Aprendizaje-Servicio Comunitario: estrategia didáctica activa para re valorizar conocimientos ancestrales sobre uso de plantas medicinales con estudiantes de sexto grado en la U.E.C.I.B “ABC”

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to apply Community Service-Learning as an active didactic strategy in the area of Natural Sciences (CCNN) to recover ancestral knowledge about the use of medicinal plants with students of the sixth grade of General Basic Intercultural Bilingual Education from the Bilingual Intercultural Educational Unit (UECIB) "ABC”, during 2020-2021 school period. This field research has had a qualitative approach, that arises from observations made during the Pre-professional Practices in the UECIB "ABC" of San Pablo de Tenta (Saraguro canton - Loja Province -Ecuador), during 2018-2019 and 2020-2021 school periods. There was registered some problems and inconsistencies on the implementation of the Intercultural Bilingual Education Model. The curricular contents that the teacher taught his students were not contextualized or linked to the ancestral knowledge of the Kichwa-Saraguro nationality, as MOSEIB stablished. Likewise, the didactic strategies used by the teacher in CCNN did not contribute to a significant learning process, so students could not build their own knowledge, which they could apply in their everyday community reality. Additionally, there was also no participation of community actors neither parents in the teaching process, in other words, they did not get involved nor participate in the school activities of their children. In conclusion, through the Community Service-Learning strategy application, some significant changes were achieved for the students’ significant learning and their skills development, as well as a more active participation of community actors and parents among the educational process.