| Abstract: | This article presents the main results of a research examining the didactic transposition of history and philosophy of science
in high school level. The adaptation of history of science to this particular level, addressing some aspects of the nature
of science aiming at the students’ critical engagement, was analyzed by examining both the historiographic requirements of
history of science and the pedagogical recommendations of science teaching. The research included the elaboration of a pilot
course on the history of optics, with historical texts and educational activities, and its application in a high school. We
used three episodes of the history of optics, addressing some epistemological points, especially criticizing the naive empirical-inductive
view of science. It was possible to identify a series of obstacles in using history of science and conveying philosophical
views. Their analysis resulted in devising strategies to surmount or to circumvent them. We implemented those strategies in
the classroom and analyzed the data that was obtained. As a result, we substantiated several of our proposals and found that
some solutions require improvement. We suggest some generalizations, which can be understood as initial parameters for guiding
the use of history and philosophy of science in science teaching. We used a qualitative methodology of educational research
to plan, to collect and to analyze the data, examining the interaction between students, teacher and knowledge. |
