Teaching through Research: a Case Study on Ecology Learning

Abstract

This article aims to describe a didactic sequence related to Ecology, based onteaching through research, with students in a High School 3rd year class, and to assessthe position of such students on the teaching methodology used. It also seeks to analyzethe extent to which the proposed educational objectives were achieved. The supportedmethodological approach to teaching through research enables students to: understandthe collective and active mode of scientific production; extend their logical thinking by providing causal explanations; and develop their research skills. In order to understand thestudents’ perception of the methodological approach developed, the following instrumentsare used for the establishment of data: audio-visual recordings and field notes, portfoliosand interviews. The results indicate that the involvement of students in the context ofresearch makes ecology teaching, which is often understood as descriptive teaching andwith many names, become innovative, unexpected and attractive, resulting in meaningfullearning.