ATOMIST CONCEPTION OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN CHEMISTRY AT DIFFERENT LEVELS OF COGNITION: A LOOK FROM VERGNAUD’S THEORY OF CONCEPTUAL FIELDS

Abstract

In this research, we investigate the action schemes used by undergraduate Chemistry students when approaching the concept of atomism at different cognitive levels. Seven students enrolled in different periods of the undergraduate course participated. The analysis is based on the responses to four problem situations: two of low cognitive order and two of high order, the latter answered after explicit instruction. For the analysis, previously established categories were adopted. It was observed in the responses of some students differences in the use of concepts and operational invariants to compare performance in situations of low and high cognitive order within the same conceptual field. Furthermore, the action schemes identified in the responses demonstrated the coexistence of concepts aligned with the scientifically accepted model and alternative conceptions described in the literature, particularly regarding the discontinuity of matter (notion of emptiness) and physical transformations, such as dilation. These results corroborate the literature, which points to the persistence of alternative conceptions about this conceptual core, even at university levels.