Uso de situações potenciais para desenvolvimento do ensino sobre energia solar fotovoltaica na óptica da Teoria dos Campos Conceituais de Vergnaud

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the application of Gérard Vergnaud’s Theory of Conceptual Fields (TCF) in physics teaching, with a focus on the field of photovoltaic solar energy, aiming to overcome cognitive passivity and promote student engagement through contextualized situations. The general objective consisted of developing, applying, and evaluating an educational product in the format of a didactic sequence (DS) based on the referred theory, structured to induce the evolution of students' schemas and operational invariants. The adopted methodology is qualitative in nature, taking the form of a longitudinal case study conducted with 19 students from a second-year high school class. The didactic path was organized into potential learning situations that included a survey of prior knowledge via questionnaire and interactive game, theoretical conceptualization, instrumentalized experimental practice with multimeters, and synthesis reports for gaining awareness. Data analysis was based on the structuring of conceptualization levels and the identification of concepts-in-action and theorems-in-action, allowing the monitoring of the subjects' cognitive reorganization throughout four main situations. The results demonstrated the complete eradication of the Level 1 intuitive base, characterized by the absence of scientific schemas, and a massive migration of 89.5% of the sample to the levels of partial and systemic integration (N3 and N4). A definitive break with the thermal epistemological obstacle stands out, in which students associated solar generation purely with the panel’s heat, this change being driven by empirical confrontation during the practical activity. The transition from the operative form to the predicative form of knowledge revealed the development of a stable technical language and the ability to articulate geographical, physical, and economic variables in coherent justifications. The work also highlights the inclusive potential of the proposal by presenting significant results in the scientific literacy of students from the special education public. It is concluded that the systematic variation of differentiated didactic situations is essential for the consolidation of complex conceptual fields, validating TCF as a robust framework for the promotion of technical autonomy and citizenship in science education.