Possibilidades de construção do pensamento complexo em espaço não formal de aprendizagem no ensino de ciências nos anos iniciais do ensino fundamental

Abstract

In this thesis we analyzed the contribution that a visit to a non-formal learning can provide for the construction of knowledge in the teaching of science in a group of students in the early years of elementary school. Our general objective was to determine how much our visit was able to contribute to the building of own elements of complex reasoning among the students, starting from fauna. Our approach was qualitative, with a research methodology characterized by case study. Subjects were a group of elementary school third-graders from Foz do Iguaçu, PR. Procedures and instruments used for data collection consisted of a lesson plan register, questionnaires and drawings. We also utilized photos from the non-formal learning environment in order to apply the stimulated recall method. All data collected throughout the investigation were subjected to discursive text analysis. We adopted indicators of complex thought elements a priori in order to determine to what extent the evolution of students' concepts was affected regarding the studied topic before and after the visit. Outcomes point out that our visit to the non-formal environment was decisive for the development of the students' understanding, which contained own elements of complex reasoning.