Desenhando o conhecimento: a ilustração científica como ferramenta para o ensino e aprendizado de botânica

Abstract

Botanical blindness, defined as the difficulty in recognizing the beauty and importance of plants, is currently discussed as a challenge in the teaching-learning process. This issue can hinder students' interest in and understanding of botany. In light of this, the aim of this work is to explore how scientific illustration can contribute to minimizing plant blindness, especially in the context of the Cerrado biome. The research seeks to highlight the importance of cooperation between the arts, specifically drawing, and biology, believing that the visual representation of plants can make the study more accessible and attractive to students. The study adopts the historical-critical method of Dermeval Saviani as its methodology and was applied to a class of the Technical Course in Environmental Studies integrated with Secondary Education at the Federal Institute of Goiás, Águas Lindas campus. The didactic sequence developed includes the presentation of botanical concepts, illustration techniques, as well as the observation and representation of Cerrado species. The results obtained indicate a significant improvement in content learning, demonstrating that the use of scientific illustration served as a facilitator in students' understanding and engagement with botany. Thus, the applied methodologies proved to be effective, strengthening the role of illustration in environmental education and the formation of ecological awareness.