Search

Faced with the challenges to study animal diversity, this work aimed to detect elements of the structure of conceptual maps that were expressed by students when they graphically represent contents about invertebrate animal taxa in higher education. The study was developed with two undergraduate classes in Biological Sciences in the process of teaching a Zoology subject at a federal university in northeastern Brazil. Records were made in moments of participant observation of zoology classes and questionnaires referring to students' opinions and evaluation were applied. The research showed that of the participants, 100% of the night shift and 84% of the day shift, answered the question regarding the construction of concept maps and, with this, it allowed to identify which groups of animals were most significant for each student, as well as the how much the structured schemas revealed about the particular knowledge acquired. In this way, when exploring biological content, through concept maps, whether on much or little known animal diversity, or any other topic, learning is promoted, giving greater visibility to the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]