Bird sightings and bioinformatic analysis in rural settings with students from the educational institution Ferralarada in Choachí (Colombia)

Abstract

Aim: The execution of this proposal has two main aim: 1. Perform bird watching in rural settings; with primary school students, using drawing as a descriptive tool. 2. Develop a simple methodology to perform a rapid bioinformatic analysis, using the parsimony criterion. Materials and methods: This work was developed with the educational community of the Institución Educativa Departamental Técnica Agropecuaria Ferralarada; located in the municipality of Choachí, Colombia. In response to the need to continue the pedagogical processes of the institution in environmental matters and to the current challenges of education presented by the health emergency of COVID-19. A series of experimental activities were carried out, arising from birds as a motivational element. Results. The activities carried out by the primary school teachers regarding the sightings have generated drawing and written records, which express the representations that students have of their natural environment. A phylogenetic tree was built based on the parsimony criterion using sequences of the CO1 gene extracted from Genbank, and analyzed with the ClustalX, Nona and Asado programs. Conclusion: The activities carried out in connection with the sightings have turned out to be viable and easy to develop with the educational community. The bioinformatics proposal is configured as a simple analysis tool with procedural validity, however, it requires conceptual advances in the management of programs and platforms, as well as the availability of technological resources for its implementation.