WHAT CAN A CAKE HIDE? A SOCIAL EXPERIENCE METHAPHOR ON THE EDUCATION AND LEARNING PROCESS

A cake is a well-known object since it represents an artifact of great prominence and importance in social gatherings and festivities, such as birthday celebrations and wedding meetings. A cake can be prepared in a simple manner or as an incredible work of art. But, what this object represents to one that watches its confection? What are the relationships built by this observer? And, what it can hide and its implications in social relationship and learning process. In this context, this article proposes the use of a social experiment as a way of learning for teachers and students, taking as a metaphor the making of a homemade cake by a group of students. This social experiment was performed by a group of students from a master program of a Federal Higher Technological Institution in Brazil – Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica Celso Suckow da Fonseca - CEFET/RJ and it is discussed in this work in order to emphasize the narrative elements of the cake and its importance as a social phenomenon and the relevance of this experience as a learning tool. Through this approach, the article discusses how certain aspects of the Cartesian and Systems paradigms operate in the learning process and how the dialogue between these drivers may be mediated by the complexity paradigm. It also addresses the traditional education and learning paradigms and how social learning and the use of experiences such the one mentioned on it may be able to support and fulfill these needs.