Contribuições da Teoria da Atividade de Leontiev para o uso das Tecnologias Digitais no Ensino de Química.

Abstract

The objective of this work is to understand how Leontiev's Activity Theory can be used to train Chemistry teachers for the use of digital technologies that surpass a fetishized view of them. To achieve this objective, we first discuss the social formation of the individual based on Marx's historical-dialectical materialism, understanding that the human being, in order to cope with their existence, transforms nature to create conditions to meet their needs, such as biological needs like hunger and thirst, and social needs. In this process, they produce non-natural means that help in this activity and transform their psyche. This is what we call technologies. Therefore, technologies are the result of human needs, and digital technologies follow this pattern. We perceive the role of digital technologies in our lives at all times; they are already rooted in the daily lives of individuals who end up using them indiscriminately, without perceiving the social relations behind them. This is what we call a fetishized or decontextualized view of technology. This indiscriminate use also reflects in education and the teaching of chemistry, where many teachers use these resources unreflectively. Thus, in the first article of this work, we analyze the theoretical bases that researchers who use digital technologies in chemistry teaching have adopted, since the appropriate theoretical basis can help overcome this problem. We notice that most works do not present a theoretical basis for the use of digital resources in chemistry teaching, limiting discussions to more superficial aspects and justifications related to the possibility of technology solving chemistry problems. The second article, then, aimed to debate how Leontiev's Activity Theory has been used in chemistry teaching, as we argue that this theory can shed light on solving the problem of the fetishized view of technology in chemistry teaching. The third and final article discusses a proposal for training chemistry teachers for the use of digital technology based on Activity Theory. The proposal was for a course taught at the Federal University of Bahia, in the Chemistry Licentiate program. The results indicated that, despite some participants continuing with a fetishized perspective, they began to understand the motivations for using digital technologies, indicating a step towards a critical conception of their use. Therefore, we consider that, with due care, Activity Theory can be a way to think about how to use digital technology in chemistry teaching.