Teaching of Mechanics with a focus on Science, Technology and Society using Traffic Accidents

Abstract

Taking into account the disinterest of the students in secondary and university education towards physics, this communication proposes a teaching form, based on the approach, science, technology and society (STS) that develops from the disciplinary interaction of the physics with forensic science. Based on the above, a didactic unit was designed that articulates physical concepts to contextual elements of traffic accidents. This is applied to two groups of students from teacher training programs in Natural Sciences and Mathematics. To evaluate it, a pre-post design is used. In the comparison of these two tests, important contributions are found in understanding the mechanical phenomena in the two groups. It is verified that the use of real context problems, from forensic physics, it opens a space for confrontation between pa radigms and scientific worldviews, with technological development and its social impact.