Integrating conceptual, epistemic, and procedural aspects in a didactic activity on Fourier’s Heat Equation in the context of Physics teachers’ training

In a general sense, it can be understood that the objectives of didactic units are associated either with the promotion of conceptual and procedural learning (typical of Physics Education) or with the development of epistemic aspects (such as understanding the Nature of Science) and socioemotional skills. Although all these dimensions are important, it is rare to find works that integrate the different fields. In the present study, we propose a didactic unit with the aim of promoting conceptual, epistemic, and procedural learning regarding Fourier’s Heat Equation. In the proposed activity, three moments are constructed: a first moment in which students work with a primary historical source and analyze it using the concept of scientific hypothesis; a second moment in which a computational model for a heated rod is constructed; and a third moment in which the data from an experiment heating a rod are contrasted with predictions of the theoretical model constructed in the computational modeling. We provide in the appendix and in links available throughout the text all the necessary materials for the implementation of the unit. We hope, with this, to contribute to a more organic Physics Education, in which different dimensions of learning are integrated into the same pedagogical proposal.

Keywords:
Scientific modelling; History of Science; Teaching of Thermodynamics