Poranduba: uma experiência docente pela sabedoria das plantas medicinais nos rios da Amazônia

Abstract

This is a qualitative study, transformed into an (auto)biographical account, based on my experiences as a teacher of 5th grade students in a riverside school in the municipal public network of Ponta de Pedras, Pará, Brazil. The aim was to show the teaching and learning experiences of a teacher and her students in the process of developing a Didactic Sequence (DS) based on ethnobotany in 5th grade science classes. The research was conducted using my training diary and the students' diaries, with records of class activities, semi-structured interviews, photographic records and others. I used Textual Discourse Analysis (TDA) as a methodology for analyzing the empirical material and, after a process of immersion, I systematized two thematic axes of analysis: i) TEA FOR WHAT? An approach with medicinal plants in the early years in a riverside school in the Amazon, and ii) ETNOBOTANICS THROUGH THE GARDENS OF DECOLONIALITY: sowing seeds for (re)thinking teacher training in science.. The results and discussions were presented in two articles, which allow for discussions and reflections on the roles of the teacher and student in these processes, especially regarding the use of ethnobotany in the classroom. It is possible to consider that the teaching proposal has premises for a Decolonial Approach in science teaching, provides meaningful learning, Intercultural Scientific Literacy with valorization traditional knowledge and contributing to citizen education. As a result of this study, I have made available a book in digital format (ebook), called BEYOND TEA: ethnobotany through medicinal plants, which introduces teachers and students to new ways and simple possibilities of teaching and learning botany, culture and science education. These innovative experiences in science teaching are easy to apply and replicate in everyday school life, and can be reframed by teachers according to the needs of each class.