Abstract:
This paper presents partial results of an ongoing doctoral research, carried out in primary schools, and its purpose is to analyze students' performance regarding skills and attitudes developed during the study of the concept of heat and its effects to produce state changes in substances. The study was conducted through a qualitative approach, with a descriptive and explanatory objective, adopting the case study as a procedure. Data were collected on the skills and scientific knowledge developed by third-graders, in the different stages of the Methodology of Inquiry used, based on the Theory of Meaningful Critical Learning. The results show evidence that the activities based on this methodology allow greater motivation and interest for the study of science, expansion of the child’s scientific vocabulary, acquisition of new concepts, besides favoring the possibilities of social interaction, the use of questioning and the understanding of some necessary procedures in scientific research.
Keywords:
Physics teaching; Heat; Primary school; Critical meaningful learning; Inquiry-based methodology