Os estudantes da educação básica e os insetos: o que eles sabem?

Abstract

Insects are animals of great diversity and importance for life on the planet. Despite that, it is notable that a lot of people have a negative perception of these animals, in which most of the time, it is a result of disinformation about these living things. This lack of information has as one of its reasons, the neglect that exists with this theme during the school years, in which, in most cases, is addressed through traditional methodologies or it is not even addressed in the teaching of Zoology during the academic year. That said, this work aimed to comprehend how the theme “Insects” is treated in Biology Education in two public schools, analyzing factors that interfere in the learning process, and also, aimed to carry out awareness-raising activities about the theme through Active Methodologies. In this sense, the research was carried out in a Regular Middle and High School located in the city of João Pessoa and in a Technical Integral Citizen High School located in the city of Mulungu, in the State of Paraíba. About the methodology, the study was developed utilizing descriptive method, quali-quantitative research, bibliographic research and participant observation. For this, Biology classes were observed, a questionnaire was applied to the Biology teachers, a diagnostic questionnaire was applied to the students and there were 3 moments of interventions, in which, it was carried out a general presentation about the insects, the application of a didactic game and the construction of an entomological box. From that, it was obtained as major results a difference between the way both teachers teach and negligence towards the topic “Insects”. In regard to the students, it was found that there is a considerable deficiency in the knowledge of various aspects related to this group of animals. In addition, it was noticed that the interventions using Active Methodologies allowed the students to be in direct contact with the object of study, promoting an improvement in the perception of students towards insects.