NATURE AS A LIVING CLASSROOM: PROMOTING TEACHING PRACTICES FOR MEANINGFUL LEARNING OF NATURAL SCIENCES IN SECONDARY SCHOOL

Abstract

Innovative teaching strategies becoming increasingly important in the classroom, and their implementation fosters greater receptivity, curiosity, and critical thinking in students as they engage with knowledge in their daily learning. The challenges or difficulties they encounter throughout this process lead them to explore new ways of learning, which, in turn, become a reference point for teachers to implement innovative strategies that positively contribute to the teaching and learning process, particularly by focusing on students' motivation and expectations regarding scientific knowledge.Based on students’ interests, teachers must create appropriate learning environments that significantly impact classroom practice, strengthening both the cognitive and axiological components of each student while taking into account their individual needs and learning paces. In this sense, pedagogical practice seeks to integrate direct observation, contextualized experimentation, and metacognitive reflection within natural settings that are part of the students’ environment, with the goal of enhancing meaningful understanding of scientific phenomena, the development of scientific competencies, and the affective and cognitive connection with the natural world.