Desarrollo de actividades didacticas para la enseñanza de la ciencia detrás de las mezclas y la separacion de mezclas

Abstract

This undergraduate thesis, entitled "Development of Didactic Activities for Teaching the Science Behind Mixtures and the Separation of Mixtures," was prepared by Enrique Antonio Mendoza Caraballo to obtain a Bachelor's degree in Physics from the Francisco José de Caldas District University, within the framework of the INVESTUD-CN research group and the INNOVA research group. The research is based on the premise that the teaching of natural sciences must move beyond traditional models focused on the transmission of content, giving way to approaches where students actively construct their knowledge through observation, experimentation, and the comparison of ideas. Within this framework, the author draws on pedagogical references such as Porlán, Driver, Gil-Pérez, and Vygotsky, as well as disciplinary sources in physics and chemistry (Hewitt, Chang, Brown et al.), to support the design of a module of experimental activities aimed at elementary school teachers, specifically for seventh grade in Colombia. The overall objective of this work was to design and implement a sequence of experimental activities aimed at teaching the composition of matter, with an emphasis on mixtures and their separation methods. To this end, specific objectives were established, including the development of theoretical frameworks, the exploration and selection of existing activities, the design of a practical sequence, its implementation with a pilot group, and the subsequent interpretation of results. Methodologically, the study was structured in five chapters: first, the development of the theoretical and disciplinary framework; second, the exploration of existing experimental activities; third, the design of the module with activities such as "the liquid tower," "the substance tower," and "mixtures by sight," among others, using everyday and readily available materials; fourth, the pilot implementation with students; and fifth, the analysis of the results using group and individual instruments. The results show that students tend to explain the observed phenomena primarily using the concept of density, which is more intuitive than other concepts such as miscibility or immiscibility, which presented greater difficulties for students to grasp. The experimentation allowed students to formulate predictions, compare prior ideas, and transfer learning to new situations, although difficulties persisted in the use of formal scientific language. In conclusion, the study demonstrates that the designed module was functional and understandable for both teachers and students, requiring no structural modifications after its pilot implementation. The study highlights the potential of inquiry-based experimental strategies to transform science teaching practices, giving students an active role in constructing their own scientific knowledge.