Educational didactics in higher education

Abstract

Educational didactics in higher education is a fundamental element to strengthen the teaching and learning processes in Biology and Geography, especially when it is oriented towards active, community-based and contextualized methodologies. The objective of this research was to analyze how educational didactics can contribute to the development of significant learning in students of the Natural Sciences specialty of the Vallegrande Academic Unit, located in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. The methodology was developed under a qualitative approach, within the critical-decolonizing paradigm and through participatory action research. Participant observation and open interviews were used as techniques, supported by questionnaires, field diaries and photographic records. The results showed that active didactic strategies, such as pedagogical games, laboratory practices, home microscopes, astronomical observatories and field trips, strengthened student motivation, participation and understanding of scientific content. It was also identified that the territory and the community function as fundamental spaces for the construction of knowledge. It is concluded that a contextualized educational didactics favors critical training, the dialogue of knowledge and the transformation of higher education towards more inclusive, humane processes committed to social reality.