Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to explain how the teaching of Cell Biology occurs in public high schools since the subject is essential to understand life. This is a qualitative study, in which various instruments and methodologies were used, such as questionnaires, continuing education courses, the monitoring of pedagogical practice, and focus groups. The questionnaires and the speech of teachers and students were analyzed through data triangulation. It was possible to observe that most students understood the cell as a microscopic structure; they expressed difficulty in distinguishing plant cells from animal cells; and they approached contents isolating morphology from cell physiology. The teachers’ conceptions, were often similar to those of the students, showed conceptual distortions. Therefore, in reflexive pedagogical practice, the teacher must work with Cell Biology topics in order to make them more meaningful to students’ learning in the daily development of praxis and knowledge resignification.
Keywords:
Cell biology teaching; Secondary school; Knowledge; Teacher training