The shape and movements of the planets in Solar System: analysis of the potential of the proposal focused on spatiality

• Grant number: 12/06096-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: August 01, 2012
• End date: January 31, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Education - Educational Teaching and Learning
• Principal Investigator: Cristina Leite
• Grantee: Flávia Polati Ferreira
• Supervisor: Néstor Eduardo Camino
• Host Institution: Instituto de Física (IF). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia San Juan Bosco, Comodoro Rivadavia (UNPSJB), Argentina
• Associated to the scholarship: 11/05536-0 - The shape and movements of the planets in the solar system: a proposal for the science teacher training in astronomy, BP.MS

Abstract

The Solar System is one of the astronomical topics most discussed in science classes and is present in most national textbooks. The difficulty of both teachers and students in understanding the shape, sizes and motions of celestial objects, widely reported by recent surveys of the area, indicates the need to develop teaching proposals that articulate the contents of Astronomy to the peculiarities of knowledge, such as the spatial sense. This proposal aims to study aspects of teaching and learning content from the specific subject "The shape and movements of the planets in the Solar System". From the data obtained in teacher training course of public schools in the State of Sao Paulo and we intend to analyze them, building categories to deepen the understanding of the teaching and learning process of the concepts of form and movement of the planets in the Solar System. The analysis of this activity will focus on the fundamental characteristics for the construction of the notion of spatiality, according Piaget & Inhelder (1993), Jammer (2010), Santos (2002), Bachelard (2010) as well as for the construction of the notion of gravity, according to Camino (2006), these concepts inherent knowledge of the shape and movements of the planets. (AU)