Primary sources in Physics teaching: considerations and examples of proposals

• Autor(a) principal: Batista, Giovanninni Leite de Freitas
• Data de Publicação: 2015
• Outros Autores: Drummond, Juliana Mesquita Hidalgo Ferreira, Freitas, Daniel Brito de
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Caderno Brasileiro de Ensino de Física (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/fisica/article/view/2175-7941.2015v32n3p663

Primary sources are not anymore official documents which contain "the truth about the past”. They are conceived as culturally produced artifacts which reflect the intentions of the groups that originated them. They are essential to the interpretive work accomplished by historians and historians of science. In the educational context, the use of primary sources from that perspective has been taking place in History teaching. Students are often invited to a diachronic interpretation of documents. In contrast, the use of this kind of material is still rare in initiatives for advancing History and Philosophy of Science in Physics teaching. In addition, there are gaps regarding reflections on the didactic use of these sources in Physics classes according to a non-illustrative perspective. An investigative approach would match to historiographical assumptions and updated educational goals. Investigative dialogical activities, based on diachronic interpretation of documents can encourage curiosity and imagination of the students about the construction of scientific knowledge, evoking elements usually absent in textbooks. The present work addresses these points and discusses didactic possibilities of using sources related to the History of Vacuum and Air Pressure.