MIXING: AN INVESTIGATIVE ACTIVITY ON MIXTURES OF SUBSTANCES IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION

Abstract

The study is an analysis of a sequence of investigative teaching (SEI) on substance mixtures with students from the 9th grade of Elementary School. The use of SEI strategies, carried out in the Science discipline, were important for the association of the concepts worked in the classroom. With SEI, it was possible to highlight the empirical knowledge that was internalized by the students about the types of mixtures of homogeneous and heterogeneous substances and to give a better direction to the activities developed to help them in the resignification of knowledge. The formative assessment was present throughout this study as a way to make the student reflect on their learning. Despite the limitations imposed by the pandemic, the study provided the active participation of students who developed scientific skills and arguments. The vast majority of those involved were able to reframe their previous knowledge about mixtures of substances by being encouraged and motivated to create hypotheses capable of responding to the problems present in each stage of the experimentation, confronting them with the observed evidence. After carrying out the experimental part, most students were able to correctly describe the process of mixing substances, when compared to the answers given initially, showing that the SEI satisfactorily achieved the proposed objectives.