Three-dimensional modeling as a methodological innovation for teaching zoology and as a strategy for environmental education

Abstract

The great diversity of animals and the relationship between their morphological characteristics, adaptations and life strategies are approached in the teaching of zoology. The use of innovative and alternative methodologies, such as zoological modeling, are tools that can contribute to a high interest in the study of zoology and it is use in an environmental education strategy. In this study, the zoological modeling intermediated the teaching-learning process in undergraduate students of the Biological Sciences course and the connection of teaching practices with environmental extension activities. Twenty-two animal models were built with representatives of the Phylum Arthropoda, Mollusca, Cnidaria and Echinodermata, approaching aspects of external, internal morphology and life cycle. The process of perception, viability and assimilation of the construction of the zoological modeling was analyzed through interviews with 40 undergraduates and 100 children and teenagers, the target audience of the workshops. The results showed that the three-dimensional modeling stimulates environmental students in the teaching-learning process and it is use in education activities were efficient, awakening curiosity, enabling the demystification of animals and the dissemination of their essential ecosystem services for the conservation of biodiversity.