Between Bars and Experiences: An Autoethnography on the Use of Artistic Gymnastics in Elementary Education

Abstract

This article presents a teaching autoethnography focused on the personal and professional trajectory of a Physical Education teacher who began his training through sports and later redirected his path after joining the first cohort of the Pedagogical Residency Program – CAPES, in the Physical Education course. The main objective is to analyze and discuss, through autoethnography, the process of designing, implementing, and evaluating a pedagogical sequence on Artistic Gymnastics, using the Maguerez Arch as a methodological framework, developed with 5th-grade classes of elementary school – early years – in a municipal public school. This teaching sequence was systematized based on the contents and skills proposed by the Curricula Paulista. Thus, the teacher-researcher revisits his experiences, prior lesson plans, challenges, and strategies in pursuit of meaningful learning. As a result, reflections are presented on the contrast between the idealized teaching scenario and the one that was actually possible and implemented. Based on the pedagogical practice analyzed within the autoethnographic process, both the technical aspects of the intervention and the subjective and contextual elements involved in the teaching-learning process are highlighted.