O estudo de caso sobre chuva ácida, para promoção da alfabetização científica, no contexto da educação ambiental e da ciência tecnologia e sociedade (CTS)

Abstract

Chemistry is a fundamental science for society, but its inappropriate use can also cause environmental problems, such as acid rain. In the 1970s and 1980s, there was increased concern about environmental and social issues, such as pollution, global warming and social inequality. As a result, the ideas of the Science, Technology and Society (CTS) social movement began to be incorporated into school curricula worldwide. In this context, Scientific Literacy (CA) is an important objective of teaching Chemistry, as it enables students to understand science and make informed decisions about socio-environmental issues. The work discusses the importance of innovative pedagogical approaches to teaching Chemistry, which are contextualized and encourage student participation. Experimentation is a promising approach as it allows students to explore chemical concepts in a practical and meaningful way. The objective of this research was to propose, apply and evaluate a teaching proposal through an experiment on acid rain. The proposal sought to integrate Environmental Education (EA) with CA. The work uses as theoretical support the main references on CA, the different types of experiments, the history of EA and the environmental problems arising from atmospheric pollution. The methodology adopted in the research is qualitative, focusing on the educational area based on the approach of Bogdan and Biklen (1994). The research subjects were 11 students from the Chemistry Degree course at the Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT) - Cuiabá campus. For data collection and analysis, the classification of experiments was followed according to Pella (1961) and Silva (2011), the classification of the level of Scientific Literacy according to the contributions of Milaré, Richetti and Alves Filho (2009), in addition to the categories to interpret Environmental Education according to Reigota (1991) and Tamaio (2000). The results obtained showed that the students changed their conceptions after completing the mini-course with an investigative experiment. The reductionist conception classified by Venturieri and Santana (2016) was overcome when they understood the complexity of human-environment relationships. Among the students' responses, 90.9% stated that the investigative experiment helped in the CA process, favoring reflection and critical thinking. The CA aspect achieved by the students encompassed the levels: practical, civic and cultural. The cultural level demonstrated that students developed the chemical and ecological aspects, but also the social aspect, representing the objective of education that values Science, Technology, Society and Environment (CTSA). Taking these aspects into consideration, it can be seen that the experimental activity within the context of a short course enabled reflective processes, development of students' critical thinking, ability to make decisions regarding environmental, social, economic, political and educational issues.