A conceptual profile of entropy and spontaneity: Characterising modes of thinking and ways of speaking in the classroom

Abstract

In the chapter we present findings from a research program in which we propose a conceptual profile combining the concepts of entropy and spontaneity of physical and chemical processes. This conceptual profile can be helpful to understand the reasons for the spontaneous occurrence, or not, of processes, highlighting how energy can be distributed in matter. Three zones were proposed considering different conceptions about entropy and spontaneity: perceptive/intuitive, related to perceptions, intuitions, and sensations, which are not organized in a coherent framework; empirical, spontaneous processes that can occur under some physical conditions and/or in agreement to mathematical conventions; and rationalist, by using scientific ideas about the distribution of energy in atomic-molecular dimensions and also about the random spatial distribution of particles. Finally, we analyze classroom situations and point out that in the science classroom, students can reveal ideas such as the ones identified in the above-mentioned zones. In the analysis of classroom situations, we focus not only on the epistemological aspects of the content of the lessons but also on the discursive aspects in relation to the nature of the interactions between the teacher and the students. We then look for any relationships between these epistemological and discursive aspects.