Banca de DEFESA: ANA STELA PEREIRA DOS SANTOS

Body awareness gymnastics: an experience for Elementary School

Body awareness gymnastics; Elementary School; School.

Activities related to Body Awareness Gymnastics are little discussed and explored in Physical Education classes in Elementary School, although they can favor self-knowledge and provide critical reflections on the current economic-social model. Therefore, the objective of this research is to present and analyze a pedagogical experience centered on Body Awareness Gymnastics based on what is presented in the Reference Curricular Document of Ceará for ninth grade classes, pointing out and reflecting on the weaknesses and potentialities observed in the process. The research, of an applied nature with a qualitative approach, is based on a set of eleven descriptive-exploratory experience reports with two ninth grade classes in a public school in Fortaleza, Ceará. Of the 71 students enrolled in both classes, 32 agreed to have their perceptions, understandings, productions and suggestions shared in this research. A field diary of the teacher-researcher, photographic records, weekly improvement forms plus a set of questionnaires answered by the students were used as data collection instruments. These were analyzed according to Minayo's proposal for thematic categorization with pre-analysis, material exploration, treatment of results, inference and interpretation of information. Among several weaknesses observed in the experience, the following stand out: the lack of a quiet, private place with a mild temperature, materials specific to some gymnastics, a textbook for the student to support discussions in the classroom and in homework activities; the tension overload of the teacher in the absence of managers for a regular school dynamic; lack of continuing education on the subject offered by the school; insufficient time for pedagogical planning; the insecurity of the teacher-researcher in face of the little experience with some of the gymnastics; noise from students' agitation, disinterest, bullying, difficulty concentrating, nervousness, extreme concerns about peer judgment and family issues. The students' menstrual period proved to be a relevant obstacle, whether due to pain or fear of generating a disconcerting situation. And, finally, the existence of a noisy and unwelcoming family and/or community environment along with some proposed activities at home. Some potentialities found were: the interest shown when carrying out different activities little or never carried out before relating to everyday matters; proposing different ways of assessing knowledge; the development of the perception of bodily evolutions and understandings about how to relate better with each other; the use of audiovisual and textual resources available free of charge on the internet; the teacher-student relationship that facilitated the sharing of ways of thinking, preferences, difficulties, experiences and knowledge; and the welcoming family together with body practices outside the school, which made them stimulate self-knowledge and provide affective moments. At the end of this work, I understand how important the engagement and deepening of other teachers in the discussion of the theme, so that better school experiences can be developed.