BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR SUSTAINABILITY GOES TO SCHOOL
Social educational project of public private partnership, created to spread knowledge on
sustainable industrial Biotechnology in state schools in the City of Araucária, in Paraná. Such
action raises interest in Science and in cleaner and more efficient productive processes, by
enhancing classroom activities regarding Science subjects and integration among the private
sector, State and school community. Through joint work between Biotechnology professionals
and teachers over the past four years of Primary Education, notable success was achieved in
knowledge transfer of state-of-the-art scientific knowledge. Thus, the objective of spreading
Biotechnology concepts for sustainability and to contribute to improvement in quality education
in Brazil, particularly environmental, was achieved. Such action represented a welcomed effort
to shorten paths towards green economy in the building of environmental awareness in future
professionals and, simultaneously, to diminish social inequalities.
Pedro Luiz Fernandes
Novozymes Latin America Ltda.
2
1 INTRODUCTION
In April de 2009, the Araucária City Department of Education (SMED) welcomed a bipartite
work proposal, prepared by Danish enzyme industry, Novozymes A/S, with the purpose of spreading
sustainable concepts and stimulating scientific knowledge in municipal schools of Araucária, where
one of the company’s units is sheltered. The plan proposed that the company and the City of Araucária
joined efforts towards taking Biotechnology practice to Primary School students and towards
eliminating the mistaken fear that such incumbency would demand costly physical structure,
procurement of sophisticated equipment, and contracting human resources out of budget reach. Thus, a
social order function was developed, in partnership, to involve the community around the technology
which would be the "next big thing" in the third millennium, as tells us physicist, Professor Carlos
Lenz Cesar:
Capacity to control bioprocesses shall open the path towards finding the cure to any current
diseases and towards developing biodevices of socioeconomic importance. There is evidence
that the next technological revolution will be based on knowledge generated by biotechnology
and nanotechnology (verbal information)1.
Given the sustainable industrial processes offered by Biotechnology, various environmental
problems, among which humanity wanders in an uncertain path and given educational need in Brazil,
the Biotecnologia para a Sustentabilidade vai à Escola (Biotechnology for Sustainability goes to
School) project represents a successful initiative towards human evolution and also a clear message
against inertia.
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2 OBJECTIVES
The project’s intention was to promote the “biotechnology for sustainability” concept within
school environment, in Science classes. In practice, it aimed to guide and give support in order for
educators to introduce to students from the municipal school network of Araucária, Metropolitan
Region of Curitiba, industrial biotechnological processes with enzymes, which act without damaging
the environment in various industrial areas. Thus, it was expected that students from the four last years
of Primary School, upon gaining such knowledge, would take a liking to Science, developing a
technical profile to be improved in their future academic and professional lives. Indirectly, the objective
was to reduce social inequalities by improving education quality, which shall certainly make a
difference in the life of those students in a very near future.
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3 METHODOLOGY
The initial strategy for implanting the project was to promote a strong alliance among the
partners involved, particularly with regards to the schools and, more directly, the Science teachers, true
agents of pedagogical action and those responsible for Biology classes. Then, an interdisciplinary team
was constituted to develop, implant, and follow the experimental phase, composed by Novozymes and
the Araucária City Department of Education, Biotecnologia para a Sustentabilidade vai à Escola
coordinators, and by company professionals. During the development phase, weekly meetings were
held to elucidate and reaffirm the project’s objectives, methodologies, forwarding, and continuous
evaluation.
In the implantation and development phase, training courses and guidance to teachers, the
assigning of human resources and materials by Novozymes, the making available of technicians from
its own personnel, and donations of mini mobile laboratories, glassworks, textbooks, t-shirts and even
bookmarkers turned out to be elements sometimes more complex or simpler, yet always relevant.
Planning, development of class topics, and student participation in practical activities, experiments,
science shows and fairs was promoted.
Presence of Biotechnology in a wide range of domestic and cheap products and materials was
key factor in the application method and in turning access to knowledge easier. Such characteristic
helped instigate students’ curiosity and give them opportunity to widen their horizons.
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4 POSSIBLITIES FOR BIOINNOVATION
A World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) report in Denmark reveals that industrial
biotechnology already prevents 33 million tonnes of CO2 from being produced per year through various
applications, without taking the use of ethanol into consideration. The study points out that industrial
biotechnology could lead to a 2.5 billion-tonne annual reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, until
2030, and would also represent an opportunity for the building of a new green economy, which would
work smartly with nature to fulfil human needs.
It is important to bear in mind that biotechnology is any technological application that uses
biological systems, live organisms or their by-products to produce or modify products or processes for
specific uses. It is also necessary to understand that sustainability is a term used to define human
actions and activities aimed at fulfilling current needs of human beings without undermining the next
generations. Nevertheless, it is equally necessary to emphasise that sustainability is not only related to
the environment. It also comprises, at least, economic and social dimensions. Thus, the balance of
various parameters must be kept in various aspects (including moral) of human life, so that we do not
jeopardise our own future. One of these aspects is education for sustainability.
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5 BRAZIL: DEFFICIENT BASIC EDUCATION IN THE FIELD OF SCIENCES
Upon implanting the project, Brazil had 194.9 thousand basis education institutions (INEP,
2010), with 51.5 million enrolments, in which case 43.9 million (85.4%) are in state schools and 7.5
million (14.6%) in private schools. Municipal networks were responsible for 46.0%: 23.7 million.
(INEP, 2010).
The United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) defends that Brazil should invest
10% - around US$ 300 billion – of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in education until 2024
(UNICEF, 2014). At present, the country invests only 5% (INEP, 2011), something around US$ 150
billion.
In 2012, the result of the international periodical evaluation made by the Programme for
International Student Assessment – Pisa (OECD, 2012), prepared by the Organization for Economic
Co-operation and Development - OECD, which measured students’ performance in the area of Sciences
in 65 countries, was released. Brazil ranked among the worst of the list in the survey carried out among
young students aged fifteen years of age, enrolled in any grade, from the seventh year of Primary
School – 8th year of the new organisation for school levels. With 405 points, Brazil remained below
other Latin American countries such as Mexico (415) and Chile (445), way below OECD average of
500 points.
Possibly, the lack of infrastructure for learning Sciences in regular Primary School contributes
to such situation. The pedagogical resource most available during the implantation of the project was
access to internet, offered in 69.5% of schools of the final years (this project’s target). There also was a
gap in the “Sciences laboratory” item, which was present in only 7.9% of the schools in the initial
7
years, and in 23.6% of the schools in the final years of Primary School (INEP, 2010).
6 PILOT PROJECT
The pilot project began with “Programa de Capacitação para as aulas de Biotecnologia”
(Capacity-Building Programme for Biotechnology classes), in November 6th, 2009, integrating 23
Science teachers, three SMED (Araucária City Department of Education) professionals, and five
Novozymes professionals. There were explanations on Biotechnology’s applications and definitions,
visit to Novozymes’s industrial plant and laboratories, as well as demonstrations of Biotechnology’s
daily use. From the experimental lesson, at Escola Municipal Nadir Nepomuceno Alves Pinto
(municipal school), on November 27, 2009, two eighth grade classes (65 students), eleven Science
teachers, as well as Novozymes and SMED representatives took part. In the classroom, three different
pedagogical practices were carried out: action of catalysing enzymes (pectinase) in fruits for juice
production; use of biological yeast for bread manufacture, with the confirmation that carbon dioxide is
released and observation, in microscope, of Saccharomyces cerevisiae leaven and lactobacillus.
6.1 PARTNERS IN ACTION
The City of Araucária, located in the region of Curitiba, Paraná, has 131 thousand inhabitants
(IBGE, 2014). Its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is R$ 13 billion (IBGE, 2012) and its Municipal
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Human Development Index (IDHM)2 is 0.740 (IBGE, 2010). Partner of the city in this project, Danish
company, Novozymes A/S, produces more than half of the world’s industrial enzymes. It is recognized
for launching biological and clean solutions that substitute traditional chemistry.
7 IMPLANTATION
Araucária, at the time of the project’s implantation, presented 41 schools, from which 38 were
Primary Schools and Special Education schools, besides a centre for support, research, and further
education in Natural Sciences, Environmental Education, Arts, Physics and Chemistry, the Science
Club. There were 22 thousand students, from which twelve thousand were from Primary School. The
city counted on 2.4 thousand teachers, pedagogues, child attendants and administrative assistants
(ARAUCÁRIA, 2010). Basic Education Development Index (Ideb) in 5th and 8th grades, in 2009, was
4.8 and 4.0, respectively (INEP, 2009). It is interesting to mention that in that same year the passing
rate in the final years of Primary School was 78.6% (INEP, 2009).
In 2010, the project involved the following municipal schools: Escola Municipal Elvira
Buschmann, E.M. Juscelino Kubitschek, E.M. Nadir Nepomuceno Alves Pinto, E.M Irmã Elizabeth
Werka, E.M. João Sperandio, E.M. Prefeito Aleixo Grebos, and E.M. Rosa Picheth. In 2011, five new
schools joined in, and the participants were: E.M. Prefeito Aleixo Grebos, E.M. Senador Marcos Freire,
E.M. Deputado João Leopoldo Jacomel, E.M. Ibraim Antônio Mansur, E.M. Irmã Elisabeth Werka,
E.M. Prof.ª Elvira de França Buschmann, E.M. Papa Paulo VI, and E.M. Jardim Fonte Nova. With the
exception that part of the schools joining in 2010 did not take part in 2011, total education institutions
participating was twelve.
Teacher training demanded four stages. The first was on April 19, 2010, with a formal
presentation of the programme, and the others – continuing professional education courses strictly
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speaking – were held on May 17, 24, and 31. The first and most complex stage involved twelve
teachers and pedagogues. In May 17, the content was revised in two shifts of theoretical and practical
activities. On May 24, biotechnology applied to daily use was examined, and on May 31, class plans
were prepared.
7.1 PUTTING CONTENT INTO USE IN THE CLASSROOM
Content revised with the students consisted, firstly, on the historical aspect of Biotechnology,
used since ancient times in the production of bread and fermented beverages. Techniques and modern
materials that improve already existing industrial processes and that make it possible to produce
medicine and food were discussed. Use of enzymes, which are biodegradable proteins capable of
turning industrial production more efficient, cleaner, and more economic, was emphasised.
As foreseen, classes on the following topics were taught: Enzymes – promotion of catalysing
action, use in medicine, in food and pharmaceutical industries; Bread making – fermentation; Wine
production – fermentation; Composting – action of decomposers; Ethanol production – biofuels;
Bioremediators – microorganisms or enzymes used for degrading pollutants; Food conservation preservatives, acidifiers; Biotechnology in health.
According to the proposal, expenses with teaching material should be minimal, due to the
evident unfavourable budgetary situation in schools. Thus, inventiveness surfaced in the substitution of
teaching material. Popsicle sticks, dishes, plastic cups and bottles, adhesive tapes, PVC tubes,
aluminium foil, party balloons, and other materials served as props for classwork. With the ingredients,
improvisation was repeated: jelly, stock, antibiotics, wheat flour, and everything that was possible for
reducing costs without undermining the learning experience. Substances and more complex or
sophisticated equipment, which the schools already had and were supplied by Novozymes, were used.
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In the project’s third year, more detailed class plans emerged, with a wider bibliographical
volume. In Class Plan 1, taught by Cleber Alexandre da Silva (four 7th grade classes of E.M. Ibraim
Mansur), for example, bibliography brought nine different website links and seven books. Similar
bibliographical volume served as basis for Class Plan 1 taught by Fernando Tavares and Thaís Jannuzzi
Chaves (two 6th grade classes of E.M. Jardim Fonte Nova). While the teacher Cleber da Silva aimed to
“prove the speed of bacteria reproduction in our day-to-day”, “reveal the level of efficiency in
mouthwashes and antibiotics” and to “develop students’ investigative sense” (SILVA, 2011, p.1),
teacher Maricler Weber (four seventh grades of the same school) focused on “investigating chemical
digestion carried out by enzymes” and on making students “understand the enzyme’s function”
(WEBER, 2011, p.1). Teacher Rita de Cácia Lourenço da Silva (two 6th grade classes of E.M. Deputado
João Leopoldo Jacomel) aimed to “raise awareness on the presence of bacteria in our body and in our
surrounding environment”. Her class observed “bacteria action in the milk”, “fermentation action in
bread production” and the “presence of carbon dioxide” (verbal information)3, using theoretical
expositions, slide and video presentations, yogurt degustation, and other means. In the classes taught by
Rita de Cácia, for example, a gradual passage from theory to practice was noted. Her class went from
presenting the topic through multimedia resources, going through discussion and preparation of reports
up to the conclusion, when students presented their experiments.
In 2011, Novozymes introduced a student-oriented booklet, which presented, in a light and
playful manner, the history of biological technique, its improvements and benefits.
In October 2010, as well as in October and November 2011, Science shows were organised in
each school, with presentation of works and prizes, besides selection of the best ideas for the Science
Fair. In total, approximately 1.2 thousand students took part in the shows.
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8 CONCLUSION
By managing to involve twelve schools and approximately 1.5 thousand students, the project
obtained an adherence from slightly more than 63% of the establishments within school level in which
action was proposed. Therefore, it was considered a satisfactory success in relation to the initial
objective of promoting knowledge on sustainable industrial biotechnology at municipal schools in the
City of Araucária, arousing keenness on Science and interest for clean and efficient productive
processes. Professionals working in the market successfully transmit state-of-the-art scientific
knowledge in the biotechnology field to students of Primary School. Such action resulted in quality
improvements to government-owned schools in Brazil, with regards to sustainable sciences. Although
indirectly, the project also contributed to the reduction of social inequalities, since, through education,
new horizons were opened in the lives of hundreds of these young students.
Statements made by teachers, pedagogues, and directors involved in the projects confirmed the
success of the action. In 2012, the principal of Primary Education Department, Arlete do Rocio Lopes,
stated, after concluding the programme proposed, that “[...] if the participating school were questioned,
they certainly would say that the partnership with Novozymes was of actual support, education,
assistance, and result. [...] changes in teacher’s practices consequently change the student’s behaviour
(verbal information)5.
For pedagogue Ida Hammerschmitt, from the Unit of Pedagogical Actions of the Primary
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School Department, “[...] conduct of research and investigation by the teacher also instigates the
student.
This is a learning experience for life and it is not only for biotechnology”, (verbal information)6.
Cleber Alexandre da Silva, Science teacher at EM Marcos Freire, stated that “[...] many things
for me still were only theory when I left university. To live this out through the project was a
differential”, (verbal information)7.
In 2011, the secretary of Araucária’s city department of education, Maria José Basso de Paula
Lima Dietrich, stated the following regarding the project:
Partnership brought a qualitative differential for the teaching and learning processes for
teachers and students of our city, offering access to an innovating technical knowledge for
sustainable development for future generations. [...] We achieved one of the project’s big
objectives which is to stimulate students to acquire taste for Science, as well as to promote
teachers’ access to scientific progress and research, to teach their students how important the
investigative and experiment process is in the Science subject (verbal information)8.
Mayor of Araucária at that time, Albanor José Ferreira Gomes, also spoke and assessed that:
[...] we are re-planning and re-forwarding education with the purpose of promoting the
participation of all schools and teachers, in order to fully meet and benefit the city’s network.
Partnership [...] contributed to the increase in local population’s awareness on its responsibility
before the environment and, particularly, regarding the new generations that find themselves
studying in our schools (verbal information)9.
8.1 MEASURING RESULTS
To measure the results obtained until the end of 2010, SMED decided to apply an evaluation
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project, in questionnaire form to the 38 participating professionals: teachers, principals, pedagogues,
and Novozymes technicians. Twenty-three filled out the evaluation forms, from which all were school
professionals. The research surveyed satisfaction level in several queries, which were: the courses’
incentive in education for reflecting on Biotechnology; hour load for development of practices; content
effectiveness; observation of the students’ conscientious attitudes regarding natural and
biotechnological resources; students’ level of interest; participation and support to teachers and
pedagogues for improving practices; follow-up by SMED and, lastly, supply of teaching material.
Alternatives to the response consisted in “fully fulfilled”, “partially fulfilled” or “unfulfilled”.
However, besides the eight queries in 2010, the project’s evaluation form in 2011 brought a ninth item:
"In relation to the year 2010, the project reformulated in 2011 fulfilled better the expectations and
requests".4 While, in 2010, one of the categories of respondents was excluded and the opinion of those
remaining was requested, in 2011, the question dealt with all professionals in a general manner.
Notwithstanding methodological discrepancy of the two samples, satisfaction indexes varied from 61%
to 83%, with relevant performance evolution between 2010 and 2011, as shown on Graph 1:
Graph 1 – Variation in the projects approvals between the two evaluations, based
on the average of countless queries surveyed (%).
90
83
82
80
70
74
61
66
71
60
50
2010
40
2011
30
20
10
0
Teachers
Pedagogues
Principals
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Source: Araucária City Department of Education. Araucária: 2011
As a development from Projeto Biotecnologia para a Sustentabilidade vai à Escola, such
project was then implanted in secondary schools of SESI – Serviço Social da Indústria (Brazilian
Industrial Social Services), largest private school network of Paraná. This phase of project is being
carried out and shall be assessed at the proper time.
NOTES
1
Provided by Professor Carlos Lenz Cesar, professor of Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Campinas
state university), Unicamp, in Campinas, March 2015.
2
The index ranges from 0 to 1. The closer to 1, the higher human development is.
3
SILVA, Rita de Cácia Lourenço. Interview given to Fabio Riesemberg. Araucária, June 7, 2011.
4
Schools participating in 2010 and 2011 were not strictly the same. Some respondents, upon filling out
the forms, accumulated duties, sometimes of principal, pedagogue and teacher, and sometimes of
teacher and pedagogue as well. Thus, they marked the research, identifying themselves with more
than one duty. Upon data tabbing, each accumulated duty was considered as an individual respondent.
There
was a case in which although principal, pedagogue and teacher were different people, they
responded using a single unanimous form, as if they were only one respondent and the score was
multiplied by three. In 2010, the evaluation had 23 respondents and the evaluation form did not bring
multiple choices to identify the duty of who was filling it out. In 2011, the form brought multiple
choices to identify the duty of the respondents, which may have induced them to mark more than one
duty simultaneously. In one way or another, respondents’ total was considered to have been eighteen
in 2011 (six principals, six pedagogues, and six teachers). However, a true comparison between the
two evaluations would be technically unfeasible.
5
LOPES, Arlete do Rocio. Interview given to Fabio Riesemberg. Araucária, March 8, 2012.
6
HAMMERSCHMITT, Ida. Interview given to Fabio Riesemberg. Araucária, March 8, 2012.
7
SILVA, Cleber Alexandre. Interview given to Fabio Riesemberg. Araucária, March 8, 2012.
8
DIETRICH, Maria José Basso de Paula Lima. Interview given to Fabio Riesemberg. Araucária, June
15, 2011.
15
9
GOMES, Albanor José Ferreira. Interview given to Fabio Riesemberg. Araucária, June 15, 2011.
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