Abstract

ARAUJO, FATIMA MARIA; LOPES, BERNARDINO; CRAVINO, JOSÉ  and  SOARES, ARMANDO. PHYSICAL STATES OF MATTER. COMPUTER SIMULATIONS IN THE 5^TH GRADE. Rev. Comunic [online]. 2017, vol.24, n.1, pp.35-54. ISSN 2238-121X.  https://doi.org/10.15600/2238-121X/comunicacoes.v24n1p32-54.

Changes in the physical state of matter may be better understood by students in the 5th grade if students acquire basic notions of corpuscular and kinetic-molecular theory. The early introduction of the concept of particle, its dynamics and the interaction between particles may also reduce the appearance of alternative concepts and facilitate the future understanding of these theories. Although they are abstract concepts and difficult to understand, both by the nature of the particles and by their size, the use of computational simulations may reduce the abstraction necessary to understand such concepts. The goal of this study was to assess the efficacy of different strategies of use of computer simulations, in learning of the changes in the physical state of matter at a microscopic level, on pupils between 9 and 11 years old. The study was carried out in four classes. Two simulations and four ways to integrate them in the curriculum were used. Data was collected on teaching and learning by using specially pre-tests and post-tests. The study allowed to verify which of the strategies of integration of the computational simulations in the curriculum was the most effective.

Keywords : PHYSICAL STAGE OF THE MATTER; PARTICULATE NATURE OF MATTER; COMPUTER SIMULATIONS; CURRICULUM INTEGRATION STRATEGIES.

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