O ensino sobre as interações ecológicas em um ambiente natural de cerrado : contribuições de uma aula prática de campo

Abstract

Thinking about a sustainable society implies forming citizens aware of their role in the environment, since the loss of biodiversity in natural environments is increasing. Inserting in formal education the teaching of themes that address the complexity of these environments is essential. In this approach, an important resource to be used is the practical class, which can contribute both to the involvement and motivation of students with the content, and present itself as an instrument to overcome the fragmentation of knowledge. In this context, this paper investigates the contributions of a practical field class, developed in an interpretive ecological trail held in a natural environment of Cerrado, in the city of Anápolis, Goiás, using ecological interactions as an object of knowledge. The data collection took place with two classes of 7th grade students from a public school. The verification of learning was done through the elaboration of drawings that represented ecological interactions discussed in the classroom (pre- test) and after the field class (post-test). As a result, we obtained six types of ecological interactions represented in the drawings of 42 students, with a total of 32 examples in the pre- test and 44 examples in the post-test. The interactions presented were herbivory, frugivory, predation, pollination, and tenancy in both tests, while competition (intra- and interspecific) appeared in the pre-test, and protective mutualism in the post-test. These results do not show differences between the pre- and post-test with respect to the amount of ecological interactions represented in each test, but differences regarding the types and frequency of interactions cited and an increase in the number of examples of them. In addition, it was found that after the practical class, the students saw the interactions observed in the field in an integrated and contextualized way, in addition to a significant change in their initial conception about the interactions in the Cerrado. We conclude that the use of practical field classes favors the articulation between theory and practice, with the integration and contextualization of the contents covered, especially those related to the natural environment, thus becoming an important teaching strategy.