Ensino por investigação em Ciências: análise de uma atividade experimental sobre energia desenvolvida com alunos do 5º ano do Ensino Fundamental

Abstract

Overcoming transmissive pedagogical practices and engaging students in the early years of schooling represent important challenges for science education. In this context, the present study investigated which aspects of the participation of 5th-grade students in Elementary School I emerge during an experimental lesson on the topic of energy based on inquiry-based learning. The research was developed in a private school in the municipality of Elói Mendes, Minas Gerais, using a qualitative approach based on participant observation. Students' speech, attitudes, interactions, and manifestations were analyzed during an experimental activity involving the assembly of a simple electrical circuit. The results indicate that the practical lesson, based on a problem-solving situation and teacher mediation, favored student involvement. This engagement was evidenced by the emergence of concrete investigative attitudes, such as problematization, hypothesis formulation, and the collective construction of explanations during the experimentation. It is concluded that investigative activities constitute an important strategy to promote the active participation of students and foster scientific literacy in the early years of Elementary School.