PHYTOCHEMICAL STUDY OF CASTOR BEAN: USE OF THE ADAPTED ROTATIONAL LABORATORY TECHNIQUE

Abstract

This work proposes an adaptation to the active methodology called "Rotational Laboratory" and its practices in basic education (Hybrid Education). We start from an initial questioning of the students about the toxicity of the plant species Ricinus communis L., popularly known as castor bean. This questioning constituted a Learning Theme Generator with the main objective of identifying the active principles responsible for toxicity in the dust of the leaves of the plant species and learning from the experimental approach, concepts of Organic Chemistry. In order to seek an answer to the initial question, students rotated between the traditional classroom and the computer and science labs. In this way, the students researched the species and carried out chemical tests to verify the presence of chemical constituents in the powder of the leaves. When thinking about the Rotational Laboratory as a practice, we must consider the fundamental role of technology, as well as the changing role of the teacher who becomes the mediator of the process. Engagement was observed during the execution of activities, autonomy, creativity, motivation to participate in classes and collaborative learning. It was found that the active Rotational Laboratory methodology was important for learning chemical concepts and allowed students to answer the initial question about the toxicity of the plant species.