O voo de Ícaro: a experimentação e avaliação como asas para a formação de professores no ensino de ciências

Abstract

This research aimed to analyze the limits and potentialities of experimentation as an assessment tool in the training process of Chemistry undergraduates at the Federal University of Grande Dourados (UFGD). Grounded in a qualitative approach, it adopts a type II case study design, structured around three empirical cores: a Systematic Literature Review (SLR), the analysis of the Pedagogical Projects of the Chemistry Teaching Degree at UFGD, and student experience reports. The three studies were examined through Discursive Textual Analysis (DTA), allowing the identification of emerging meanings within curricular and formative practices. The investigation is supported by theoretical frameworks on teacher education, experimentation, and assessment, drawing on authors such as Garcia, Freire, Carvalho, and Gil-Pérez, while discussing conceptual orientations for teaching practice. The SLR (Study 1) revealed a scarcity of academic works addressing the integration between assessment and experimentation in initial teacher education, indicating a significant research gap. The analysis of the curricular projects (Study 2) showed that this articulation remains fragmented and incipient, though with signs of openness to more reflective and dialogical pedagogical practices. The student narratives (Study 3) unveiled understandings that, despite reflecting traditional elements, also demonstrate creative efforts to reframe experimentation as a formative assessment space. Evoking the metaphor of Icarus’ flight, the dissertation suggests that initial teacher education should seek a balance between the boldness of experimentation and the groundedness of well-founded practices, transcending the boundaries imposed by traditional models. The findings contribute to the field of teacher education by advocating experimentation and assessment as complementary and transformative practices.