Ensino de evolução biológica e a produção de recursos didáticos com exemplos amazônicos

Abstract

This study analyzes the challenges faced by teachers in teaching Biological Evolution and proposes contextualized teaching alternatives based on Amazonian biodiversity, aiming to contribute to a more meaningful teaching and learning process. The research is grounded in the understanding that Biological Evolution is the unifying axis of Biology, although its teaching still faces difficulties related to the complexity of scientific concepts, teacher training, religious influences, and the lack of contextualized teaching materials. To address these issues, the main obstacles encountered in the classroom were identified, Amazonian examples described in the scientific literature related to natural selection and speciation were surveyed, their presence in textbooks used in schools in Manaus was analyzed, and educational resources aligned with the regional context were developed. The results show that the textbooks analyzed present a low representation of Amazonian biodiversity examples, which can contribute to the abstraction of content and hinder student learning. It was also observed that many teachers rely on additional resources and their own strategies to compensate for this gap, reinforcing the need for institutionalized materials that are more suitable for the local context. The study also identified several Amazonian cases in the scientific literature with potential for teaching evolution, demonstrating that there is sufficient theoretical basis to support the production of new educational resources. Based on this, educational games were developed using elements of Amazonian biodiversity to make the teaching of evolution more attractive, contextualized, and accessible. It is concluded that valuing regional examples is a promising strategy to improve students’ understanding of evolutionary concepts and strengthen Biology teaching in Amazonian schools. Keywords: biological evolution; evolution teaching; amazonian biodiversity; teaching materials; contextualization.