Implicações ambientais no descarte irregular de esgoto no meio ambiente: uma proposta de intervenção pedagógica

Abstract

The growing concern about the quality of water resources is evident today. The disorganized growth of urban centers coupled with the rapid population increase in these areas has been affecting the quality of available water resources. This is due to the lack of adequate infrastructure planning for water supply, sanitary sewage and mainly treatment of this waste, which results in the dumping of large quantities of these in rivers and seas, exceeding their natural capacity to process them. The excess deposition of this organic matter causes the enrichment of these environments with nutrients, with special attention to the nitrogen and the excessive proliferation of several organisms, among them, macroalgae and microalgae. Among microalgae, a group that attracts a great deal of attention is that of cyanobacteria, because some genera of this group are potential producers of toxins, and can cause damage to human health, as well as other organisms. However, the lack of knowledge of the population about the environmental implications that the discharge of sewage in rivers and seas can cause is a determining factor for its continuity. In view of the above, the objective of this research was to investigate the knowledge of students of the 3rd grade of E.E.E.M.P. Mayor Osvaldo Pessoa on the issue of the environmental implications of irregular waste disposal in the environment. In addition, it was aimed to carry out pedagogical interventions addressing the theme in order to discuss its importance and to encourage the debate of themes that associate problems of social and environmental relevance, necessary for the construction of the scientific critical sense, mainly seeking its approximation with the reality of the students for meaningful learning. The study of Natural Semantic Networks (RSN) was used to raise students' knowledge about the subject matter. Two applications of this instrument were carried out, one before the execution of pedagogical interventions, carried out consecutively, and another after, in order to evaluate the knowledge acquired. The results showed a significant difference between the knowledge presented by the students in the pre-test and in the post-test. This can be explained due to the lack of contact that a good part of the students showed to have part of the subjects treated, and with the accomplishment of the interventions had the opportunity to apprehend some knowledge about them. In addition to this, the use of teaching methodologies such as didactic games helps in the development of learning in that it encourages creativity, leadership and group work, as well as providing a pleasurable learning.