hypothesis related to high-school
Brazilian teachers' point of view about the use of a specific model on explaining the concept of O.I. After that,
low cost concrete-mixed models were developed, aiming to be presented to the participants of this research, as
viable instruments of O.I. teaching. Both the abovementioned presented models, as well as the information
folder were exhibited to Chemistry teachers of public and private Brazilian high-schools, who have answered to
previous and post essays, beyond getting knowledge about the available information. As a result of the
descriptive analysis, the author has concluded that the general and specific proposed objectives were reached. In
this way, the author concludes that concrete-mixed models are efficient tools on Significant Learning promotion,
according to Chemical high-school Brazilian teachers' perspective.
Keywords.
INTRODUCTION
A model in Science is a representation of a phenomena initially produced to a specific aim. As a
"phenomena" is any interesting way of separating a part of the total group of experimentation to a posterior
study, the models are presented everywhere. The specific purpose for which any model is originally made in
Science (or in specific research) is like a simplification of a phenomena to be used in inquiries to develop
explanations about it (Gilbert & Boulter, 2000, 11).
Many models are compound of entities that are concrete, objects seen as they had a distinct existence (a
wheel, for example) or even as they were part of a system, like a car wheel, for example. A model of an object
can be both smaller than the phenomena that it represents (for example, a train); the same size of it, as the human
body, for example; or even bigger than the phenomena (in the case of a virus, for example).
Nowadays, it is more and more acceptable the notion that the cultural formation of human beings in
contemporary societies passes through everyday intermediations, characterized by a complexity context, that
occur through interpersonal, group and massive communication, and spreading as the improvement of new
technologies (BARROS, 1997).
According to the Brazilian National Curricular Standards (PCN), Chemistry teaching shall warrant that “the
aspects and technological subjects associated to the scientific and mathematic learning become an essential part
of the citizen formation” (Brazil, 1999, 10).
Under that perspective, Chemistry Teaching do not shall limit itself just in preparing students to pre
University selection examinations; shall, before anything else, develop skills and competences that permit the
formation of a critical consciousness for the students, aiming that they can contribute themselves for the
development of a fairer and more equal society. On the other hand, forming critical and consciousness citizens
do not exclude their capacity for pre University examinations as well as public contests. Such citizen formation
shall anticipate the imposed necessities by a technological and globalized world, which obey ourselves to know
E-mail address: neliobio@unb.br
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