Abstract:

Background: Amazonia has been mentioned worldwide on most discussions about environmental issues, sustainability and the future of our planet. Being born and living in Amazonia, controversially, do not bring inherent consciousness about its importance and the actual school materials are not contributing to change this scenario. Focusing on microbial diversity, the already gained knowledge about the Amazonian microorganisms is not mentioned in the most adopted Biology didactic books in Brazil. So, if scientific information on biodiversity is one of the keys for environmental conservation and sustainable development, the didactic material in Brazil is failing to introduce the students to those relevant topics. Moreover, Amazonian scholars are deprived of contextualized learning. Aim: To describe three initiatives to improve basic education on microbiology topics using scientific publications on microbial representatives from the Amazon region. Methods: Three students, 1 undergraduate (UG) and 2 master students (MS1 and MS2) were assigned to a project on Microbiology Teaching. They should aim at teaching for high school level using publicized papers, dissertations, and thesis about microorganisms isolated from Amazonian collected samples. For the goals to be reached, they should also search exclusively for publications in Portuguese that could be easier to use by the target teachers and students during their study protocols. Results: UG developed a blog to serve as a directory to publications about Amazonian fungi. The blog comments about the main characteristics and findings of each publication, helping the readers to decide about accessing or not each specific work. All listed works are in Portuguese and have free access. Original pictures from mushrooms and lichens seen or collected during the project development are also available as well as some suggestions on how to use the blog as a didactic tool. MS1 focused on experimental lessons and developed a set of didactic scripts emphasizing the use of local data and Amazonian collected samples. The final collection is on a free access website with specific tools for teachers and students. MS2 decided to build a sensorial garden to teach microbiology in a natural environment and in an interdisciplinary way. Practical classes should improve student’s enrolment on the maintenance of the garden and discuss the impact of decision making based on scientific backgrounds about epiphytic, endophytic and soil microbiota. The option for a sensorial garden was taken under the perspective of including students with disabilities. Conclusions: Sustainable development could be reached with educational tools based on contextualized learning. Discussing the microbial diversity of Amazonia in the school can help the locals to understand and evaluate the impact of forest devastation and pollution on the changes of soil, vegetation, and climate, thus, probably leading to positive behavior changes. Improved knowledge about the biodiversity and environmental challenges can be a tool for preservation and sustainability in Amazonia.

Keywords:

Microbiology, contextualized teaching, Amazonia, sustainability.