Abstract

LAGO, Leonardo; ORTEGA, JOSÉ LUIS  and  MATTOS, CRISTIANO. THE MOON IN MY HAND: MEDIATION AND COMPLEX CONCEPTS IN ASTRONOMY TEACHING. Ens. Pesqui. Educ. Ciênc. [online]. 2018, vol.20, e10388.  Epub July 07, 2018. ISSN 1983-2117.  https://doi.org/10.1590/1983-211720182001020.

In this work, we present a school science’s activity regarding observation and recording of the moon phases and discuss the results in light of the Vygotskian theory of mediation and concepts formation. We show how changes in the activity allowed students to elaborate increasingly complex models of moon phases, by appropriating mediating instruments with higher degrees of generality. This enabled students to establish contextually richer and more scientifically precise relationships with the phenomenon. The data comprises student productions during the three years in which the activity was modified. We discuss the results in terms of the development of activity and students’ conscious awareness about the phenomenon when they explained, predicted and built the scientific model in gradually more complex ways.

Keywords : Concepts formation; Mediation; Astronomy teaching.

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