Ensino por investigação no aprendizado das teorias da relatividade: um estudo de caso em escola pública de Bonito de Santa Fé – PB.

Abstract

The present undergraduate thesis aims to explore the possibilities of inquiry-based teaching in the learning of special and general relativity theories within the context of high school education, actively involving students in the learning process through investigations and experiments. In this way, students will be able to apply the concepts of relativity in real-life situations, fostering critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Despite the importance of understanding these theories for a better grasp of modern physics, many students encounter difficulties in assimilating them due to their abstract and complex nature. Special and general relativity are fundamental theories in physics, proposed by Albert Einstein, which describe the behavior of space, time, and gravity on extreme scales. However, teaching these theories often proves challenging for students. In this study, a literature review was conducted to examine the main pedagogical approaches currently used in inquiry-based teaching and the special and general relativity theories, drawing from authors such as Carvalho (2013), Moreira (2006), Ausubel (1968), Serafini (2016), Barcelos et al. (2019), Marcondes et al. (2018), MOTTA (2019), among others. Subsequently, inquiry-based teaching strategies were proposed, grounded in the research's theoretical foundations, with the objective of providing meaningful learning of relativistic concepts to a third-year high school class. The class comprises approximately 32 students and belongs to a public school located in the city of Bonito de Santa Fé-PB. These strategies were implemented during the first semester of 2023 as part of the pedagogical practice. During this period, practical and experimental activities, group discussions, bibliographic research, and computer simulations were used as teaching tools to stimulate curiosity, critical thinking, and active student participation. The research results demonstrated that inquiry-based teaching in the learning of special and general relativity theories within the context of high school education led to a significant improvement in the students' understanding and assimilation of these concepts. Through practical and experimental activities, students were able to experience real-life situations involving the principles of relativity, which helped them visualize and apply these concepts in a more concrete manner.