Bird watching as a conservation practice – Educational Analysis of the Extension Course taught in April 2016 in the Municipality of Santos – SP Sandra Regina Pardini Pivelli

Abstract

In the Brazilian coastal strip, there are around two thirds of the bird species recorded throughout the country. Birdwatching originated in Europe in the mid-18th century as a leisure activity. Currently recognized as an ecological tourism activity, birding has been growing as an instrument of environmental conservation, providing benefits for education given its playful, practical, sensorial and experimental nature. The ease of conducting bird watching is based on the attraction they have on people, combined with their wide distribution and the low requirements in relation to equipment and materials needed to carry out it. The present study aimed to investigate the learning of participants in the Extension Course “Bird Observation as a Conservationist Practice” based on the analysis of the evaluation questionnaires provided. The research was carried out during the months of April and May 2016, at the beginning and end of the extension course, which had a 30-hour workload and used Sequential Learning as the main teaching technique. For data collection, a script of eleven essay questions was prepared, which were used to diagnose the initial and final content of the twenty participants. The analysis of the questionnaires demonstrated that after the course classes, the participants' initial knowledge increased by around 20%, with higher values ​​obtained mainly in field practices.