THE DESERT ROSE USED AS A TOOL FOR BOTANY TEACHING AND TEACHING PRACTICE

Abstract

<p>Teaching through research produces knowledge of biology, especially in botany, being a reflection of teaching practice and can be harmed not only by the lack of stimulation in observing and interacting with plants and their parts, but by the absence of basic conditions that can help in learning in classes. The use of experimentation in Biology can be a tool that assists in this learning. This study was carried out with the aim of learning how to monitor the budding and phenology of desert rose grown in pots with substrate prepared with different doses of fertilizer, to assist the future teacher's teaching practice. The desert rose Adenium obesum (Forssk.) Roem. & Schult. (Apocynaceae). It is a popular plant due to its high ornamental value and becomes an important ally in botany teaching. There are few studies that explore the best way of vegetative propagation and development of the desert rose. The methodological procedures of the study led to experimental research with the bias of applying pedagogical practice. For this, a statistical design was carried out with four treatments and six replications using parts of the plant (10 cm stems). The study evaluated the variables in plant growth: a) stem diameter – DC; b) Total chlorophyll index – TCI; c) height – AP; d) number of leaves – NF, e) number of branches – RM. The results showed that the control obtained significant results compared to the other treatments. The experimental results indicated that the doses used did not influence the phenological development of the plant. It is inferred that the desert rose in the pot cultivation of this study and in the soil and substrate conditions with the doses of fertilizers did not indicate a significant vegetative increase. The study concludes that the use of the plant as a biological model is very important to assist in botany classes and improve teaching practice and the use of active botany teaching methodologies. For initial teacher training, this experimental practice can be carried out independently and is suitable for any biology course.</p&gt