The energy balance in the classroom and the crop. Pedagogical tools for primary school teachers initial training

The article presented has two purposes: (1) To evaluate the initial knowledge and the difficulties of future teachers about energy, (2) to propose the energy balance on two real problems as a pedagogical tool and evaluate the impact of the teaching sequence. Initial evaluation is raised in two ways: (1a) energy concepts associated with the cycles of water and carbon, (1b) learning levels in the energetic system interpretation. The results indicate that students, having completed compulsory secondary education in science, encounter serious difficulties in applying the fundamental concepts of energy to primary schools experimental activities. To overcome this situation a methodology based on real problem-solving is proposed, the classroom fuel and the water crop consumption. The energy characterization of the components of energy balance in these systems is performed with standard equipment and techniques in the respective fields. The results are positive in the interpretation of the energy balance in the systems studied and in the transfer of concepts to elementary classroom experiences.