Building and multiplying knowledge is a strategy for achieving sustainable development. To this end, the Purunã Institute develops the project Forming Multipliers, based on theoretical and practical training for Balsa Nova educators. Through the presentation of techniques, strategies and exchange of experiences that can be used in their teaching practice, we seek to promote through education a more inclusive and sustainable growth model, which there is not only the transmission of knowledge, but its construction, allowing student and teacher knowledge to complement each other so that both are integrated into the teaching-learning process.
To this end, the Institute invests, together with Balsa Nova educators, in conducting training aimed at contributing and stimulating new practices in order to promote the strengthening of Balsa Nova’s basic education.
Educational practices in the context of citizen formation
The first step in this walk has already been taken. In February (2019), thematic workshops were held in partnership with the Municipal Secretariat of Education, focusing on the development of the skills of educators from the municipal public school system of Balsa Nova.
During the pedagogical week of 2019, the educators were provided with theoretical activities, practices, exchange of experiences, and moments of construction and validation of knowledge, in order to work on themes that are important for both basic education scenario as for environments outside the school walls. There were six workshops specifically designed to offer reflections and possibilities of working formal content, listed in the National Common Curriculum Base (BNCC), aligned with issues of citizenship, conservation and understanding of nature, as well as promotion and appreciation of local culture and traditions. Want to know more about the topics covered and why they were chosen?
Workshop: Literate Universe and Learning Opportunities
Aimed at elementary literacy professionals, this workshop sought to generate reflection in a broad sense on the relationships and social practices of reading and writing. Besides considering these important skills, their effective participation in social practices since childhood is essential for the protagonism of these individuals.
Literacy is a determining step in our lives, as it is in this process that we begin to read and interpret the world around us. The role of the teacher in the literacy process of the students is fundamental, and not only limited to reading and writing, not even the school life, but is reflected throughout the life of that individual, since once the student has a satisfactory literacy, he will be able to express himself and be understood, being able to exercise his citizenship.
Workshop: From Text Reading to World Interpretation
Reading and interpretation are present in all aspects of our lives, and again, they are not unique to the school environment, although we consolidate our knowledge in this environment. Without reading, without interpretation, we do not understand the mathematical questions, neither understanding the contents of literature and history, nor the benefits of a product we are purchasing, and so on.
Considering these aspects, the workshop was based on the rescue of the enchantment of literature, as well as in other literary genres, and the discussion about the true pedagogical potential related to the work with interpretation. In addition to rescue the commitment of teaching reading – which is not only important in school, for the work with it to be effective in an environment outside the school, a text must go through its reader in the same way as the reader should compose the text from their subjectivities.
Workshop: Uncomplicated Mathematics: Possibilities in Education
The numbers are on house doors, street signs or cars, money, clothing labels, book pages, television, and so on. Present in many places, they certainly make up the routine of children. Mathematics is also in other everyday situations. To play with sand in jars, for example, is to have contact with measures. Helping the teacher distribute the materials the class will use is dealing with quantity. Even the movement of babies around the room helps to develop spatial notion.
Mathematical concepts are embedded in the world, and everyone comes across them constantly. It is very important for educators to develop skills to address these issues as dynamically and interactively as possible, for in this way they will be stimulating the students to improve the understanding of the contents and to understand more and more the mathematical logic. Therefore, in this workshop was approached the thinking and logical reasoning, presented games and different methodologies to develop the logical-mathematical reasoning with the students, exercising the thought for the interpretation of mathematics.
Workshop: Tales and Charms
Storytelling for children is one of the first ways to teach and stimulate students’ imagination. For this reason, storytelling can – and should – be used in schools as a teaching-learning methodology.
The activity collaborates with the reformulation of the classroom space, encourages creativity and the manifestation of various forms of expression. It is a pedagogical practice that contributes to the development of writing and orality, develops the perception of symbolic representations, and enables children to understand and face their feelings, whether of joy, achievement and pride, of anguish and doubts. And, in tune with the appreciation of culture and stimulating a sense of belonging from the knowledge of traditions, storytelling was another workshop donne with Balsa Nova educators.
Workshop: Different Artistic Languages in School Environment
Art can be seen and expressed in a variety of ways, whether through drawing, dancing, theater, music, invention of tales and storytelling, or even reading books.
You can see at least a little about the importance of art in the teaching-learning process, right? In addition to the ability to communicate feelings, art is also a springboard for the development of creativity. Artistic initiatives, whatever their nature, play an important role in children’s intellectual development, developing body language, prioritizing social and environmental awareness, besides allowing a work of valorization of the local culture. And these points were decisive for choosing this theme as the focus of another of the workshops held.
Workshop: Special Education in the Context of Interculturality: Paths and Perspectives
Education is everyone’s right. Respect for human rights and freedoms is the basis for citizen building and should be encouraged for these rights to be appropriate.
Therefore, education must be inclusive to all subjects, students with any limitations or disabilities need to be inserted in the teaching-learning process effectively. This does not mean denying students’ difficulties. On the contrary. With inclusion, differences are not seen as “problems” but as diversity. It is this variety, based on social reality, that can broaden the world view and develop coexistence opportunities for all children.
Thus, it is necessary to be up to date on the development of studies and researches and on the current debates on special education, on the movement of inclusive processes and on the schooling of the subject with disabilities. In order to preserve the diversity presented in the school, found in the social reality, it represents an opportunity to meet the educational needs with emphasis on the skills, abilities and potentialities of the student.
In all, 124 educators from the Balsa Nova public school system participated in the training in the pursuit for the development of their skills for the construction and consolidation of knowledge. The workshops provided by the Purunã Institute were given by Parabolé – Education and Culture.
But we don’t stop there: In April we will work two training sessions for educators in the region. As the previous ones, will be important themes for classroom practices, that dialogue with the objectives of the Purunã Institute in order to stimulate the appreciation of the culture, citizenship and nature of São Luiz do Purunã. The themes will be:
Current Body Practices: the subject and city
At this moment we will address the theme psychomotricity, which represents the basis for the child to develop in different aspects, all of which are indispensable for anyone. This is a science that seeks to establish the connection between three determining parts in our lives: emotional, physical and cognitive. The search for this balance makes possible the pedagogical learning, besides the diverse situations internal and external to the individual.
The role of the educator is fundamental not only in the progress of activities in education, as it is the mediator between the children and knowledge. Beyond this fundamental role of forming an individual, the teacher motivates, inspires, welcomes, is a potential “life-transforming”.
They have a lot of influence on the lives of children, and young people, after all, when they are not at home, they are usually in school with the teachers. This means that these professionals have the opportunity to serve as role models for students.
Thus, it is extremely necessary that educators are perceived, motivated and valued, so that they are in a constant pursuit for learning, teaching, practicing education in its entirety.
These and other questions will be discussed during this other training.
Follow our schedule:
We continue working and thinking of ways to build knowledge with the Secretariat of Education, the methodology of Parabolé – Education and Culture and teachers of Balsa Nova. For this year, we will still have thematic trainings on Visual Art – from global culture to local development and From Body Movement to Human Movement: the subject and his relationship with the world. Stay tuned and participate!