Blended Learning no Ensino de Ciências da Natureza: Possibilidades reais para sua aplicação em escolas públicas e privadas

Abstract

Educational demands in schools are unfolding through a wide range of debates. Even before COVID-19 became part of these discussions, there was already talk about educational interventions, necessary investments, and how the integration of technology could contribute to the development of skills in more independent and flexible learning. Among the suggested alternative teaching methodologies, Blended Learning has stood out for incorporating technology and taking into account the particularities of students in the knowledge-building process. However, the lack of technological infrastructure in schools and the feasibility of implementation still create tension. Additionally, collaboration between researchers and educators is still needed to assess this pedagogical approach, given that Brazil is a country in the process of developing and adapting to the use of this model in Science Education. In light of these challenges, this research aims to analyze the limitations and possibilities of applying the Blended Learning models proposed by Horn and Staker (2015) in public and private schools in the city of Corumbá-MS, focusing on the predisposition of institutions to adopt these strategies, the participation of teachers and students in their implementation, and potential configurations of school space layouts. The study was carried out in three phases: a bibliographic phase, conducted through a Systematic Literature Review, an Exploratory Phase, and an Interventional Research Phase. In the first phase, a Systematic Literature Review was conducted, presenting a set of research trends on Blended Learning in Science Teaching at the Basic Education level, based on publications in Brazilian theses, dissertations, and national and international articles. In the second phase, potential institutions interested in Blended Learning activities in Natural Science Teaching were identified, and a recognition questionnaire created through Google Forms was applied to identify schools’ digital resource management, their expectations, and other issues related to Blended Learning recognition. In the third and final phase, an intervention was carried out following the stages of Understanding, Mobilization, Planning, and Implementation as proposed by Horn and Staker (2015) in Natural Science subjects in public and private schools in Corumbá-MS, with five schools from the Public Network and two from the Private Network. The actions were recorded in a Logbook, with questionnaires on Google Forms, video and audio recordings (when authorized) during face-to-face meetings and/or videoconferences, and records of a group of participating Teachers on WhatsApp and a virtual classroom in Google Classroom. These records were analyzed according to Bardin's content analysis steps, categorizing and interpreting this material using the commercial version 22.0.5 of the Atlas.ti software. The results and discussions from the three research phases confirm the thesis that the Blended Learning models proposed by Horn and Staker (2015) can integrate different methodologies and teaching resources in Science Teaching. However, their success still depends on students' mutual understanding of their role within these educational environments, and the increased workload required for teachers' planning. Therefore, it is expected that future studies will more clearly evaluate and provide opportunities for students' perceptions of their role in the learning process and explore how the additional workload required to meet these demands has contributed to teacher overload, considering their perceptions throughout the process of new implementations.