Fotografia como ferramenta pedagógica no ensino de Botânica: uma avaliação de impacto no Ensino Fundamental

Abstract

The present dissertation investigated the use of photography as a pedagogical tool in the teaching of Botany in elementary education, evaluating its impact on students' engagement and understanding of plants. Motivated by the researcher's 15 years of teaching experience, the research sought to understand the difficulties students face in studying Botany, addressing the issue of plant blindness, where plants are often undervalued and ignored by the general public, which is reflected in the school environment. This study highlighted the need for new pedagogical strategies to address these challenges. The theoretical foundation was based on the principles of Charles Sanders Peirce's semiotics. Semiotics was applied to analyze how visual signs (photographs) create meanings and establish relationships with observers. The adopted methodology was qualitative, centered on the analysis of descriptions that students made of photographs presented by the teacher and on the production of their own photographs after group discussions. This process revealed the transition of students from an interpretation based on secondness, focusing on the direct relationship with the photographed object, to a more complex and symbolic approach, characterizing thirdness, where students contextualize and interpret images more comprehensively. The results showed that the integration of photography in the teaching of Botany increased students' interest and engagement, promoting a deeper and more critical understanding of the content. The students began to recognize and value more complex aspects of plants, re-signifying their previous knowledge and building new understandings. This research contributed to the field of science education by demonstrating the potential of photography as a valuable pedagogical tool, promoting more active and contextualized learning. The adopted approach opened new perspectives for teac