Teachers´ Motivation for learning Botany: reflections about a distance teacher training course

Abstract

Teachers are important multiplying agents in society. Thus, it is important to improve their knowledge about plants in order for plants to be better understood, perceived and conserved. In this perspective, we investigated a discipline of Botany, the curricular component of a distance course for continuing teacher training. The aims of this research were: to identify the main motivations and objectives of educators for learning Botanica; to detect which teaching approaches used in the discipline were considered most motivating by these professionals; to identify which activities and technological tools used in the discipline were best evaluated. First, we analyzed the responses of 53 teachers to an online questionnaire of five questions. In a second step, interviews were conducted with three of these teachers. The main motivations and objectives of teachers for learning about Botany were related to the expansion of their knowledge and pedagogical possibilities. Watching animations and reading text were considered the most attractive activities, while forums and blogs had the lowest scores. Distance-learning teacher training should approach the expectations and needs of its target audience, providing teachers with greater motivation for learning in Botany and enabling the improvement of the teaching-learning process on the subject.