O ensino de botânica por meio das plantas medicinais no município de Parintins/Amazonas: As narrativas dos professores de Biologia

Abstract

Medicinal plants have great cultural and scientific relevance, especially in regions where their use is common, such as the city of Parintins, Amazonas. In addition to being part of the population's daily life, these plants represent an important opportunity for teaching botany in schools, bringing the content closer to the students' reality and enhancing meaningful learning. Therefore, this research aimed to understand the perception of high school biology teachers in the city of Parintins, Amazonas, about teaching botany through medicinal plants. The research was conducted with the aim of finding out whether these teachers associate plants in the teaching of botany during their classes, given that they are plants widely used in our region. The research consisted of an action research, in which a semi structured questionnaire with 14 questions was applied to the 6 participating biology teachers from the state education network of the city of Parintins, Amazonas, with questions related to the theme of this research. The analysis revealed that the reduction of botany content in the high school curriculum created a misalignment between educational reforms and local cultural needs in Parintins-Amazonas. Including topics such as medicinal plants could enhance traditional knowledge and bring scientific knowledge closer to students' daily lives. Teachers emphasized the pedagogical value of botany in connecting science and culture, but also pointed out the difficulties in including this content in a curriculum geared towards the job market. Therefore, a curricular alignment is needed that values traditional knowledge and contributes to a comprehensive and conscious education of students. And it is extremely important to include this topic, because it is related to the students' reality, and when addressed in the classroom, it leads them to obtain significant learning