SECCION SEGUNDA

Introduction

The science teaching should inspire students to continue their studies and prepare them for recognize and assess the impacts of science and technology in their daily lives. It should also develop skills to permit them to make decisions based on the knowledge acquired. But the progress of various scientific areas in recent decades has been accompanied by a formal education increasingly focused on memorization of facts, data and scientific concepts. Unfortunately, most of the times, the science classes discourage students from thinking for themselves. On the other hand, experimental classes are often presented as a tedious and repetitive activity.

In Biology teaching, less time is dedicated to experimental or investigative activities than to lecture classes. And, when such activities are offered it usually consist of laboratory-based cellular experiments with practice oriented to microscopic observation. In some ways, these practices serve to illustrate and deepen some issues but end up playing the style "chalkboard and chalk", working more as a complement than as an alternative strategy for learning science [1].

The National Curricular Parameters (PCNs) of the Ministry of Education (MEC) of Brazil indicate the guidelines for the Science teaching in both elementary and high school education. It proposes the production of effective knowledge by encouraging the interdisciplinarity and contextualization of the subjects to be studied [2].

Despite PCNs recognize the importance of learning science and its relations with technology, environment and social issues, they also indicate the great difficulty of implementation and effectiveness of new teaching practices in the classroom in Brazil [2-3]:

"The new theories of education, even where they could be widely discussed among experts educators and researchers, are still far from being an effective presence in much of our basic education. Innovative proposals have brought renewal of contents and methods, but we must recognize that little reach most of the classrooms where, in fact, old practices persist. Changing this state of affairs

therefore is not something that can be done only from new theories, but still requiring a new understanding of the same sense of education, the process in which you learn.”

The quality of education in science has never before been so discussed and considered in Brazil as it is nowadays. Experts assess that the poor training of teachers coupled with the lack of infrastructure for experimentation and practical classes in schools are the main causes of the poor performance of Brazilian students in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which has left Brazil in 52th position among 57 countries assessed in 2006. [4].

Some of the MEC efforts are focused directly to basic education, as may be seen in the “Strategy for the Teaching of Science” (originally intended for high school), others are made in order to expand and improve the training of teachers. Meanwhile, it is worth noting that one of the government guidelines is "Encouraging curriculum projects focused on science education and curriculum changes that incorporate practical approaches and investigative of science.” [5]. Institutional background and motivation

The Federal Centre of Technological Education of São Paulo (CEFET São Paulo) is an institution dedicated to professional education in technical and scientific areas. It is situated in the São Paulo city (State of São Paulo), one of the largest cities in Brazil which has outstanding economical projection in Latin America. According to the Brazilian Ministry of Education, CEFET São Paulo is considered one of the most important institution among public and private vocational high schools in Brazil being a reference for technological education. It is maintained by the Brazilian government with open access by admission exam.

CEFET São Paulo offers technical courses for students attending high school as well as undergraduate and graduate courses. The technical high school courses focus on areas such as: mechanics, electronics, computers and automation. In order to assure a broader education, CEFET São Paulo encourages the interaction between the specific technological areas and basic high school disciplines. This is not an easy task for biology because most of the students don’t see any relationship between the course area and the discipline.

In this context, the biology team of teachers decide to adjust biology classes and curriculum to meet the institutional requests.

Changing Biology Classes

Despite having a large number of students, (200 / high school/year), CEFET São Paulo has only one biology laboratory equipped with microscopes, stoves, reagents, glassware, fixed specimens and anatomy models. About 20 students are able to conduct experiments at the laboratory at a time. Biology classes are usually offered in ninety minutes weekly classes in three years of the vocational high school.

Some changes in biology classes were proposed by the biology teachers and are summarized below:

1) Adjustment of teachers/students ratio to two teachers per class of 40 students (1:20 teacher/student ratio).

2) Changes in the order of presentation of biology content of vocational high school courses:

a. First year: Ecology and Diversity (partial).

b. Second year: Biological diversity (including compared physiology). c. Third year: Cytology, Genetics and Evolution.

3) Introduction of “hands-on”, fieldwork and investigative activities in biology classes.

This study aims to describe the first efforts to introduce “hands-on” and fieldwork activities in biology curriculum at CEFET São Paulo.