Recursos hídricos: dialogando com Freire em aulas de química para o segundo ano do ensino médio

Abstract

The present research was motivated by the author’s experience with the longstanding issue afflicting the population of Belford Roxo municipality, located in the state of Rio de Janeiro, regarding the precariousness of the drinking water supply service. In terms of its didactic-pedagogical approach, the strategy adopted combines experimental activities with a thematic approach capable of promoting contextualized learning of specific chemistry content within a situation experienced by the school community. The study was conducted at a public school in the Lote XV neighborhood of the aforementioned municipality, involving three 2nd-year classes of High School, totaling 80 students, during the 2019 school year. The methodology adopted was based on Delizoicov’s Thematic Approach, dividing pedagogical interventions into three stages: initial problematization, organization of knowledge, and application of knowledge. The first stage was based on Freire’s principles, involving consultations with the school community, analysis of school documents, and student involvement in discussions. The second stage followed phases of coding, decoding, and thematic reduction, seeking to understand the local water shortage problem in a global context, based on a variety of information sources. We selected the topics based on a study involving documents provided by the UN, various legal instruments, focusing on Resolution No. 357 of 2005 from the National Council for the Environment. The third stage took place in the last bimester of 2019, with practical classroom activities including discussions, experimentation, and preparation of physical-chemical reports, followed by evaluation of the activities through questionnaires. As products of this dissertation, a thematic booklet was produced and a kit case was developed for carrying out experimental activities involving tests for salinity, turbidity, total dissolved solids, pH, hardness, and ammonia in water samples consumed by students in their homes. The material was used over five activities, within two-class periods, where a high level of student motivation was observed during the teaching and learning process and at its conclusion, when they produced a technical report on the water samples they analyzed.