Atividades experimentais: um importante recurso metodológico para o ensino de física

Abstract

This paper presents field research conducted with physics teachers in the public education system, limited to teachers from the Professional Master’s Program in Physics Teaching at pole 66 in the city of Piripiri/PI and teachers from the city of Barras/PI. Experimental activities in the área of Natural Sciences, particularly physics, play an important role in motivating and awakening students’ interest in the subject. Experimentation is deemed a significant methodological resource that enhances students’ learning capacity. Unfortunately, the teaching of physics is still predominantly traditional, heavily reliant on the use of textbooks, and characterized by purely expositional classes. However, the absence of experimental practices stems from challenges faced both by educational institutions and teachers. Teaching and learning this Science encompasses a far more complex process that extends beyond the application of mathematical equations in lectures. Thus, this study has the general objective of evaluating the importance of experimental activities in the teaching and learning processo f physics. Its specific objectives include analyzing the methodologies employed by physics teachers in the classroom; know the main causes that hinder the use of experimental activities, and presenting the contributions of experimental practices from the teacher’s perspective towards students’ development. To conduct this research, participants responded to a questionnaire, and after returning it, the data was analyzed using graphs and tables with the necessary comments on the results obtained. In this contexto, the relevance of this work lies in demonstrating how experimental activities contribute to the teaching and learning process, prompting teachers to reconsider their pedagogical practices. Despite the difficulties, the research indicated that physics instruction motivated by experiments enables students to achieve better comprehension and assimilation of the subject matter.