Proposal of an Investigative Teaching Sequence on heavy metals with a view to promoting Scientific Literacy in secondary schools

Abstract

Discussions about the possibilities for changes in methodological strategies/approaches in chemistry teaching, with a view to overcoming simplistic memorization teaching for a pedagogical practice oriented towards scientific literacy, are growing in academic environments. It is from this perspective that this work aims to contribute to this discussion by proposing an Investigative Teaching Sequence (ITS) on the content of heavy metals for secondary education. Therefore, we initially present the theoretical framework that underpins the proposal, addressing the main points of inquiry teaching and scientific literacy, followed by the methodological process of preparing the SEI and, finally, the suggested activities and how they can be developed in the classroom. In this way, we hope that the students will be able to demonstrate skills in developing and testing hypotheses, justifying and predicting future events based on existing knowledge, and that they will be able to work with the data obtained during the investigation in order to organize and communicate it, i.e. show traits that indicate the development of scientific literacy.