Is it possible to promote the construction of knowledge about phenotypic plasticity expressed by plants among elementary school students?" To answer this question, it was proposed to carry out experiments together with second year students of elementary school using the plant popularly known as Boldo Mirim (Plectranthus neochilus Schlechter). The objective of present study was to describe the results of the experiment performed on cuttings of Boldo Mirim raised in two types of soil [plant compost + poultry manure (3:1) or earthworm humus + bovine manure (1:1)], two types of light source (20 W lamp or sunshine) at four intensity (10%, 30%, 50%, or 100%). This experiment was attended by 21 children with ages ranging from 10 incomplete years to 10 years old. The positive experimental results showed how the light source and the nutritional richness of the soil are important determinants of plant survival and growth. The negative results involving absence of root development in plants under artificial lighting (20 W lamp) instigated the children to elaborate a hypothesis to be tested explaining this. The children's drawings made after the planting and at the end of the experiments plus the answers obtained during group discussions revealed that they were able to build knowledge about the ability of plants to respond to environmental variables such as soil type and sunshine intensity, expressing phenotypic plasticity.

Resumo: Maquiavel vivenciou um momento de grande importância para a história ocidental. O chamado renascimento marcou a transição da sociedade feudal para a sociedade moderna. Neste sentido, não visto como simples ruptura, este processo apresentou várias manifestações em campos distintos do conhecimento, entre os quais, a filosofia, as artes, história, entre outros. Neste quadro de mudanças profundas, disputas comerciais, territoriais, institucionais, morais e religiosas agitaram a Europa. Este foi o contexto em que Maquiavel escreveu sua principal obra: O Príncipe. Esta apresenta uma experiência que vai da plenitude à decadência e aprisionamento do florentino. Desta perspectiva, este artigo aborda sua importância e atualidade no ensino de Ciências Sociais (Política) através do conceito de phármakon. Para a construção de tal perspectiva, a metodologia usada para este trabalho está pautada em uma análise da citada obra de Maquiavel e de alguns comentadores considerados clássicos. Assim, o processo analítico que culminou com uma proposta de restauração do príncipe mostrou-se importante como uma forma de postura resiliente do sujeito diante das adversidades históricas. Como resultado desta proposta de ensino, este trabalho conclui que a relação do educando com as obras clássicas, quando voltada para análise de sua própria vida, se faz através da aproximação desta com a possibilidade de ação resiliente construída cotidianamente durante o curso.

The study of children's environmental perception is an essential tool for understanding the behavior and planning actions that provide awareness and development of their ethical position towards the environment they live in. The objective of this study was to evaluate the opinion of students of the 5th year of Elementary School about the concepts related to the importance of the environmental condition to plants. The activities involved 26 children from nine to eleven years old. They made: 1) a comparison between Boldo Mirim (Plectranthus neochilus) and Boldo Brasileiro (P. barbatus); 2) an experiment with Boldo Brasileiro and observed the development of this plant in relation to two nutritional conditions of the soil and four solar intensities. It was possible to identify the children's perception of plant characteristics and the results of the experiments performed through the measurements they made on the plants, the observation of the experiment carried out, their questionnaire replies, their reports, and their drawings. This strategy contributes to children's knowledge of abiotic (soil, light) and biotic factors (root production, and plant growth) related to plant phenotipic plasticity in response to different environmental conditions. The activities performed helped the children to construct environmental perception and deconstruct the botanic blindness that affects most people since an early age.

A plasticidade fenotípica é a capacidade de um  genótipo expressar diferentes fenótipos em função do ambiente. O objetivo do presente estudo foi promover a coconstrução do conhecimento sobre a plasticidade fenotípica de plantas em uma turma de Engenharia Agrícola e Ambiental, aplicando duas aulas teórico-práticas com duas horas cada. Quarenta estacas apicais do Boldo-Brasileiro (Plectranthus barbatus Andrews) cresceram nas seguintes condições: i) cerca de 40 dias de cultivo; ii) sob 10%, 30%, 50% ou 100% de insolação; iii) em solos que diferem quanto ao tipo de adubo [(solo 1) húmus de minhoca + esterco bovino na proporção de 1:1 ou (solo 2) composto vegetal + esterco avícola na proporção de 1:3)]. Após aula expositiva de 30 minutos sobre plasticidade fenotípica em plantas, os 48 estudantes realizaram a biometria dos ramos principais do Boldo-Brasileiro para acessar comprimento, número de folhas, área foliar e número de brácteas nas inflorescências. Somente nas condições de maiores insolação o boldo expressou inflorescência. Ele expressou mais folhas quando cultivado no solo tipo 2 a 50% de insolação. O solo tipo 2 e a insolação de 10% favoreceu o crescimento em altura. As distâncias entre nós foram menores para os maiores graus de insolação e solo tipo 1. A área foliar foi maior para os menores graus de insolação e solo tipo 2. As fotos das plantas realizadas pelos estudantes, as comparações que estes fizeram para os resultados biométricos, as redações realizadas em grupo e seus relatos obtidos durante a roda de conversa revelaram que estes coconstruíram seus conhecimentos sobre estratégia fisiológica das plantas frente às variáveis ambientais. As interações entre professor, mediadora e estudantes estabelecidas durante as duas aulas teórico-práticas atingiram o que havia sido proposto. Assim, todo processo serviu como metodologia que pode auxiliar na desburocratização do ensino de Ciências.

The analyses efficacy of a practical activity addressing the measure of morphological characteristics of Boldo Mirim (Miniature Boldo), (Plectranthus neochilus Schltr.) which were cultivated in two conditions of solar intensity (50% and 100%), involved two professors and 7 students who participated at different ways in planning, performing and evaluating the results. This activity was carried out in 49 students matriculated in the discipline Botany II of 1st semester of the Biological Sciences course of UFF. The objective of the present study was to foment the construction of a significant learning about concept of specie and phenotypic plasticity. To perform the measurements on the leaves: 1) the foliar areas by two methods (weigh and counting); 2) the internode distance; and 3) the presence of trichome, two types of papers (baking and millimetric) and basic equipment such as manual calibration caliper (mm), precision analytical balance (0.001 g) and a monocular stereoscope (40×) were provided. It was verified that with the reduction in the availability of solar light, the Boldo Mirim increases its leaf area and the distance internodes for the best use of the luminosity in the photosynthetic process, whereas in conditions of full sunshine this plant invests less in leaf area and reduces the distance between leaves that are practically superimposed to avoid stress due to excess of light. After following the proposed protocol, the questionnaire with 12 questions about the plant's characteristics, the concepts of Creative Education species and of phenotypic plasticity, and the effectiveness of the practical activity were applied to the 14 groups of 3 to 4 students from the total of 49 ones. The correlation coefficients obtained from the comparison of the two methods used to measure the foliar area (weight and counting) was positive and significant for Branch type 1 (from plant raised at 100% of solar intensity: r = 0.806, n = 10; p ≤ 0.005) and for Branch type 2 (from plant raised at 50% of solar intensity: r = 0.755, n = 10; p ≤ 0.005) as well. These results revealed that the proposal of the practice reached its goals. However, the critics of the 49 target students fell mainly on the restriction of the available time to the practical activity. In conclusion, the activity involvement revealed that the practical activity achieved its purpose. Thus, all the 56 students involved were able to construct the knowledge about the scientific methods, the concepts of species and phenotypic plasticity, and the therapeutic applicability of the Mirim Boldo, within a critical vision of the teaching-learning process.