Tempo geológico e o ensino de Biologia: investigando uma proposta de Sequência Didática baseada em Design Research.

Abstract

Basic concept in Geoscience, decisive for the evolution of scientific thinking and paradigm shift that culminated in the acceptance that the history of humanity is much more recent than the history of the planet, Geological Time is fundamental for teaching Evolution and for perception of emerging environmental issues and may contribute to making socially responsible concious decisions on the relationship among humanity and Nature. Taken as complex and difficult to understand, Geological Time is seen as an epistemological obstacle to the understanding of biological evolution, with few didactic resources and practical guidelines prepared in a systematic way that can help teachers in approaching the subject in brazilian basic education. Aspiring to fill this gap, this development research aims to investigate the characteristics that a didactic sequence must have in order to bolster Geological Time approach in high school Biology classes in Brazil, using the methodological framework of Design Research. Approaching Geological Time based on Burchfield’s (1998, In: Blundell & Scott, Eds. Lyell: the past is the key to the present. London: Geol. Soc. Spec. Publ., v. 143) historically oriented perspective, using the directives of Pedrinaci and Berjillos (1994, Enseñanza de las Ciencias de la Tierra, 2(1), p. 240-251) for teaching the concept and based on the results obtained in a first cycle of investigation, we’re elaborated four guidelines (design principles) for the development of a new prototype of the didactic sequence, which was tested in a 2nd grade class of a public school in Salvador-Bahia. The results of this second cycle, obtained through participant-observation, focal group and analysis of documents produced during the classes, evaluated by discourse analysis and analytical tool for validation of design principles, indicated that they are promising strategies for teaching Geological Time in classes of Biology: (1) historical approach to Geological Time; (2) interdisciplinary approach to Earth's evolutionary history, associating Geoscience knowledge with Biology content; (3) the Geological Time approach from a socio-environmental perspective; and (4) diversify teaching strategies for the active participation of students. Although it indicated the need for minor adjustments in the educational tool, the incorporation of Geoscience content in Biology classes proved to be highly advantageous for the transmission of knowledge and potentially important for motivating and promoting student engagement in the teaching-learning process.