The “do and understand” route: analysis of student learning in a soap production course

  • Kênia Basto Damascena Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto
  • Rosangela Maria Ferreira da Costa e Silva Universidade Federal da Fronteira Sul
  • Viviane Martins Rebello dos Santos
  • Ângela Leão Andrade
Keywords: Doing, Understanding, Scientific Knowledge

Abstract

In this work, the path between the doing and understanding of students in a soap production course was addressed. The students' traditional knowledge in soap making was used as an intermediary in the process of teaching chemistry applied to soap making. The course started with an initial assessment of the students' prior knowledge about the composition and chemical reactions involved in soap production. In this stage, the mastery of the field of doing was verified, but not of understanding. Based on this assessment, the course was designed to allow students to search for hypotheses and reflect on the concepts of chemistry and the reactions involved in soap production. Sequentially, the students were encouraged to seek methodologies to test their hypotheses. During the practical stage of making different soap recipes, the concepts and chemical reactions involved in the processes were discussed in dialogues between the teacher and the students. The same initial questionnaire was applied in the last classes and it was found that there was a change in the interpretation of the soap making process and that chemical concepts involved were incorporated into the students' language.

References

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Published
2021-07-09
How to Cite
Damascena, K. B., Costa e Silva, R. M. F. da, Santos, V. M. R. dos, & Andrade, Ângela L. (2021). The “do and understand” route: analysis of student learning in a soap production course. Além Dos Muros Da Universidade, 6(2), 44-51. Retrieved from https://periodicos.ufop.br/alemur/article/view/4864