Investigation of Pre-Service Physics Teachers' Conceptual Profile of Time

1. An investigation about pre-service Physics teacher’s conceptual profile of timeSc. M. Fernanda Cavaliere R. Sodré1 ; PhD. Cristiano Rodrigues de Mattos21fernanda@if.usp.br ; 2mattos@if.usp.br São Paulo, Brazil July, 2016

2. Diversitysensesof time

3. Sensesof time insideof physicaltheories

4. This research • Our research question : How the pre-service physics teachers understand the concept of time? -Science education -Focus of interest: Physics graduation course

5. working steps • Historical research about senses of time concept (related to the physics graduation course) with examples of human activities. • Study and analysis of the program of the graduation course: how time concept is treated/what kind the activities time is present? • Grounding - Cultural Historical Activity Theory, Vygotsky, Conceptual Profile • Objective: investigate the conceptions of time presented by pre-service teachers, through interviews, in order to elaborate a proposal for conceptual profile for these samples. • Research instrument • At the moment: interviews • Thispresentation: • Theoretical issues • Research tool

6. Theoreticalissues

7. Subject-object: dialectical binomial Subjectexiststogetherwithobject in a dialecticalmovement Subjecttransformshimselfandthe reality of time reciprocally, dialectically Man’sconsciusnessisexpandedandthe reality of time istransformed, becomingqualitativelydifferent, more complex

8. Regarding to our historical research:example of conception of time in movementNorbert Elias (2010)

9. Societieswithoutcalendars (Elias, 2010) • temporal references were based on biological processes such as hunger, sleep, thirst, cold, etc. They are related to natural phenomena: tide, drought, rain, among others. • There isn’t notion of irreversibility of time - human consciousness was more affected by the repetition of the same sequence • Time: cyclical, non continuous and qualitative concept of time related activities and their chains: hunting/agriculture • Time related to natural phenomena: • Meaning and sense of the concept linked to human activities, which in turn is linked to consciousness • Activities are going to influence the way these people are in the world and together with the world

10. time related to its measure (Elias, 2010) • Need of trading, urbanization: time is understood as uniform, continuous, linear and quantitative flow, and be accompanied by a sense of irreversibility. • (...) through watches, it’s a kind of message that a human group addresses to each of its individual members. (...) the symbols on the display give me information on various aspects of cosmic, for example, the position of sun and Earth in succession of his movements. They (watches) inform me if it is day or night, morning or afternoon. The time has, therefore, a symbolic representation of a vast network of relationships • (Elias, N. 2010, p.16-17) Activities chain mapsof time activities

11. mapsof time activities • High levelsynthesisof time • Carrymanyhumanrelations • Sequenceofchainsactivitiesgiveslifeto time concept 30 – 07 - 2016

12. Model of Conceptual Profile • A modeltoexpressdifferent interpretations of a concept • Differentsociohistoricallyconstructedmodesofthinkingconceptscoexist in an individual evenafter formal education Complex conceptual profile (Mattos, 2014)

13. each zone has 3 dimensions: manyfacets eachfacet: zone concept Ontological Epistemological Axiological complex movement

14. Dimensions of complex conceptual profile Ontological dimension: nature of objects. Refers to the question of "what is" the object. Epistemological dimension: “how" a person knows an object, relating it to the history and philosophy of science. Axiological dimension: values and goals assigned to object.

15. teaching and learning activity learning orders Conceptual profile Rodrigues; Mattos (2007a,b); Rodrigues; Mattos (2010) • Teachersshouldbeableto: • Stablishrelationsamongtheir zones • Understanddifferentscontextsof use • Realize differencesbetweenit’saspects • Expandnotionof time totheirstudents

16. Methodology

17. Initialhypothesis The most acessible zone by pre-service physics teachers will be related with mechanical time

18. Our sample students of all years of the graduation course in Physics (University of São Paulo) Until this moment: Group 1: Mechanics (6 students) Group 2:Mechanics Thermodynamics (1 student) Group 3:Mechanics Thermodynamics Special Relativity (3 students) Group 4:MechanicsThermodynamics, Special Relativity Modern Physics (5 students)

19. Data collection instrument • some senses and meanings of time seems natural • Local interviews: IFUSP genetic scales (Vygotsky) dimensions of complex conceptual profile Research tool: interview

20. Genetic method Man's behavior is product development scales: a continuous development in which processes occur at different time scales: • phylogenesis • ontogenesis • sociogenesis • microgenesis

21. Genetic Scales Ontogenesis Microgenesis Sociogenesis Phylogenesis

22. matriz What is time for you? Without watches, how people of your society and culture could measure time? Justify How can a creature of the human specie, in a totally dark place, notice time? Justify How time was valued in human civilizations throughout history?

23. Our specific objectives (challenges): • identify in the answers of the participants the presence of different genetic scales. • if we compare students of first and last year: will students of last year achieve more genetic levels? • establish relations between the notion of learning orders and answers we got.

24. z Examples of answers

25. (Student 8, Group 3) • microgenesis • ontogenetical 1. what is time for you ? I think time is a ... I don’t know ... it's something ... yeah, it's something that is an absolute, in my opinion, relatively, so as Einstein described that the time for me it’s not the same time to another observer (..) But it’s absolute in essence, I think ... like space, and the space is absolute, and should be considered absolute to explain some phenomena, the time also, I think. (...) It’s something like the ether! I don’t know, a very broad thing!

26. (Student 3, Group 4) • epistemologicale ontological • philogenesis As a human being, in a totally dark place, how would a person notice time? Justify (...) I think we don’t need to limit yourself to see, to realize the passage of time. Yeah ... if we could realize the passage of time through the changes in the environment But you can’t see any change! (...) I'm thinking ... in this situation, then I find it even harder to understand, I think I wouldn’t notice time.

27. (Student 14, Group 4) • epistemological • microgenesis Concerning past, present and future, how do you notice they are present in the theories of physics? • I've seen it once ... I do not remember, I remember something ... be present in the center, a cone... opening, as a cone… the future and the past was a cone reaching (...) But ... also has to do with relativity, it was ... I do not remember what book it was.

28. Sociogenesis • Axiological (Student 9, Group 3) Who values time the most in your society and culture? why? • We are inside in a capitalist system. I think, if we like it or not, every citizen ends up having to ... we have to work, to earn money, to eat, to wear, to buy, and we have to study, if not, you will not be hired by the company, (…) I have to produce, if not, I'll be fired (...) (...) we like it or not, the whole society is inserted (in the system) even if you don’t want it. Even for people in the countryside, because they have to find a way to have income, you know?

29. Some remarks • 3 students that attended to Relativity course find it hard to get away from Newton comprehension of the time • Only 3 out of 9 students were able to relate time to Thermodynamics. • Student said it was not possible to notice time in a completely dark room.

30. Next steps • Pursue the notion of time in a historical research related to the current graduation course • Interviews and transcripts • Analysis and categorization of data

31. Considerations We intend to point of the Physics graduation course at University of São Paulo: • mechanical vision x reflection • does not favor dialogue in the classroom • ofuscatesthe complexity and historicity of this concept, and don’t discuss different senses and meanings, which are sometimes contradictory as the reversible time (mechanical), "arrow of time" (Thermodynamics), etc.