• Abstract

    PEDAGOGIAL MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGY: advances and obstacles in continuing training in environmental education

    Published date: 24/03/2009
    This paper proposes an analysis of printed, audiovisual and digital materials used for Environmental Education (EE), made available to a group of teachers in a process of continuing education as part of the Project ‘Formação de Educadores ambientais na micro-região da Associação de Municípios da Foz do Rio Itajaí-Açu’ (Training Environmental Educators in the Foz do Rio Itajaí-Açu micro-region) – AMMIAR, (UNIVALI-CNPq-2004-2005). A sample of fi ve schools from four municipal districts of the AMMIAR region was selected for follow-up. Four hundred and seven (407) materials: printed, audiovisual (magazines, books, folders, games, videos) and digital (websites and CD-ROMs), were registered for the course and classifi ed by theme, and these were made available to the teachers through a printed list and on a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), the TelEduc (www.teleduc.univali.br). Of the 100 materials for Children’s Education in initial grades, twenty fi ve titles were chosen and analyzed according to the categories proposed by Trajber & Manzochi (1996). Priority was given to the materials that promoted the development of habits and attitudes, and those which promoted values and awareness. The analysis of the materials produced by the teachers in the school projects followed the same categories, and coherence between discourse and practice was observed. The materials focused on the cognitive, affective, ethical and aesthetic dimensions, indicating that a critical awareness of environmental issues is being incorporated into the daily lives of the schools. However, it was observed that the greatest obstacle to the use of the materials made available in the TelEduc virtual environment was the great diffi culty the teachers had in accessing the Internet, despite the computers made available in the Secretaries of Education of two municipal districts, at the university, and at the Itajai region State Management of Education. The lack of time and the diffi culties incorporating Environmental Education transversally in the school curriculum were also pointed out. It was observed that the activities carried out, and the materials used which focused on themes such as recycling, consumption, water and sanitation, did not necessarily lead to the memorization of information and knowledge. Different mental abilities were explored with the students, and special focus was given to the cognitive and affective dimension, as well the ethical dimension, offering the teachers and students a political refl ection about the social-environmental and refl ection-action question related to the actual practices, changes in attitudes and habits, that enables them to better understand the complexity of the relationship and confl ict between the human being <> society <> nature.

Revista Contrapontos

Journal of the Postgraduate Program in Education of Univali.

 

 

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