UM NOVO OLHAR SOBRE MAPAS CONCEITUAIS:UMA PERSPECTIVA METODOLOGICA

Abstract

This dissertation is the result of a number of years of theoretical and practical studies developed in the context of our teaching practice. The process included moments of anxiety and distress and it aimed at answering the following research question: How concept maps help teachers in the proposition of interdisciplinary activities? The study was carried out in the form of a qualitative research and the theoretical framework was based on Paulo Freire´s generating theme, Gandin and Vasconcelos´s ideas provided the basis for the planning, the concepts of interdisciplinarity were based on the writings of Ivani Fazenda, and the learning theory adopted was based on authors such as David Ausubel and Joseph Novak. From this theoretical framework emerged a tool called interdisciplinary planning which started with the search of a generating theme, a brain-storming of ideas in order to list the possible knowledge which could be explored from the generating theme and an interdisciplinary view so that different knowledge inte-grate and decode the students´ everyday lives. In order to organize all the elements that emerged we used concept maps based on the theory of meaningful learning. An-alyzing the concept map and counting on our teaching experience we looked for a suitable methodology for the teaching-learning process. We also provided opportuni-ties for the students to construct their own concept maps so that we could experience an innovative experience in two aspects: make teaching-learning a two-way process in which the teacher and the students are responsible for their knowledge construction and use concept maps as an incentive to understanding. In this dissertation we present the concept map together with its applications and we also exemplify an interdiscipli-nary planning.