A evolução dos significados e os significados de evolução: a construção do conceito de evolução no ensino médio

Abstract

In this work we discussed the importance of evolution teaching inside the Biology teaching and in the perspective of Basic Education. We briefly reflect about the historical construction of evolutionary thought and the meanings linked to the word evolution. Within the context of the evolution teaching, we present the results obtained in several studies that show limitations in teaching this subject to basic education students. We note that researches, which investigate the evolution teaching, in general, treat to diagnose problems or show learning resources in order to convince the student of the evolution existence. However, few studies seek to propose teaching strategies which provide to the student a comprehension of evolutionary processes. We understand that the student must conceive the processes and the mechanisms of the one determined theory to evolve conceptually. Thus, we seek to structure an educational activity focused on concepts: Variability, Adaptation and Natural Selection in order to answer our research question: "Can an educational activity, focused on evolutionary processes, promote the learning of the Evolution concept?" This pedagogical activity was proposed as a form to generate a problem to be solved in 3 modules, it was developed in 5 meetings with senior students of secondary education of a Public School in the city of Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul. The students statements, while performing the activity, were the object of the analysis of this research. We could observe through the students elaborations some aspects of the formation of concepts such as, functional construction and the establishment of meaningful relationships. We also observed that through the mediation of the proposed pedagogical activity, students were able to raise levels of initial elaborations. Generally these elaborations have become more complex, relating to various concepts for supporting their argument.