DNA: uma abordagem teórico/ prática como facilitador da aprendizagemde genética para o ensino médio

Abstract

Genetics is an area of biology of great relevance to society and the one that has developedthemost in recent years. The history of genetics, DNA and its applications formthe basisforteaching biology in high school. This foundation is often challenging for educators whoarefaced with students having difficulty understanding the topic. This is due to the complexityofthe subject added to the way in which the content is most often covered in books, initstraditional, content-based and decontextualized configuration that does not favor learning. Inview of this, the present study aimed to develop and analyze a didactic sequence withactivemethodologies for teaching Genetics - DNA structure, carried out with 1st year highschoolstudents at Escola Estadual São Sebastião in the city of Gonzaga – MG. Before andafterdeveloping the didactic sequence activities, the students participating in the researchcreatedconceptual maps whose focus was on understanding the structure of DNA. Fromthequantitative analysis of the maps, it was observed that the final maps showedsignificantimprovements (p≤0.05) than the initial maps. After surveying the students' prior knowledgethrough the initial conceptual map, the teacher presented the topic – DNAstructure. Withthis,knowledge about the structure of DNA was deepened and questions on the subject wereresolved. To consolidate knowledge, activities were carried out based on the Research-BasedTeaching approach.. At the end of the didactic sequence, students carried out a qualitativeassessment of the learning acquired after applying the didactic sequence. Fromtheresultsobtained, it is concluded that the didactic sequence proposed in this study canbeusedefficiently in the educational process, in the area of genetics – DNA structure.