Uma proposta de análise semiótica do processo de integração de múltiplasrepresentações

Abstract

This thesis discusses the role of representations in science teaching and presents recent research in the area on the subject. The central topic of the study is the process of integration between representations, that is, how the relationship between representations in the construction ofmeaning in multiple representations environments occurs. The theoretical framework is the semiotics of Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914), according to which a sign is defined as a triadic relationship between representamen (the referent), the object (that is referenced) and the interpretant. Thus, at the same time that the sign is formed by the relationship between the representamen and the object, it allows the representamen to make reference to the object, from relationships with the interpretant. In addition to this triadic perspective of the sign, this study takes into account: (i) the phenomenological categories of Peirce (Firstness, Secondness and Thirdness); (ii) the distinctions he makes involving the object (immediate and dynamic) and the interpretant (immediate, dynamic and final); and (iii) the concept of semiosis, understood as the action of the sign. The aim of this study is to develop a tool, based on Peirce's theory, for supporting a semiotic analysis of the processes of integration between representations that occur in teaching and learning contexts. The tool is then evaluated according to its applicability, its coherence and its relevance. The applicability is linked to the tool operating tract, and to its complexity of understanding. The coherence is a validation criterion, since the results it indicates should be consistent with what is known in the literature of science education. The relevance is defined as the extent to which the tool offer new information, since an analytical instrument that adds no new information would not need to be created. To evaluate these three criteria, two separate analyses were performed. In the first one, we present an interview in which a pre-service physics teacher uses multiple representations in a simulation environment discussing the concept of inertia. Data were collected from questions that aimed at understanding how she attributed meaning to the representations that appeared on the screen and how she integrated them. The second analysis is a re-reading of data from a study recently published in an international journal that uses the same theoretical framework. From the two analyses it is concluded that the tool is applicable, coherent and relevant. The tool operating tract is considered adequate, even though Peirce's semiotics presents some complexity. A counterpoint concerning the tool is the excess of information it brings to the analysis. That is, it lists many semiotic characteristics of the sign that can be unnecessary in specific analyses, hindering their application. On the other hand, it can be used in parts without prejudice to the understanding of the whole, that is, it is possible to simplify it to a specific purpose without losing the essence of Peirce's semiotics. In both analysis, the outcomes brought consistent results with literature, which indicate it coherence, and a new analytical perspective to important cognitive processes, such as meaning making and the situations of cognitive conflicts, which indicates the relevance of the tool.