Ensinar e aprender pela geografia o conceito de lugar na cidade: contribuições da teoria desenvolvimental

Abstract

The subject of this dissertation is the teaching of Place in the City to school children and young people, and its demarcation in the importance of the didactic organization of this content in the students' learning. This topic has already been studied by other researchers, who understand that it is a relevant discussion and that its realization in practice, with the goal of conceptual formation, still encounters limits and is a challenge for teachers. Therefore, we defined the following research problem: How can the organization of Place teaching with an emphasis on the City enhance the formation of geographical thinking and thus overcome the predominant empirical thinking in Geography teaching? Thus, the main objective of this study was to understand the learning of the concept of Place in the City through the organization of teaching from the perspective of developmental theory for the development of the geographical thinking of 6th-grade students at a state school in Britânia/GO. The specific objectives were to identify elements of the organization of Geography teaching present in the teaching plan and lessons of the teacher in charge and in the Political Pedagogical Project for the 6th year of Primary School at the state school in Britânia/GO; to analyze the teaching of geographical content developed in the school context; to develop a proposal for a didactic-formative experiment, linked to the teaching organization underway, with an emphasis on the concept of Place in the City with students in the 6th year of primary school at the school in question; and to assess the evidence of learning and the formation of students' theoretical-geographical thinking as a result of the teaching organization. In order to achieve these objectives, we used a qualitative methodology in the participant modality, and as procedures: I) observations, carried out in the school space in order to verify the dynamics and behavior of the 6th-grade students; II) documentary analysis, of the BNCC, DC/GO, PPP, and teaching and lesson plans of the teacher, in order to ascertain the didactic affiliation and understanding of the contents of Place in the City exposed in these documents; III) semi-structured interviews with the 6th-grade students and the teacher, in order to recognize the research subjects and possible indications of the didactic organization used in Geography classes; IV) a didactic-formative experiment to develop the teaching and learning process regarding Place in the City; and V) a questionnaire applied to the 6th-grade class, with the aim of evaluating the proposed teaching organization. To provide theoretical support for the research, we drew on Carlos (2007) and Santos (1996a), who deal with the conceptualization of Place and City; Callai (2000), Castellar (2009a), and Cavalcanti (2019), who discuss the teaching of Place and/or City and; Davídov (1988), Leontiev (2004), and Vigotski (1991a), who address the initiation of a scientific, theoretical, and developmental teaching and learning process. Finally, the results showed that the proposed teaching organization brought about significant changes in teaching and learning, insofar as the students actively participated in the actions, operations, and tasks carried out. In this manner, they were able to read and unveil the place in the city where they live from a geographical perspective that was pertinent to their concrete realities in life. This was made possible by an organized and articulated teaching approach, by producing tasks and group discussions, by didactic mediation that led to new questions, and by respecting the students' moments of socialization, among others. Based on these characteristics established in the classroom, the students developed reflexivity, orality, awareness, personality, and were given the opportunity to form their thinking through theoretical-geographical concepts, in favor of human and citizen development to intervene socially in their daily lives.