Jardim sensorial e trilha ecológica como estratégias que facilitem o aprendizado de biologia no ensino médio

Abstract

Teachers face a series of challenges that often makes them forget why they chose their profession. They usually complain or blame themselves, but they always restart and embrace their goal, which is teaching. In order to do so, they have to be free, creative, sensitive and, most importantly, happy, regardless the many difficulties they face. The teaching of Biology faces challenges that, sometimes, are hard for a classroom teacher to overcome, such as the amount of content, the conceptual aspects and the preparation for entrance exams. In this sense, the goal of this work was to develop strategies to facilitate the teaching of Biology for high school students through non-formal spaces, such as Sensorial Gardens (SG) and the Ecological Trails (ET). Statistical evaluations were performed by frequency of responses and stratified by grade, age and gender of the students, through semi-structured questionnaires. The justifications for the answers were classified quantitatively and qualitatively, analyzed and discussed. The questionnaires were answered by the students of 7 classes of the Integrated Technical Courses for High School of the IF Southeast MG - Rio Pomba campus, in visits to the SG of the Federal University of Juiz de Fora - MG and the ET located in the Forest Garden of the IF campus itself. In the questionnaires answered after visiting the SG, students reported positive feelings such as peace, tranquility, calm and well-being, as well as greater proximity to nature and to the transmission of Biology knowledge and other interesting topics. As for the answers to the questionnaires after the field classes in the ET, students reported positive feelings such as better learning, peace and happiness, as well as the contribution of SGs to the classes at ETs, increased interest in Biology, transmission of Biology knowledge already presented in the classroom and the importance of learning in a non-formal teaching environment. Regarding the grade and gender of the students, there were no variations in both activities. From the acquired data, it could be concluded that the SG instructs students on awareness and knowledge itself and the ET helps the students to identify themselves with the nature, which helps them develop respect and learning. The analysis of the relationship between SG and ET for teaching showed us yet another strategy for the development of learning.