Geodiversidade de Irati, Paraná: estratégia de inserção do patrimônio geológico como conteúdo na educação local

Abstract

Irati, Paraná, is located in the Southeast of the State and is fully located in the Paraná Sedimentary Basin’s context. The city has a peculiar geodiversity and an important geological heritage, but these contents are still little known to the community and even among students and teachers of local elementary and middle school. The guiding thread of this thesis is the possibility of a greater insertion of this content in the community as a strategy to provoke heritage appreciation and geoconservation, especially through formal education. For this, from Irati’s geological data collection were considered the geomorphological, paleontological, pedological and hydrological contents for the definition of a Geological Heritage, defined by eighteen selected points, the geosites. This set of information allowed the creation of paradidmatic materials - geodidactic map, puzzles, fossil replicas and video documentaries - that effectively contributed to didactic mediation in schools and community presentations, as well as supporting local teachers in adopting the program content in your classes. The materials and content were presented in every sixth-grade elementary schools (total of twenty, including public and private) in the city, through lectures or colloquia, involving teachers and students. A survey was applied among teachers for an assessment of prior knowledge about geodiversity and another one about the assimilation of concepts and general content a few weeks after the presentation of materials for a qualitative analysis. The results indicated that the strategy was successful and Irati's Geological Heritage proved to be an important theme for community knowledge. Concepts such as geodiversity, geopatrimony and geoconservation, mainly on a local scale, were effectively introduced in Irati’s elementary and middle schools and also had effect in non-formal education, especially with the interest in tourism and the internet use for the video broadcasting. The appropriation of this content by Irati’s community should lead to the strengthening of cultural identity, especially in its relations with the territory and the environment.