A resposta imune contra a dengue como fenômeno de ancoragem para abordar concepções alternativas de Imunologia no Ensino Médio

Abstract

The teaching and learning process must consider the importance and need to promote skills that surpass understanding the content, enabling students to become critical citizens, capable of debating scientific themes and issues related to technology, and understanding the complex interactions involving science and society. This work proposed the construction, development and evaluation of a didactic sequence with an investigative bias, using the immune response against dengue fever as the anchoring phenomenon so that it could confront high school students’ misconceptions in immunology. The didactic sequence followed three pedagogical moments: initial problematisation (formulation of hypotheses about dengue reinfection), data analysis and collection of evidence (collaborative puzzle with a structured script to students simulate immune responses to different dengue serotypes and the clonal selection process) and application of knowledge (drafting an email). Data was collected to evaluate the sequence by applying it in a public school for twenty students and collecting student records on a separate sheet of paper, audio recordings, a record of the collaborative puzzle application script and the teacher-researcher's logbook. The results showed that some misconceptions, such as memory cells retaining information about the virus after infection, are still present in the students' answers. However, 16 students addressed specificity as a property of the immune system (80%) and 11 students reported on antibody production and memory generation (55%) in their answers. The development of the didactic sequence achieved several of its proposed objectives, such as providing opportunities for discussion between peers; stimulating active student participation in discussions on the topic addressed and enabling critical analysis of problem situations and collecting evidence in the process. Therefore, this didactic sequence contributed to the construction and consolidation of new knowledge, concepts and skills and may be used as material in secondary education in Brazilian schools.