An STS proposal for the initial training of Chemistry teachers: potentialities and limitations

Abstract

In this work we present a teaching and learning proposal aiming to contribute towards a critical and questioning STS education. The proposal was based on case studies methods, directed at socialscientific aspects, which is consistent with STS education. It was applied in three classes of a night course for Chemistry degree students, offered by a Brazilian public university, at different times. Of these three classes, we chose one as the subject of our research, which was the one with the greatest number of enrolled students, who also evidenced a more active participation. Following the methodological perspective of content analysis (Bardin, 2011), we identified the final evaluation questionnaire as our corpus, complementing it with other activities developed by students. These activities were documented via written reports and/or audiovisual recordings. From the in-depth analysis of data obtained from the final evaluation questionnaire two different dimensions emerged: “STS as a teaching strategy” and “critical view of the interrelationship between science, technology and society”. The first dimension was more significant in eight students’ answers, whereas the second dimension was clearly expressed by six students. Meanwhile, three of the students evidenced both dimensions, thus achieving the main goal of the proposal developed in the course. We believe that this proposal contributed to enhance the Chemistry students’ awareness on STS relationships. Nonetheless, we acknowledge that the association with one motivational teaching strategy was an undermining factor in the establishment of a more critical STS education.