Banca de DEFESA: JOAO LEONIR MANTOVANI

Geography Teaching; Landscape; Didactic Game

Reflecting on the teaching of Geography brings us back to the use of different types of teaching resources. We believe that games can be an instrument that facilitates the learning process. In view of the above, we ask: how can the game contribute to the teaching and learning process of the geographical category landscape? This category is present in students' daily lives and we believe that reading the landscape awakens their interest in learning more about their reality. Thus, the general aim of this study is to investigate and understand the contribution of the game as a methodological resource for teaching and learning the concept of landscape in sixth grade Geography classes, with the city of Brusque/SC as the spatial focus. To this end, we defined the following specific objectives: to reflect on the teaching of Geography, associating it with the playful resource of games; to develop a board game that contemplates the study of the local urban landscape, represented by images; to apply the game to sixth grade students at the Paquetá Elementary School, Brusque, SC; to propose an investigative attitude (reflection and decision making) based on the game using landscape images and to analyze the application of the educational product and the learning generated by the concept of landscape using the game. In order to achieve the objectives and meet the requirements of the master's program, the educational product game entitled "Deciphering the Landscape" was developed. The methodology used in the study emphasized qualitative data, but did not fail to take into account quantitative data. The research put into practice consisted of action research that established a broad and collaborative interaction between the researcher and the research subjects, which led to an improvement in the pedagogical practice analyzed.  Data collection involved 105 students who answered three questionnaires and were observed based on criteria established in an observation schedule during the games. They took part in the implementation and evaluation of the game initially proposed and contributed to an improved version. The information collected was tabulated and analyzed according to the content analysis methodology and the bibliographic references consulted. As a result, it was found that the use of the game as a didactic resource for the study of landscape stimulated the active participation of the students and contributed to the development of cognitive skills that favored geographical reasoning as well as socio-emotional skills that are so important for living together in society