Um Estudo dos Invariantes Operatórios Mobilizados por Estudantes do Ensino Médio sobre Radioatividade

Abstract

After decades of justifications for the introduction of Modern and Contemporary Physics (MCP) into high school physics curricula, current challenges focus on how to effectively integrate its content into practice in innovative ways aligned with the New High School framework. In this context, one of the MCP topics highlighted in official documents is radioactivity, which is highly relevant both in everyday life and in the teaching of physics itself, as it is applied in various fields of science such as medicine and energy production. In light of this, the present study sought to address the following question: How do problem situations used in the implementation of a Potentially Meaningful Teaching Unit (PMTU) contribute to indicating the possible mastery of the conceptual field of Radioactivity among first-year high school students? The aim was to analyze this potential conceptual mastery through the resolution of problem situations with different levels of complexity, based on the implementation of a PMTU on radioactivity in a state public school. As the theoretical framework, we anchored our research in the Theory of Conceptual Fields, seeking to investigate the possible mastery of the conceptual field of Radioactivity by examining the operational invariants mobilized by students in their responses to the different problem situations presented in the PMTU.As the sequence was developed and the activities applied, we observed a significant transformation in the way students engaged with the concepts of the conceptual field of radioactivity. Progressively, they moved away from explanations rooted in common sense, instead constructing more coherent, evidence-based arguments aligned with scientific language. By the end of the PMTU, many students demonstrated a more elaborate mastery of the conceptual field of radioactivity, employing well-structured causal reasoning that reflected a more meaningful appropriation of the content addressed.