Active learning in focus: exploring radioactivity through a playful experimental activity

Abstract

This work aims to fill the gap that exists when developing and proposing an experimental and playful activity to work on the content of radioactivity with high school students. During the creation process, a search was carried out in journals such as Revistas de Enseñanza de la Física and Revista Cientifica em Educação a Distância to identify works that dealt with the teaching of radioactivity in chemistry classes. An experimental activity was carried out with the Pedagogical Practice V class of the Chemistry degree course at the Federal Institute of Science and Technology of Paraíba (IFPB) - Sousa Campus. The experimental activity on radioactivity aimed to represent an analogy of light emission to a radioactive element. In conclusion, the experimental lesson on radioactivity was a valuable educational experience in contextualizing the content, providing those present with a unique opportunity to explore the influences of radioactivity in their daily lives, even if in a simple and introductory way, nuclear phenomena in a practical and engaging way.