Uma investigação das habilidades de interpretação e argumentação de material imagético no ensino de bioquímica

Abstract

Research regarding the insertion of images in teaching, intending to developing argumentation skills, has been growing gradually. Based on this observation, this work aims to investigate the argumentation and interpretation skills of higher education students at the Federal University of Santa Maria, through image material from the teaching of Biochemistry. The data were collected through questionnaires, which contained images and related to them some open questions and an initial questionnaire. After analyzed, the data were characterized in terms of argumentation and interpretation skills. Relating to data analysis and characterization referring to argumentation, these were analyzed according to Toulmin’s Argumentation Pattern (2006). The analysis related to interpretation skills followed the steps for image analysis by Litz (2008). After collecting and processing the data, quantitative analysis was performed with the results obtained. As a result, a low performance was found in the presentation of arguments in the students’ answers, in addition to the fact that they presented difficulties regarding the interpretation of the images. It can also be observed a connection between the students’ interpretive difficulty and the low performance in the elaboration of arguments. Another difficulty presented by the students is related to the symbolism and hierarchy in the representations contained in the analyzed images and the specific knowledge related to the contents covered by them. It is expected that the results obtained in this study serve as a lever, in such a way as to promote an intervention by teachers and institutions in the future, regarding the mode of assessment and regarding the use of image as a methodological tool for teaching-learning. Thus, it is expected that the image is increasingly analyzed in greater detail and used more frequently in the classroom, thus supporting the development of argumentation and mastery of scientific language in the discipline of Biochemistry in Higher Education.