THE USE OF BOTANICAL KITS AND HERBARIUM SPECIMENS IN OVERCOMING DIFFICULTIES IN TEACHING ANGIOSPERMS

Abstract

A mixed-methods research was conducted with 38 second-year students from the technical nursing program at EEEP Antônio Tarcísio Aragão, in Ipu, Ceará, Brazil. Based on the textbook, seven botanical kits were developed for practical activities involving floral dissection and herbarium specimen preparation. Pre-intervention assessment indicated deficiencies in identifying vegetative and reproductive structures. Post-intervention outcomes showed significant performance improvement, with accuracy rates exceeding 80% across all evaluated areas. The results demonstrate that contextualized didactic collections constitute a highly effective pedagogical tool, promoting the mitigation of "plant blindness" and enhancing the meaningful learning of morphological and systematic concepts in professional education.