THEMATIC INVESTIGATION AS CURRICULAR DYNAMICS: DEVELOPING THE PROPOSAL IN THE CLASSROOM

Abstract

This is a qualitative study, based on the theoretical perspective by Paulo Freire and the assumptions of the Science-Technology-Society (STS) approach and the Latin American Thought in Science, Technology and Society (LAT-STS), considering the perspective of the social context of students as a starting point for their learning. From this perspective, we investigate how a curricular configuration based on Freirean assumptions and CTS/PLACTS productions may contribute to the knowledge building by students in the school environment from an effective work in the classroom. The objective of this investigation is to get a better contextualize the knowledge, involving students in order to promote their critical positioning and the creation of a more democratic society, in which students can express themselves in view of the advances in Science-Technology (ST), regarding issues that imply changes in their world. Thus, we addressed the theme of the implementation and operation of a Hydroelectric Power Plant. Therefore, we investigated an effective classroom practice, which involved teachers of Science and Geography and 9th-grade students from a municipal public school in the same location as the power plant. The corpus for analysis consists of journals kept by the students and the researcher used during practice. Methodologically, we adopt the Discursive Textual Analysis. The results are presented in three categories: Resignifying knowledge through 'demystification'; The critical social-environmental development of students in relation to the theme: from limit situations to untested feasibility; Learning assessment: the understanding and lines of thought from the perspective of students. Hence, connecting the critical-reflective classroom practice to curricular development.