O tema ciclo sono-vigília para aprendizagem do sistema nervoso no ensino médio

Abstract

Biological rhythms are the rhythmic manifestations of living beings, classified according to temporal parameters into circadian, infradian and ultradian rhythms. Rhythms that have temporal cycles lasting around 24 hours are called circadian. An example of a circadian rhythm is the sleep-wake cycle. This rhythm is one of the objects of study in chronobiology and includes behaviors generated by the central nervous system, content considered difficult to learn by high school students. The aim of this research was to analyze the contributions of a didactic sequence on the subject of the sleep-wake cycle and its relationship with nervous system content to the teaching and learning process of secondary school students. The research activities were applied to 25 3rd grade high school students during 8 biology lessons. This research is characterized as qualitative, with procedures based on participant observation and used content analysis and the T-test as instruments for analyzing the data obtained through questionnaires. The results showed that the didactic sequence developed proved to be an effective didactic resource for students' learning about integrating the contents of the sleepwake cycle and the nervous system. All the students felt that the activities developed in the didactic sequence met their expectations on the subject of the nervous system. The activity with the bovine brain in the biology lab and the activity to produce explanatory cards were the practices that the students most enjoyed. Among the instruments, the completion and discussion of the sleep diary stands out. On the other hand, the students also highlighted in their responses the tools which they considered to be the least helpful to their learning: Mentimeter, Canva, Whatsapp and Google Meet. Thus, the didactic sequence presented in this research can be considered a viable educational product for nervous system classes, not only because of the analysis carried out of the teaching and learning process verified in the instruments applied here, but also because of the students' acceptance and motivation in relation to the objects of knowledge about the nervous system. The development and application of the activities that make up the didactic sequence made it possible to produce the educational product - Teaching the nervous system in high school through the sleep-wake cycle.