Investments in on-line education are increasing significantly in Brazil and throughout the world. This justifies the need for studies that identify pedagogical practices that are coherent with current needs for education and with the principles that articulate the relationship between the use of technology and the concepts of knowledge and of education implied in this process. Reflecting upon this articulation, the present study discusses complex thinking and the epistemological proposals found in quantum and biological theories, which indicate a transformation of the instructional model of learning. It simultaneously proposes elements for rethinking the currently dominant form of education still based on the principles of classical science, which are strongly criticized by various pedagogical tendencies.
complex thinking; on-line education; pedagogical practice