Interações de professores de Química do ensino superior com meios mediacionais: história, limites e possibilidades

Abstract

In this paper, the actions of higher education chemistry professors with mediational means (chalkboard, multimedia projector, molecular models, etc.) in classrooms were analyzed, using as reference the Mediated Action Theory proposed by Wertsch (1998). Elements of the personal history of the professors in the use of mediational means in their professional paths were also investigated, in view of highlighting the limitations and possibilities of actions with the media in university settings. Ten chemistry professors from UFMG were selected, two for each chosen discipline. The filmed classes were taught in structuring disciplines of the majority of the Life and Nature Sciences courses: General Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry and Physical Chemistry. In the development of this study, we observed, mapped and described the actions of professors with mediational means to show how they share meanings when using the resources chosen in class planning. Episode maps, mapping diagrams of professors actions with mediational means, graphs, etc. were constructed. This made it possible to describe the classes and to categorize the mediational means used. These means were categorized in terms of their functions and the actions that were promoted in the act of teaching. Some of the actions that happened between professors of the same discipline when teaching the same subject and between different professors who teach different subjects were compared. In addition, the 10 professors were interviewed, which proved to be essential for analyzing: sociocultural aspects related to actions with mediational means, the changes that occurred over time, the history of the use of the resources identified in the classes analyzed and the limitations and possibilities that professors saw when acting with these means. The Theory of Mediated Action was an important theoretical reference for the analysis of classes and interviews, for considering as analysis unit the agents acting with mediational means, without reducing the analysis to one or two elements in insulation. As results, we can highlight that the use of mediational means is idiosyncratic, with each professor making adaptations according to their background and experience. On the other hand, some patterns were observed both in the choice of mediational means and in the ways of acting with these resources, and that these patterns emerged predominantly, but not only, in the same discipline. The interviews show that professors have different experiences and that these experiences have given them tools of choice of what and how to do. We believe that the results of this work bring contributions to the literature of the area for presenting significant results in light of a consistent framework, which show how and why UFMG higher education professors use mediational means, some common to various areas at this level of education, as chalk board or whiteboard and multimedia projector, and others specific to the area of chemistry, such as molecular models.