As diferentes estratégias de ensino aplicadas por Ellen Swallow Richards: um estudo de caso

Abstract

This thesis investigates the different teaching methodologies and strategies employed by the scientist and educator Ellen Henrietta Swallow Richards, with an emphasis on how knowledge in Sanitary Chemistry was communicated to different audiences in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The study aims to analyze the pedagogical strategies adopted by Richards in her interaction with different genres, as well as to discuss the relevance of her methodology for the chemical analysis of water, widely disseminated in educational institutions and non-academic contexts. The research is based on a qualitative and historical approach, structured as a case study, articulating internalist and externalist perspectives of the History of Science. As a methodological procedure, Content Analysis was used, according to Bardin (2011), applied to selected works by the author, as Air, Water, and Food from a Sanitary Standpoint, Laboratory Notes: Sanitary Chemistry and Water Analysis, The Chemistry of Cooking and Cleaning, and Sanitation in Daily Life. These works were chosen because they address central themes in Sanitary Chemistry and are intended for diverse readers, such as students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and housewives. The analysis shows that Ellen Richards adapted the language, the level of scientific detail, the examples, and the experimental complexity of her texts according to the target audience, revealing a pedagogical practice sensitive to the social and gender heterogeneity of her time. As an applied development of the research, an extension project was developed focused on teaching water potability analysis in a rural community. Methods inspired by Ellen's practices were adapted to a school context with limited resources, promoting a connection between scientific knowledge and everyday reality, and encouraging participants' autonomy in monitoring water quality. We conclude that her teaching strategies contributed profoundly to the consolidation of Sanitary Chemistry, to the expansion of access to scientific knowledge for women, and to the articulation between science, public health, and everyday life. The study also points out that a historical understanding of these practices can offer relevant insights for the contemporary improvement of teaching strategies in Chemistry, especially in socially vulnerable educational contexts.