Análise de aspectos da contextualização, do nível macroscópico, submicroscópico e simbólico em textos sobre "Cinética Química" de livros de Química Geral do ensino superior

Abstract

The present work is the result of an investigation in order to identify how the textbooks of chemistry in higher education approach aspects of contextualization in the approach to the content of “Chemical Kinetics” and the three levels of representation of the matter proposed by Alex H. Johnstone, also known as the Johstone triangle. The proposal arose from the finding of the absence in research aimed at the analysis of books on general chemistry in higher education in Brazil on this content. As it is an old resource and widely used at this level of education, research on how to present this type of text becomes fundamental to the process of interpreting them for students who need to study general chemistry. For this, a qualitative research of the chapter called Chemical Kinetics was carried out in 4 (four) books of General Chemistry used by students of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte. The study was developed from the quantitative survey of books in circulation for loans at the central and sectoral library of the Institute of Chemistry of this university. The methodological path included the elaboration of guiding points for the analysis of books with an emphasis on chemical knowledge that addresses the symbology, representations, contextualization and the macroscopic and submicroscopic aspects present in the texts. The categories constructed during the analysis were based on some elements of Bardin's content analysis. The results demonstrate that the books present discussions that are not intertwined with the Johnstone proposal that has been discussed since 1982. It was also possible to notice that the works do not present the interconnection between the discussions of these levels of representation with a contextualized approach that presents practical examples arising from the local reality in which these students find themselves (Natal/RN). Finally, it can be said that the books analyzed in this research that address the content of Chemical Kinetics, may be useful in understanding the content, but need complementary material or even reformulation of their text that allows the reader/student discussions that lead to an understanding of the three levels of representation of the subject, as Johnstone points out, and also an application context that is close to the reality of Brazilian students, especially those who are in the initial teachers training process.