Neurociência e formação docente: uma proposta de curricularização da extensão

Abstract

This paper discussed the possibilities regarding the intersections between Neuroscience and its potential contributions to teacher training, set against the backdrop of the curricularization of extension in this context. Since the 1990s, with the so-called Decade of the Brain, Neuroscience and Education have been more interconnected. This union allowed for a different understanding of the learning process: how the brain learns, what influences this process, and how it actually happens. For Education, this is very important, as knowledge of the nervous system offers new tools to analyze and enhance teaching-learning processes. The research aims to understand the possible interferences of knowledge in Neuroscience for the initial training of teachers, based on the curricularization of extension. The methodology, presenting a qualitative approach, was structured in a literature review and the application of a questionnaire among students of Pedagogy at UFLA (from the 2nd to the 9th semester in 2025/1), in addition to analyzing the reports produced as a result of activities from an extensionist proposal developed in the course 'Learning and Neuroscience' of the Pedagogy program at UFLA. Based on the collected data and the analyses conducted, it was possible to perceive that the connection between neuroscience knowledge and pedagogical practice, through extension actions, can significantly contribute to expanding the understanding that future teachers have about the learning processes. Furthermore, the inclusion of neuroscience in the initial training of teachers, in a critical and contextualized manner, proves to be a promising path for strengthening the reflective and grounded practice of teachers. It was concluded, therefore, that the integration between theory and practice, made possible by extension, enriches teacher training and broadens the perspectives of future teachers on the processes of teaching and learning. By bringing Neuroscience closer to Education, a fertile space is created for deeper reflections and more conscious and effective pedagogical practices.