Salvador Dalí's paintings to introduce Quantum Mechanics concepts in High School

Abstract

A few papers have presented results of teaching Quantum Mechanics in High School. As a high abstraction level is demanded, it is necessary to reconsider theoretical assumptions, approaches and methodologies, in order to reduce difficulties in its insertion. This paper presents the achievements of a research, which is a didactic proposal for High School comprising discussions about Quantum Mechanics, involving elements that relate Physics and some paintings of Salvador Dalí. Embracing the relations between Physics and Art allows us to approach and express the relations between scientific education and culture with alternative ways to enrich the knowledge meaning, also aiming to provide students with a broader view about the scientific knowledge construction in an intelligent dialogue with the world.  To do so, the proposal presents an operative methodology, approaching science as a historical and social knowledge to teach quantum mechanics, and it aims to make the student able to hypothesize, conceptualize, situate scientific explanations in time, in short, operate according to the provided tools. Working with the ways in which Physics, introduced as a cultural component, influences the interpretations of macro and microscopic phenomena and contributes to the understanding of Modern Physics, part of twentieth-century Physics. Therefore, adding cultural elements to Physics world seems to be increasingly necessary, as it seems to resignify it by rehumanizing its knowledge. In addition, using the historical context seems to give us a greater extensiveness to knowledge, since it also starts being part of a broader culture, beyond its scientific meaning.