Educational strategies to overcome “botanical blindness” in basic education

The term “botanical blindness” refers to people’s inability to perceive plants in the environment, which may be related to the existence of students who show little interest in the subjects of Botany in Basic Education. Thus, this research aims to understand the conceptions of Basic Education teachers about teaching Botany, as well as to createpractical class guide in order to reduce “botanical blindness” in Elementary and High Schools. The online questionnaire was used as a method for data collection, it was answered by Science and Biology teachers from the State of Maranhão, Brazil.In view of their experiences, the teachers mentioned as the most complex contents of Botany for their students to learn were: physiology (23.61%); morphology (15.79%) and taxonomy (13.16%). TeachingBotany requires methodological strategies capable of promoting the relationship between humans and plants, seeking ways and means to facilitate the teaching-learning process and make it meaningful for the student. Therefore, the most feasible strategies were: practical class in the field, practical class in the laboratory, didactic games and didactic models.