Abstract

MARTINS, José Roberto Serra; GONCALVES, Pedro Wagner  and  CARNEIRO, Celso Dal Ré. O ciclo hidrológico como chave analítica interpretativa de um material didático em geologia. Ciência educ. [online]. 2011, vol.17, n.02, pp.365-382. ISSN 1516-7313.

This article analyses the textbook published 1991 “Challenge of the Natural Environment”, written by Brian Knapp, Simon Ross and Duncan McCrae, adopting the water cycle as a dynamic background for the flows and interactions between the Earth spheres. The water cycle helps students to understand the difference between the subject matter and the investigation of Geology, a distinction which is fundamental for the teaching of Earth Sciences. Such approach helps to understand the way Geology has evolved as a science. The object of investigation is the crust, where a great diversity of structures, rock compositions, fabrics and textures exist. The subject matter is the historical-geological process reconstructed from naturally “fixed” forms. The step-by-step approach goes from the simplest to the most comprehensive concepts; it highlights the risks caused by: (a) an incomplete knowledge of natural processes or (b) absence of concern for effects of human activities on nature.

Keywords : Water Cycle; Epistemology of Geology; Textbooks; Teaching of Earth Sciences.

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