THE USE OF BICYCLES IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION: A PROPOSAL FOR REFLECTION ON PRACTICE

Abstract

In his famous book “Pedagoy of Autonomy”, Paulo Freire highlights that teaching requires creating opportunities for students to construct their own knowledge, contrasting with traditional approaches based on the uncritical transmission of information. Grounded in this perspective, this experience report presents the organization of a Physical Education lesson through a cycling activity (“pedal”), which aimed to visit and critically analyze local tourist sites in the municipality of Magé (RJ). The initiative involved approximately 80 ninth-grade students, along with the school’s management team and teachers, and included visits to Poço Bento and Pier da Piedade. The activity encouraged students to (re)discover and evaluate these sites, identifying strengths and weaknesses, while also fostering reflection on the use of bicycles in daily life and in educational contexts. Preliminary results suggest that the incorporation of cycling provided an alternative approach to Physical Education, with the potential to expand students’ critical awareness and promotes dialogical learning consistent with Freirean perspective/principles.