Contribuições de uma unidade de ensino potencialmente significativa para aprendizagem da origem dos seres vivos no planeta terra

Abstract

The present work deals with the teaching of concepts related to the origin of life on planet Earth for students of the first year of high school in a public school in the interior of the state of São Paulo. The purpose of the qualitative study (BOGDAN; BIKLEN, 2013) was to analyze whether the Potentially Meaningful Teaching Unit (PMTU) proposed in this research contributed to the significant learning of concepts related to the origin of living beings on planet Earth. The information was collected through the application of activities to collect previous knowledge, elaboration of conceptual maps, written tests and the use of a digital educational game for computers, called E.O.C.O. - Evidence Of Cell Origin. In addition to written activities, audio and video recordings also made up records. These recordings were transcribed and the set of materials identified in the floating reading was analyzed, using the Bardin Content Analysis (2016). The results show that a portion of the participants of the study have very consolidated alternative conceptions based on creationism and that the application of the PMTU, although it has brought significant contributions to the students in the appropriation of scientific knowledge, did not bring about the alteration of these conceptions, but the modification of the mental structure of these students, with the creation of new concepts, and the clarity of the instances in which they can be used.