Didactic and pedagogical considerations on the use of problem-situations in the context of the STS approach

In this research we aimed to characterize the knowledge production processes that culminated with the proposition of criteria to evaluate the problem-situations that mediate the CTS approach. We pointed out which aspects emerge with the use of problem-situations in science education, notably in the didactic and pedagogical field. This investigative process occured in the context of a Study Collective with Science teachers, which is configured as action research, of a qualitative nature. In the light of science didactics we evaluated four projects developed with students of the final years of elementary school, based on teachers' manifestations, using the criteria of Discursive Textual Analysis. Three categories of analysis emerged that give us an empirical basis to state that problem-situations are configured as a didactic and pedagogical strategy, in the following terms: problem-situations meet the content needs, the students' needs and the didactic and pedagogical needs. We consider it viable as a problematizing resource that introduces discussions in the field of the CTS approach in the final years of elementary school.