Explorando a química do mel de abelha: uma lição viva para o ensino de química

Abstract

Education in Brazil began in 1549 with the arrival of the Jesuits and has since been in constant development. Chemistry education, a fundamental part of the Natural Sciences, faces challenges, one of which is the students' reluctance towards the subject. For a more focused approach, the 3rd-year Clinical Analysis class at the Centro Estadual de Educação Profissional Petrônio Portela was observed, and the effects of the reduced number of classes were examined. To practically observe the reported effects, this study aims to analyze the impact of using honey as a didactic material in the teaching of Chemistry, considering the scenario of reduced class hours and challenges in concept transmission. The research compares the effectiveness of this method with traditional teaching, taking into account the clarity of explanations, student engagement, the practical relevance of the content, and student motivation. The methodology was divided into three stages: observation of traditional classes, the use of honey as a contextualized resource, and discussion of the chemical reactions associated with honey. The results, obtained from questionnaires administered to the students, indicated that the contextualization of the honey theme contributed to a better understanding of concepts and increased engagement, proving to be a promising alternative to traditional Chemistry teaching. Finally, it is emphasized that this study represents only an initial attempt to explore didactic strategies that may contribute to Chemistry education. Keywords: Contextualization; Honey; Teaching; Chemical.