Banca de DEFESA: FELLIPE ALBANO MELO DO NASCIMENTO

PRACTICAL EXPERIMENTAL ACTIVITIES AND MOTIVATION TO LEARN: IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING OF

SCIENCE IN THE EARLY YEARS OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Practical-experimental activities; learning theories; motivation; elementary
School; initial years.

Practical Experimental Activities (PEA) are a complementary strategy to Science teaching
that integrates theory and practice since early childhood education. They stimulate the
development of cognitive skills, such as observation, argumentation and handling laboratory
instruments, as well as cognitive-linguistic skills, such as classification and recording of
experimental activities. Small discussion groups favor productive production and respect for
different ideas. However, the lack of support and infrastructure, such as specific laboratory
space and materials, hinders the implementation of PEA. Teachers value its motivational
character, but students' motivation to carry out these activities varies. APEs support the
development of scientific, strategic and creative thinking, in addition to promoting students'
autonomy and criticality. To promote motivation in APE, it is crucial to understand learning
theories, such as Self-Determination Theory, which highlights the importance of intrinsic and
extrinsic motivation. Historical-Cultural and Activity theories argue that problematizing
activities of interest to students motivate them to learn. The study seeks to reveal how PEA is
developed by teachers in the initial years of Elementary School in a private school in
Natal/RN and how it is highlighted for the application of students in Science. The research is
quantitative and qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and analytical. It involved teachers and
students, with stages of bibliographical research, field research with questionnaires,
evaluation rating scales and interviews. The results showed that the teachers approached PEA
in different ways, some with investigative activities and others following manuals and
textbooks. Training in Pedagogy often does not offer adequate preparation, prioritizing the
theoretical dimension. A literature search indicated that investigative approaches in Basic
Education increase student motivation and develop important skills. Self-Determination
Theory and other theories suggest that students' motivation for PEA is linked to meeting basic
psychological needs, contributing to the development of metacognitive thinking. Students
demonstrated increasing motivation to participate in PEA over the years, inspired by teachers,
and it was also evident that this motivation was closer to intrinsic motivation, distancing
motivation from the need for positive and negative reinforcements