Dissertation Defense
Student: Luciana Alves Sales da Silva
Program: Professional Master’s Degree in Astronomy Education (MPEA),
Title: “Didactization of astronomy teaching within a transdisciplinary perspective: a path to planetary sustainability”
Advisor: Prof. Dr. Amancio Cesar Santos Friaça - IAG/USP
Judging Committee
Chair: Prof. Dr. Amancio Cesar Santos Friaça – IAG/USP
Members:
- Prof. Dr. Eder Cassola Molina - IAG/USP
- Prof. Dr. Rodolfo Langhi - UNESP – on videoconference
- Prof. Dr. Mario Prestes Monzoni Neto – FGV/SP – on videoconference
Abstract:
Since its beginnings, astronomy has exposed the limitation of human understanding in the face of the complexity of the universe. It has always been a profound strategy of dealing with the complex, guiding us in understanding the vastness of time and the extension of space. When the world went through profound transformations, Astronomy has always made advances by responding creatively to new problems. Thus, the teaching of Astronomy proves to be very relevant to face the ecological crisis, particularly within a Post-Pandemic world. Covid-19 changed the way society organizes itself in different segments. In the world of work, the home office has become an increasingly present and indispensable reality for social-interactive relationships. Considering the education systems, even though they were implemented vertically, some changes, such as blended learning, the flipped classroom and home schooling, have become common. Therefore, rethinking the school curriculum has never been more necessary. National and international scenarios point to the need to promote planetary and sustainable education, with new ways of thinking beyond unbridled consumption. The need for preservation, conservation and maintenance of the environment and its different biomes rely on massive investments from various organizational fronts. Thus, the United Nations (UN) established the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the decade. The planet urges sustainable actions in basic segments for the permanence of life on Earth, resources previously imagined as infinite, are now violently threatened, such as: water, the main natural biosolvent, indispensable for the maintenance of any form of life, such as the use of energy sources, whether of fossil origin and/or any other natural resource. Scientific literacy, and with great weight the teaching of Astronomy, underpins the awareness and knowledge necessary in this context.
Keywords: Astronomy teaching; Transdisciplinarity; Environmental education; Scientific Literacy; Curriculum;
Didactic sequences; Skills and abilities