The primary purposes of this study are to investigate the opinions and conceptions of primary education teachers undergoing initial training on active methodologies and to evaluate a training program that uses these methodologies with a particular focus on the teaching of Social Sciences. To this end, a mixed methodology has been employed, using an initial questionnaire and a focus group as research instruments. Following the data analysis, the results show a favorable assessment of these active methodologies. There were some gender differences, as women assigned greater value than men to the active strategies, resources, and evaluation approaches and were more focused on competency-based learning. Another result highlighted the suitability of using service-learning or inquiry methodology to teach Social Sciences. The authors conclude that improving the training program developed is necessary, offering more connections with practice and expanding initial teacher training in active methods.
Introduction: Gamification consists of the application of game elements and mechanics in non-game contexts, such as education. The elements that can be included in a gamification strategy are very varied, from the design of characters and virtual worlds to the use of rewards and challenges.
Aim: To analyze the implementation of a gamification strategy in the Master's Degree in Teacher Training.
Methods: A case-control study was conducted. The sample consisted of 84 students who were divided into two groups: an experimental group, which received the gamification intervention, and a control group that did not receive any intervention. To evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention, student retention and knowledge acquisition were measured through the implementation of an assessment tool.
Results: It was observed that the mean retention of participants between each session was similar in this group. This suggests that the length of the session itself did not have a significant impact on content retention. An increase in the number of interactions made in the chat between participants was observed, suggesting increased engagement and participation in the learning process. This increase in viewing time and student participation can be attributed to the implementation of the gamification methodology, which uses playful elements to motivate and maintain participants' interest in the learning process.
Conclusions: The implementation of a gamification strategy in distance and online learning was an effective tool to improve student retention and knowledge acquisition.
This study presents research conducted with a group of five students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) aged between 3 and 7 years, attending a regular school and receiving support from Therapeutic Pedagogy and Hearing and Language. The students participated in a social skills training program that used 360-degree videos to simulate different social situations, such as celebrating birthdays or going on an excursion. The videos were selected to teach the students how to interact in specific social situations, while also showing them how to interpret the emotions of the characters. The study was carried out in a controlled environment to expose the students to previously planned situations. A program was developed consisting of four sessions that addressed different activities to train the social skills of the students, with the main objective being to evaluate the effects of the 360-degree videos on the development of social skills of students with ASD. To check the effectiveness of the visual content, an observation instrument based on a series of pre-established categories of social skills was used. This instrument was applied after each session, allowing the evolution of the program to be evidenced.
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