AS CONCEPÇÕES SOBRE INTERDISCIPLINARIDADE E PRÁTICAS INTEGRADORAS EM LIVROS DIDÁTICOS DE CIÊNCIAS

Abstract

The lack of a definition of interdisciplinarity and clarifications on how to promote the integration of disciplinary knowledge motivated this research. In it, we investigated the 13 textbooks of Integrative Projects in the area of Natural Sciences and their Technologies. We mapped the definitions presented in the books for interdisciplinarity and how the authors suggest the integration of disciplinary knowledge in the execution of proposals in STEAM projects. To analyze the collected data, we started from the result of a bibliographic research, from which we characterized the forms of knowledge integration and the references used in the last ten years by researchers in the area of education. As a theoretical reference, we systematized the ideas about discipline and the forms of knowledge integration defined by the authors indicated in the analyzed literature, constructing a theoretical framework, used to analyze the 13 textbooks and the respective teacher's manuals. As results, we highlight that the definition of interdisciplinarity, based on authors mentioned in the literature, was explicitly identified in only two examples: Ivani Fazenda and Hilton Japiassú. Implicitly, considering the keywords that we associate with the definitions of these references, we infer that in one book the concept of interdisciplinarity is close to that of Jurjo Santomé, since it understands it as the interaction between different disciplines. Three books indicate Fernando Hernández-Hernández, Edgar Morin, Regina Bochniak and William Bender, respectively, as contributions, and two others discuss the integration of knowledge, without defining interdisciplinarity. Regarding the projects, we consider that the proposed objectives are clearly written, but some seem utopian, since they suggest achieving scientific literacy in the community through complex activities, which are not contemplated in the objectives. Regarding the proposed steps for organizing the integrative practice, one project has seven and another has 12, and in both cases we consider it necessary to include sub-steps to improve the execution of the actions and achieve the proposed objectives. All the proposals analyzed assume that the students have prior knowledge to execute actions such as data collection through interviews. There is a lack of guidance on: how to identify topics of interest to the community; how to collect samples and analyze them; how to prepare posters and infographics. Regarding the integration of knowledge, we consider that none of the projects has the potential to achieve the purpose suggested by the authors.