This study aims to analyze how pre-service informatics teachers design learning scenarios with robotics to teach programming fundamentals and to promote computational thinking skills. A descriptive and exploratory case study design was implemented with 26 pre-service informatics teachers. Data were collected from the participants using qualitative and quantitative instruments. The main results pointed out the affordances and possibilities of the use of learning scenarios with robotics to teach programming fundamentals and to promote computational thinking skills as well as a strong path to promote the application of contents of the other Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) areas. Another significant finding was the impact of the didactic experience on the level of interest and self-confidence of the pre-service teachers in using robotics for teaching purposes. The results showed the importance of these didactics experiences to the pre-service teachers preparation and to apply the pedagogic approaches they have learned in theory in practical activities and to transfer this knowledge to new pedagogical situations and problems.
In the last few years, it has been pointed out that teaching programming is a strong strategy to develop pupils’ competences in computational thinking (CT). In the Portuguese context, the curriculum changes in 2018 made programming and CT compulsory for every pupil in primary and secondary education. Nowadays, there is an information and communication technology (ICT) subject, taught by a computer science teacher in each school grade. In Portugal, to become a computer science teacher in primary and secondary education, it is compulsory to have a master’s degree in computer science education. This article reports on a pedagogical activity developed with student-teachers of a Master in Teaching Informatics at the University of Lisbon. Within the activities of the master’s program, we developed a cross-analysis of the core characteristics of 26 block-based and visual programming applications (apps) used to teach computational thinking and programming in school classes. In order to organize the analysis, a framework with several dimensions was developed and used by student-teachers to register the characteristics of each app. The product of this work is a comparative matrix mapping the core characteristics of each of the 26 apps that student-teachers used to select the most appropriate one for teaching programming and computational thinking according to each grade, age group and other characteristics.
This study aims to contribute to understanding of the state of the art regarding the pedagogical cultures associated with teaching and learning research methods in advanced studies education through the identification of trends and pitfalls. The rationale behind this objective is the recognition that most of the research in education comes from academic programmes, in particular master’s and doctoral programmes, which generally include research methods as components. A systematic literature review was adopted as the research methodology, following the PRISMA model. Three stages of article selection were implemented, resulting in the selection of 68 studies out of an initial set of 3631 articles found in the main journal databases. Three specific dimensions were addressed: (i) methodological knowledge, (ii) research competencies, and (iii) pedagogical practices in teaching research methods in education programmes. The results illustrate the complexity of the subject. Learners are constantly reported to hold negative attitudes towards research methods courses, apparently due to instructors’ pedagogical difficulties, which translate into restricted understandings of methodological knowledge. Several misunderstandings between learners and teachers are identified which call for action towards the construction of a research-based scientific culture that will lead to inclusive pedagogical practices in which teachers and learners act as researchers.
O presente artigo relata o processo de validação de uma escala de frequência na utilização das tecnologias digitais pelos diretores de escolas Portuguesas nas suas práticas profissionais. A escala em causa foi desenvolvida, pelos autores e previamente validada junto de 3 especialistas em gestão e administração escolar, e posteriormente aplicada à amostra constituída por 133 diretores de escolas do ensino básico e secundário português. A qualidade métrica da escala foi avaliada pela análise de três indicadores: (i) a sensibilidade dos itens através do cálculo dos valores da assimetria e da curtose, (ii) a validade recorrendo à análise fatorial exploratória com rotação varimax, e (iii) a consistência interna através do cálculo do alpha de Cronbach. Os resultados são reveladores de boa qualidade métrica da escala, o que poderá permitir a sua utilização com um grau de confiança favorável.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.