Traditional knowledge about medicinal plants: interfaces with the teaching of botany

Abstract

 This article presents results of an educational intervention based on dialogue between traditional and scientific knowledge in the classroom, aiming to investigate how the medicinal plants used by residents of the black community of Furnas do Dionisio (Jaraguari, MS), can contribute to a significant ownership of Botany contents by high school students of the community school. Educational interventions have been proposed based on dialogue between traditional knowledge and science in the classroom and community, to establish a connection between their ethno botanical knowledge and the contents of Plant Biology. Interviews were conducted and forms applied to the residents of the community, allowing to diagnose ethno botanical practices. Thus, guided by the ethnographic method, we investigated these local knowledge and, subsequently, through empirical research with qualitative, were transferred into the classroom and compared the content of Botany of textbooks used in school. Based on the results of these strategies and concept maps based on the Theory of Meaningful Learning of David Ausubel, built by students on the proposed content, we concluded that learning was satisfactory and significant to the learning of botany.