O conteúdo enzimas no ensino de Química: um panorama das propostas difundidas em periódicos nacionais

Abstract

The research carried out was documentary, descriptive and exploratory in nature, and approaches investigations into the state of knowledge with the main objective of offering a panoramic view of an important part of Brazilian academic production on the teaching of enzymes content, through the analysis of published articles in some of the main national journals in which the Chemical Education community disseminates the results of its studies. Articles published in 12 (twelve) journals with Qualis CAPES were adopted as primary documents. The methodological path was designed in line with Morosini's perspective, following the steps of the annotated, systematized, categorized and propositional bibliography. Of a total of 8,303 articles consulted, 56 dealt with enzymes, but only 13 (thirteen) constituted the research corpus, as they were aimed at teaching enzymes. A content analysis allowed the establishment of categorization of the findings. These works are preferably aimed at Higher Education, 10 articles, while 4 articles are aimed at Secondary Education and 2 at Technological Education; 3 works propose activities aimed at more than one level of education. The main genres of work are: i) educational research: 4 articles; ii) development of experimental activity: 7 articles; and iii) report of teaching experience, 2 articles. Experimentation is the main theme in 10 of the articles investigated – 9 on enzyme activity and 1 on enzyme properties, while modeling is the theme in the other 3 articles. The contents covered are enzymatic activity (catalysis), inhibition and inactivation; enzyme functions; and enzyme-substrate model. In the articles, the relationship between experimentation + enzymatic activity (9) is prioritized, when compared to the other categories: modeling + enzyme-substrate model (3) and experimentation + properties (1). Activities with low-cost experiments, both aimed at Higher Education and Secondary Education, are the main teaching strategies used. Modeling with 3D or computational models is also used, as well as video classes with simulated experiments and an adapted educational game. It is also important to invest in the development of proposals that consider training processes at different levels of Chemistry education, including higher education. In this sense, it is necessary to encourage the provision of training moments that stimulate discussions and reflections in the teaching and training of teachers, and other professionals, on computational modeling for didactic purposes. In association with these aspects, a field of interest that still lacks action is non-face-to-face teaching. Therefore, it is necessary to encourage the development of studies and the production of teaching instruments/products on enzyme content for virtual teaching, mainly with the resources of Digital Information and Communication Technologies. It is also important to encourage the development of strategies that are options for experimentation and modeling.