Breno Arsioli Moura

A natureza da ciência por meio do estudo de episódios históricos: o caso da popularização da óptica newtoniana

Despite the difficulty of precisely describing the nature of science, there is a widespread agreement concerning the necessity of incorporating into curricula some notions about how the scientific activity works. Studying the history of conceptual development and the process of acceptance of scientific ideas by the scientific community may help teachers to incorporate notions of nature of science in their classes. The present paper analyses the development and acceptance process of Newtonian optics during the eighteenth century in Europe, and emphasizes some aspects of nature of science that can be learned by the study of this historical episode.

Critical and Transformative Teachers: A Rationale for History and Philosophy of Science in Teacher Education

The chapter discusses the concept of the critical and transformative education of teachers and the role of the history and philosophy of science in enhancing it. Based on the ideas of three educators close to critical pedagogy – Paulo Freire, Henry Giroux, and Joao Zanetic – the authors claim that a critical and transformative teacher is someone who establishes a critical dialogue with the world surrounding him or her, problematizes and transforms it with his or her actions and beliefs. History and philosophy of science are essential to promoting critical and transformative education because they illuminate scientific concepts and meta-scientific aspects involved in scientific enterprise and reveal broader issues and aims of education in general, approximating teachers and students to the development of science and enhance its human, complex and temporary nature. With this discussion, the authors intend to present a rationale for the introduction of historical and philosophical content in teacher education, favoring the dialogue between educators, historians and researchers.