Radiações eletromagnéticas e fake news – proposta de ensino investigativo, com abordagem CTS

Abstract

The circulation of Fake News, is not new to our society. However, the intensification of this circulation has the potential to cause a lot of harm to citizens, contributing to generating insecurity, spreading misinformation about scientific facts that have already been studied and proven. As an example of the harm caused by Fake News, we can mention the pandemic period caused by COVID-19, in which the dissemination of false information increased the population's feeling of fear, which was already in a moment of fragility. During this period, after the Infrared thermometer was widely used at the entrance of establishments, supposed warning messages were circulated about the risks caused by the use of this equipment, due to Infrared Radiation. The information circulated is at odds with what is scientifically proven, however, some people still believed and helped in the circulation of these messages. Studying this topic in depth, we realized that other Electromagnetic Radiations have also been protagonists of fake news at other times. We believe that education hás great potential to combat the circulation of false information, promoting scientific literacy and generating social change for the individuals involved. Therefore, na Investigative Teaching Sequence was created, with an approach in Science, Technology and Society (STS), to study Electromagnetic Radiations with elementary and high school students, exploring from concepts and properties, to their applications and interactions with humans. The Sequence, in addition to investigating Electromagnetic Radiation, also aims to deny and hinder the circulation of Fake News by participating students. Discussions and responses to the activities were recorded in audio, online forms and handwritten texts. To identify whether the objectives set were achieved, the responses were analyzed following the scientific literacy indicators proposed by Sasseron and Machado (2017).