**5. Model of instruction for twenty-first century pedagogical design**

be improved. The group suggested that each instructional activity in the framework should have a clear objective. Members of the group provided ideas on what should be the objective for each instructional activity in the framework. The research assistant was writing down the ideas presented. The session lasted for two and half hours. The transcribed data generated were sorted out, interpreted and coded into themes by the researcher after the session. The third interview session focuses on generating ideas on what kind of technology to be used for each instructional activity in the framework and how the framework can be tested. The session lasted for 2 hours. The fourth focus group interview session also scheduled a week thereafter lasted for 2 hours. The objectives of the last focus group interview was to generate ideas that can help the researcher in designing and developing an observation checklist and an interview protocol to be used for data collection during and after the testing period. The data collected during the third and fourth focus group interview sessions were also transcribed, sorted, interpreted and coded into themes. Thus, the ASSIM Model presented in the next section was developed from the ideas generated during the focus group interview sessions. The ASSIM Model was tested for a period of 3 years—2014, 2015 and 2016—by faculty members. It was used in teacher education instructional delivery in the Arts and Social Sciences in four Colleges of Education. One week workshop on how to use the model was organised for the faculty members (in the department of Arts and Social Sciences Education) that tested the model in pre-service teacher training. Thirty-four faculty members attended the training workshop; 8 of the 34 faculty members who attended the training workshop adopt the use of the model for instructional delivery in their teaching. The pre-service teachers who participated in the testing of the model were randomly selected. Observation checklist and interview protocol earlier developed from the data generated during the focus group interview sessions explained above were used in collecting data during and after the testing period. The observation checklist was used during the testing period to observe how faculty members apply and use the ASSIM model in their instructional delivery. The observation checklist was also used after the testing period to observe how pre-service teachers apply and use the ASSIM model during their 1-year teaching practice assessment period. The interview protocol was used in collecting additional data from the participating pre-service teachers at the end of the testing period. Eight (8) pre-service teachers were randomly selected for the interview. Four of the pre-service teachers (two males and two females) were selected from the Department of Arts Education. The other four of the pre-service teachers (two males and two females) were selected from the Department of Social Science Education. The transcribed data collected from the observations checklist were sorted, interpreted and coded into themes. The orally recorded data collected from the interviews were transcribed, sorted, interpreted and coded into themes. Based on the interpretation of the researcher, findings from the data collected and analysed show that the use of the ASSIM instructional model in pre-service teacher training facilitates: 1. development of inquiry skills; 2. development of critical thinking skills; 3. development of problem-solving skills and 4. the use of information technology in teaching among the pre-service teachers who participated in this study during their teaching practice. The researcher considered the four items listed above as the emerging themes of the study to be presented and discussed in detail as findings of the study

32 Advanced Learning and Teaching Environments - Innovation, Contents and Methods

in Section 6 of this article.

The presence of information technology in our institutions of learning has transformed educational practices in its totality. Education in general is now geared toward preparing the learner for global citizenship [35]. To achieve this, the education industry is now directing its effort toward the development of life-long learning skills [36], critical thinking skills and reasoning [37, 38], skills of informed decision-making and problem-solving skills [39]. The Arts and Social Sciences Instructional Model (ASSIM) presented in **Figure 1** is designed to facilitate the design and development of twenty-first century pedagogy that caters for the changing role of the teacher, the learner, the learning environment and the use of information technology in the teaching-learning process.

The ASSIM model of instruction presented in **Figure 1** is suitable for twenty-first century teaching-learning environment that is technology-driven as influenced by the philosophy

**Figure 1.** Arts and Social Science Instructional Model (ASSIM) for twenty-first century teaching-learning environment.

of globalisation. The model entails the blending of variety of teaching methods with the use of technology in a single pedagogical design for the teaching and learning of Arts and Social Sciences subject content in the twenty-first century teaching-learning environment. The model limits the role of the teacher to that of a facilitator in the teaching-learning process and promotes students' web-based inquiry, critical thinking, collaboration and team work in accessing and managing information to construe knowledge. Learning using the pedagogical design as presented in the ASSIM model would be learner centred and activity oriented using technology. Design of the model is influenced by the TPACK theory and the GPM instructional model.

methods as well as questioning technique. The presentation can be supported with the use of video clips, projected images and powerpoint slides. The presentation should not be aimed at explaining concepts, theories or procedures, rather a presentation of facts that depicts issues and problems in real-life situation related the learning content in view. At the end of the presentation, learners should be able to see real-life issues and problems that need to be addressed. The teacher should be skilful in his presentation to guide learners in understanding that there is the need for further investigation of the issues and problems presented if lasting solutions are to be suggested. Learners should understand from such presentations that critical thinking, inquiry and use of knowledge are the basis of decision-making for problem solving. At the end of this stage, therefore, learners should be able to identify real-life issues and problems requiring attention as relate to the course learning content. Thus, this stage is evaluated by the ability of learners to picture and identify issues and problems for further investigation. Once this is achieved, the teacher can proceed to the next step in the instruc-

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This activity is learner-centred and web-based. Now that learners were able to identify issues and problems, the teacher should give the learners some time to explore the web for information that can help them understand further the nature of the issues and problems identified. This should be done in the classroom and students can work individually or in groups depending on the size of the class and as may be agreed upon by both the teachers

This activity should end with an interactive session or discussion under the guidance of the

This step is still a learner's interactive session under the guidance of the teacher. Learners are to decide on what they want to do in addressing the issue or problem they have chosen to

**1.** develop basic assumptions, raise research questions and hypotheses if applicable;

teacher. During the interactive/discussion session, learners should be guided to:

**3.** arrange the problems in their order of importance based on their magnitude;

**4.** decide on which issue or problem to work on as a project of the week.

**2.** decide on how and where to collect data or materials for the project;

**3.** decide on what to do with the data or materials collected for the project;

work on as a project. Learners at this stage should be able to:

tional delivery process that is 'preliminary web exploration'.

**1.** define the issues and problems identified;

**2.** establish the scope of each problem identified;

and the learners.

Step 3. Project definition.

**4.** share responsibilities and

**5.** set rules of participation in the project.

Step 2. The preliminary web exploration (hands-on-technology).

### **6. Operational use of the model and its instructional benefits**

#### **6.1. The pre-instructional activity**

As suggested in the model, teaching and learning in the Arts and Social Sciences should start with 'Pre-instructional Activity'. At this stage, the teacher should upload the summary of learning activities for the week in the student learning portal or the course website as may be applicable. In the absence of students learning portal or course website, email or alternative online means of communication can be used. The information to be uploaded or communicated to students prior to the commencement of face-to-face classroom interaction should consist of:


The pre-instructional activity aims at helping the learner to have a picture of the overall goal of the course in view; and in particular, the learning objectives to be achieved on weekly basis and per learning content. The list of relevant concept and theories; web links for relevant learning content provided and the pre-instructional task to be completed would help the learner to utilise the web on his own to explore information that can help him/her (the learner) to have preliminary general understanding of the course and the learning activity for the week.

#### **6.2. The face-to-face instructional delivery process**

Step 1. Presentation of learning content as a problem to be investigated.

This is a teacher-centred face-to-face classroom activity. The teacher at this stage should make a short presentation of the learning content combining the use of lecture and demonstration methods as well as questioning technique. The presentation can be supported with the use of video clips, projected images and powerpoint slides. The presentation should not be aimed at explaining concepts, theories or procedures, rather a presentation of facts that depicts issues and problems in real-life situation related the learning content in view. At the end of the presentation, learners should be able to see real-life issues and problems that need to be addressed. The teacher should be skilful in his presentation to guide learners in understanding that there is the need for further investigation of the issues and problems presented if lasting solutions are to be suggested. Learners should understand from such presentations that critical thinking, inquiry and use of knowledge are the basis of decision-making for problem solving. At the end of this stage, therefore, learners should be able to identify real-life issues and problems requiring attention as relate to the course learning content. Thus, this stage is evaluated by the ability of learners to picture and identify issues and problems for further investigation. Once this is achieved, the teacher can proceed to the next step in the instructional delivery process that is 'preliminary web exploration'.

Step 2. The preliminary web exploration (hands-on-technology).

This activity is learner-centred and web-based. Now that learners were able to identify issues and problems, the teacher should give the learners some time to explore the web for information that can help them understand further the nature of the issues and problems identified. This should be done in the classroom and students can work individually or in groups depending on the size of the class and as may be agreed upon by both the teachers and the learners.

This activity should end with an interactive session or discussion under the guidance of the teacher. During the interactive/discussion session, learners should be guided to:


#### Step 3. Project definition.

of globalisation. The model entails the blending of variety of teaching methods with the use of technology in a single pedagogical design for the teaching and learning of Arts and Social Sciences subject content in the twenty-first century teaching-learning environment. The model limits the role of the teacher to that of a facilitator in the teaching-learning process and promotes students' web-based inquiry, critical thinking, collaboration and team work in accessing and managing information to construe knowledge. Learning using the pedagogical design as presented in the ASSIM model would be learner centred and activity oriented using technology. Design of the model is influenced by the TPACK theory and the GPM

As suggested in the model, teaching and learning in the Arts and Social Sciences should start with 'Pre-instructional Activity'. At this stage, the teacher should upload the summary of learning activities for the week in the student learning portal or the course website as may be applicable. In the absence of students learning portal or course website, email or alternative online means of communication can be used. The information to be uploaded or communicated to students prior to the commencement of face-to-face classroom interaction should consist of:

**6.** The pre-instructional task to be completed before the commencement of the face-to-face

The pre-instructional activity aims at helping the learner to have a picture of the overall goal of the course in view; and in particular, the learning objectives to be achieved on weekly basis and per learning content. The list of relevant concept and theories; web links for relevant learning content provided and the pre-instructional task to be completed would help the learner to utilise the web on his own to explore information that can help him/her (the learner) to have preliminary general understanding of the course and the learning activity for the week.

This is a teacher-centred face-to-face classroom activity. The teacher at this stage should make a short presentation of the learning content combining the use of lecture and demonstration

**6. Operational use of the model and its instructional benefits**

**1.** Summary of the course content to be covered for the week.

34 Advanced Learning and Teaching Environments - Innovation, Contents and Methods

**2.** Learning activities scheduled for the week.

**5.** List of web links for student's exploration.

**6.2. The face-to-face instructional delivery process**

Step 1. Presentation of learning content as a problem to be investigated.

**4.** List of relevant concepts and theories.

classroom interaction.

**3.** The learning objectives to be achieved for the week.

instructional model.

**6.1. The pre-instructional activity**

This step is still a learner's interactive session under the guidance of the teacher. Learners are to decide on what they want to do in addressing the issue or problem they have chosen to work on as a project. Learners at this stage should be able to:


#### Step 4. The action plan.

Learners at this stage are to breakdown their project work into units of activities and set timeline. They are also to decide on how many times the group members are to meet (face to face or online) as they may prefer.

much information that you get confused of which information to click and read. One of the interviewees reported that, 'when I realised that most of us have this problem of not knowing how to handle the result of our web search result in the classroom. I seek for help on my Facebook page and my friends on Facebook responded with lots of ideas and web links to articles that can help me with the skills of web search and data screening. The next day I share with the rest of the class members'. Another interviewee said 'this activity help us to have a more informed and wider view of the issues under investigation. It helps us to look at issues

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The use of the ASSIM model helps the pre-service teachers involved in the study to acquire the skills of building basic assumptions to guide research project. 'The information we gather during the preliminary web exploration help us build assumptions and we use such assumptions as guide for our literature review' said one of the interviewees. Analysis of the observation checklist shows that pre-service teachers were able to build basic assumptions and develop research questions and possible hypotheses from the assumptions. It was also observed that participants in the study (pre-service teachers) have acquired the skills of using the basic assumptions they have developed as a guide for their literature review. Analysis of the observation checklist also indicated that the pre-service teachers involved in this study have learnt to use different methods of data collection for their project and have learnt different methods of analysing their data. 'Sometimes we use the Facebook for data collection. It is very effective and very fast way

The use of the ASSIM model helps to improve the critical thinking skills of the pre-service teachers involved in the study. Critical thinking is the objective, rational and unbiased analysis of situations or information to build factual evidence as a base for decision making and problem solving. It is a rational reasoning and reflection over information or situations. It is generally described as the ability to think clearly and rationally about what to do or what to believe [39]. It is a complex mental process that requires one to identify, construct and evaluate arguments; understand the importance and relevance of ideas and the logical connections between ideas presented as information, as well as to reflect on the justification of one's belief and values [40]. A critical thinker is any person with the ability to source and use information (knowledge) for problem solving and is able to deduce consequences from what he has known [41]. Critical thinking in educational practices is a mental process of rational reasoning and reflection that

**a.** *Seeking Information*: meaning the ability to search for evidence, facts and knowledge. Based on the analysis of the observations made during the study, it was noted that the use of the ASSIM model has helped to improve the participants' skills of searching for information both online and offline. Engagement of the pre-service teachers in the preliminary web exploration activity in the ASSIM instructional design was particularly instrumental for the observed improvement in the skills for online information search. The pre-service teachers who participated in the study were also engaged in the process of data collection offline

more from a global perspective'.

of getting feedback' said one of the interviewees.

**7.2. Development of critical thinking skills**

requires certain skills as listed below:

Step 5. The project development.

This is an out of class learner's activity. The teacher has little or no role at this stage. Learners are to work on their project based on their action plan. The activity may involve data collection and analysis to answer research questions or test hypothesis depending on what they wanted to do.

### **6.3. Knowledge development**

This is the second stage of the instructional delivery process where learners individually or in group present their findings. Learners are to critically examine their findings and suggest how it can be applied as knowledge. This may involve developing a model or building a knowledge-based procedure for addressing the issue they were investigating.

#### **6.4. Application of knowledge, problem solving and decision making**

Learners at this stage are to work on how to apply the knowledge construed/developed practically (pilot-testing) in addressing the issue under investigation. Learners are also to decide on what is needed in applying their solutions. It is at this stage that learners should develop and write their project report for submission to the teacher. The report should have a problem statement, objectives, methodology and solutions.

### **7. Findings of the study**

#### **7.1. Development of inquiry skills**

Findings from this study show that the use of the ASSIM model in pre-service teachers training instructional delivery helps in developing skills of inquiry among the pre-service teachers. Continuous engagement of the pre-service teachers in preliminary web exploration during the second stage of the face-to-face instructional delivery process helps them to acquire and master the skills of web search. One of the interviewees reported that 'I was having difficulty with this activity at the initial stage but with the help of my friends in the class and constant practice; I have now mastered how to use keywords in different ways to search for the information I need on the web'. 'The web exploration activity in the classroom has helped me to understand the importance of the internet as a source of information. Instead of asking people for information now I prefer to Google' said another interviewee. Exposing the preservice teachers to the web exploration activity has also helped them to acquire the skills of screening and sorting out online information. Data collected from the interview shows that most of the interviewees indicated that the result of a single search gives you an option of so much information that you get confused of which information to click and read. One of the interviewees reported that, 'when I realised that most of us have this problem of not knowing how to handle the result of our web search result in the classroom. I seek for help on my Facebook page and my friends on Facebook responded with lots of ideas and web links to articles that can help me with the skills of web search and data screening. The next day I share with the rest of the class members'. Another interviewee said 'this activity help us to have a more informed and wider view of the issues under investigation. It helps us to look at issues more from a global perspective'.

The use of the ASSIM model helps the pre-service teachers involved in the study to acquire the skills of building basic assumptions to guide research project. 'The information we gather during the preliminary web exploration help us build assumptions and we use such assumptions as guide for our literature review' said one of the interviewees. Analysis of the observation checklist shows that pre-service teachers were able to build basic assumptions and develop research questions and possible hypotheses from the assumptions. It was also observed that participants in the study (pre-service teachers) have acquired the skills of using the basic assumptions they have developed as a guide for their literature review. Analysis of the observation checklist also indicated that the pre-service teachers involved in this study have learnt to use different methods of data collection for their project and have learnt different methods of analysing their data. 'Sometimes we use the Facebook for data collection. It is very effective and very fast way of getting feedback' said one of the interviewees.

#### **7.2. Development of critical thinking skills**

Step 4. The action plan.

wanted to do.

or online) as they may prefer.

**6.3. Knowledge development**

**7. Findings of the study**

**7.1. Development of inquiry skills**

Step 5. The project development.

Learners at this stage are to breakdown their project work into units of activities and set timeline. They are also to decide on how many times the group members are to meet (face to face

This is an out of class learner's activity. The teacher has little or no role at this stage. Learners are to work on their project based on their action plan. The activity may involve data collection and analysis to answer research questions or test hypothesis depending on what they

This is the second stage of the instructional delivery process where learners individually or in group present their findings. Learners are to critically examine their findings and suggest how it can be applied as knowledge. This may involve developing a model or building a

Learners at this stage are to work on how to apply the knowledge construed/developed practically (pilot-testing) in addressing the issue under investigation. Learners are also to decide on what is needed in applying their solutions. It is at this stage that learners should develop and write their project report for submission to the teacher. The report should have a problem

Findings from this study show that the use of the ASSIM model in pre-service teachers training instructional delivery helps in developing skills of inquiry among the pre-service teachers. Continuous engagement of the pre-service teachers in preliminary web exploration during the second stage of the face-to-face instructional delivery process helps them to acquire and master the skills of web search. One of the interviewees reported that 'I was having difficulty with this activity at the initial stage but with the help of my friends in the class and constant practice; I have now mastered how to use keywords in different ways to search for the information I need on the web'. 'The web exploration activity in the classroom has helped me to understand the importance of the internet as a source of information. Instead of asking people for information now I prefer to Google' said another interviewee. Exposing the preservice teachers to the web exploration activity has also helped them to acquire the skills of screening and sorting out online information. Data collected from the interview shows that most of the interviewees indicated that the result of a single search gives you an option of so

knowledge-based procedure for addressing the issue they were investigating.

**6.4. Application of knowledge, problem solving and decision making**

36 Advanced Learning and Teaching Environments - Innovation, Contents and Methods

statement, objectives, methodology and solutions.

The use of the ASSIM model helps to improve the critical thinking skills of the pre-service teachers involved in the study. Critical thinking is the objective, rational and unbiased analysis of situations or information to build factual evidence as a base for decision making and problem solving. It is a rational reasoning and reflection over information or situations. It is generally described as the ability to think clearly and rationally about what to do or what to believe [39]. It is a complex mental process that requires one to identify, construct and evaluate arguments; understand the importance and relevance of ideas and the logical connections between ideas presented as information, as well as to reflect on the justification of one's belief and values [40]. A critical thinker is any person with the ability to source and use information (knowledge) for problem solving and is able to deduce consequences from what he has known [41]. Critical thinking in educational practices is a mental process of rational reasoning and reflection that requires certain skills as listed below:

**a.** *Seeking Information*: meaning the ability to search for evidence, facts and knowledge. Based on the analysis of the observations made during the study, it was noted that the use of the ASSIM model has helped to improve the participants' skills of searching for information both online and offline. Engagement of the pre-service teachers in the preliminary web exploration activity in the ASSIM instructional design was particularly instrumental for the observed improvement in the skills for online information search. The pre-service teachers who participated in the study were also engaged in the process of data collection offline using questionnaires, interview and observations for various learning projects. This activity has helped to improve their skills of offline data collection.

**f.** *Applying Standard*: the process of assessing and judging things, situations, issues and information based on established rules, theory or criteria. The use of the ASSIM model of instruction facilitates the development of this skill among the participants. The data collected from observation and interview in this study show that the pre-service teachers who participated in the study always employ the use of theoretical and conceptual frameworks. They have learnt to do this on their own. One of the interviewees said during an interview session that, 'after each preliminary web exploration we analyse and interprets what we jotted during our interactive session with the aim of understanding the nature and scope of the problem or issue under investigation. Once this is done we still go back to the web to search and find out if similar investigations were conducted before. It is during this process we learn about the use of operational models, conceptual and theoretical

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frameworks in research studies; and now we use them a lot whenever applicable'.

to explain their findings in such a way that it is understood by the general public.

to make inferences at the end of each project.

evidence-based predictions.

**h.** *Inference:* an ability to make meaning and draw conclusion that can be justified by evidence from an existing information or a situation [43]. The use of the ASSIM model has also helped participant in this study to acquire reasonable skills of making inferences. This is because the use of the ASSIM instructional model encourages the participants in the study to search and collect data for the purpose of building facts and evidence that they can use to address the issues they were working on as their project. They will always have

**i.** *Predicting:-* envisioning an outcome or a plan and it consequences. The preliminary web exploration activity in using the ASSIM model involves predicting. Participants in the study were engaged in making assumptions at the end of each preliminary web exploration activity. This has help to improve the participants' skills of making knowledge or

**j.** *Self-regulation:-* ability to assess your own thinking ability, determine your strength and weakness and the willingness to admit and accept responsibilities associated with your weakness [44]. It has to do with the ability and willingness to leave what you cannot do for others that can do better [45]. It also deals with the ability of an individual to

**g.** *Explanation*: ability to add clarity and perspective to information that can help others understand the meaning of the information. It is the ability of an individual to present information in a manner that the listener or target audience can easily understand. An ability to present complex information that is education related (or scientific knowledge) in a simple manner or words that an ordinary or an average person can understand [42]. The use of the ASSIM model promotes inquiry and project-based learning for problem solving. Learners would therefore have to interact with the wider community for data collection and to communicate their findings. These activities have made the participant learn the art and skills of explanation. The researcher observed that the participants in this study (preservice teachers) use a variety of methods in communicating their findings either to the college community or the wider society at the end of each project. Such methods include creating posters and flyers, Facebook page, organising public lecture and radio programs. Because of these activities, the participants have acquired reasonable skills of presentation


**f.** *Applying Standard*: the process of assessing and judging things, situations, issues and information based on established rules, theory or criteria. The use of the ASSIM model of instruction facilitates the development of this skill among the participants. The data collected from observation and interview in this study show that the pre-service teachers who participated in the study always employ the use of theoretical and conceptual frameworks. They have learnt to do this on their own. One of the interviewees said during an interview session that, 'after each preliminary web exploration we analyse and interprets what we jotted during our interactive session with the aim of understanding the nature and scope of the problem or issue under investigation. Once this is done we still go back to the web to search and find out if similar investigations were conducted before. It is during this process we learn about the use of operational models, conceptual and theoretical frameworks in research studies; and now we use them a lot whenever applicable'.

using questionnaires, interview and observations for various learning projects. This activ-

**b.** *Interpretation*: is the ability to understand given information and the ability to communicate the meaning of the information to others. It is a process of decoding and communicating information with clarity. Pre-service teachers involved in the study were engaged in interpreting the data they collected during the preliminary web exploration and the main data they have collected through questionnaire, interviews and observations for their learning project. Doing these activities over and over again for 3 years has helped them to

**c.** *Analysis*: breaking things (situations, information or objects) into components/segments in order to determine and understand their features, functionality and relationships. It is the ability to assemble bits of information together to determine the meaning of what the information represents (that is the ability of a person to identify the hidden meaning of information). It has to do with the ability to examine pieces of information, assemble them and make a meaning out of them*.* Anytime the pre-service teachers involved in this study collected data for their project, they have to analyse the data and make a meaning out of it in their attempt to answer the research questions they have raised earlier for their project. Performing this activity over time has made the participant skilful in the process of data analysis using both qualitative and quantitative approaches (statistical analysis for quantitative research designs and thematic analysis for qualitative research designs).

**d.** *Discriminating:* ability to identify differences and similarities between information, situations, issues and objects. It also has to do with the ability to rearrange things, situations, issues or objects in an orderly manner that makes a meaning based on a given principle. Participants in this study were engaged in this kind of activity regularly. The ASSIM model of instruction is an activity-oriented pedagogical approach for instructional delivery. One of such activities in the instructional design is the engagement of learners in the process of generating or collecting data for problem solving. Whenever data are collected, learners have to sort and group the data based on their similarities and differences and then rearrange them in an orderly manner that it can make a meaning related to the basic assumptions guiding the project at hand. As observed during the study, doing this activity has improved the participants' skills of discriminating data as a preliminary requirement

**e.** *Evaluation*: ability to assess the credibility of series of data (in written documents or oral records) that makes up information to determine the validity of the information being presented. It is the ability of an individual to measure the reliability of information by checking and assessing the credibility of the source of the information. Evaluation of information after data collection is one of the instructional activities to be performed by learners when using the ASSIM model of instruction. Learners would have to evaluate the information they have collected during the preliminary web exploration and during the main data collection. This activity is to make sure that all information used in the learning process was reliable. This activity in the learning process has made the participants in this study (pre-service teachers) to learn and use different evaluation methods in screening the data they have collected.

ity has helped to improve their skills of offline data collection.

38 Advanced Learning and Teaching Environments - Innovation, Contents and Methods

master the skills and art of interpreting data for different purposes.

for effective decision making in problem solving.


separate or remove personal bias or self-interest when making decisions that involve others. The use of the ASSIM model provides room and encourages learners to practice self-regulation in the teaching-learning process. Teaching and learning using the ASSIM model is learner activity oriented. After the preliminary web exploration activity, learners would have to share responsibilities in carrying out their learning project in groups. This process has made the participants to know and understand their areas of strength and weakness in their respective groups. Thus, responsibilities in each group are given based on proven ability.

How does it the issue or the concern become a problem? What is the implication of the problem, the issue or the concern? What happens if the problem the issue or the concern remain unattended? Finding answers to the questions raised above in an attempt to understand the problem would require some preliminary investigation and data collection. In the case of the head teacher, he can interview the class teachers, parents of the pupils affected and the pupils

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The use of the ASSIM model of instruction provides room for learners to practice the activities described in the paragraph above. The instructional activities for step 1 (Presentation of Learning Content as a Problem to be investigated) and step 2 (Preliminary web exploration) under the face-to-face instructional delivery process in the ASSIM model are designed to accomplish the same objective. Learners are expected to notice and identify a problem requiring an investigation from the introductory presentation of the facilitator in the step 1 activity. The preliminary web exploration in step 2 activity is for learners to make preliminary investigation for the purpose of understanding the problem to be investigated. These two learning activities in the ASSIM instructional model facilitate the development of the skills needed in defining and understanding problems, issues and concerns to be investigated for problem solving. These learning activities also help to improve the participants' skills of developing good problem statement that provide answers to the five questions raised in the paragraph

This is the second step and activity to be performed in problem solving. The activity involved building basic assumptions, raising research questions and developing possible hypotheses as may be applicable. These should be guided by the data collected during the preliminary investigation conducted in the step 1 activity. The basic assumptions, research questions and hypotheses to be developed should be based on the problem statement developed with the data collected at the stage of understanding the problem. The data to be collected at this stage should therefore be directed toward answering the research questions raised and testing the hypotheses developed and to verify the basic assumptions earlier build. There are different methods of data collection depending on the nature and type of the research questions developed. Some research questions may require the use of interview, observations or focus group brainstorming, whereas some research questions may require the use of questionnaire to get the information needed. Once the needed data or information are collected using any of the methods mentioned, the problem-solving activity can move to the next step, that is, 'analysis

Step 3 activity in the ASSIM model of instructional design is for learners to be engaged in the same activity as described in the paragraph above. During this instructional activity, learners are expected to develop basic assumptions, raise research questions and hypotheses if applicable; decide on how and where to collect data or materials for the project; decide on what to do with the data or materials collected for the project; share responsibilities and set rules of participation in the project. Engaging learners in doing these activities would help them to develop the skills of selecting the appropriate population to be used for data collection; choosing

above in a manner and language that can be clearly understood.

themselves.

*7.3.2. Data collection*

of data to identify possible solutions'.

Critical thinking is a mental process that helps to improve learner's ability and competence to survive the challenges of living in the present era of globalisation and knowledge-based economy that is technology driven. It helps to improve the creativity of the learner in problem solving and helps the learner to develop life-long learning skills.

#### **7.3. Development of problem-solving skills**

The ASSIM model of instruction promotes the development of problem-solving skills among learners. Problem solving is a process of proposing solutions to issues and situations based on knowledge and evidence. The process involves a number of step by step activities that can be mentally challenging. The number of steps or stages involved in problem solving differs from one model to another. Though the activities are the same in all the models, what differs among the models is the orderly arrangement of the stages or steps. The activities involved in the process of problem solving require some skills such as creative thinking, decision making and learning skills. Creative thinking has to do with the process of thinking out of the box to generate new ideas and to identify new connections between existing ideas and concepts. Decision-making skills have to do with the ability to choose between options. Learning skills on the other hand as relate to problem solving has to do with the ability to make meaning out of information to construe knowledge and the ability to apply the knowledge in making decision over available options for problem solving. The activities involved in problem solving include:

#### *7.3.1. Understanding the problem*

This is the first thing to do in problem solving. Understanding the problem requires one to first identify that there is a problem. There are different ways of identifying a problem depending on the organisation. Issues and problems generally in society are first noticed through observation. For example, a head teacher in a community primary school may notice that the number of pupils coming to school has reduced. This observation is an indication that there is likely to be a problem. The next thing to do is to find out what exactly is the problem. This can also be done in a number of ways depending on the institution and what was observed. Using the example given earlier of the head teachers' observation, the next thing to do is to: (1) find out if actually the observation made was true; (2) find out the actual number of people involved; (3) find out why the pupils involved stopped coming to the school and (4) find out since when has that started. Understanding a problem requires one to know what exactly is the problem: The issue or the concern? Why is the issue or the concern a problem? How does it the issue or the concern become a problem? What is the implication of the problem, the issue or the concern? What happens if the problem the issue or the concern remain unattended? Finding answers to the questions raised above in an attempt to understand the problem would require some preliminary investigation and data collection. In the case of the head teacher, he can interview the class teachers, parents of the pupils affected and the pupils themselves.

The use of the ASSIM model of instruction provides room for learners to practice the activities described in the paragraph above. The instructional activities for step 1 (Presentation of Learning Content as a Problem to be investigated) and step 2 (Preliminary web exploration) under the face-to-face instructional delivery process in the ASSIM model are designed to accomplish the same objective. Learners are expected to notice and identify a problem requiring an investigation from the introductory presentation of the facilitator in the step 1 activity. The preliminary web exploration in step 2 activity is for learners to make preliminary investigation for the purpose of understanding the problem to be investigated. These two learning activities in the ASSIM instructional model facilitate the development of the skills needed in defining and understanding problems, issues and concerns to be investigated for problem solving. These learning activities also help to improve the participants' skills of developing good problem statement that provide answers to the five questions raised in the paragraph above in a manner and language that can be clearly understood.

#### *7.3.2. Data collection*

separate or remove personal bias or self-interest when making decisions that involve others. The use of the ASSIM model provides room and encourages learners to practice self-regulation in the teaching-learning process. Teaching and learning using the ASSIM model is learner activity oriented. After the preliminary web exploration activity, learners would have to share responsibilities in carrying out their learning project in groups. This process has made the participants to know and understand their areas of strength and weakness in their respective groups. Thus, responsibilities in each group are given

Critical thinking is a mental process that helps to improve learner's ability and competence to survive the challenges of living in the present era of globalisation and knowledge-based economy that is technology driven. It helps to improve the creativity of the learner in problem

The ASSIM model of instruction promotes the development of problem-solving skills among learners. Problem solving is a process of proposing solutions to issues and situations based on knowledge and evidence. The process involves a number of step by step activities that can be mentally challenging. The number of steps or stages involved in problem solving differs from one model to another. Though the activities are the same in all the models, what differs among the models is the orderly arrangement of the stages or steps. The activities involved in the process of problem solving require some skills such as creative thinking, decision making and learning skills. Creative thinking has to do with the process of thinking out of the box to generate new ideas and to identify new connections between existing ideas and concepts. Decision-making skills have to do with the ability to choose between options. Learning skills on the other hand as relate to problem solving has to do with the ability to make meaning out of information to construe knowledge and the ability to apply the knowledge in making decision over available options for problem solving. The activities involved

This is the first thing to do in problem solving. Understanding the problem requires one to first identify that there is a problem. There are different ways of identifying a problem depending on the organisation. Issues and problems generally in society are first noticed through observation. For example, a head teacher in a community primary school may notice that the number of pupils coming to school has reduced. This observation is an indication that there is likely to be a problem. The next thing to do is to find out what exactly is the problem. This can also be done in a number of ways depending on the institution and what was observed. Using the example given earlier of the head teachers' observation, the next thing to do is to: (1) find out if actually the observation made was true; (2) find out the actual number of people involved; (3) find out why the pupils involved stopped coming to the school and (4) find out since when has that started. Understanding a problem requires one to know what exactly is the problem: The issue or the concern? Why is the issue or the concern a problem?

solving and helps the learner to develop life-long learning skills.

40 Advanced Learning and Teaching Environments - Innovation, Contents and Methods

based on proven ability.

in problem solving include:

*7.3.1. Understanding the problem*

**7.3. Development of problem-solving skills**

This is the second step and activity to be performed in problem solving. The activity involved building basic assumptions, raising research questions and developing possible hypotheses as may be applicable. These should be guided by the data collected during the preliminary investigation conducted in the step 1 activity. The basic assumptions, research questions and hypotheses to be developed should be based on the problem statement developed with the data collected at the stage of understanding the problem. The data to be collected at this stage should therefore be directed toward answering the research questions raised and testing the hypotheses developed and to verify the basic assumptions earlier build. There are different methods of data collection depending on the nature and type of the research questions developed. Some research questions may require the use of interview, observations or focus group brainstorming, whereas some research questions may require the use of questionnaire to get the information needed. Once the needed data or information are collected using any of the methods mentioned, the problem-solving activity can move to the next step, that is, 'analysis of data to identify possible solutions'.

Step 3 activity in the ASSIM model of instructional design is for learners to be engaged in the same activity as described in the paragraph above. During this instructional activity, learners are expected to develop basic assumptions, raise research questions and hypotheses if applicable; decide on how and where to collect data or materials for the project; decide on what to do with the data or materials collected for the project; share responsibilities and set rules of participation in the project. Engaging learners in doing these activities would help them to develop the skills of selecting the appropriate population to be used for data collection; choosing appropriate instrument for specific data collection; designing the procedure for data collection and administering the selected instruments for data collection. The observation data collected for this study indicated that the use of the ASSIM model of instruction has helped the pre-service teachers involved in this study as participants to acquire and master the skills of data collection.

learners are expected to make a presentation (individually or in group) of their research findings and the tentative conclusions they have drawn from the findings of their study to the class for critique. Each finding is to be deliberated upon by the entire class members. Based on the comments and critique of the class members, learners would be able to make a better decision of which finding or solution should best be selected and applied to the problem, issue or concern under study. This activity has helped the participant in this study to acquire the skills

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This is the last stage of the problem-solving steps. It is at this stage that one is expected to come up with the plan on how to implement the application of the best solution chosen and how to get feedback on how well the selected solution is doing. The last instructional activity in the ASSIM model provides learners with the opportunity to practice the use of this skill. Learners at this stage are to work on how to apply the knowledge construed/developed practically (pilot-testing) in addressing the issue under investigation. Learners are also to decide on what is needed in applying their solutions. It is at this stage that learners should develop and write their project report for submission to the teacher. The report should have a problem

**7.4. Use of information technology in teaching among the pre-service teachers used** 

It was observed that the pre-service teachers involved in this study made effective use of the available information and communication technology equipment at their disposal in their teaching and learning during their teaching practice activities. 'I search the web for relevant and up to date materials to prepare myself for my classes on daily basis and in preparing my lesson' said one of the participants during an interview session. The researcher observed that most of the participants were communicating with their students via emails. They were also sharing learning materials and engaging their students in group discussions using Facebook. They were using powerpoint slides to project images and relevant video clips from YouTube. This, by implications, means that the use of the ASSIM model in pre-service teacher training can help to prepare the pre-service teachers to use technology effectively in

Technology integration in educational practices as used by the pre-service teachers who participated in this study during their practicum can make teaching and learning a fun for the learner as we noticed [46]. We also noticed that the pre-teachers were guiding their students to acquire the skills of using some applications in the computer. In particular, we have witnessed how one of the pre-service teachers was trying to show one of his students how to animate the powerpoint slides he had prepared for his presentation and we noticed the excite-

The pre-service teachers' use of technology in their teaching has helped to retain their students' interest in the learning activities they were performing. The researcher also observed

of selecting the best option to be applied in problem solving.

statement, objectives, methodology and solutions.

ment on the students' face as he learns the new skills.

**in this study during their teaching practice**

their professional practices.

*7.3.5. Implementation and review*

#### *7.3.3. Data analysis*

At this stage of the problem solving, the data collected are analysed in relation to the research questions raised earlier and the earlier hypotheses developed. Depending on the nature of the research questions that guided the data collection and the kind of data collected, there are different types of data analysis that the problem solver can use. If the data collected are quantitative in nature, descriptive or inferential statistical methods of data analysis may be used; but, if the data are qualitative in nature (collected through the use interview, observations or documentation), such data may be analysed using content and thematic analysis. Analysis of the data collected should provide answers to the research questions raised; from such answers, possible solutions to the problem, issue or concern under investigation can be deducted.

The instructional activity in step five (5) of the ASSIM model is for learners to be engaged in doing the activity described in the paragraph above. During the step five (5) activity in the instructional design, learners are expected to analyse the data they have collected using the method as may be appropriate to answer their research questions, test their hypotheses (if applicable) and verify the basic assumptions guiding their study. Learners are to draw tentative conclusions from the analysed data as findings to apply in solving the problem under investigation. This activity has helped to improve the skills of data analysis and making inferences among the participants involved in this study.

#### *7.3.4. Selecting the best solution*

At this stage of the problem solving, one is required to study, compare and select one out of the possible options available. It is a process of making a choice between two or viable potential solutions to the problem, issue or concern under study. The decision should be based on research findings and pertinent information from the review of existing literature [45]. Before making any choice, one need to consider the consequent implications and merits of each possible solution identified. In doing this, one need to be careful and make sure that he or she is not influenced by his emotions. Effective decision making at this stage requires one to carefully and effectively analyse each possible solution. This can be done by considering a flowchart tracing each solution's pathway from inception to conclusion and critique of each possible solution by stakeholders and professional opinion. Stakeholder's confidence over the use of a particular possible solution is an indication leading to a successful decision making and eventually an effective problem-solving approach.

The learning activity in the second phase of the instructional delivery process (knowledge development) of the ASSIM model allows learners to be engaged in doing this activity. At the knowledge development stage of the instructional delivery process in using the ASSIM model, learners are expected to make a presentation (individually or in group) of their research findings and the tentative conclusions they have drawn from the findings of their study to the class for critique. Each finding is to be deliberated upon by the entire class members. Based on the comments and critique of the class members, learners would be able to make a better decision of which finding or solution should best be selected and applied to the problem, issue or concern under study. This activity has helped the participant in this study to acquire the skills of selecting the best option to be applied in problem solving.

#### *7.3.5. Implementation and review*

appropriate instrument for specific data collection; designing the procedure for data collection and administering the selected instruments for data collection. The observation data collected for this study indicated that the use of the ASSIM model of instruction has helped the pre-service teachers involved in this study as participants to acquire and master the skills of

42 Advanced Learning and Teaching Environments - Innovation, Contents and Methods

At this stage of the problem solving, the data collected are analysed in relation to the research questions raised earlier and the earlier hypotheses developed. Depending on the nature of the research questions that guided the data collection and the kind of data collected, there are different types of data analysis that the problem solver can use. If the data collected are quantitative in nature, descriptive or inferential statistical methods of data analysis may be used; but, if the data are qualitative in nature (collected through the use interview, observations or documentation), such data may be analysed using content and thematic analysis. Analysis of the data collected should provide answers to the research questions raised; from such answers, possible solutions to the problem, issue or concern under investigation can be deducted.

The instructional activity in step five (5) of the ASSIM model is for learners to be engaged in doing the activity described in the paragraph above. During the step five (5) activity in the instructional design, learners are expected to analyse the data they have collected using the method as may be appropriate to answer their research questions, test their hypotheses (if applicable) and verify the basic assumptions guiding their study. Learners are to draw tentative conclusions from the analysed data as findings to apply in solving the problem under investigation. This activity has helped to improve the skills of data analysis and making infer-

At this stage of the problem solving, one is required to study, compare and select one out of the possible options available. It is a process of making a choice between two or viable potential solutions to the problem, issue or concern under study. The decision should be based on research findings and pertinent information from the review of existing literature [45]. Before making any choice, one need to consider the consequent implications and merits of each possible solution identified. In doing this, one need to be careful and make sure that he or she is not influenced by his emotions. Effective decision making at this stage requires one to carefully and effectively analyse each possible solution. This can be done by considering a flowchart tracing each solution's pathway from inception to conclusion and critique of each possible solution by stakeholders and professional opinion. Stakeholder's confidence over the use of a particular possible solution is an indication leading to a successful decision making

The learning activity in the second phase of the instructional delivery process (knowledge development) of the ASSIM model allows learners to be engaged in doing this activity. At the knowledge development stage of the instructional delivery process in using the ASSIM model,

ences among the participants involved in this study.

and eventually an effective problem-solving approach.

*7.3.4. Selecting the best solution*

data collection.

*7.3.3. Data analysis*

This is the last stage of the problem-solving steps. It is at this stage that one is expected to come up with the plan on how to implement the application of the best solution chosen and how to get feedback on how well the selected solution is doing. The last instructional activity in the ASSIM model provides learners with the opportunity to practice the use of this skill. Learners at this stage are to work on how to apply the knowledge construed/developed practically (pilot-testing) in addressing the issue under investigation. Learners are also to decide on what is needed in applying their solutions. It is at this stage that learners should develop and write their project report for submission to the teacher. The report should have a problem statement, objectives, methodology and solutions.

### **7.4. Use of information technology in teaching among the pre-service teachers used in this study during their teaching practice**

It was observed that the pre-service teachers involved in this study made effective use of the available information and communication technology equipment at their disposal in their teaching and learning during their teaching practice activities. 'I search the web for relevant and up to date materials to prepare myself for my classes on daily basis and in preparing my lesson' said one of the participants during an interview session. The researcher observed that most of the participants were communicating with their students via emails. They were also sharing learning materials and engaging their students in group discussions using Facebook. They were using powerpoint slides to project images and relevant video clips from YouTube. This, by implications, means that the use of the ASSIM model in pre-service teacher training can help to prepare the pre-service teachers to use technology effectively in their professional practices.

Technology integration in educational practices as used by the pre-service teachers who participated in this study during their practicum can make teaching and learning a fun for the learner as we noticed [46]. We also noticed that the pre-teachers were guiding their students to acquire the skills of using some applications in the computer. In particular, we have witnessed how one of the pre-service teachers was trying to show one of his students how to animate the powerpoint slides he had prepared for his presentation and we noticed the excitement on the students' face as he learns the new skills.

The pre-service teachers' use of technology in their teaching has helped to retain their students' interest in the learning activities they were performing. The researcher also observed that the pre-service teachers were modelling the use of the ASSIM model with innovative modifications. Because of this, the instructional delivery was more students centred. The students were innovatively engaged in series of learning activities that can help them to construe meaning of certain concepts. This was interesting and the students were happy doing what they were doing. This was an indication that the use of the ASSIM model in teaching can help to motivate learning.

**Author details**

Sani Alhaji Garba

Zaria, Nigeria

**References**

2013 Feb;**5**(4):1-9

2008;**50**(3):906-914

**41**(2):158-170

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teacher. Journal of Educational Media. 2001;**26**(1):7-17

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Address all correspondence to: sanialhajigarba@yahoo.com

Educational Technology and Instructional Design Unit, Department of Educational Foundations and Curriculum, Faculty of Education, Ahmadu Bello University

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### **8. Conclusion**

The ASSIM instructional model presented in this work is design to promote learner-centred pedagogy in twenty-first century teaching-learning environment that is technology driven. It promotes the integration of information technology in instructional delivery. The model accommodates the use of multiple or blended pedagogy in instructional delivery and facilitates the use of web-based inquiry in developing learners skills for critical thinking and reasoning, problem-solving, life-long learning and informed decision-making skills. The use of the model can help learners to acquire life-long learning skills. That is the ability to learn independently. It promotes interaction between class members as they have to work in team; thus, promoting the spirit of team works. The approach help learners to acquire some values needed in team work. Learners have come to understand the need to tolerate one another in order to accomplish the task of the team. Working as a group help learners to learn to listen to one another and appreciate the views of one another. Team work as necessitated by the use of this model in instructional process would help learners to acquire the skills and values for both leadership and followership. The design of the model is influenced by the TPACK theory and GPM (Giving, Prompting and Making) model.

The inquiry-based and problem solving nature of the ASSIM model of instructional design would help to develop the analytic and creative thinking skills of the learners. This is because problem solving requires the use of both analytic (logical) reasoning and creative reasoning. Some problem solving would require the use of scientific procedures and rules that appeal to logical reasoning, while some would require thinking out of the box that appeals to the use of creative reasoning (lateral thinking—this has to do with using one's imagination to create ideas). Some issues would require doing both simultaneously and sequentially.

Adopting the use of the ASSIM model of instructional design in pre-service teacher training would help to prepare the kind of teachers needed in the twenty-first century teaching-learning environment. The kind of teachers that can assume the role of facilitators; thus, making instructional delivery learner centred, activity oriented, inquiry and projectbased. Teachers who can use classroom as not only a place for learning but also a place for acquiring the skills needed to survive the challenges of the twenty-first century. Teachers trained with the use of the ASSIM model would acquire the competence needed to effectively employ the use of technology in their professional practice and would have the expertise of helping the learner to acquire the skills of inquiry, critical thinking, creative thinking, decision making and problem solving.

## **Author details**

that the pre-service teachers were modelling the use of the ASSIM model with innovative modifications. Because of this, the instructional delivery was more students centred. The students were innovatively engaged in series of learning activities that can help them to construe meaning of certain concepts. This was interesting and the students were happy doing what they were doing. This was an indication that the use of the ASSIM model in teaching can help

44 Advanced Learning and Teaching Environments - Innovation, Contents and Methods

The ASSIM instructional model presented in this work is design to promote learner-centred pedagogy in twenty-first century teaching-learning environment that is technology driven. It promotes the integration of information technology in instructional delivery. The model accommodates the use of multiple or blended pedagogy in instructional delivery and facilitates the use of web-based inquiry in developing learners skills for critical thinking and reasoning, problem-solving, life-long learning and informed decision-making skills. The use of the model can help learners to acquire life-long learning skills. That is the ability to learn independently. It promotes interaction between class members as they have to work in team; thus, promoting the spirit of team works. The approach help learners to acquire some values needed in team work. Learners have come to understand the need to tolerate one another in order to accomplish the task of the team. Working as a group help learners to learn to listen to one another and appreciate the views of one another. Team work as necessitated by the use of this model in instructional process would help learners to acquire the skills and values for both leadership and followership. The design of the model is influenced by the TPACK theory

The inquiry-based and problem solving nature of the ASSIM model of instructional design would help to develop the analytic and creative thinking skills of the learners. This is because problem solving requires the use of both analytic (logical) reasoning and creative reasoning. Some problem solving would require the use of scientific procedures and rules that appeal to logical reasoning, while some would require thinking out of the box that appeals to the use of creative reasoning (lateral thinking—this has to do with using one's imagination to create

Adopting the use of the ASSIM model of instructional design in pre-service teacher training would help to prepare the kind of teachers needed in the twenty-first century teaching-learning environment. The kind of teachers that can assume the role of facilitators; thus, making instructional delivery learner centred, activity oriented, inquiry and projectbased. Teachers who can use classroom as not only a place for learning but also a place for acquiring the skills needed to survive the challenges of the twenty-first century. Teachers trained with the use of the ASSIM model would acquire the competence needed to effectively employ the use of technology in their professional practice and would have the expertise of helping the learner to acquire the skills of inquiry, critical thinking, creative

ideas). Some issues would require doing both simultaneously and sequentially.

to motivate learning.

**8. Conclusion**

and GPM (Giving, Prompting and Making) model.

thinking, decision making and problem solving.

Sani Alhaji Garba

Address all correspondence to: sanialhajigarba@yahoo.com

Educational Technology and Instructional Design Unit, Department of Educational Foundations and Curriculum, Faculty of Education, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Nigeria

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**Chapter 3**

**Provisional chapter**

**Academic Training in the Double Degree on Teacher of**

**Academic Training in the Double Degree on Teacher** 

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.70865

*Reciprocity* **Model Among Three Agents Based on the**

The academic training carried out in teacher degrees refers to the period where the undergraduate faces the significantly diverse realities of education and teaching. During the entire building process, there are three main important agents involved: the trainee student and the supervisors from both the faculty and the school where the training takes place. Since the 2015–2016 school year, these three agents have been involved in joint sessions in the Faculty of Education during the academic training period (I and II) of the double degree of pre-elementary and elementary education (FEPTS-UdL). In these joint sessions, each trainee student, together with their school and faculty supervisor, has presented a significant educational action of 20′ in an audiovisual document to the rest of their classmates and supervisors. This project is created with a two-fold objective in mind: (a) to reflect on the undergraduate's teaching and (b) to show a work experience in class to the rest of the educational community that can be uplifting for everyone. The presentation of this activity allows the rest of the trainee students and the school and faculty supervisors to reflect on other teaching models that can be enriching when building their professional identity. **Keywords:** teacher, academic training, audiovisual narratives, hybrid spaces, reciprocity

*Reciprocity* **Model Among Three Agents Based on the** 

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution,

© 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use,

distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

The framework from the *Program of Improvement and Innovation in the Teacher Training* (MOBMIF, for its acronym in Spanish) has the purposes of (a) contributing to the graduate's improvement, and (b) supporting the start-up process of the pilot offer about the double

**Pre-Elementary and Elementary Education: A**

**of Pre-Elementary and Elementary Education: A**

**Audiovisual Narratives**

**Audiovisual Narratives**

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.70865

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Moisés Selfa Sastre

**Abstract**

**1. Introduction**

Moisés Selfa Sastre

**Provisional chapter**

**Academic Training in the Double Degree on Teacher of Pre-Elementary and Elementary Education: A** *Reciprocity* **Model Among Three Agents Based on the Audiovisual Narratives of Pre-Elementary and Elementary Education: A** *Reciprocity* **Model Among Three Agents Based on the Audiovisual Narratives**

**Academic Training in the Double Degree on Teacher** 

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.70865

#### Moisés Selfa Sastre Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Moisés Selfa Sastre

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.70865

#### **Abstract**

The academic training carried out in teacher degrees refers to the period where the undergraduate faces the significantly diverse realities of education and teaching. During the entire building process, there are three main important agents involved: the trainee student and the supervisors from both the faculty and the school where the training takes place. Since the 2015–2016 school year, these three agents have been involved in joint sessions in the Faculty of Education during the academic training period (I and II) of the double degree of pre-elementary and elementary education (FEPTS-UdL). In these joint sessions, each trainee student, together with their school and faculty supervisor, has presented a significant educational action of 20′ in an audiovisual document to the rest of their classmates and supervisors. This project is created with a two-fold objective in mind: (a) to reflect on the undergraduate's teaching and (b) to show a work experience in class to the rest of the educational community that can be uplifting for everyone. The presentation of this activity allows the rest of the trainee students and the school and faculty supervisors to reflect on other teaching models that can be enriching when building their professional identity.

**Keywords:** teacher, academic training, audiovisual narratives, hybrid spaces, reciprocity

### **1. Introduction**

The framework from the *Program of Improvement and Innovation in the Teacher Training* (MOBMIF, for its acronym in Spanish) has the purposes of (a) contributing to the graduate's improvement, and (b) supporting the start-up process of the pilot offer about the double

Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons

graduation of pre-elementary and elementary education in the universities willing to offer such option. One of the pillars in the training of the graduates in teacher degrees is to promote the development of academic training in educational contexts. This period of educational training needs to be considered as a fundamental moment in the training of these graduates-to-be. From this perspective, the process of reconciling the university degrees in Europe is an attempt to establish the European Space of Higher Education. As a result, this process encourages university degrees to provide the undergraduate not only with knowledge but also with strategies to keep learning and developing their training throughout their lives [1]. It has become increasingly necessary that the curriculum includes enough practical credits (the named *Practicum* in teacher degrees) and provides the possibility to develop their knowledge by being close to the professional reality.

(b) Analyse the impact of these interrelation formulas through audiovisual narratives. Hence, different agents participating in the practicum are able to analyse specific teaching situations. Accordingly, as stated by Costa Sánchez and Piñeiro-Otero [4] "el ser humano necesita contar historias. Necesita explicarse a sí mismo y poner sentido en el mundo que

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51

In order to develop these two objectives, two different strategies are used. First, two sessions with the students are organised. Second, two hybrid space meetings are held by the supervisors from both the school and university and the students involved in academic trainings. These sessions and meetings in hybrid spaces are not two separate moments for learning, they

Tutorial number 1 was attended by the double degree students, the supervisors and the support personnel in order to pool the educational interventions that would take place during the practicum I and II. This space was also used to share an explanatory document and to solve doubts about the methodology approach that is to be developed. In the same way, the importance of students developing an active role was emphasised as a possible way to improve their

In tutorial number 2, the students and a support person, expert in audiovisual language, met so as to talk about diverse matters. First, different aspects based on the elaboration of audiovisual narratives. Moreover, they also discussed the documentation of teaching-learning interventions in the schools during the development of practicum I and II. This tutorial was designed to facilitate the elaboration of audiovisual narratives, to share possible doubts about the project and to try and solve them together through significant photos of the practices carried out by the students. In addition, a reading and analysis of the articles by Dussel and

The hybrid space number 1 is a meeting point for students, school supervisors, academic supervisors and support personnel. The monitoring of the practicum takes place in this space and it is completed through the presentation of audiovisual narratives (videos or photographs) created by the students. The main objective of the aforesaid presentation is that of reflecting on the students' own training and the school contexts where the practicum is developed. It also allows the teachers and professors themselves to improve their professional activities. A number of 13 students presented their experiences and reflections in front of their

In the hybrid space number 2, a number of 17 students continued with the video presentations in front of the rest of classmates, the school supervisors, the academic supervisors and

Two groups of students were created in an attempt to carry out two sessions in the hybrid spaces. These groups shared their experiences in the big group consisting of classmates and supervisors in order to discuss *what* aspects they had to deal with during the Practicum (competences and content) and *how* they approached them. First of all, students presented the audiovisual narratives individually or in pairs. Subsequently, questions were answered and

some aspects were discussed by both the school supervisors and the students.

are actually complementary for the achievement of the work objectives.

lo rodea."

teaching training process.

the support personnel.

Gutiérrez [5] and Hernández [6] was suggested.

classmates and supervisors during the first session.

Academic training is understood as the period where the undergraduate in a teacher degree faces the problems about education and teaching. The main objective of the academic training is to prepare and improve the professional abilities of those who are involved in it. Teaching is considered to be fundamental in the process of training the undergraduate. This is because the teachers-to-be can contrast the pedagogical theory with the educational reality and be aware of their future role in the educational institution [2].

The practicum mainly aims at favouring the construction of the student's practical knowledge. In this way, students can revise and consolidate the theoretical foundations previously acquired and integrate them in the professional reality sphere. Hence, the intention is for the student to observe, analyse and reflect on the strategies, techniques, instruments and actions that are normally developed in the class. This is an intellectual attitude of constant openness, review and improvement that students would have to share with their teachers and supervisors.

### **2. Objectives and methods**

Since the 2015–2016 school year, the academic training's main objective in the double degree of pre-elementary and elementary education (UdL) is that of sharing peer-to-peer the professional knowledge acquired through audiovisual narratives. In order to share this knowledge, some sessions are organised in the Faculty of education (UdL) with two objectives:

(a) Design, develop and analyse the formulas of interrelation between the students and the educational reality in the schools. These formulas of interrelation are developed in hybrid spaces where trainee students can present, listen and exchange teaching experiences that could uplift the other members. Furthermore, they are able to revise their own teaching practices. As claimed by [3], "los ambientes híbridos de aprendizaje combinan instrucción cara a cara con instrucción mediada por las tecnologías de información y la comunicación. Detrás de esta definición existe una intención de combinar y aproximar dos modelos de enseñanza-aprendizaje: el sistema tradicional de aprendizaje cara a cara y el sistema e-learning, con el propósito de no renunciar a las posibilidades que ofrecen ambos."

(b) Analyse the impact of these interrelation formulas through audiovisual narratives. Hence, different agents participating in the practicum are able to analyse specific teaching situations. Accordingly, as stated by Costa Sánchez and Piñeiro-Otero [4] "el ser humano necesita contar historias. Necesita explicarse a sí mismo y poner sentido en el mundo que lo rodea."

graduation of pre-elementary and elementary education in the universities willing to offer such option. One of the pillars in the training of the graduates in teacher degrees is to promote the development of academic training in educational contexts. This period of educational training needs to be considered as a fundamental moment in the training of these graduates-to-be. From this perspective, the process of reconciling the university degrees in Europe is an attempt to establish the European Space of Higher Education. As a result, this process encourages university degrees to provide the undergraduate not only with knowledge but also with strategies to keep learning and developing their training throughout their lives [1]. It has become increasingly necessary that the curriculum includes enough practical credits (the named *Practicum* in teacher degrees) and provides the possibility to develop their

Academic training is understood as the period where the undergraduate in a teacher degree faces the problems about education and teaching. The main objective of the academic training is to prepare and improve the professional abilities of those who are involved in it. Teaching is considered to be fundamental in the process of training the undergraduate. This is because the teachers-to-be can contrast the pedagogical theory with the educational reality and be

The practicum mainly aims at favouring the construction of the student's practical knowledge. In this way, students can revise and consolidate the theoretical foundations previously acquired and integrate them in the professional reality sphere. Hence, the intention is for the student to observe, analyse and reflect on the strategies, techniques, instruments and actions that are normally developed in the class. This is an intellectual attitude of constant openness, review and improvement that students would have to share with their teachers and

Since the 2015–2016 school year, the academic training's main objective in the double degree of pre-elementary and elementary education (UdL) is that of sharing peer-to-peer the professional knowledge acquired through audiovisual narratives. In order to share this knowledge, some

(a) Design, develop and analyse the formulas of interrelation between the students and the educational reality in the schools. These formulas of interrelation are developed in hybrid spaces where trainee students can present, listen and exchange teaching experiences that could uplift the other members. Furthermore, they are able to revise their own teaching practices. As claimed by [3], "los ambientes híbridos de aprendizaje combinan instrucción cara a cara con instrucción mediada por las tecnologías de información y la comunicación. Detrás de esta definición existe una intención de combinar y aproximar dos modelos de enseñanza-aprendizaje: el sistema tradicional de aprendizaje cara a cara y el sistema e-learning, con el propósito de no renunciar a las posibili-

sessions are organised in the Faculty of education (UdL) with two objectives:

knowledge by being close to the professional reality.

50 Advanced Learning and Teaching Environments - Innovation, Contents and Methods

aware of their future role in the educational institution [2].

supervisors.

**2. Objectives and methods**

dades que ofrecen ambos."

In order to develop these two objectives, two different strategies are used. First, two sessions with the students are organised. Second, two hybrid space meetings are held by the supervisors from both the school and university and the students involved in academic trainings. These sessions and meetings in hybrid spaces are not two separate moments for learning, they are actually complementary for the achievement of the work objectives.

Tutorial number 1 was attended by the double degree students, the supervisors and the support personnel in order to pool the educational interventions that would take place during the practicum I and II. This space was also used to share an explanatory document and to solve doubts about the methodology approach that is to be developed. In the same way, the importance of students developing an active role was emphasised as a possible way to improve their teaching training process.

In tutorial number 2, the students and a support person, expert in audiovisual language, met so as to talk about diverse matters. First, different aspects based on the elaboration of audiovisual narratives. Moreover, they also discussed the documentation of teaching-learning interventions in the schools during the development of practicum I and II. This tutorial was designed to facilitate the elaboration of audiovisual narratives, to share possible doubts about the project and to try and solve them together through significant photos of the practices carried out by the students. In addition, a reading and analysis of the articles by Dussel and Gutiérrez [5] and Hernández [6] was suggested.

The hybrid space number 1 is a meeting point for students, school supervisors, academic supervisors and support personnel. The monitoring of the practicum takes place in this space and it is completed through the presentation of audiovisual narratives (videos or photographs) created by the students. The main objective of the aforesaid presentation is that of reflecting on the students' own training and the school contexts where the practicum is developed. It also allows the teachers and professors themselves to improve their professional activities. A number of 13 students presented their experiences and reflections in front of their classmates and supervisors during the first session.

In the hybrid space number 2, a number of 17 students continued with the video presentations in front of the rest of classmates, the school supervisors, the academic supervisors and the support personnel.

Two groups of students were created in an attempt to carry out two sessions in the hybrid spaces. These groups shared their experiences in the big group consisting of classmates and supervisors in order to discuss *what* aspects they had to deal with during the Practicum (competences and content) and *how* they approached them. First of all, students presented the audiovisual narratives individually or in pairs. Subsequently, questions were answered and some aspects were discussed by both the school supervisors and the students.

### **3. Recording instruments and data analysis**

On the one hand, the project considers the videos made by the students, and on the other hand, considers the video recordings of the sessions in the hybrid spaces.

as the short interventions and the everyday nature in class. In this way, the visual narratives were useful to define, document and describe the educational interventions, reflect on them

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*Given these audiovisual narratives, I find myself in a point of reflection where I understand that these photos and videos are useful to bring me closer to my environment and to the class reality. Moreover, the audiovisual aspect helps to have a more realistic notion of what is happening and of what is done at any time than if it was in a written format. However, I also believe that a photo or video only shows a* 

Not only were the videos analysed, but also the reflections that arose during the presentation of the educational interventions in the hybrid spaces. This interpretation showed how some students have developed a critical and reflexive view regarding the observed teaching mod-

*Doing the training and being able to observe the videos and photos has been useful to realise that I do not want to repeat the models I have seen. I want to take the best aspects of each of the contexts that I* 

Self-management is a competence that has been observed throughout the whole process, both in the implementation of the teaching sequence and in the creation of the videos and the photographic material. It is important to consider that not all of the school contexts facilitated the attainment of the photos due to the law on the protection of children's personal data. Nevertheless, students found the way to explain their experiences with both inventiveness and the knowledge about the basic aspects of audiovisual language (composition, sound, edition). Hence, students venture to develop their professional training and to create the audiovisual works through actions, which were not initially defined by the

Both online and cooperative works are evinced to develop expressive and communicative competences. For instance, some students created teaching sequences based on the *Pinocchio* tale that were combined and interconnected albeit coming from different school contexts. In this way, students not only achieve heterogeneous and collective processes but also diverse significant learning situations. Therefore, it is more than necessary to empower online work in higher education in order to obtain learning results, and consequently, to revise the own

A wide range of voices have emerged through the use of videos documenting the teaching sequences by students, children and the educational institutions where the training

and, in some cases, modify them. As a student explains,

*have observed in order to use them in my educational practice. (A)*

*small part of reality. (LT)*

els. This is stressed by a student,

**4.2. Result 2**

**4.3. Result 3**

teaching members.

learning practice.

**4.5. Result 5**

**4.4. Result 4**

The videos created by the students are instruments used in this teaching project in order to analyse and reflect on the activities, content and competences acquired by the students in the school contexts where the practicum takes place. These videos are called audiovisual narratives. As claimed by Dussel and Gutiérrez [5], the aforesaid narratives are aimed at suggesting other bonds between words and images. These bonds help to analyse their content load, to reflect on their specificity and to relate them with other images, stories, speeches and interpretations of that reality.

These audiovisual narratives are defined by five features that allow us to talk about a story as such: "(a) Tiene un comienzo y un final, lo que genera la sensación de cierre; (b) se trata de una secuencia doblemente temporal, la del acontecimiento narrado y la del acto enunciativo en sí mismo; (c) esto implica, entonces, que la narración es un discurso, y en esa medida remite necesariamente a un sujeto de la enunciación; (d) a pesar de que pueda ser basado en una historia real, el relato no es la historia en sí, por lo que siempre *irrealizará* el hecho narrado; (e) un relato muestra un conjunto de acontecimientos, y estos son sus unidades fundamentales." [4].

In order to make that possible, the trainee students were asked to elaborate a video of 45–60′ in length that included the educational interventions carried out during the practicum I and II. Moreover, students were required to create a summary in video format in order to present their project to the rest of the classmates during the hybrid spaces. This summary had to last about 20′ and it had to include the essence of the work that had been carried out.

With regards to the elaboration of the video, students were given a written guide with the basic aspects of audiovisual language so that the video would be of high quality and have a narrative sense. Furthermore, classes and voluntary tutorials were simultaneously offered. In this way, students were provided with an individual and personalised monitoring of each of the audiovisual narratives and the processing of the images.

In relation to the videos of the hybrid spaces, they were videotaped during their presentation by the support personnel. This was done in order to carry out a posterior analysis since diverse voices and reflections arose from the students and the school supervisors. The analysis of these voices indicates to what extent these meeting points favour the learning of other educational models for the building of the own professional identity.

### **4. Observed results from the audiovisual narratives**

#### **4.1. Result 1**

The students organised and planned educational activities in order to create learning spaces. This was attainable due to the creation and implementation of the teaching sequence as well as the short interventions and the everyday nature in class. In this way, the visual narratives were useful to define, document and describe the educational interventions, reflect on them and, in some cases, modify them. As a student explains,

*Given these audiovisual narratives, I find myself in a point of reflection where I understand that these photos and videos are useful to bring me closer to my environment and to the class reality. Moreover, the audiovisual aspect helps to have a more realistic notion of what is happening and of what is done at any time than if it was in a written format. However, I also believe that a photo or video only shows a small part of reality. (LT)*

#### **4.2. Result 2**

**3. Recording instruments and data analysis**

52 Advanced Learning and Teaching Environments - Innovation, Contents and Methods

pretations of that reality.

**4.1. Result 1**

On the one hand, the project considers the videos made by the students, and on the other

The videos created by the students are instruments used in this teaching project in order to analyse and reflect on the activities, content and competences acquired by the students in the school contexts where the practicum takes place. These videos are called audiovisual narratives. As claimed by Dussel and Gutiérrez [5], the aforesaid narratives are aimed at suggesting other bonds between words and images. These bonds help to analyse their content load, to reflect on their specificity and to relate them with other images, stories, speeches and inter-

These audiovisual narratives are defined by five features that allow us to talk about a story as such: "(a) Tiene un comienzo y un final, lo que genera la sensación de cierre; (b) se trata de una secuencia doblemente temporal, la del acontecimiento narrado y la del acto enunciativo en sí mismo; (c) esto implica, entonces, que la narración es un discurso, y en esa medida remite necesariamente a un sujeto de la enunciación; (d) a pesar de que pueda ser basado en una historia real, el relato no es la historia en sí, por lo que siempre *irrealizará* el hecho narrado; (e) un relato muestra un conjunto de acontecimientos, y estos son sus unidades fundamentales." [4].

In order to make that possible, the trainee students were asked to elaborate a video of 45–60′ in length that included the educational interventions carried out during the practicum I and II. Moreover, students were required to create a summary in video format in order to present their project to the rest of the classmates during the hybrid spaces. This summary had to last

With regards to the elaboration of the video, students were given a written guide with the basic aspects of audiovisual language so that the video would be of high quality and have a narrative sense. Furthermore, classes and voluntary tutorials were simultaneously offered. In this way, students were provided with an individual and personalised monitoring of each of

In relation to the videos of the hybrid spaces, they were videotaped during their presentation by the support personnel. This was done in order to carry out a posterior analysis since diverse voices and reflections arose from the students and the school supervisors. The analysis of these voices indicates to what extent these meeting points favour the learning of other

The students organised and planned educational activities in order to create learning spaces. This was attainable due to the creation and implementation of the teaching sequence as well

about 20′ and it had to include the essence of the work that had been carried out.

the audiovisual narratives and the processing of the images.

educational models for the building of the own professional identity.

**4. Observed results from the audiovisual narratives**

hand, considers the video recordings of the sessions in the hybrid spaces.

Not only were the videos analysed, but also the reflections that arose during the presentation of the educational interventions in the hybrid spaces. This interpretation showed how some students have developed a critical and reflexive view regarding the observed teaching models. This is stressed by a student,

*Doing the training and being able to observe the videos and photos has been useful to realise that I do not want to repeat the models I have seen. I want to take the best aspects of each of the contexts that I have observed in order to use them in my educational practice. (A)*

#### **4.3. Result 3**

Self-management is a competence that has been observed throughout the whole process, both in the implementation of the teaching sequence and in the creation of the videos and the photographic material. It is important to consider that not all of the school contexts facilitated the attainment of the photos due to the law on the protection of children's personal data. Nevertheless, students found the way to explain their experiences with both inventiveness and the knowledge about the basic aspects of audiovisual language (composition, sound, edition). Hence, students venture to develop their professional training and to create the audiovisual works through actions, which were not initially defined by the teaching members.

#### **4.4. Result 4**

Both online and cooperative works are evinced to develop expressive and communicative competences. For instance, some students created teaching sequences based on the *Pinocchio* tale that were combined and interconnected albeit coming from different school contexts. In this way, students not only achieve heterogeneous and collective processes but also diverse significant learning situations. Therefore, it is more than necessary to empower online work in higher education in order to obtain learning results, and consequently, to revise the own learning practice.

#### **4.5. Result 5**

A wide range of voices have emerged through the use of videos documenting the teaching sequences by students, children and the educational institutions where the training is carried out: "el derecho a participar ha sido resumido en el concepto de *voz*, que se ha constituido en una metáfora muy potente para identificar, describir y denunciar las relaciones de poder y representación que se establecían en las instituciones y los grupos sociales" [7]. In this sense, the voice in this paper is seen as the abilities to participate, interact and empower demonstrated by the participants in the different school contexts where the practicum was conducted.

**5. Conclusions**

behaviour.

that needs to be examined.

tinuous process of revision and improvement.

The incorporation of new information technologies in the Higher Space of European Education has resulted, among other advantages, in the access to immaterial information that can be shared peer-to-peer. This information is of a great quality since it is rich in images and sounds that can be easily distributed. Furthermore, this information is always under an ethical code

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In this sense, the audiovisual narratives facilitate the building of the own professional identity during the practicum. This is plausible due to a previous selection process of content and images that have to show and describe the tasks carried out in the class. It is not just about providing audiovisual material for recording and editing audiovisual material. In fact, a posteriori process of selection and reflection on what is to be shown is equally or even more

Once the selection of the audiovisual material has been accomplished, a process that is mainly individual, the peer-to-peer analysis of audiovisual narratives takes place. This process allows students to critically reflect on the own positioning of the professional practice. Observing *what* and *how* teachers behave in school contexts and reflect on that observation helps to acquire good professional models and to modify the own workaday

Digital technologies have long been incorporated to teacher education and it has been observed that the needs and appropriation ways of the media by the audience are essential. That is what determines the efficacy and permanence of a specific technology or language. These changes allow the identification of new aesthetic, formal and semiotic possibilities,

The six results presented through the work of peer-to-peer audiovisual narratives help to opt for a training model where the reflection through a posteriori observation is prioritised in the Faculties of Education [12]. The teaching intervention is so absorbent that it is indispensable to revisit it in an attempt to improve and work on it. It is necessary to devote some time for reflection that facilitates taking new decisions so as to enhance the teaching practices. The reflection in the pedagogical process needs to be promoted. Opening spaces to the own questioning and foster the open dialogue are important procedures that those responsible for the teacher training should advocate. The formula of the hybrid space, understanding it as a place where peers dialogue through multiple languages, is an option

The audiovisual narratives permit revising the teaching practice since they favour the reflection and both the mutual and external knowledge about the professional teachers' interventions. This revision, as it has been seen, is based on the visualisation of interventions in a hybrid space where the educational agents dialogue from a significant audiovisual document. That is the only way of building a real professional identity which, as it is known, is in a con-

with the increasing hybridisation of genres and narrative multiple formats [11].

important. This is because it is there where the professional identity is being shaped.

that permits its use for educational purposes only [10].

In an attempt to reflect on the real participation of the students, the R. Hart scale was considered. The aforesaid scale describes the levels of action in a participative educational project with children. The author places the categories of *no participation* on the first three steps, which go from manipulation or ruse to symbolic participation. The other five steps are considered participation models and their educative and participative value increases according to its position on the steps. These five steps symbolise an *authentic participation* because they consider key elements such as the choice, information, enquiry and being part of decisionmaking (**Figure 1**) [8].

#### **4.6. Result 6**

After watching the 20′ videos created by the students from the practicum, it is plausible to say that they have delved into the observation and the comprehension of school contexts. Consequently, it can be stated that educating the gaze and work on the audiovisual language allows students to "alcanzar un mejor modo de ver más crítico, emancipado o liberador. Ayudar a abrir los ojos, es decir, a ser conscientes de lo que realmente sucede en el mundo, ayudarlos a reconocer el modo en que sus miradas están generalmente atadas a determinadas posiciones y perspectivas" [9].

**Figure 1.** The scale of children's participation. Source: Wikipedia.

## **5. Conclusions**

is carried out: "el derecho a participar ha sido resumido en el concepto de *voz*, que se ha constituido en una metáfora muy potente para identificar, describir y denunciar las relaciones de poder y representación que se establecían en las instituciones y los grupos sociales" [7]. In this sense, the voice in this paper is seen as the abilities to participate, interact and empower demonstrated by the participants in the different school contexts where the

54 Advanced Learning and Teaching Environments - Innovation, Contents and Methods

In an attempt to reflect on the real participation of the students, the R. Hart scale was considered. The aforesaid scale describes the levels of action in a participative educational project with children. The author places the categories of *no participation* on the first three steps, which go from manipulation or ruse to symbolic participation. The other five steps are considered participation models and their educative and participative value increases according to its position on the steps. These five steps symbolise an *authentic participation* because they consider key elements such as the choice, information, enquiry and being part of decision-

After watching the 20′ videos created by the students from the practicum, it is plausible to say that they have delved into the observation and the comprehension of school contexts. Consequently, it can be stated that educating the gaze and work on the audiovisual language allows students to "alcanzar un mejor modo de ver más crítico, emancipado o liberador. Ayudar a abrir los ojos, es decir, a ser conscientes de lo que realmente sucede en el mundo, ayudarlos a reconocer el modo en que sus miradas están generalmente atadas a determinadas

practicum was conducted.

making (**Figure 1**) [8].

posiciones y perspectivas" [9].

**Figure 1.** The scale of children's participation. Source: Wikipedia.

**4.6. Result 6**

The incorporation of new information technologies in the Higher Space of European Education has resulted, among other advantages, in the access to immaterial information that can be shared peer-to-peer. This information is of a great quality since it is rich in images and sounds that can be easily distributed. Furthermore, this information is always under an ethical code that permits its use for educational purposes only [10].

In this sense, the audiovisual narratives facilitate the building of the own professional identity during the practicum. This is plausible due to a previous selection process of content and images that have to show and describe the tasks carried out in the class. It is not just about providing audiovisual material for recording and editing audiovisual material. In fact, a posteriori process of selection and reflection on what is to be shown is equally or even more important. This is because it is there where the professional identity is being shaped.

Once the selection of the audiovisual material has been accomplished, a process that is mainly individual, the peer-to-peer analysis of audiovisual narratives takes place. This process allows students to critically reflect on the own positioning of the professional practice. Observing *what* and *how* teachers behave in school contexts and reflect on that observation helps to acquire good professional models and to modify the own workaday behaviour.

Digital technologies have long been incorporated to teacher education and it has been observed that the needs and appropriation ways of the media by the audience are essential. That is what determines the efficacy and permanence of a specific technology or language. These changes allow the identification of new aesthetic, formal and semiotic possibilities, with the increasing hybridisation of genres and narrative multiple formats [11].

The six results presented through the work of peer-to-peer audiovisual narratives help to opt for a training model where the reflection through a posteriori observation is prioritised in the Faculties of Education [12]. The teaching intervention is so absorbent that it is indispensable to revisit it in an attempt to improve and work on it. It is necessary to devote some time for reflection that facilitates taking new decisions so as to enhance the teaching practices. The reflection in the pedagogical process needs to be promoted. Opening spaces to the own questioning and foster the open dialogue are important procedures that those responsible for the teacher training should advocate. The formula of the hybrid space, understanding it as a place where peers dialogue through multiple languages, is an option that needs to be examined.

The audiovisual narratives permit revising the teaching practice since they favour the reflection and both the mutual and external knowledge about the professional teachers' interventions. This revision, as it has been seen, is based on the visualisation of interventions in a hybrid space where the educational agents dialogue from a significant audiovisual document. That is the only way of building a real professional identity which, as it is known, is in a continuous process of revision and improvement.

### **Author details**

Moisés Selfa Sastre

Address all correspondence to: mselfa@didesp.udl.cat

University of Lleida, Lleida, Spain

### **References**

[1] Orús ML. El nuevo prácticum del grado de magisterio. Aportaciones de alumnos y profesores. Estudios sobre educación. 2016;**18**:201-228

[11] Freitas C, Castro C. Narrativas audiovisuales y Tecnologías Interactivas. Revista de Estudios Culturales. 2010;**3**:5. Available from: http://www.Dialnet-NarrativasAudiovis

Academic Training in the Double Degree on Teacher of Pre-Elementary and Elementary Education: A *Reciprocity*...

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.70865

57

[12] Paz Domínguez IM, Gámez Rodríguez E. La reflexión en los procesos de formación de los profesionales de la Educación. Cuadernos de Educación y Desarrollo. 2010;**2**:22. Available from http://www.eumed.net/rev/ced/22/pdgr.htm [Accessed: April 16, 2017]

ualesYTecnologiasInteractivas-3739970.pdf [Accessed: April 16, 2017


[11] Freitas C, Castro C. Narrativas audiovisuales y Tecnologías Interactivas. Revista de Estudios Culturales. 2010;**3**:5. Available from: http://www.Dialnet-NarrativasAudiovis ualesYTecnologiasInteractivas-3739970.pdf [Accessed: April 16, 2017

**Author details**

Moisés Selfa Sastre

**References**

University of Lleida, Lleida, Spain

[Accessed: April 16, 2017]

Barcelona; 2012

profesorado. 2011;**70**:15-30

www.unicef.org. [Accessed: April 16, 2017]

Digital. Madrid: Pirámide Educación; 2007. p. 25-54

mirada.pdf. [Accessed: April 16, 2017]

Address all correspondence to: mselfa@didesp.udl.cat

56 Advanced Learning and Teaching Environments - Innovation, Contents and Methods

fesores. Estudios sobre educación. 2016;**18**:201-228

sores y estudiantes. Pulso. 2015;**35**:131-154

Transmedia, Crossmedia. Icono. 2012;**2**:102-125

Aires: Editorial Manantial/Fundación OSDE; 320 p

[1] Orús ML. El nuevo prácticum del grado de magisterio. Aportaciones de alumnos y pro-

[2] Gutiérrez CL, González-Garzón ML. El Prácticum en la formación inicial de los Maestros en las nuevas titulaciones de Educación Infantil y Primaria. El punto de vista de profe-

[3] Osorio Gómez LA. E-ducar la mirada. La necesidad de una pedagogia pobre [Internet]. 2010. Available from: http://www.raco.cat/index.php/Rusc/article/viewFile/225683/307052.

[4] Costa Sánchez C, Piñeiro-Otero T. Nuevas narrativas audiovisuales: Multiplataforma,

[5] Dussel I, Gutiérrez D. Educar la mirada. Políticas y pedagogías de la imagen. Buenos

[6] Hernández F. Investigar con imágenes, investigar sobre imágenes, desvelar aquello que permanece invisible en la relación pedagógica. Seminario Pedagogías de la cultura visual. Doctorado en Artes y Educación (curso 2012-2013). Barcelona: Universidad de

[7] Susinos S, Rodríguez C. La educación inclusiva hoy: reconocer al otro y crear comunidad a través del diálogo y la participación. Revista Interuniversitaria de Formación del

[8] Unicef. Arte y Ciudadanía. El aporte de los proyectos artístico culturales a la construcción de ciudadanía de niños, niñas y adolescentes [Internet]. 2008. Available from: http://

[9] Masschelein J. E-ducar la mirada. La necesidad de una pedagogia pobre [Internet]. 2006. Available from: http://ipn.pedagogica.edu.co/docs/files/jan-masschelein-educar-la-

[10] Chacón Medina A. La tecnología educativa en el marco de la didáctica. In: Ortega Carrillo JA, Chacón Medina A, editors. Nuevas Tecnologías para la Educación en la Era [12] Paz Domínguez IM, Gámez Rodríguez E. La reflexión en los procesos de formación de los profesionales de la Educación. Cuadernos de Educación y Desarrollo. 2010;**2**:22. Available from http://www.eumed.net/rev/ced/22/pdgr.htm [Accessed: April 16, 2017]

**Chapter 4**

**Provisional chapter**

**Distance Continuous Training of School Managers**

**Distance Continuous Training of School Managers**

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.72354

The chapter deals with the continuing education of school administrators of basic education in partnership with the Brazilian public university through the implementation of postgraduate courses in School Management (Lato Sensu) in the distance teaching mode in agreement with the National School Program Managers of Public Basic Education (PNEGEB) of the Ministry of Education (MEC) in Brazil. To bring them together in this text is to expose to debate the importance of continuing education in the postgraduate course with the perspective of the articulation between the training of school managers in effective exercise in the public school system and the possible changes in the pedagogical practice that leads to. The methodological approach of the present work is based on the bibliographical review, a qualitative approach, which allows to work with the material during the research, with its organization and greater exploration, making possible the articulation between the theoretical presuppositions of the study and the data of the reality for a better understanding of the phenomena that need to be unveiled. The proposal of these policies of continuing education through distance education to train school principals demonstrates awareness of the importance of training a critical professional in school work, a manager of the development of participatory and collective planning, allowing a constant reflection on the responsibilities of a school committed to the real

> © 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution,

© 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use,

distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

The article deals with the continuous training of school administrators of basic education through a partnership with the Brazilian public university through the implementation of postgraduation

**Keywords:** National School of Management Program, continuing education, distance

learning of its students and of effective democratic management.

education, school pedagogical work

Rita Márcia Andrade Vaz de Mello and

Rita Márcia Andrade Vaz de Mello and

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.72354

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

José Márcio Silva Barbosa

José Márcio Silva Barbosa

**Abstract**

**1. Introduction**

#### **Distance Continuous Training of School Managers Distance Continuous Training of School Managers**

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.72354

Rita Márcia Andrade Vaz de Mello and José Márcio Silva Barbosa Rita Márcia Andrade Vaz de Mello and José Márcio Silva Barbosa

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.72354

#### **Abstract**

The chapter deals with the continuing education of school administrators of basic education in partnership with the Brazilian public university through the implementation of postgraduate courses in School Management (Lato Sensu) in the distance teaching mode in agreement with the National School Program Managers of Public Basic Education (PNEGEB) of the Ministry of Education (MEC) in Brazil. To bring them together in this text is to expose to debate the importance of continuing education in the postgraduate course with the perspective of the articulation between the training of school managers in effective exercise in the public school system and the possible changes in the pedagogical practice that leads to. The methodological approach of the present work is based on the bibliographical review, a qualitative approach, which allows to work with the material during the research, with its organization and greater exploration, making possible the articulation between the theoretical presuppositions of the study and the data of the reality for a better understanding of the phenomena that need to be unveiled. The proposal of these policies of continuing education through distance education to train school principals demonstrates awareness of the importance of training a critical professional in school work, a manager of the development of participatory and collective planning, allowing a constant reflection on the responsibilities of a school committed to the real learning of its students and of effective democratic management.

**Keywords:** National School of Management Program, continuing education, distance education, school pedagogical work

### **1. Introduction**

The article deals with the continuous training of school administrators of basic education through a partnership with the Brazilian public university through the implementation of postgraduation

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

courses in School Management (Lato Sensu) in the distance teaching modality in agreement with the National Program School of Managers of Public Basic Education (PNEGEB) of the Ministry of Education (MEC) in Brazil.

It should be noted that the 1990s are marked by great interest in the formation of educational managers, propagating in Brazil the dissemination of the expression continuing education as a modality of improvement of the educator in the exercise of his/her function, becoming in recent times a theme present in the discussions in the national and

Distance Continuous Training of School Managers http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.72354 61

It has been highlighted in the field of continuing education the evidences that there is unanimity in pointing to distance education as a fundamental mechanism for the implementation of distance courses by higher education institutions (HEIs) in Brazil. These experiences are gradually being affirmed as innovative pedagogical experience for the formation of citizens,

Taking stock of existing initiatives in higher education institutions (HEIs) in Brazil, the reflections emanating from the experiences and the work carried out in the postgraduate course of the Federal University of Viçosa by the authors served as motivation for the elaboration of this chapter. We take as a starting point the experiences of the team that makes up the National School of Managers Program (PNEGEB) in the respective HEIs, in order to present its importance for the ongoing training of in-service school managers in public basic education. It is worth mentioning that despite the fact that so many other Brazilian public universities are committed to the educational demands aimed at systematizing the goal and proposal of the training program, each institution brings its existential experiences, but with a single common goal, which is to open spaces to build a process of training school managers that contemplates the conception of the right to school education and the perception of the public school in the

The methodological course of the present work is based on the bibliographical revision, through theoretical productions that guide the research work in the understanding of questions, concepts, or phenomena, describing them and interpreting them in order to subsidize information, affirmations, and statements that justify the research work, as well as the systematization of the bibliographic studies carried out, in order to know the paths that point to the discussion of the proposed themes [3]. Lüdke and André [4] show that the approach taken shows that the approach taken by school managers in Brazil, in partnership with the MEC training policy, qualitative, enterprising, and methodologically rich, allows to work the material during the research, with its organization and greater exploration, making possible the articulation between the theoretical presuppositions of the study and the data of the reality to

It should be noted that government investment has been fundamental in the search for partnerships with higher education institutions for the implementation of distance learning courses. Distance education (EaD), understood in the context of education in general and organized to train the new generations, transmits the scientific and cultural knowledge produced by society as a whole, becoming an option for the citizen of the twenty-first century, bringing limits and contradictions of modern society and also the possibility of social inclusion.

which has its peculiarities and reveals itself as a prosperous field of study.

perspective of social inclusion and human emancipation.

better understand the phenomena that need to be unveiled.

**2. Distance education**

international academic scene.

This initiative has been developed through PNEGEB. Initially, the program was started in 2005 as a pilot project for extension in school management offered by the National Institute of Studies and Educational Research Anísio Teixeira (INEP). On an experimental basis, the pilot project in comparing five programs aimed at training school managers, indicating their main characteristics in relation to new educational trends. These are distance learning program for school managers—PROGESTÃO; national program of basic education managers—PNEGEB; continuing education program for early childhood and fundamental education managers— PROGED; and interdisciplinary continuing teacher training center—CINPOP, Brazil [1].

The general objective of the program (PNEGEB) is to form, at the Lato Sensu specialization level, effective educational managers of the public schools of basic education, including those of youth and adult education, special education, and vocational education. These will only be established and carried out through well-prepared professionals committed to building knowledge and sharing experiences that are experienced on a daily basis.

Based on the local reality and the search for new ways for the school manager to direct his pedagogical practice to carry out the actions determined for the improvement of teaching quality, PNEGEB is a component of the All for Education Commitment, which is a goal plan Education Development Plan (EDP), aimed at contributing to the improvement of the basic education development index (IDEB) of schools and education systems.

The National School of Managers Program has been a continuous professional training structure, characterized as a distance learning modality, as well as a space for reflection and debate among the participants, who in turn have direct involvement with basic education. Its importance lies in the link between the school environment in harmony with various themes of education and the virtual environment in the process of continuing education, which implies relevance and concreteness to this approach. We perceive that it is necessary to seek to. The teacher is urged to take a new stand in the face of such a scientific, technological, and cultural revolution. It will no longer be the center of pedagogical practice, of the process of knowledge transmission [2], but will necessarily become an organizer, planner, and articulator of information dispersed, tacit knowledge, and scientific knowledge, (re) constructing, linking, (res) meaning, and integrating them into a critical-reflexive process that understands or helps to know how the determinants of information and communication technologies by manifesting themselves in the school space from the perspective of a group of school managers who are enrolled in the said course.

The expansion of the offer of postgraduate courses has been trying to resignify the formative processes from the reconsideration of the necessary knowledge to the teachers, besides the purpose of granting a legal qualification to the professional practice of teaching. In this perspective, it is understood that the training courses can articulate the actions of the teachers with the pedagogical practice through the reality and the school experience.

The expansion of the locus of initial and continuing teacher training has proved to be one of the important demands for updating and training teachers.

It should be noted that the 1990s are marked by great interest in the formation of educational managers, propagating in Brazil the dissemination of the expression continuing education as a modality of improvement of the educator in the exercise of his/her function, becoming in recent times a theme present in the discussions in the national and international academic scene.

It has been highlighted in the field of continuing education the evidences that there is unanimity in pointing to distance education as a fundamental mechanism for the implementation of distance courses by higher education institutions (HEIs) in Brazil. These experiences are gradually being affirmed as innovative pedagogical experience for the formation of citizens, which has its peculiarities and reveals itself as a prosperous field of study.

Taking stock of existing initiatives in higher education institutions (HEIs) in Brazil, the reflections emanating from the experiences and the work carried out in the postgraduate course of the Federal University of Viçosa by the authors served as motivation for the elaboration of this chapter. We take as a starting point the experiences of the team that makes up the National School of Managers Program (PNEGEB) in the respective HEIs, in order to present its importance for the ongoing training of in-service school managers in public basic education. It is worth mentioning that despite the fact that so many other Brazilian public universities are committed to the educational demands aimed at systematizing the goal and proposal of the training program, each institution brings its existential experiences, but with a single common goal, which is to open spaces to build a process of training school managers that contemplates the conception of the right to school education and the perception of the public school in the perspective of social inclusion and human emancipation.

The methodological course of the present work is based on the bibliographical revision, through theoretical productions that guide the research work in the understanding of questions, concepts, or phenomena, describing them and interpreting them in order to subsidize information, affirmations, and statements that justify the research work, as well as the systematization of the bibliographic studies carried out, in order to know the paths that point to the discussion of the proposed themes [3]. Lüdke and André [4] show that the approach taken shows that the approach taken by school managers in Brazil, in partnership with the MEC training policy, qualitative, enterprising, and methodologically rich, allows to work the material during the research, with its organization and greater exploration, making possible the articulation between the theoretical presuppositions of the study and the data of the reality to better understand the phenomena that need to be unveiled.

### **2. Distance education**

courses in School Management (Lato Sensu) in the distance teaching modality in agreement with the National Program School of Managers of Public Basic Education (PNEGEB) of the Ministry

This initiative has been developed through PNEGEB. Initially, the program was started in 2005 as a pilot project for extension in school management offered by the National Institute of Studies and Educational Research Anísio Teixeira (INEP). On an experimental basis, the pilot project in comparing five programs aimed at training school managers, indicating their main characteristics in relation to new educational trends. These are distance learning program for school managers—PROGESTÃO; national program of basic education managers—PNEGEB; continuing education program for early childhood and fundamental education managers— PROGED; and interdisciplinary continuing teacher training center—CINPOP, Brazil [1].

The general objective of the program (PNEGEB) is to form, at the Lato Sensu specialization level, effective educational managers of the public schools of basic education, including those of youth and adult education, special education, and vocational education. These will only be established and carried out through well-prepared professionals committed to building

Based on the local reality and the search for new ways for the school manager to direct his pedagogical practice to carry out the actions determined for the improvement of teaching quality, PNEGEB is a component of the All for Education Commitment, which is a goal plan Education Development Plan (EDP), aimed at contributing to the improvement of the basic

The National School of Managers Program has been a continuous professional training structure, characterized as a distance learning modality, as well as a space for reflection and debate among the participants, who in turn have direct involvement with basic education. Its importance lies in the link between the school environment in harmony with various themes of education and the virtual environment in the process of continuing education, which implies relevance and concreteness to this approach. We perceive that it is necessary to seek to. The teacher is urged to take a new stand in the face of such a scientific, technological, and cultural revolution. It will no longer be the center of pedagogical practice, of the process of knowledge transmission [2], but will necessarily become an organizer, planner, and articulator of information dispersed, tacit knowledge, and scientific knowledge, (re) constructing, linking, (res) meaning, and integrating them into a critical-reflexive process that understands or helps to know how the determinants of information and communication technologies by manifesting themselves in the school space from the perspective of a group of school managers who are

The expansion of the offer of postgraduate courses has been trying to resignify the formative processes from the reconsideration of the necessary knowledge to the teachers, besides the purpose of granting a legal qualification to the professional practice of teaching. In this perspective, it is understood that the training courses can articulate the actions of the teachers

The expansion of the locus of initial and continuing teacher training has proved to be one of

with the pedagogical practice through the reality and the school experience.

the important demands for updating and training teachers.

knowledge and sharing experiences that are experienced on a daily basis.

60 Advanced Learning and Teaching Environments - Innovation, Contents and Methods

education development index (IDEB) of schools and education systems.

of Education (MEC) in Brazil.

enrolled in the said course.

It should be noted that government investment has been fundamental in the search for partnerships with higher education institutions for the implementation of distance learning courses.

Distance education (EaD), understood in the context of education in general and organized to train the new generations, transmits the scientific and cultural knowledge produced by society as a whole, becoming an option for the citizen of the twenty-first century, bringing limits and contradictions of modern society and also the possibility of social inclusion.

According to Faria [5], distance education has been associated throughout the world with the democratization of access to new information and communication technologies, being recognized as a public policy with potential for the training of subjects, as well as a sign of the construction of new paradigms in the expansion of knowledge.

Online education or virtual education or education supported by new ICTs involves both the face-to-face and distance education modality. It is developed by telematic means, for example, the Internet, videoconference and teleconference television, and digital telephony. Communication can occur synchronously (communication occurs at the same time), or asynchronously, in situations of regular and/or corporate courses, in diverse levels and educational modalities (from basic to postgraduate education). ICTs can also be used in totally virtual programs, without physical contact between tutors and students, in semipresential courses, in regular classroom courses with activities that complement each other beyond the classroom, through the Internet. Interactivity can favor interaction and communication one by one (e-mail between two people); one-to-many communication (discussion forums, chats); and communication of many people to many people (website or the creation of a collaborative virtual community) in which every-

Distance Continuous Training of School Managers http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.72354 63

In the semipresential EaD, the physical separation between teacher and students is partial, that is, part of the course is structured considering the occurrence of physical encounter(s) between educators and students and part of it is effective at a distance, in virtual environment or the use of other technologies (self-instructional material, audiovisual resources, and others).

The total EaD does not predict physical face-to-face meeting between teacher-student. However, there may be simultaneous synchronous communication, via computer, Internet, telephone, or asynchronous, through electronic mail and virtual learning environments. In this case, the course is structured to happen entirely at a distance, using audiovisual resources, printed or electronic self-instructional materials (as in correspondence courses, television, and CD-ROM among others). It can also be structured in the virtual or online

Aretio [11, 21] describes e-learning—electronic learning—as a form of distance education with exclusive support in digital (Internet) systems. It has been used to promote the training of people and employees, with a view to improving organizational processes. Research by the author reveals, however, that in e-learning, the interactive, collaborative activities, problemsolving, exchange of experiences, and information are very small, which has been generating,

Blended learning or b-learning, according to Aretio [11, 21] and Belloni [12], is the education trend of the future. In this educational modality, the public or private conventional HEI can implement courses that take place in mixed environments and combined education and integrated between online education and distance education. They are called by some as bimodal EaD mode, partially distance, or semipresential with times distributed in present moments and distance and other electronic formats. However, it is not a question of simply "blending," "mixing," or "combining" teaching formats. It is a question of "integrating, harmonizing, complementing, and combining the most appropriate means, resources, technologies, activities, strategies, and techniques to satisfy each concrete learning need," in the search for the maximum balance between these curricular variables [13]. Thus, there is a strong propensity to combine online education, distance education, and face-to-face education, which is already a reality in several HEIs. It means that the "future of higher education will not be online, but in networks

between us, computers, classrooms, and the place where each student and teacher are."

one participates in the creation and development of the community itself.

EaD format, which takes place through virtual learning environments.

according to the author, low student productivity.

For Mello and Soares [6], the advancement of information technology and telecommunications, as well as the emergence of the Internet, has made the EaD to renew itself and cover courses of differentiated levels, such as undergraduate and postgraduate courses in different levels of knowledge. In this context, with numerous educational proposals at a distance, the Federal Government created its own legislation in 1996 in order to regulate EaD and to promote the accreditation of public and private institutions able to launch courses in this modality. The legal bases for EaD in Brazil were established by the Law of Directives and Bases of National Education (Law 9394, dated December 20, 1996), regulated by Decree 5.622 of December 19, 20051 .

Mello and Soares [8] point out that the important advance of Law 9394/96 was to ensure the right of young people and adults who could not complete their school life at regular age, the right to provide studies through distance education. It is also worth noting the participation of the public power in the incentive to the development and promotion of programs of distance education and teacher training, as well as the regulation of the requirements for the examination and registration of diplomas related to distance education courses.

By recognizing the changes in the world scenario and, consequently, in the educational scenario, it is expected that teachers are also in the process of change, after all, they must be in tune with all the novelties that are inserted in the school context. The new technologies impose on the human being in the face of the epistemological, social, and technological transformations that take place.

Gadotti [9] allows to produce knowledge based on the various media sources. "Educators, in an emancipatory vision, not only transform information into knowledge and critical awareness, but also form people."

According to Mello and Soares [8], it is important to understand and identify the different conceptions that underlie the different modalities of education with or without the use of technologies. There are courses of EaD focused on the transmission of content, communication in conventional formats in EaD, with contributions in the industrial way of teaching and learning or, at the opposite extreme, to justify the use of communication networks to promote interaction, reflection, the collaboration and the construction of knowledge in any learning environment, whether it is face-to-face or at a distance. In this point of view, Aretio [10] differentiates several types and modalities of education with the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Among them, it highlights: (A) online or virtual education; (B) distance learning; (C) total distance education; (D) e-learning; and (E) blended learning.

<sup>1</sup> Education is a pedagogical process consisting of teaching and learning, that is, teaching and learning (or teachinglearning). The importance of bringing up this understanding of education lies in our discomfort of using, in the scope of distance education, the terms teaching or distance learning. We consider inappropriate the use of distance teaching or distance learning, because it ignores the indispensable junction of teaching and learning. Only the terminology education would embrace this conception by Mill [7].

Online education or virtual education or education supported by new ICTs involves both the face-to-face and distance education modality. It is developed by telematic means, for example, the Internet, videoconference and teleconference television, and digital telephony. Communication can occur synchronously (communication occurs at the same time), or asynchronously, in situations of regular and/or corporate courses, in diverse levels and educational modalities (from basic to postgraduate education). ICTs can also be used in totally virtual programs, without physical contact between tutors and students, in semipresential courses, in regular classroom courses with activities that complement each other beyond the classroom, through the Internet. Interactivity can favor interaction and communication one by one (e-mail between two people); one-to-many communication (discussion forums, chats); and communication of many people to many people (website or the creation of a collaborative virtual community) in which everyone participates in the creation and development of the community itself.

According to Faria [5], distance education has been associated throughout the world with the democratization of access to new information and communication technologies, being recognized as a public policy with potential for the training of subjects, as well as a sign of the

For Mello and Soares [6], the advancement of information technology and telecommunications, as well as the emergence of the Internet, has made the EaD to renew itself and cover courses of differentiated levels, such as undergraduate and postgraduate courses in different levels of knowledge. In this context, with numerous educational proposals at a distance, the Federal Government created its own legislation in 1996 in order to regulate EaD and to promote the accreditation of public and private institutions able to launch courses in this modality. The legal bases for EaD in Brazil were established by the Law of Directives and Bases of National Education

Mello and Soares [8] point out that the important advance of Law 9394/96 was to ensure the right of young people and adults who could not complete their school life at regular age, the right to provide studies through distance education. It is also worth noting the participation of the public power in the incentive to the development and promotion of programs of distance education and teacher training, as well as the regulation of the requirements for the

By recognizing the changes in the world scenario and, consequently, in the educational scenario, it is expected that teachers are also in the process of change, after all, they must be in tune with all the novelties that are inserted in the school context. The new technologies impose on the human being in the face of the epistemological, social, and technological trans-

Gadotti [9] allows to produce knowledge based on the various media sources. "Educators, in an emancipatory vision, not only transform information into knowledge and critical aware-

According to Mello and Soares [8], it is important to understand and identify the different conceptions that underlie the different modalities of education with or without the use of technologies. There are courses of EaD focused on the transmission of content, communication in conventional formats in EaD, with contributions in the industrial way of teaching and learning or, at the opposite extreme, to justify the use of communication networks to promote interaction, reflection, the collaboration and the construction of knowledge in any learning environment, whether it is face-to-face or at a distance. In this point of view, Aretio [10] differentiates several types and modalities of education with the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Among them, it highlights: (A) online or virtual education; (B) distance

Education is a pedagogical process consisting of teaching and learning, that is, teaching and learning (or teachinglearning). The importance of bringing up this understanding of education lies in our discomfort of using, in the scope of distance education, the terms teaching or distance learning. We consider inappropriate the use of distance teaching or distance learning, because it ignores the indispensable junction of teaching and learning. Only the terminology educa-

.

(Law 9394, dated December 20, 1996), regulated by Decree 5.622 of December 19, 20051

examination and registration of diplomas related to distance education courses.

learning; (C) total distance education; (D) e-learning; and (E) blended learning.

formations that take place.

ness, but also form people."

tion would embrace this conception by Mill [7].

1

construction of new paradigms in the expansion of knowledge.

62 Advanced Learning and Teaching Environments - Innovation, Contents and Methods

In the semipresential EaD, the physical separation between teacher and students is partial, that is, part of the course is structured considering the occurrence of physical encounter(s) between educators and students and part of it is effective at a distance, in virtual environment or the use of other technologies (self-instructional material, audiovisual resources, and others).

The total EaD does not predict physical face-to-face meeting between teacher-student. However, there may be simultaneous synchronous communication, via computer, Internet, telephone, or asynchronous, through electronic mail and virtual learning environments. In this case, the course is structured to happen entirely at a distance, using audiovisual resources, printed or electronic self-instructional materials (as in correspondence courses, television, and CD-ROM among others). It can also be structured in the virtual or online EaD format, which takes place through virtual learning environments.

Aretio [11, 21] describes e-learning—electronic learning—as a form of distance education with exclusive support in digital (Internet) systems. It has been used to promote the training of people and employees, with a view to improving organizational processes. Research by the author reveals, however, that in e-learning, the interactive, collaborative activities, problemsolving, exchange of experiences, and information are very small, which has been generating, according to the author, low student productivity.

Blended learning or b-learning, according to Aretio [11, 21] and Belloni [12], is the education trend of the future. In this educational modality, the public or private conventional HEI can implement courses that take place in mixed environments and combined education and integrated between online education and distance education. They are called by some as bimodal EaD mode, partially distance, or semipresential with times distributed in present moments and distance and other electronic formats. However, it is not a question of simply "blending," "mixing," or "combining" teaching formats. It is a question of "integrating, harmonizing, complementing, and combining the most appropriate means, resources, technologies, activities, strategies, and techniques to satisfy each concrete learning need," in the search for the maximum balance between these curricular variables [13]. Thus, there is a strong propensity to combine online education, distance education, and face-to-face education, which is already a reality in several HEIs. It means that the "future of higher education will not be online, but in networks between us, computers, classrooms, and the place where each student and teacher are."

One cannot fail to consider as fundamental for the training of managers the great expansion of offers of courses in the distance modality by the Institutions of Higher Education, which instigates the development of the education process, since this happens to have its peculiarities, but reveals a thriving field of study. In this perspective, distance education has been providing profound changes to the situations set in the organization of the educational process, serving as an alternative to empower and make available the knowledge to an increasing number of individuals interested in improving their knowledge, to update or to qualify. However, in higher education, in a special way, the expansion movement of postgraduate courses has been growing in significant indices beyond the sphere covered by the face-to-face education.

dissertations that bring tangible points, to the growth in the country about the appearance of information and communication technologies (ICTs). The author noted that there are few academic papers that relate continuing education of basic education teachers to information and communication technologies and postgraduation, as well as most initiatives are restricted

Distance Continuous Training of School Managers http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.72354 65

Distance education, mediated by the different information and communication technologies, has been used as an alternative to expand the offer of continuing and postgraduate courses, especially in regions where the offer of training alternatives is still insufficient. At the heart of this debate, Mill [7] and Candeias [16] impose questions that point to the need for this articulation. For these authors, it is still necessary to make much progress in this articulation between a model of teacher training committed to educational changes, under the dynamics of ICT within the perspective of postgraduate studies, from the design and structuring of the matrix curricular of the course, going through the structural aspects, such as access to computers and

In this sense, the continued formation of managers has been widely questioned and investigated, although we do not want to exhaust the causes, we seek to emphasize that this resource is at the service of the development and learning of students, effectively favoring the possible democratization of the teaching, and becoming through this ongoing mechanism accessible to all of the public school. In this context, it is not enough just to build knowledge, but also, access to it which through distance education, provides technical support in line with the didactic-methodological context of the formative process capable of creating a protagonist position on the pedagogical work necessary to the demands and expectations of changes in management and in school.

In view of the technological revolution, one of the most visible consequences of this process was the incorporation of information and communication technologies in data organization and in the intensification of online access that collaborate to boost educational performance. Hessel [17] inserted in a social space where there is a growing need for interaction and participation of the subjects to face their challenges, the educational agency can facilitate connectivity, with the adoption of ICT. The issue is not limited to assimilating ICT as a teaching and learning tool, research, routine automation, or as a provider of managerial information. It is about supporting and expanding communication channels, whether internally, because decentralization of power should promote the integration of school staff, either externally, because the school needs to share information, establish contacts of all kinds, and to activate a communicative network that facilitates the interaction among parents, students, teachers, etc. This situation is anchored in the search for an understanding of the relations that are established in the interaction of the education and technology components. If we take into consideration the thematic axes of work and discussed in each discipline of the postgraduate course in school management, all planned as a means of possible intervention in the school reality, we must realize that ICTs have been raised as new perspectives for the management of the educational process, with a view to promoting initiatives that stimulate the involvement of the trainees and as a work strategy of the professionals in EaD. It means to say that regarding the professionals working in higher education establishments and in tune with the use of ICT cannot lose sight of the use of these to interpret the new and advance the

to specialization or improvement courses.

concreteness, among other issues.

This type of education is associated with the strong development of digital technologies, mediated by new information and communication technologies. In this perspective, the National Program of Basic Education Managers has as one of the main axes distance education, evidencing the possibility of democratization of knowledge, consolidating as a strategy of in-service training policy for school managers and a vehicle for dissemination of content aimed at adapting the school with a fundamental role in this process of democratization.

Sette [14] adopting creative proposals and possibilities for good school management opens space for a more active and permanent participation of all actors in the educational process, which, combined with the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), enhances the process of knowledge construction, citizenship, as well as facilitates the interaction between the actors of the educational process, extending the special frontiers, reaching external partners outside the school, the city, and perhaps the country. According to Teixeira [15], it is the one that enables the attendance of a significant number of subjects in their places of work with a reasonable cost. In her research work, the author reports that the Ministry of Education (MEC) is interested in the dissemination and use of distance education and justifies its position affirming the need for flexibility in the organization and development of the students throughout their studies, since, according to the MEC, this would strengthen the intellectual autonomy and guarantee access to the TICs. In addition, the author argues that EaD is a modality that facilitates, at least from an economic and practical point of view, initial and continuing training programs in countries with a broad territorial extension, such as Brazil.

#### **3. Continuing education and ICTs**

Candeias [16] implies that the search for continuing education under the perspective of postgraduate distance courses deserves to be highlighted, due to the fact that we will have an increasing contingent of teachers who will make the option of a training linked to a Lato Sensu Postgraduate course, something that is not decontextualized from the reality of basic education, which is configured as a constant and that seems to have come to stay, imposing on the universities and, in particular, the Postgraduate Programs of all Brazil, the debate about their role. In addition, establishing an analysis of the continuing education of basic education teachers articulating with information and communication technologies and postgraduation has been the challenge in the present time. The importance of the relationship between these themes is in line with the vision of Mill [7] that investigated CAPES bank, theses, and dissertations that bring tangible points, to the growth in the country about the appearance of information and communication technologies (ICTs). The author noted that there are few academic papers that relate continuing education of basic education teachers to information and communication technologies and postgraduation, as well as most initiatives are restricted to specialization or improvement courses.

One cannot fail to consider as fundamental for the training of managers the great expansion of offers of courses in the distance modality by the Institutions of Higher Education, which instigates the development of the education process, since this happens to have its peculiarities, but reveals a thriving field of study. In this perspective, distance education has been providing profound changes to the situations set in the organization of the educational process, serving as an alternative to empower and make available the knowledge to an increasing number of individuals interested in improving their knowledge, to update or to qualify. However, in higher education, in a special way, the expansion movement of postgraduate courses has been growing in significant indices beyond the sphere covered by the face-to-face education. This type of education is associated with the strong development of digital technologies, mediated by new information and communication technologies. In this perspective, the National Program of Basic Education Managers has as one of the main axes distance education, evidencing the possibility of democratization of knowledge, consolidating as a strategy of in-service training policy for school managers and a vehicle for dissemination of content aimed at adapting the school with a fundamental role in this process of democratization.

64 Advanced Learning and Teaching Environments - Innovation, Contents and Methods

Sette [14] adopting creative proposals and possibilities for good school management opens space for a more active and permanent participation of all actors in the educational process, which, combined with the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), enhances the process of knowledge construction, citizenship, as well as facilitates the interaction between the actors of the educational process, extending the special frontiers, reaching external partners outside the school, the city, and perhaps the country. According to Teixeira [15], it is the one that enables the attendance of a significant number of subjects in their places of work with a reasonable cost. In her research work, the author reports that the Ministry of Education (MEC) is interested in the dissemination and use of distance education and justifies its position affirming the need for flexibility in the organization and development of the students throughout their studies, since, according to the MEC, this would strengthen the intellectual autonomy and guarantee access to the TICs. In addition, the author argues that EaD is a modality that facilitates, at least from an economic and practical point of view, initial and continuing training programs in countries with a broad territorial extension, such as Brazil.

Candeias [16] implies that the search for continuing education under the perspective of postgraduate distance courses deserves to be highlighted, due to the fact that we will have an increasing contingent of teachers who will make the option of a training linked to a Lato Sensu Postgraduate course, something that is not decontextualized from the reality of basic education, which is configured as a constant and that seems to have come to stay, imposing on the universities and, in particular, the Postgraduate Programs of all Brazil, the debate about their role. In addition, establishing an analysis of the continuing education of basic education teachers articulating with information and communication technologies and postgraduation has been the challenge in the present time. The importance of the relationship between these themes is in line with the vision of Mill [7] that investigated CAPES bank, theses, and

**3. Continuing education and ICTs**

Distance education, mediated by the different information and communication technologies, has been used as an alternative to expand the offer of continuing and postgraduate courses, especially in regions where the offer of training alternatives is still insufficient. At the heart of this debate, Mill [7] and Candeias [16] impose questions that point to the need for this articulation. For these authors, it is still necessary to make much progress in this articulation between a model of teacher training committed to educational changes, under the dynamics of ICT within the perspective of postgraduate studies, from the design and structuring of the matrix curricular of the course, going through the structural aspects, such as access to computers and concreteness, among other issues.

In this sense, the continued formation of managers has been widely questioned and investigated, although we do not want to exhaust the causes, we seek to emphasize that this resource is at the service of the development and learning of students, effectively favoring the possible democratization of the teaching, and becoming through this ongoing mechanism accessible to all of the public school. In this context, it is not enough just to build knowledge, but also, access to it which through distance education, provides technical support in line with the didactic-methodological context of the formative process capable of creating a protagonist position on the pedagogical work necessary to the demands and expectations of changes in management and in school.

In view of the technological revolution, one of the most visible consequences of this process was the incorporation of information and communication technologies in data organization and in the intensification of online access that collaborate to boost educational performance.

Hessel [17] inserted in a social space where there is a growing need for interaction and participation of the subjects to face their challenges, the educational agency can facilitate connectivity, with the adoption of ICT. The issue is not limited to assimilating ICT as a teaching and learning tool, research, routine automation, or as a provider of managerial information. It is about supporting and expanding communication channels, whether internally, because decentralization of power should promote the integration of school staff, either externally, because the school needs to share information, establish contacts of all kinds, and to activate a communicative network that facilitates the interaction among parents, students, teachers, etc.

This situation is anchored in the search for an understanding of the relations that are established in the interaction of the education and technology components. If we take into consideration the thematic axes of work and discussed in each discipline of the postgraduate course in school management, all planned as a means of possible intervention in the school reality, we must realize that ICTs have been raised as new perspectives for the management of the educational process, with a view to promoting initiatives that stimulate the involvement of the trainees and as a work strategy of the professionals in EaD. It means to say that regarding the professionals working in higher education establishments and in tune with the use of ICT cannot lose sight of the use of these to interpret the new and advance the didactic-methodological content of the training process from the experience and the experience of each student in his way of being and unveiling the school reality.

completion of the renovation project in order to truly introduce change in school, as well as discovering its potential to provide a new environment for questioning and transforming education.

Distance Continuous Training of School Managers http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.72354 67

Aretio [10] and Belloni [15] found that the answers to this question are many and far from being unanimous, but they seem to signal a tendency to group around the idea of reflection (emphasis added) on the pedagogical practice conducive to integration, the technical means of communication and computer science and to the educational processes, since the reflection on the practice itself "necessarily leads to the creation of a specific knowledge and linked to the action, that can be acquired through the contact with the practice, because it is tacit knowledge, personal, and not systematic." As a process of professionalization, the reflection must be directly articulated to the expansion of the decision-making capacity and the interpretation of the social and school dynamics, by the teacher. In this sense, the principle of a formation that seeks to transform social reality, which is at the heart of the formative policies and espe-

It is also important to consider encouraging the creation of distance education courses, such as initiatives and training programs for educators and the concern with the objective condi-

With this in mind, citizenship training, government investment, and the search for partnership reveal indispensable instruments, particularly favoring good training or professional qualification, since the number of people who have access to available technologies in the field of education. Currently, education has been widely questioned and investigated, but with the great expansion of offers of courses in the distance modality by the Institutions of Higher Education,

Brazil [19, 22] continuing education has its peculiarities, but it proves to be a prosperous field of study due to its importance related to the link between the virtual environment and the school environment, as it aims to provide opportunities for capacity building such as analyze and solve problems, elaborate and develop projects and activities in the management area

The involvement of the Federal University of Viçosa (UFV), in the process of continuous training in partnership with the MEC/National Program School of Public Basic Education Managers, intended to establish a link between this institution and the MEC/SEB training policy. A process of knowledge production, beyond the training of state education professionals, will allow the construction of a potential institutional space for teachers, technicians, and students. The basic objective of the program is to contribute to the effective training of public school professionals so that they have theoretical and practical elements that enable a basic school education with social quality. The All for Education Commitment and the Education Development Plan (EDP) relate to the mobilization around the improvement of basic education in Brazil, contributing to

For the development and offering of the postgraduate course in school management, the multidisciplinary team is composed of tutors, effective teachers of the UFV Education Department, temporary teachers, and coordinators, as well as administrative and technological support, highly qualified to offer a teaching of quality. Without elaborating the function of each one in detail so as not to exhaust the pertinent subject to the competences that the function requires,

cially to the graduate programs of all Brazil, the debate about its social role.

instigates the development of the process of training of school managers.

with the support of information and communication technologies (ICTs).

the improvement of the IDEB of schools and education systems.

tions of work that teachers involved with virtual distance education are submitted.

In this sense, distance education has been stimulated as the fastest and most economical means of responding to the legal requirements of teacher qualification, which in the context of school organizations has affirmed principles and practices of school management. Castro [18] points out that the implementation of policies and training programs in management aims to strengthen leadership, communication, negotiation, and problem-solving skills, and teamwork to optimize the opportunities that the autonomy brings to school.

Belloni [12] studied that in the first decade of 2000, courses, especially at a distance, were launched, either online or semiresources, directed at educational managers, carried out nationally on a large scale by the Ministry of Education, the National Institute of Education Studies and Research Anísio Teixeira (MEC/INEP), and by the National Council of Secretaries of Education (CONSED), as well as others offered by companies and higher education institutions, both public and private, since, during this period, efficient and effective management was prioritized as an essential element for the good quality of the education system and school, that is, management focused on the responsibility for raising the quality of teaching in public schools, as well as the emphasis on democratic management as a social achievement. This process resulted in the final proposal of the specialization course in school management, in the form of distance education, with the aim of expanding the possibilities of acting and training of school managers by reflecting on the issues involved in democratic management and the apprehension/construction processes and procedures that favor the practice of management and the realization of the right to basic education. This requires radical changes in the field of education to which it is necessary to reevaluate theories and to reinvent strategies and practices in which the quality school will have to integrate the new communication technologies in a way efficient and critical, without perceiving the humanist ideals of modernity.

The creation of the Open University of Brazil (UAB), by Decree no. 5800 dated June 8, 2006, institutionalizes distance teacher training programs as a teacher training policy, with the objective of expanding and internalizing the offer of courses and public higher education programs, at a distance, offering, as a priority, courses undergraduate and initial and continuing training of teachers of basic education, higher courses to train managers, managers and workers in basic education. Behind these guidelines, there is a need for pedagogical assistance, technical and educational training, with the aim not only of training people capable of using computers, but also of questioning, creating, and using this means of communication as a means of participation in society. These translate into the innovation of pedagogical processes when giving teachers and managers access to new knowledge of distance learning.

By empowering manager-trainees to use the virtual learning environment, it is hoped to support school management in promoting the autonomy of the subject, interaction in learning, and knowledge construction that helps the school understand its current level of organizational development. Therefore, the use and appropriation of technologies should be used as a means and not as an end, in a resized vision in the relation action /reflection/constant action and emphasis in the practical application in the teaching work, reflecting its effectiveness.

In this sense, adopting creative proposals and real possibilities of carrying out a joint work is of paramount importance. We reinforce the idea that teacher training is the first step toward the completion of the renovation project in order to truly introduce change in school, as well as discovering its potential to provide a new environment for questioning and transforming education.

didactic-methodological content of the training process from the experience and the experi-

In this sense, distance education has been stimulated as the fastest and most economical means of responding to the legal requirements of teacher qualification, which in the context of school organizations has affirmed principles and practices of school management. Castro [18] points out that the implementation of policies and training programs in management aims to strengthen leadership, communication, negotiation, and problem-solving skills, and team-

Belloni [12] studied that in the first decade of 2000, courses, especially at a distance, were launched, either online or semiresources, directed at educational managers, carried out nationally on a large scale by the Ministry of Education, the National Institute of Education Studies and Research Anísio Teixeira (MEC/INEP), and by the National Council of Secretaries of Education (CONSED), as well as others offered by companies and higher education institutions, both public and private, since, during this period, efficient and effective management was prioritized as an essential element for the good quality of the education system and school, that is, management focused on the responsibility for raising the quality of teaching in public schools, as well as the emphasis on democratic management as a social achievement. This process resulted in the final proposal of the specialization course in school management, in the form of distance education, with the aim of expanding the possibilities of acting and training of school managers by reflecting on the issues involved in democratic management and the apprehension/construction processes and procedures that favor the practice of management and the realization of the right to basic education. This requires radical changes in the field of education to which it is necessary to reevaluate theories and to reinvent strategies and practices in which the quality school will have to integrate the new communication technologies in a way efficient and critical, without perceiving the humanist ideals of modernity. The creation of the Open University of Brazil (UAB), by Decree no. 5800 dated June 8, 2006, institutionalizes distance teacher training programs as a teacher training policy, with the objective of expanding and internalizing the offer of courses and public higher education programs, at a distance, offering, as a priority, courses undergraduate and initial and continuing training of teachers of basic education, higher courses to train managers, managers and workers in basic education. Behind these guidelines, there is a need for pedagogical assistance, technical and educational training, with the aim not only of training people capable of using computers, but also of questioning, creating, and using this means of communication as a means of participation in society. These translate into the innovation of pedagogical processes

when giving teachers and managers access to new knowledge of distance learning.

By empowering manager-trainees to use the virtual learning environment, it is hoped to support school management in promoting the autonomy of the subject, interaction in learning, and knowledge construction that helps the school understand its current level of organizational development. Therefore, the use and appropriation of technologies should be used as a means and not as an end, in a resized vision in the relation action /reflection/constant action and emphasis in the practical application in the teaching work, reflecting its effectiveness.

In this sense, adopting creative proposals and real possibilities of carrying out a joint work is of paramount importance. We reinforce the idea that teacher training is the first step toward the

ence of each student in his way of being and unveiling the school reality.

66 Advanced Learning and Teaching Environments - Innovation, Contents and Methods

work to optimize the opportunities that the autonomy brings to school.

Aretio [10] and Belloni [15] found that the answers to this question are many and far from being unanimous, but they seem to signal a tendency to group around the idea of reflection (emphasis added) on the pedagogical practice conducive to integration, the technical means of communication and computer science and to the educational processes, since the reflection on the practice itself "necessarily leads to the creation of a specific knowledge and linked to the action, that can be acquired through the contact with the practice, because it is tacit knowledge, personal, and not systematic." As a process of professionalization, the reflection must be directly articulated to the expansion of the decision-making capacity and the interpretation of the social and school dynamics, by the teacher. In this sense, the principle of a formation that seeks to transform social reality, which is at the heart of the formative policies and especially to the graduate programs of all Brazil, the debate about its social role.

It is also important to consider encouraging the creation of distance education courses, such as initiatives and training programs for educators and the concern with the objective conditions of work that teachers involved with virtual distance education are submitted.

With this in mind, citizenship training, government investment, and the search for partnership reveal indispensable instruments, particularly favoring good training or professional qualification, since the number of people who have access to available technologies in the field of education. Currently, education has been widely questioned and investigated, but with the great expansion of offers of courses in the distance modality by the Institutions of Higher Education, instigates the development of the process of training of school managers.

Brazil [19, 22] continuing education has its peculiarities, but it proves to be a prosperous field of study due to its importance related to the link between the virtual environment and the school environment, as it aims to provide opportunities for capacity building such as analyze and solve problems, elaborate and develop projects and activities in the management area with the support of information and communication technologies (ICTs).

The involvement of the Federal University of Viçosa (UFV), in the process of continuous training in partnership with the MEC/National Program School of Public Basic Education Managers, intended to establish a link between this institution and the MEC/SEB training policy. A process of knowledge production, beyond the training of state education professionals, will allow the construction of a potential institutional space for teachers, technicians, and students. The basic objective of the program is to contribute to the effective training of public school professionals so that they have theoretical and practical elements that enable a basic school education with social quality. The All for Education Commitment and the Education Development Plan (EDP) relate to the mobilization around the improvement of basic education in Brazil, contributing to the improvement of the IDEB of schools and education systems.

For the development and offering of the postgraduate course in school management, the multidisciplinary team is composed of tutors, effective teachers of the UFV Education Department, temporary teachers, and coordinators, as well as administrative and technological support, highly qualified to offer a teaching of quality. Without elaborating the function of each one in detail so as not to exhaust the pertinent subject to the competences that the function requires, these professionals keep as general traits the relevance of performance in EaD with differentiated and clear characteristics as to the role, since each one in its specificity has been an incentive for students seeking knowledge in the distance learning modality.

to the center of the academic discussions, the communication, pedagogical and interactive potential they come promoting in the possibilities of socialization and learning, since, the performance of the manager in the school context consists of a space of mobilization, organization, and involvement in the educational processes, that by their active and competent

Distance Continuous Training of School Managers http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.72354 69

Felinto [6] explained that with regard to the EaD in this program, it is important to emphasize that it plays an important role and is perhaps an indispensable condition for its accomplishment, since it makes it possible to attend a significant number of subjects in their work places at a reasonable cost. In her research work, the author reports that the Ministry of Education (MEC) has an interest in the dissemination and use of the modality, and justifies its position affirming the need for flexibility in the organization and development of the trainees throughout their studies, since, according to the MEC, this would strengthen the intellectual autonomy and guarantee access to the TICs. In addition, the author argues that EaD is a modality that facilitates, at least from an economic and practical point of view, initial and continuing training programs in countries with a broad territorial extension, such as Brazil.

These aspects are part of the proposed structure initially planned for support. If we take into account the supports of the program and distance learning courses using a variety of digital technologies, we might think that the greatest desired change in education should be associated with how these educational resources will be designed, developed, managed, and to be

In this sense, the training of school managers becomes a necessity and a challenge for the education systems. It is common, in training programs, to hear some participants express that "in practice, the theory is different." Such an understanding in Lück's [20] view can be explained by the theorizing, content and book character of training programs, without the need to show, through situations that are simulated, by dramatizations, case studies, and other exercises, to

In order to revert this picture, propositions of activities in the course are woven to rethink the commitment that the managers-curators have with the exercise of their profession. Within this perspective, it is possible to search for the elements that would be "constituting," such as its attributions, tensions, challenges, and problematizations for the definition of pedagogical guidelines and to give a broad knowledge to what has been happening in basic education. Lastly, monitoring, stimulating, and provoking some tensions and promoting their periodic review has been the minimum differential for the completion of the course and for the implementation of a meaningful and transformative formation of the education by the managers-students.

The process of continuous training presupposes the exercise of reflection for professional development. For this, it is fundamental to create solidly grounded and critically situated study opportunities. It should provide a deeper understanding of the school reality, the transformation of pedagogical practices and working conditions, as well as the consolidation of the identity of the education professional. At the same time, it must consolidate an understanding of the school as a formative space, in the perspective of which it is fundamental to construct, in the school routine, moments, spaces, and processes in which teachers and other subjects of

application and the expression in reality, of the theoretical conceptions treated.

education develop training practices articulated to educational practice.

participation, promote the accomplishment of its objectives.

made available and appropriated by the trainers.

In EaD, ICT can be adopted with the aim of facilitating the teaching-learning process, either to construct the educational material or to stimulate the collaboration and interaction among the participants of a course, facilitating the collective construction of knowledge. Many educational platforms and environments have been created to promote learning through the use of an Internet-connected computer. These environments favor access to educational technologies, such as platforms or learning environments, we mention—PVANET (PVA of the expression Pavilion of class and net, of the Internet)—virtual learning environment developed at the Federal University of Viçosa in Minas Gerais to Courses in distance mode. This environment allows you to create, maintain, and administer Internet-based courses.

The methodology of the course is based on students' own knowledge construction. They experience dialogs with videos, chats, forum, online evaluations, mural, questions and answers, reports, and virtual library, in order to answer, question, and appropriate new knowledge. These resources are at the service of the development and learning of students, effectively favoring the democratization of education, and becoming, through these mechanisms, the necessary instrument for their formation in a form accessible to all who participate in it.

In developing and answering questions about particular subjects, students develop a critical attitude toward learning and build their own knowledge. In addition, addressing different perspectives for implementing changes in school and constructed experiences may lead us to rethink the practical activities of students, their reflections, and their critical questions.

The search for distance learning courses, evidenced by the rapid increase in the search for enrollment in the course of managers of the Federal University of Viçosa, sends us, without pretending to be audacious, to meet the demand and the quality of courses in the mode of distance learning. Therefore, for the seventh consecutive year, the institution has been contemplated with the renewal of a contract with the MEC, a fact that has generated a continuous flow with the institution.

Moreover, each year and each course, the demand for professionals in the field of education who choose to take Lato Sensu Course through this mode of teaching grows, as it makes it accessible to all. And there are several reasons: the convenience of studying anywhere, at any time, and sometimes even the way to organize time are the great attractions for those who choose this mode of teaching. We may also notice that in many cases, these subjects have discontinued their studies for some reason, and are able to return through distance learning. Each day distance courses are becoming common for those seeking qualification and career plan and in this panorama, in the course offered in partnership UFV/MEC/School of Managers, there is a demand around 400 students enrolled and divided into 10 classes so that they can have better use and follow-up.

The ease that these perspectives engender for the academic work and for the managersstudents allows to reach goals that previously seemed impossible. These initiatives suggest a process of constructing a new paradigm in educational projects in Brazilian society, in which the question of the training and qualification of these professionals in education is brought to the center of the academic discussions, the communication, pedagogical and interactive potential they come promoting in the possibilities of socialization and learning, since, the performance of the manager in the school context consists of a space of mobilization, organization, and involvement in the educational processes, that by their active and competent participation, promote the accomplishment of its objectives.

these professionals keep as general traits the relevance of performance in EaD with differentiated and clear characteristics as to the role, since each one in its specificity has been an incen-

In EaD, ICT can be adopted with the aim of facilitating the teaching-learning process, either to construct the educational material or to stimulate the collaboration and interaction among the participants of a course, facilitating the collective construction of knowledge. Many educational platforms and environments have been created to promote learning through the use of an Internet-connected computer. These environments favor access to educational technologies, such as platforms or learning environments, we mention—PVANET (PVA of the expression Pavilion of class and net, of the Internet)—virtual learning environment developed at the Federal University of Viçosa in Minas Gerais to Courses in distance mode. This environment

The methodology of the course is based on students' own knowledge construction. They experience dialogs with videos, chats, forum, online evaluations, mural, questions and answers, reports, and virtual library, in order to answer, question, and appropriate new knowledge. These resources are at the service of the development and learning of students, effectively favoring the democratization of education, and becoming, through these mechanisms, the necessary instrument for their formation in a form accessible to all who participate in it.

In developing and answering questions about particular subjects, students develop a critical attitude toward learning and build their own knowledge. In addition, addressing different perspectives for implementing changes in school and constructed experiences may lead us to rethink the practical activities of students, their reflections, and their critical questions.

The search for distance learning courses, evidenced by the rapid increase in the search for enrollment in the course of managers of the Federal University of Viçosa, sends us, without pretending to be audacious, to meet the demand and the quality of courses in the mode of distance learning. Therefore, for the seventh consecutive year, the institution has been contemplated with the renewal of a contract with the MEC, a fact that has generated a continuous flow

Moreover, each year and each course, the demand for professionals in the field of education who choose to take Lato Sensu Course through this mode of teaching grows, as it makes it accessible to all. And there are several reasons: the convenience of studying anywhere, at any time, and sometimes even the way to organize time are the great attractions for those who choose this mode of teaching. We may also notice that in many cases, these subjects have discontinued their studies for some reason, and are able to return through distance learning. Each day distance courses are becoming common for those seeking qualification and career plan and in this panorama, in the course offered in partnership UFV/MEC/School of Managers, there is a demand around 400 students enrolled and divided into 10 classes so that

The ease that these perspectives engender for the academic work and for the managersstudents allows to reach goals that previously seemed impossible. These initiatives suggest a process of constructing a new paradigm in educational projects in Brazilian society, in which the question of the training and qualification of these professionals in education is brought

tive for students seeking knowledge in the distance learning modality.

68 Advanced Learning and Teaching Environments - Innovation, Contents and Methods

allows you to create, maintain, and administer Internet-based courses.

with the institution.

they can have better use and follow-up.

Felinto [6] explained that with regard to the EaD in this program, it is important to emphasize that it plays an important role and is perhaps an indispensable condition for its accomplishment, since it makes it possible to attend a significant number of subjects in their work places at a reasonable cost. In her research work, the author reports that the Ministry of Education (MEC) has an interest in the dissemination and use of the modality, and justifies its position affirming the need for flexibility in the organization and development of the trainees throughout their studies, since, according to the MEC, this would strengthen the intellectual autonomy and guarantee access to the TICs. In addition, the author argues that EaD is a modality that facilitates, at least from an economic and practical point of view, initial and continuing training programs in countries with a broad territorial extension, such as Brazil.

These aspects are part of the proposed structure initially planned for support. If we take into account the supports of the program and distance learning courses using a variety of digital technologies, we might think that the greatest desired change in education should be associated with how these educational resources will be designed, developed, managed, and to be made available and appropriated by the trainers.

In this sense, the training of school managers becomes a necessity and a challenge for the education systems. It is common, in training programs, to hear some participants express that "in practice, the theory is different." Such an understanding in Lück's [20] view can be explained by the theorizing, content and book character of training programs, without the need to show, through situations that are simulated, by dramatizations, case studies, and other exercises, to application and the expression in reality, of the theoretical conceptions treated.

In order to revert this picture, propositions of activities in the course are woven to rethink the commitment that the managers-curators have with the exercise of their profession. Within this perspective, it is possible to search for the elements that would be "constituting," such as its attributions, tensions, challenges, and problematizations for the definition of pedagogical guidelines and to give a broad knowledge to what has been happening in basic education. Lastly, monitoring, stimulating, and provoking some tensions and promoting their periodic review has been the minimum differential for the completion of the course and for the implementation of a meaningful and transformative formation of the education by the managers-students.

The process of continuous training presupposes the exercise of reflection for professional development. For this, it is fundamental to create solidly grounded and critically situated study opportunities. It should provide a deeper understanding of the school reality, the transformation of pedagogical practices and working conditions, as well as the consolidation of the identity of the education professional. At the same time, it must consolidate an understanding of the school as a formative space, in the perspective of which it is fundamental to construct, in the school routine, moments, spaces, and processes in which teachers and other subjects of education develop training practices articulated to educational practice.

### **4. Final considerations**

The text points to the fact that with the growth of distance courses in the country. The School of Managers of the Federal University of Viçosa has been qualitatively determining the horizon of professional development and adequate continuing education for those who seek to improve their professional training.

commitment, and constant search of quality. We value the deepening and improvement of the knowledge of the school managers, in a continuing education and distance education course, based on the theoretical and daily development of school management, in order to promote dialog and interaction among peers, so that they understand the historical, political, social, technological,

Distance Continuous Training of School Managers http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.72354 71

\* and José Márcio Silva Barbosa2

and organizational contexts involving their school and themselves as professionals.

1 Department of Education, Federal University of Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil

[1] Brazil. Ministry of Education. National Program School of Managers of Public Basic Education. Brasília: Ministry of Education; 2005. Available from: http://gestao2010.mec.gov.

[3] Alves-Mazotti AJ, Geweandsznadjer F. Qualitative research planning. In: Alves-Mazzotti AJ, Gewandsznadjer F, editors. The Method in the Natural and Social Sciences: Quantitative

[4] Ludke M, André MEDA. Data analysis and some issues related to objectivity and validity in qualitative approaches. In: Ludke M, editor. Research in Education: Qualitative Approaches.

[5] Faria EV. The tutor in distance education: The construction of knowledge through interaction in media environments in the context of liberating education. Scientia FAER. 2010;

[6] Felinto MAS, Pedreira ALS. The importance of continuing education in the development of the work of school managers and pedagogical coordinators in the school environment. In: Alves IMA, Góes MCL, editors. The Pedagogical Coordinator in the School

[7] Mill D.Analysis of distance education as an intersection between teacher education, digital technologies and post-graduate education. Educational Perspective. 2013;**4**(2):343-369

[8] Mello RMAV, Soares LA. Intercessions between Role, Attribution, Mediation and Pedagogical Practice of the Present Tutors in the Continuing Formation of Distance Teachers.

[2] Demo P. Knowledge and Learning in the New Media. Brasília: Plano; 2001. 119 p

2 Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

br/o\_que\_foi\_feito/program\_29.php [Accessed: March 22, 2013]

and Qualitative Research. São Paulo: Pioneer; 1998. pp. 147-178

**Author details**

**References**

**2**:28-37

Rita Márcia Andrade Vaz de Mello1

São Paulo: EPU; 1986. pp. 53-62

Curitiba: CRV; 2013. pp. 39-108

Context. Salvador: EDUFBA; 2014. pp. 225-254

\*Address all correspondence to: ritamarciamello@gmail.com

The proposal of these policies of continuing education through distance education to train school principals demonstrates awareness of the importance of training a critical professional in school work, a manager of the development of participatory and collective planning, allowing constant reflection on responsibilities of a school committed to the real learning of its students and of effective democratic management.

In this way, to lead the Institution of Higher Education that promotes the participation of all the actors involved in the formative process, so that the search for improvement of the educational process in a democratic way takes place, it needs to help it to relate the didactic exercise of accomplishment of the activities with the concrete situations of its pedagogical practice, in order to continually improve it, has at its base the academic management, the use of EaD, and the opportunity of a variety of activities of innovative learning.

The challenge in the present tense is the ability to know how to use them and the skill that is gained through practice. It is a well-known fact that the EaD has received many criticisms, which instigates us to inquire about what is manifested and what is proposed in educational actions, regarding the use and appropriation of information and communication technologies in the school space. And it is around this question and because of it that it constituted the path that we seek to probe and to perceive, so that we can know the behavior of the students, desires, anxieties, desires, and their conceptions through the proposed actions that should contemplate in the internal structures in the school, relevant knowledge acquired during the course in the course of the School of Managers.

The identification of the need to prepare school managers in the field due to their important task in basic education has led us to seek to establish the mission and objectives both the policy of continuous training that proposes access to all and the actions of the coordination of the course together. To the MEC for the inclusion of teachers in the course, for believing that in the future, these may be future managers of basic education.

We have a transparent and ethical commitment to call into question the meanings of formation and the contexts that shape it, which now show the possibility for action by the students, who now break with the contradictions that emanate education. And from this, it is important to emphasize that in the form of institutional organization of the policies of continuing education has brought positive marks and that has enabled the search to deepen the discussion and reflection on the degree of effectiveness of this professional qualification of school managers in EaD programs.

Faced with the reflections emanated in this study, the perception regarding the quality of the postgraduate course in school management is centrally related to the persistence, dedication, and motivation of academics, tutors, and teachers due to professional commitment, seriousness, commitment, and constant search of quality. We value the deepening and improvement of the knowledge of the school managers, in a continuing education and distance education course, based on the theoretical and daily development of school management, in order to promote dialog and interaction among peers, so that they understand the historical, political, social, technological, and organizational contexts involving their school and themselves as professionals.

### **Author details**

**4. Final considerations**

improve their professional training.

students and of effective democratic management.

course in the course of the School of Managers.

in EaD programs.

the opportunity of a variety of activities of innovative learning.

70 Advanced Learning and Teaching Environments - Innovation, Contents and Methods

in the future, these may be future managers of basic education.

The text points to the fact that with the growth of distance courses in the country. The School of Managers of the Federal University of Viçosa has been qualitatively determining the horizon of professional development and adequate continuing education for those who seek to

The proposal of these policies of continuing education through distance education to train school principals demonstrates awareness of the importance of training a critical professional in school work, a manager of the development of participatory and collective planning, allowing constant reflection on responsibilities of a school committed to the real learning of its

In this way, to lead the Institution of Higher Education that promotes the participation of all the actors involved in the formative process, so that the search for improvement of the educational process in a democratic way takes place, it needs to help it to relate the didactic exercise of accomplishment of the activities with the concrete situations of its pedagogical practice, in order to continually improve it, has at its base the academic management, the use of EaD, and

The challenge in the present tense is the ability to know how to use them and the skill that is gained through practice. It is a well-known fact that the EaD has received many criticisms, which instigates us to inquire about what is manifested and what is proposed in educational actions, regarding the use and appropriation of information and communication technologies in the school space. And it is around this question and because of it that it constituted the path that we seek to probe and to perceive, so that we can know the behavior of the students, desires, anxieties, desires, and their conceptions through the proposed actions that should contemplate in the internal structures in the school, relevant knowledge acquired during the

The identification of the need to prepare school managers in the field due to their important task in basic education has led us to seek to establish the mission and objectives both the policy of continuous training that proposes access to all and the actions of the coordination of the course together. To the MEC for the inclusion of teachers in the course, for believing that

We have a transparent and ethical commitment to call into question the meanings of formation and the contexts that shape it, which now show the possibility for action by the students, who now break with the contradictions that emanate education. And from this, it is important to emphasize that in the form of institutional organization of the policies of continuing education has brought positive marks and that has enabled the search to deepen the discussion and reflection on the degree of effectiveness of this professional qualification of school managers

Faced with the reflections emanated in this study, the perception regarding the quality of the postgraduate course in school management is centrally related to the persistence, dedication, and motivation of academics, tutors, and teachers due to professional commitment, seriousness, Rita Márcia Andrade Vaz de Mello1 \* and José Márcio Silva Barbosa2

\*Address all correspondence to: ritamarciamello@gmail.com

1 Department of Education, Federal University of Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil

2 Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

### **References**


[9] Gadotti M. Current perspectives of education. São Paulo em Perspectiva. 2000;**14**(2):3-11

**Chapter 5**

**Provisional chapter**

**In the Spotlight: Supporting Focus Teachers in Video-**

In this chapter, we explore the role of the focus teacher—the teacher in the spotlight—in video-based collaborative professional development settings for the purpose of understanding variation in the felt risks of the focus teacher in relation to their learning goals. Using a comparative case study design, this research documented the differential impact of felt risks associated with the spotlight teacher role. This exploratory study contributes insights that help guide the essential support and facilitation work mathematics education leaders must provide for developing, supporting, and sustaining video-based pro-

In the past decade, video clubs have become a popular means of classroom-based professional development for mathematics teachers. Video clubs are professional meetings that support teachers' collective inquiry into student thinking as it occurs in video excerpts of their teaching [1–3]. Teachers who participate in these clubs bring samples of student work and video clips from recent lessons, share these artifacts with colleagues, and then engage in dis-

This type of professional work intentionally orients teachers' interpretations of significant classroom interactions around student thinking, which is a critical step toward teaching for understanding [4–6]. Video clubs offer an effective collaborative structure for supporting,

**Keywords:** video clubs, teacher learning, teacher communities, professional

**In the Spotlight: Supporting Focus Teachers in** 

**Video-Based Collaborative Learning Settings**

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use,

distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.74030

**Based Collaborative Learning Settings**

Nicole Bannister and Fran Arbaugh

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.74030

fessional learning communities.

development, mathematics education

**Abstract**

**1. Introduction**

cussions of teaching and learning.

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Nicole Bannister and Fran ArbaughAdditional information is available at the end of the chapter


#### **In the Spotlight: Supporting Focus Teachers in Video-Based Collaborative Learning Settings In the Spotlight: Supporting Focus Teachers in Video-Based Collaborative Learning Settings**

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.74030

Nicole Bannister and Fran Arbaugh

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter Nicole Bannister and Fran ArbaughAdditional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.74030

#### **Abstract**

[9] Gadotti M. Current perspectives of education. São Paulo em Perspectiva. 2000;**14**(2):3-11

[11] Aretio LG. Distance education today. In: Landim CMMPF, editor. Distance Education:

[15] Belloni ML. Technology and teacher training: Towards postmodern pedagogy? Education

[16] Candeias CNB. Teacher training, information and communication technologies and postgraduation: A possible articulation. Educational Perspective. 2013;**4**(2):372-390

[17] Hessel AMDG. Can ICTs Help School Management? School Management Project and Technologies. São Paulo: PUC-SP; 2004. Available from: http://www.eadconsultoria.com.

[18] Castro AMDA. The quality of basic education and school management. In: France M, Bezerra MC, editors. Educational Policy: Management and Quality of Teaching. Brasilia:

[19] Brazil. Ministry of Education. Presidency of the Republic. Decree no. 5,800 of 08 of june of 2006. It provides on the Open University System of Brazil (UAB). Diário Oficial da União, Brasília, DF, 09 june 2006. Available from: www.planalto.gov.br [Accessed: May 15, 2014]

[20] Lück H. Perspectives of the school management and implications as to the formation of

[21] Aretio LG. Resistance, change and good practices in the new distance education. Revista

[22] Brazil. Ministry of Education. School of Basic Education Managers. Brasília: Ministry of Education; 2005. Available from: http//portal.mec.gov.br/index.php?Option=com\_conte nt&view=article&i=12337:school-of-education-managers-basic-presentation&catid=300:

schooOf-basic-education-managers&Itemid=693 [Accessed: March 22, 2013]

br/matapoio/biblioteca/textos\_pdf/texto09.pdf [Accessed: April 07, 2014]

[10] Aretio LG. Blended Learning, Àes so innovative? [S.l.]: BENED; 2004. 4 p

[12] Belloni ML. Distance Education. Campinas: Associated Authors; 2003. 118 p

[14] Sette SSA. Technology contributing to a citizen school. Bulletin. 2005;**11**:34

[13] Castells M. The Network Society. 8th ed. São Paulo: Peace and Earth; 2005. 698 p

Some Considerations. Rio de Janeiro: Edição da Autora; 1997

72 Advanced Learning and Teaching Environments - Innovation, Contents and Methods

and Society. 1998;**19**(65):143-162

Líber Libro; 2009. pp. 21-44

its managers. In open. 2000;**17**(72):11-33

Iberoamericana de Educación a Distancia. 2002;**5**(2):9-36

In this chapter, we explore the role of the focus teacher—the teacher in the spotlight—in video-based collaborative professional development settings for the purpose of understanding variation in the felt risks of the focus teacher in relation to their learning goals. Using a comparative case study design, this research documented the differential impact of felt risks associated with the spotlight teacher role. This exploratory study contributes insights that help guide the essential support and facilitation work mathematics education leaders must provide for developing, supporting, and sustaining video-based professional learning communities.

**Keywords:** video clubs, teacher learning, teacher communities, professional development, mathematics education

### **1. Introduction**

In the past decade, video clubs have become a popular means of classroom-based professional development for mathematics teachers. Video clubs are professional meetings that support teachers' collective inquiry into student thinking as it occurs in video excerpts of their teaching [1–3]. Teachers who participate in these clubs bring samples of student work and video clips from recent lessons, share these artifacts with colleagues, and then engage in discussions of teaching and learning.

This type of professional work intentionally orients teachers' interpretations of significant classroom interactions around student thinking, which is a critical step toward teaching for understanding [4–6]. Video clubs offer an effective collaborative structure for supporting,

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

sustaining, and assessing the growth of developing professional teacher communities in relationship to student learning [7, 8]. Smith described engagement in such activities as "practicebased professional development," where

for spotlight teachers whose classroom video excerpts are viewed and discussed [7]. Even in the best of circumstances it is hard not to be guarded when one's teaching is the subject of discussion [21, 22]. For example, consider the following quote made by a teacher participant

In the Spotlight: Supporting Focus Teachers in Video-Based Collaborative Learning Settings

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.74030

75

*I enjoy critical feedback in my room. Like I said, you can come in here anytime and just rip me apart. I would enjoy that. But to put it in a room full of people I really respect, you know? But even if any one of those individually, like Rose, if they came into my room and we were just one-on-one and then they just ripped my lesson apart I would be happy with that. But, for some reason, it's too scary a thought of* 

In this quote, James expressed the discomfort that many teachers have about sharing classroom video clips with colleagues. As explored in more detail later in this chapter, James felt that being the focus teacher—the teacher in the spotlight—was risky for a number of reasons. At the same time, however, he was able to realize the benefits of volunteering to be the spotlight teacher. This tension reinforces the important role mathematics education leaders play in accomplishing the goals of video club, primarily through skilful, adaptive facilitation of socially complex sites for collaborative teacher learning [11, 12]. In this chapter, we explore these risks and benefits by presenting cases of two spotlight teachers with an eye toward how mathematics education leaders can support spotlight teachers in the context of video clubs.

Despite possible limitations of the video club professional development model, the potential benefits on teacher learning outnumber the risks, thereby highlighting a need for research on how to support teachers who are the focus of the video clip experiences or how professional development leaders can support the teachers in the spotlight. The strong potential for video club to function as a transformative professional development experience brings the spotlight teacher role into focus for mathematics education leaders. In an effort to shed light on this pivotal role and how to support spotlight teachers, we explore the following question in this

*How does the vulnerability associated with the spotlight teacher role impact the spotlight teachers'* 

This study took place in context of *Adaptive Professional Development for High School Mathematics Teachers* (Ilana Horn, Principal Investigator), a 6-year design research project situated in a large Northwestern school district in the United States. The professional development (PD) leadership team used learning principles for teachers in the design of program activities for participating teachers, such as prioritizing opportunities and support for teachers to deprivatize their classrooms through viewing and explaining classroom

*having them all witness me [fussing] at a girl for trying to measure the hypotenuse.* (James)

**1.2. The spotlight teacher role and opportunities to learn**

*opportunities to learn from the video club experience?*

in our video club study:

chapter:

**2. Methodology**

interactions [1].

*teachers develop the capacity to see specific events that occur in the practice of teaching as instances of a larger class of phenomena. That is, generalities are abstracted from examining particular situations, and these in turn become practical wisdom that will inform teachers' practice*. ([9], p16)

We know from research about video clubs that they have the potential for transformative teacher learning. In their study of video clubs, Sherin and Han argue that teachers, like their students, "need opportunities to construct new understandings and to reflect on their learning" ([1], p163) as opposed to simply being told what to do [13]. The authors found that as a result of video club, what teachers discussed and how they discussed it changed over time—the conversations shifted from issues of pedagogy to more complex concerns related to student conceptions. Discussions progressed from simple restatements of students' ideas to detailed analyses of students thinking. These changes indicate a shift in what teachers' found important, which suggests "they now valued making sense of student thinking and were willing to discuss such issues in detail and at length" ([1], p174).

Similarly, Sherin and van Es found that over time teachers took on a more interpretive as opposed to evaluative stance toward classroom events occurring on video excerpts [2]. As teachers adopted a more interpretive stance, they began to ground their interpretations with evidence from the video. This is significant, because a shift from giving anecdotal advice to seeking an understanding based upon evidence signals increasing engagement in and with the messiness of teaching. Sherin and Han argued that the learning that occurred during video club promoted development of teachers' professional vision [1], which Goodwin defined as "socially organized ways of seeing and understanding events that are answerable to the distinctive interests of a particular social group" ([14], p606). In the context of video club, the authors found that teachers "learned to attend to particular kinds of events that happen in a classroom and they learned to reason about these events in particular ways" ([1], p179).

#### **1.1. Limitations alongside learning potential**

Despite its many benefits and potential for transformative teacher learning, limitations exist within the video club model. Watching a short clip from a lesson is typical of video club. This clip is taken out of the context of both the class period from which it was drawn and the longrange plans teachers have for their students. Although the teachers who are being watched are present, time constraints restrict the ways in which teacher can fill in these gaps for others. It is possible that teachers may have more to say on issues that emerge from watching and discussing the video excerpt but do not have the opportunity to reveal their thoughts.

Moreover, although the video club model has strong potential for advancing collaborative professional learning and making space for developing teacher learning communities in ways likely to transform classroom practices over time, van Es cautions that "simply bringing teachers together does not ensure community development" ([10], p182). Watching and discussing video footage of a colleague's classroom is inherently vulnerable work, especially for spotlight teachers whose classroom video excerpts are viewed and discussed [7]. Even in the best of circumstances it is hard not to be guarded when one's teaching is the subject of discussion [21, 22]. For example, consider the following quote made by a teacher participant in our video club study:

*I enjoy critical feedback in my room. Like I said, you can come in here anytime and just rip me apart. I would enjoy that. But to put it in a room full of people I really respect, you know? But even if any one of those individually, like Rose, if they came into my room and we were just one-on-one and then they just ripped my lesson apart I would be happy with that. But, for some reason, it's too scary a thought of having them all witness me [fussing] at a girl for trying to measure the hypotenuse.* (James)

In this quote, James expressed the discomfort that many teachers have about sharing classroom video clips with colleagues. As explored in more detail later in this chapter, James felt that being the focus teacher—the teacher in the spotlight—was risky for a number of reasons. At the same time, however, he was able to realize the benefits of volunteering to be the spotlight teacher. This tension reinforces the important role mathematics education leaders play in accomplishing the goals of video club, primarily through skilful, adaptive facilitation of socially complex sites for collaborative teacher learning [11, 12]. In this chapter, we explore these risks and benefits by presenting cases of two spotlight teachers with an eye toward how mathematics education leaders can support spotlight teachers in the context of video clubs.

#### **1.2. The spotlight teacher role and opportunities to learn**

Despite possible limitations of the video club professional development model, the potential benefits on teacher learning outnumber the risks, thereby highlighting a need for research on how to support teachers who are the focus of the video clip experiences or how professional development leaders can support the teachers in the spotlight. The strong potential for video club to function as a transformative professional development experience brings the spotlight teacher role into focus for mathematics education leaders. In an effort to shed light on this pivotal role and how to support spotlight teachers, we explore the following question in this chapter:

*How does the vulnerability associated with the spotlight teacher role impact the spotlight teachers' opportunities to learn from the video club experience?*

### **2. Methodology**

sustaining, and assessing the growth of developing professional teacher communities in relationship to student learning [7, 8]. Smith described engagement in such activities as "practice-

*teachers develop the capacity to see specific events that occur in the practice of teaching as instances of a larger class of phenomena. That is, generalities are abstracted from examining particular situations,* 

We know from research about video clubs that they have the potential for transformative teacher learning. In their study of video clubs, Sherin and Han argue that teachers, like their students, "need opportunities to construct new understandings and to reflect on their learning" ([1], p163) as opposed to simply being told what to do [13]. The authors found that as a result of video club, what teachers discussed and how they discussed it changed over time—the conversations shifted from issues of pedagogy to more complex concerns related to student conceptions. Discussions progressed from simple restatements of students' ideas to detailed analyses of students thinking. These changes indicate a shift in what teachers' found important, which suggests "they now valued making sense of student thinking and were willing to

Similarly, Sherin and van Es found that over time teachers took on a more interpretive as opposed to evaluative stance toward classroom events occurring on video excerpts [2]. As teachers adopted a more interpretive stance, they began to ground their interpretations with evidence from the video. This is significant, because a shift from giving anecdotal advice to seeking an understanding based upon evidence signals increasing engagement in and with the messiness of teaching. Sherin and Han argued that the learning that occurred during video club promoted development of teachers' professional vision [1], which Goodwin defined as "socially organized ways of seeing and understanding events that are answerable to the distinctive interests of a particular social group" ([14], p606). In the context of video club, the authors found that teachers "learned to attend to particular kinds of events that happen in a classroom and they learned to reason about these events in particular ways" ([1], p179).

Despite its many benefits and potential for transformative teacher learning, limitations exist within the video club model. Watching a short clip from a lesson is typical of video club. This clip is taken out of the context of both the class period from which it was drawn and the longrange plans teachers have for their students. Although the teachers who are being watched are present, time constraints restrict the ways in which teacher can fill in these gaps for others. It is possible that teachers may have more to say on issues that emerge from watching and

Moreover, although the video club model has strong potential for advancing collaborative professional learning and making space for developing teacher learning communities in ways likely to transform classroom practices over time, van Es cautions that "simply bringing teachers together does not ensure community development" ([10], p182). Watching and discussing video footage of a colleague's classroom is inherently vulnerable work, especially

discussing the video excerpt but do not have the opportunity to reveal their thoughts.

*and these in turn become practical wisdom that will inform teachers' practice*. ([9], p16)

based professional development," where

74 Advanced Learning and Teaching Environments - Innovation, Contents and Methods

discuss such issues in detail and at length" ([1], p174).

**1.1. Limitations alongside learning potential**

This study took place in context of *Adaptive Professional Development for High School Mathematics Teachers* (Ilana Horn, Principal Investigator), a 6-year design research project situated in a large Northwestern school district in the United States. The professional development (PD) leadership team used learning principles for teachers in the design of program activities for participating teachers, such as prioritizing opportunities and support for teachers to deprivatize their classrooms through viewing and explaining classroom interactions [1].

#### **2.1. Video club professional development context**

At the time this study was conducted, this PD project was in its second year of a video club sponsorship. All mathematics teachers from three partnership high schools received monthly invitations to participate in video club. Participation was voluntary, and no one was excluded from participation. Meetings lasted for about 2 hours, with an average attendance of 11 teachers. All participants were encouraged to take a turn as the spotlight teacher, although this was not required for participation. Some teachers were more comfortable with filming their classrooms than others, and so spotlight teachers were ultimately selected based on interest and logistics associated with filming (e.g., parent permission forms, classroom schedule).

interesting comparison cases because while both expressed eagerness to grow through the spotlight teacher experience, we observed differences in their relative comfort with peer review and discussion of their classroom video footage prior to filming their classrooms for video club purposes. Linda appeared to be much more comfortable than James with this process, and so we theorized that these differences would uncover interesting variation across their spotlight

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This study utilizes interview data as the main data source. Audio-recordings, field notes, and lesson artifacts from monthly video clubs meetings in which spotlight teachers participated served as secondary data sources, and were collected to verify findings from the main data source. All data were collected during the video club cycle from the second year of the project's video club program. The overall data collection strategy was to interview the two spotlight teachers at four points in the video club process to capture their perspectives at different stages of the work (see **Table 1** for summary). Nicole, the first author of this chapter,

As a unique part of this study, participants were asked to watch the video clip on their own in preparation for a semi-structured interview [15, 16] prior to the video club meeting (the *Video Club Preview* interview, 2\_VCP\_SS). This 2-hour interview was guided by prompts related to the lesson and to the selected video clip, what the spotlight teachers expected their peers to learn at the video club meeting, and their perceived risks associated with being videotaped. An elicited task [15], specifically an additional viewing and debriefing of the video clip with

The two video club meetings for the spotlight teachers in this study were typical with respect to established protocols and routines. Nicole interviewed the two participants informally for about 10 minutes following the video club meeting in which they were the spotlight teacher (the *Video Club Reflection* interview, 3\_VCR\_SS). Data collection concluded with a final semistructured *Spotlight Teacher Reflection* interview (4\_STR\_SS) that was similar in nature, format, and content to the *Video Club Preview* interview, although it did not include an elicited task. In its place, James and Linda were asked to discuss and compare their viewing and debriefing

the spotlight teacher, was included as part of the *Video Club Preview* interview.

**Interview name Abbreviation Length of interview Purpose of interview**

Video lesson reflection 1\_VLR\_IC 10 minutes Immediate thoughts on videotaped lesson Video club preview 2\_VCP\_SS 2 hours Discuss video lesson before video club Video club reflection 3\_VCR\_IC 10 minutes Immediate thoughts on video club meeting Spotlight teacher reflection 4\_STR\_SS 2 hours Discuss spotlight teacher experience

teacher experiences and offer insights related to their differential needs for support.

**2.3. Data collection strategy**

conducted all of the interviews for this study.

experiences across different parts of the process.

**Table 1.** Summary of primary interview data sources.

After filming the spotlight teacher's class and making them a copy of the footage, one of leadership team members created a 5-to-7 minute clip of student-centered footage for use at the video club meeting. The spotlight teacher's preferences for clip selection were taken into consideration—the spotlight teacher always maintained veto power—and they were provided with a copy of the clip prior to the video club meeting. As a rule, the chosen video clips did not contain footage that featured lengthy turns of teacher talk or instances of student misbehavior, since the goal of video club was to better understand student thinking about mathematics.

The first part of the video club meeting was dedicated to completing the mathematical task that was featured in the spotlight teacher's video and then developing solutions that students might develop in response to the task. The goal of this first discussion was to help teachers deepen their understanding of the mathematical content while developing their knowledge of students' mathematical learning. Next, the spotlight teacher set up the video clip for participants to help provide any necessary context for understanding what they would see in the video clip.

The teachers focused on this question when watching the clip: *Using evidence from the video, what can we tell about what students understand about the mathematics?* A member of the PD leadership team served as facilitator and helped the group follow the established community agreements for safe discussion boundaries, which included implementing the following discussion protocol: (a) a minute of silence after watching the video for teachers to have private think time as well as time to jot some notes to guide their contributions to the discussion; (b) the spotlight teacher has first turn of talk, providing evidence from the video about what the students understood about the mathematical goal of the task; (c) other teachers provide feedback on the focus question. The goal of this discussion was to help teachers develop the kind of formative assessment that productively informs instructional decision-making.

#### **2.2. Participant selection for video club study**

Two teachers from the pool of spotlight teachers from the video club cycle volunteered to be in this study, Linda Wesson and James Stone (all names are pseudonyms). Linda and James taught at neighboring high schools in the same school district, were both relatively new teachers (less than 2 years of experience), used the same curricular materials, and had similar course schedules (i.e., ninth-grade math and pre-calculus). We found Linda and James to be interesting comparison cases because while both expressed eagerness to grow through the spotlight teacher experience, we observed differences in their relative comfort with peer review and discussion of their classroom video footage prior to filming their classrooms for video club purposes. Linda appeared to be much more comfortable than James with this process, and so we theorized that these differences would uncover interesting variation across their spotlight teacher experiences and offer insights related to their differential needs for support.

### **2.3. Data collection strategy**

**2.1. Video club professional development context**

76 Advanced Learning and Teaching Environments - Innovation, Contents and Methods

**2.2. Participant selection for video club study**

video clip.

At the time this study was conducted, this PD project was in its second year of a video club sponsorship. All mathematics teachers from three partnership high schools received monthly invitations to participate in video club. Participation was voluntary, and no one was excluded from participation. Meetings lasted for about 2 hours, with an average attendance of 11 teachers. All participants were encouraged to take a turn as the spotlight teacher, although this was not required for participation. Some teachers were more comfortable with filming their classrooms than others, and so spotlight teachers were ultimately selected based on interest and logistics associated with filming (e.g., parent permission forms, classroom schedule).

After filming the spotlight teacher's class and making them a copy of the footage, one of leadership team members created a 5-to-7 minute clip of student-centered footage for use at the video club meeting. The spotlight teacher's preferences for clip selection were taken into consideration—the spotlight teacher always maintained veto power—and they were provided with a copy of the clip prior to the video club meeting. As a rule, the chosen video clips did not contain footage that featured lengthy turns of teacher talk or instances of student misbehavior, since the goal of video club was to better understand student thinking about mathematics. The first part of the video club meeting was dedicated to completing the mathematical task that was featured in the spotlight teacher's video and then developing solutions that students might develop in response to the task. The goal of this first discussion was to help teachers deepen their understanding of the mathematical content while developing their knowledge of students' mathematical learning. Next, the spotlight teacher set up the video clip for participants to help provide any necessary context for understanding what they would see in the

The teachers focused on this question when watching the clip: *Using evidence from the video, what can we tell about what students understand about the mathematics?* A member of the PD leadership team served as facilitator and helped the group follow the established community agreements for safe discussion boundaries, which included implementing the following discussion protocol: (a) a minute of silence after watching the video for teachers to have private think time as well as time to jot some notes to guide their contributions to the discussion; (b) the spotlight teacher has first turn of talk, providing evidence from the video about what the students understood about the mathematical goal of the task; (c) other teachers provide feedback on the focus question. The goal of this discussion was to help teachers develop the kind of formative assessment that productively informs instructional decision-making.

Two teachers from the pool of spotlight teachers from the video club cycle volunteered to be in this study, Linda Wesson and James Stone (all names are pseudonyms). Linda and James taught at neighboring high schools in the same school district, were both relatively new teachers (less than 2 years of experience), used the same curricular materials, and had similar course schedules (i.e., ninth-grade math and pre-calculus). We found Linda and James to be This study utilizes interview data as the main data source. Audio-recordings, field notes, and lesson artifacts from monthly video clubs meetings in which spotlight teachers participated served as secondary data sources, and were collected to verify findings from the main data source. All data were collected during the video club cycle from the second year of the project's video club program. The overall data collection strategy was to interview the two spotlight teachers at four points in the video club process to capture their perspectives at different stages of the work (see **Table 1** for summary). Nicole, the first author of this chapter, conducted all of the interviews for this study.

As a unique part of this study, participants were asked to watch the video clip on their own in preparation for a semi-structured interview [15, 16] prior to the video club meeting (the *Video Club Preview* interview, 2\_VCP\_SS). This 2-hour interview was guided by prompts related to the lesson and to the selected video clip, what the spotlight teachers expected their peers to learn at the video club meeting, and their perceived risks associated with being videotaped. An elicited task [15], specifically an additional viewing and debriefing of the video clip with the spotlight teacher, was included as part of the *Video Club Preview* interview.

The two video club meetings for the spotlight teachers in this study were typical with respect to established protocols and routines. Nicole interviewed the two participants informally for about 10 minutes following the video club meeting in which they were the spotlight teacher (the *Video Club Reflection* interview, 3\_VCR\_SS). Data collection concluded with a final semistructured *Spotlight Teacher Reflection* interview (4\_STR\_SS) that was similar in nature, format, and content to the *Video Club Preview* interview, although it did not include an elicited task. In its place, James and Linda were asked to discuss and compare their viewing and debriefing experiences across different parts of the process.


**Table 1.** Summary of primary interview data sources.

#### **2.4. Data analysis procedures**

This study utilized a comparative case study design, chosen for the purpose of making meaning of the "richly brewed particulars" ([17], p2) of each spotlight teacher's experiences. Data were analyzed by inductive methods of constant comparison [18] for the purpose of understanding the spotlight teachers' felt risks in context of what they found important in their classroom video excerpts and what they wanted to learn through the spotlight teacher experience. Data analyses ended with a cross-case examination for themes within and across cases in order theorize more generally about the experiences and needs of the spotlight teacher [19].

Linda questioned the mathematical and social merits of presentation tasks in response: "But then what's the point of doing an assignment if everybody does it and doesn't make it so that it makes any sense?" (*LW: 2\_VCP\_SS*). Linda focused the remainder of the *Video Club Preview* interview on her felt need to teach students how to give presentations and be good audience members. Linda recognized that audience members did not have anything to do in her lesson, and reflected that she needed to teach them "how to care—or why they should care" (*LW: 2\_VCP\_SS*). Linda hoped her peers would brainstorm specifics around her dilemma with

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When prompted to reflect on her comfort with video review across contexts, Linda noted that it was easier to watch and discuss the video with Nicole because she found it easier to talk one-on-one and also because Nicole had been in her classroom and knew the entire lesson

*I think when it's Video Club I definitely get more embarrassed—like, when I am rambling and making up things…but that's kind of more embarrassing in a big group of teachers than might be more critical.* 

Despite her potential felt risk for embarrassment, Linda explained her student presentation dilemma at the video club meeting and invited discussion related to strategies that might help students learn to be active listeners. Linda tried some of these strategies in her classroom the following week, noting in the *Spotlight Teacher Reflection* interview that she had been working with her students on presenter and audience member roles through peer exchanges and revi-

*One group did 'Eating at McDonalds' and they found…if all kids at [our school] eat McDonalds 4 days a week—because that's what they thought, that was their test for how many times a week students eat at McDonalds…Then the school spends \$23,000 a week at McDonalds…And so it was really interesting that they had this moment of realistic stuff kicking in while they were doing the actual math. But it was really hard for them too. They were like, '23 thousand dollars? Is that right?' And they'd go back and do it again. And I said, 'Yeah, that's right.'…I was like, 'You guys could do it in terms of calories and how much it takes to walk off the calories' and stuff…So, it was a good activity for getting students engaged* 

Although Linda was disappointed by student engagement in presentations prior to video club, the peer support offered at the meeting helped her develop classroom conditions that

James' video footage featured the second day of an indirect measurement lesson task selected from his ninth-grade curriculum materials [20]. The task involved using mirrors to figure out the height of different objects posted around the room. James based the success of the lesson on student engagement "every minute of the day," which functioned as a proxy for learning: *Mark, even though he's over there, he is engaged…And Donald's just copying stuff down. Jim is learning. Preston is a genius. So, he's fine. The kid in the gray, he's engaged. Donald's not. Now there's one* 

sion cycles. She was energized by immediate improvements with students:

*and for pushing them to the level they are comfortable with.* (LW: 4\_STR\_SS).

**3.2. The case of James Stone: Why did everything go wrong today?**

*I was disappointed in.* (JS: 2\_VCP\_SS).

supported the productive student presentations she imagined in her lesson plans.

presentations at video club.

(LW: 2\_VCP\_SS).

context:

### **3. Unpacking the spotlight teacher experience**

As a preview to the individual case studies presented next, we begin this section with more general findings that emerged during data analysis. Linda and James both attended to aspects of their video lessons that they found problematic, as student engagement in the enacted lesson was different than what they had intended in their respective lesson plans. In addition, both teachers expressed a belief that critical feedback from peers would help them grow their craft. With that said, James and Linda differed in the ways they took up problematic aspects of their video lessons. Linda used the interview discussion prior to video club to gain specificity with the classroom problem she wanted to solve, and then leaned on her colleagues at the video club meeting to help her develop an instructional response. James used the interview discussions to give blow-by-blow assessments of his teaching, which we deemed as overly harsh in many instances. Overall, the findings presented here suggest that Linda and James were differently impacted by the vulnerability associated with peer review and discussion of their classroom video footage, which highlights contrasting individual needs for support within the spotlight teacher experience.

#### **3.1. The case of Linda Wesson: How do you teach kids presentations?**

Linda's video footage featured presentations given by her ninth-grade students. The presentation task was adapted from an instructional unit that required complex planning and problem solving related to a hypothetical group expedition [20]. Linda based the success of the lesson on expectations for presenters to explain their group's mathematics and for audience members to "[call] people out on stuff that doesn't make any sense" (*LW: 2\_VCP\_SS*). Linda was disappointed in the lesson because of problematic mathematical explanations from presenters and lack of engagement by, and respectful press for clarification from, the audience:

*But a lot of the kids just did not even recognize the fact that four blankets for 24 people was probably going to be less than what you would ideally have. And they were not being critical in that way… Kids were just doing it to try and get out of there as fast as possible, were not really willing to share anything that they had done—which made me wonder what they had done… [T]here are not many people into it, you know?* (LW: 2\_VCP\_SS).

Linda questioned the mathematical and social merits of presentation tasks in response: "But then what's the point of doing an assignment if everybody does it and doesn't make it so that it makes any sense?" (*LW: 2\_VCP\_SS*). Linda focused the remainder of the *Video Club Preview* interview on her felt need to teach students how to give presentations and be good audience members. Linda recognized that audience members did not have anything to do in her lesson, and reflected that she needed to teach them "how to care—or why they should care" (*LW: 2\_VCP\_SS*). Linda hoped her peers would brainstorm specifics around her dilemma with presentations at video club.

**2.4. Data analysis procedures**

**3. Unpacking the spotlight teacher experience**

78 Advanced Learning and Teaching Environments - Innovation, Contents and Methods

within the spotlight teacher experience.

*you know?* (LW: 2\_VCP\_SS).

audience:

**3.1. The case of Linda Wesson: How do you teach kids presentations?**

This study utilized a comparative case study design, chosen for the purpose of making meaning of the "richly brewed particulars" ([17], p2) of each spotlight teacher's experiences. Data were analyzed by inductive methods of constant comparison [18] for the purpose of understanding the spotlight teachers' felt risks in context of what they found important in their classroom video excerpts and what they wanted to learn through the spotlight teacher experience. Data analyses ended with a cross-case examination for themes within and across cases in order theorize more generally about the experiences and needs of the spotlight teacher [19].

As a preview to the individual case studies presented next, we begin this section with more general findings that emerged during data analysis. Linda and James both attended to aspects of their video lessons that they found problematic, as student engagement in the enacted lesson was different than what they had intended in their respective lesson plans. In addition, both teachers expressed a belief that critical feedback from peers would help them grow their craft. With that said, James and Linda differed in the ways they took up problematic aspects of their video lessons. Linda used the interview discussion prior to video club to gain specificity with the classroom problem she wanted to solve, and then leaned on her colleagues at the video club meeting to help her develop an instructional response. James used the interview discussions to give blow-by-blow assessments of his teaching, which we deemed as overly harsh in many instances. Overall, the findings presented here suggest that Linda and James were differently impacted by the vulnerability associated with peer review and discussion of their classroom video footage, which highlights contrasting individual needs for support

Linda's video footage featured presentations given by her ninth-grade students. The presentation task was adapted from an instructional unit that required complex planning and problem solving related to a hypothetical group expedition [20]. Linda based the success of the lesson on expectations for presenters to explain their group's mathematics and for audience members to "[call] people out on stuff that doesn't make any sense" (*LW: 2\_VCP\_SS*). Linda was disappointed in the lesson because of problematic mathematical explanations from presenters and lack of engagement by, and respectful press for clarification from, the

*But a lot of the kids just did not even recognize the fact that four blankets for 24 people was probably going to be less than what you would ideally have. And they were not being critical in that way… Kids were just doing it to try and get out of there as fast as possible, were not really willing to share anything that they had done—which made me wonder what they had done… [T]here are not many people into it,*  When prompted to reflect on her comfort with video review across contexts, Linda noted that it was easier to watch and discuss the video with Nicole because she found it easier to talk one-on-one and also because Nicole had been in her classroom and knew the entire lesson context:

*I think when it's Video Club I definitely get more embarrassed—like, when I am rambling and making up things…but that's kind of more embarrassing in a big group of teachers than might be more critical.*  (LW: 2\_VCP\_SS).

Despite her potential felt risk for embarrassment, Linda explained her student presentation dilemma at the video club meeting and invited discussion related to strategies that might help students learn to be active listeners. Linda tried some of these strategies in her classroom the following week, noting in the *Spotlight Teacher Reflection* interview that she had been working with her students on presenter and audience member roles through peer exchanges and revision cycles. She was energized by immediate improvements with students:

*One group did 'Eating at McDonalds' and they found…if all kids at [our school] eat McDonalds 4 days a week—because that's what they thought, that was their test for how many times a week students eat at McDonalds…Then the school spends \$23,000 a week at McDonalds…And so it was really interesting that they had this moment of realistic stuff kicking in while they were doing the actual math. But it was really hard for them too. They were like, '23 thousand dollars? Is that right?' And they'd go back and do it again. And I said, 'Yeah, that's right.'…I was like, 'You guys could do it in terms of calories and how much it takes to walk off the calories' and stuff…So, it was a good activity for getting students engaged and for pushing them to the level they are comfortable with.* (LW: 4\_STR\_SS).

Although Linda was disappointed by student engagement in presentations prior to video club, the peer support offered at the meeting helped her develop classroom conditions that supported the productive student presentations she imagined in her lesson plans.

### **3.2. The case of James Stone: Why did everything go wrong today?**

James' video footage featured the second day of an indirect measurement lesson task selected from his ninth-grade curriculum materials [20]. The task involved using mirrors to figure out the height of different objects posted around the room. James based the success of the lesson on student engagement "every minute of the day," which functioned as a proxy for learning:

*Mark, even though he's over there, he is engaged…And Donald's just copying stuff down. Jim is learning. Preston is a genius. So, he's fine. The kid in the gray, he's engaged. Donald's not. Now there's one I was disappointed in.* (JS: 2\_VCP\_SS).

Although James stated that "the lesson was good" and "kids learned," he was initially concerned that the second day of the task "was almost kind of pointless because it was just computation. It was just putting into practice what we had already done" (*JS: 1\_VLR\_IC*). James revised his thinking in the *Video Club Preview* interview after watching the video footage, noting that the application task helped students solidify their understanding of indirect measurement:

**3.3. Summary**

discussions).

**4. Discussion and implications**

Linda and James both expressed interest in taking on the spotlight teacher role, and both indicated that the experience supported their professional growth. In addition, both teachers observed problems with student engagement when reviewing and reflecting upon their own video lessons. However, James and Linda differed in the ways they took up the problems they identified. After zeroing in on problems with productive student presentations, Linda brought up this issue with her peers at video club and used the meeting as a problem solving space for developing her practice. James was critical of his teaching practices in ways that made taking up these issues with colleagues at video club prohibitively risky for him, although he found peer review with Nicole to be a helpful form of professional development. These findings suggest that Linda and James were differently impacted by the vulnerability associated with peer review and discussion of their classroom video footage, which highlights contrasting individual needs for support within the spotlight teacher experience.

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Although research has found that video clubs can be sites for transformative teacher learning [1, 2], it is clear from the findings presented in this chapter that Linda and James had very different experiences when they were the spotlight teacher in this video club, which we contend impacted their learning. The extent to which they had the opportunity to learn from being the spotlight teacher was also impacted by extent to which they experienced a sense of vulnerability associated with peer review and discussion of their classroom footage at video club. Linda's relative ease with the process promoted her use of the video club meeting as a sense-making space for an emergent problem of practice, thus providing her an opportunity to learn as a result of being the spotlight teacher. On the other hand, James' discomfort with the risks that came along with watching an everyday example of his teaching with a group of colleagues rendered him unable to think clearly during the meeting, thus limiting his opportunity to learn from being the spotlight teacher. So, while Linda and James appeared to have the same experience—the two video club meetings looked very similar from the outside looking in—they actually experienced very different things based on their interpretations of the video club events. The interviews that Nicole conducted for this study allowed us access to Linda and James' inner dialog about being the spotlight teacher and illuminated that Linda and James had very different experiences. This is something that we might not have seen had we simply analyzed data collected during the video club meeting (i.e., analyzed the teacher

The cases of Linda and James highlight contrasts in individual needs for support for the spotlight teacher experience. Teachers who seem less impacted by risks associated with group review of their classroom video footage, as was the case with Linda, may benefit from reflective work prior to the video club session in order to sharpen their opportunities to learn during the meeting. Teachers who are new to videotaping or who are more sensitive to feeling judged by peer video review, as was the case with James, may need face-to-face support prior

*I guess there was conceptual stuff going on, because until they put it into practice…I could definitely see some of the kids' eyes light up when they finally realized that what we were talking about in class was applicable*. (JS: 2\_VCP\_SS)

Although James verbalized a few of his strengths in the interviews, such as excellent rapport with students and inquiry strategies, James gravitated toward criticisms of his teaching. For example, James noticed that he answered his own questions:

*I felt like in the beginning I pulled information out of the kids…But then there's also times when I am asking a question and I am pointing at the 'w' and that's the answer…[I]t's a hard habit to break. You just want so badly for them to get it, that you tell 'em!—rather than them getting it. You know what I mean?* (JS: 2\_VCP\_SS)

James scolded himself when we watched this section of the video during the elicited task, saying: "That's not a question, when you're pointing at the answer!" (*JS: 2\_VCP\_SS*). While James' assessment seemed fair, and his frustration understandable, his self-criticisms also seemed overly harsh at times. For example, while watching his video, James chided himself for being condescending to his students. This ran counter to what Nicole observed during classroom observations-that James is a positive, energetic, and caring teacher.

When prompted to discuss what he hoped to gain from the video club meeting, and as quoted at the beginning of this chapter, James confirmed that he felt a high degree of risk as spotlight teacher for the next video club meeting:

*I enjoy critical feedback in my room. Like I said, you can come in here anytime and just rip me apart. I would enjoy that. But to put it in a room full of people I really respect, you know? But even if any one of those individually, like Rose, if they came into my room and we were just one-on-one and then they just ripped my lesson apart I would be happy with that. But, for some reason, it's too scary a thought of having them all witness me yelling at a girl for trying to measure the hypotenuse.* (JS: 2\_VCP\_SS)

James' discomfort escalated during the video club meeting. Even though James felt that "everybody was supportive" and not being critical, he still felt judged: "It's not that I took it personally, but I really took it more of a 'let's all critique James' rather than 'let's all learn from this videotape'" (*JS: 4\_STR\_SS*). The actual meeting proved overwhelming for James:

*There was just so much information coming in that a couple times I just shut down and did not even hear. I mean I was staring right in their eyes… and I had no idea what they were saying, because it was just too much.* (JS: 4\_STR\_SS).

When prompted, James explained that even though watching the tape with Nicole made him nervous, he did not feel like Nicole was judging him, whereas he did feel judged at video club. Even so, James feels that he "was putting that on [himself]", and that the whole video club experience "was very worthwhile, that's all I know. I'm glad I did it" (*JS: 4\_STR\_SS*).

#### **3.3. Summary**

Although James stated that "the lesson was good" and "kids learned," he was initially concerned that the second day of the task "was almost kind of pointless because it was just computation. It was just putting into practice what we had already done" (*JS: 1\_VLR\_IC*). James revised his thinking in the *Video Club Preview* interview after watching the video footage, noting that the application task helped students solidify their understanding of indirect

*I guess there was conceptual stuff going on, because until they put it into practice…I could definitely see some of the kids' eyes light up when they finally realized that what we were talking about in class* 

Although James verbalized a few of his strengths in the interviews, such as excellent rapport with students and inquiry strategies, James gravitated toward criticisms of his teaching. For

*I felt like in the beginning I pulled information out of the kids…But then there's also times when I am asking a question and I am pointing at the 'w' and that's the answer…[I]t's a hard habit to break. You just want so badly for them to get it, that you tell 'em!—rather than them getting it. You know what I* 

James scolded himself when we watched this section of the video during the elicited task, saying: "That's not a question, when you're pointing at the answer!" (*JS: 2\_VCP\_SS*). While James' assessment seemed fair, and his frustration understandable, his self-criticisms also seemed overly harsh at times. For example, while watching his video, James chided himself for being condescending to his students. This ran counter to what Nicole observed during

When prompted to discuss what he hoped to gain from the video club meeting, and as quoted at the beginning of this chapter, James confirmed that he felt a high degree of risk as spotlight

*I enjoy critical feedback in my room. Like I said, you can come in here anytime and just rip me apart. I would enjoy that. But to put it in a room full of people I really respect, you know? But even if any one of those individually, like Rose, if they came into my room and we were just one-on-one and then they just ripped my lesson apart I would be happy with that. But, for some reason, it's too scary a thought of having them all witness me yelling at a girl for trying to measure the hypotenuse.* (JS: 2\_VCP\_SS) James' discomfort escalated during the video club meeting. Even though James felt that "everybody was supportive" and not being critical, he still felt judged: "It's not that I took it personally, but I really took it more of a 'let's all critique James' rather than 'let's all learn from

this videotape'" (*JS: 4\_STR\_SS*). The actual meeting proved overwhelming for James:

experience "was very worthwhile, that's all I know. I'm glad I did it" (*JS: 4\_STR\_SS*).

*There was just so much information coming in that a couple times I just shut down and did not even hear. I mean I was staring right in their eyes… and I had no idea what they were saying, because it was* 

When prompted, James explained that even though watching the tape with Nicole made him nervous, he did not feel like Nicole was judging him, whereas he did feel judged at video club. Even so, James feels that he "was putting that on [himself]", and that the whole video club

classroom observations-that James is a positive, energetic, and caring teacher.

measurement:

*was applicable*. (JS: 2\_VCP\_SS)

*mean?* (JS: 2\_VCP\_SS)

teacher for the next video club meeting:

*just too much.* (JS: 4\_STR\_SS).

example, James noticed that he answered his own questions:

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Linda and James both expressed interest in taking on the spotlight teacher role, and both indicated that the experience supported their professional growth. In addition, both teachers observed problems with student engagement when reviewing and reflecting upon their own video lessons. However, James and Linda differed in the ways they took up the problems they identified. After zeroing in on problems with productive student presentations, Linda brought up this issue with her peers at video club and used the meeting as a problem solving space for developing her practice. James was critical of his teaching practices in ways that made taking up these issues with colleagues at video club prohibitively risky for him, although he found peer review with Nicole to be a helpful form of professional development. These findings suggest that Linda and James were differently impacted by the vulnerability associated with peer review and discussion of their classroom video footage, which highlights contrasting individual needs for support within the spotlight teacher experience.

### **4. Discussion and implications**

Although research has found that video clubs can be sites for transformative teacher learning [1, 2], it is clear from the findings presented in this chapter that Linda and James had very different experiences when they were the spotlight teacher in this video club, which we contend impacted their learning. The extent to which they had the opportunity to learn from being the spotlight teacher was also impacted by extent to which they experienced a sense of vulnerability associated with peer review and discussion of their classroom footage at video club. Linda's relative ease with the process promoted her use of the video club meeting as a sense-making space for an emergent problem of practice, thus providing her an opportunity to learn as a result of being the spotlight teacher. On the other hand, James' discomfort with the risks that came along with watching an everyday example of his teaching with a group of colleagues rendered him unable to think clearly during the meeting, thus limiting his opportunity to learn from being the spotlight teacher. So, while Linda and James appeared to have the same experience—the two video club meetings looked very similar from the outside looking in—they actually experienced very different things based on their interpretations of the video club events. The interviews that Nicole conducted for this study allowed us access to Linda and James' inner dialog about being the spotlight teacher and illuminated that Linda and James had very different experiences. This is something that we might not have seen had we simply analyzed data collected during the video club meeting (i.e., analyzed the teacher discussions).

The cases of Linda and James highlight contrasts in individual needs for support for the spotlight teacher experience. Teachers who seem less impacted by risks associated with group review of their classroom video footage, as was the case with Linda, may benefit from reflective work prior to the video club session in order to sharpen their opportunities to learn during the meeting. Teachers who are new to videotaping or who are more sensitive to feeling judged by peer video review, as was the case with James, may need face-to-face support prior to the professional development meeting since the spotlight teacher may not be physically able to get what they need during the meeting.

**References**

09.005

[1] Sherin MG, Han SY. Teacher learning in the context of a video club. Teaching and Teacher

In the Spotlight: Supporting Focus Teachers in Video-Based Collaborative Learning Settings

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.74030

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[2] Sherin MG, van Es EA. Using video to support teachers' ability to notice classroom inter-

[3] van Es EA, Sherin MG. Learning to notice: Scaffolding new teachers' interpretations of classroom interactions. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education. 2002;**10**(4):571-596

[4] Ball DL. From the general to the particular: Knowing our own students as learners of

[5] Franke M, Fennema E, Carpenter TP. Changing teachers: Interactions between beliefs and classroom practice. In: Fennema E, Nelson BS, editors. Mathematics Teachers in

[6] Sherin MG, van Es EA. Effects of video club participation on teachers' professional vision. Journal of Teacher Education. 2009;**60**(1):20-37. DOI: 10.1177/0022487108328155 [7] Jacobs J, Borko H, Koellner K, Schneider C, Eiteljorg E, Roberts SA. The problem-solving cycle: A model of mathematics professional development. Journal of Mathematics Edu-

[8] van Es EA. A framework for learning to notice student thinking. In: Sherin MG, Jacobs V, Philipp R, editors. Mathematics Teacher Noticing: Seeing through Teachers' Eyes.

[9] Smith MS. Practice Based Professional Development for Teachers of Mathematics.

[10] van Es EA. Examining the development of a teacher learning community: The case of a video club. Teaching and Teacher Education. 2012;**28**:182-192. DOI: 10.1016/j.tate.2011.

[11] Jilk L. Supporting teacher noticing of students' mathematical strengths. Mathematics

[12] van Es EA. Participants' roles in the context of a video club. The Journal of the Learning

[13] Wilson SM, Berne J. Teacher learning and the acquisition of professional knowledge: An examination of research on contemporary professional development. In: Iran-Nejad A, Pearson CD, editors. Review of Research in Education. Vol. 24. Washington, D.C:

[14] Goodwin C. Professional vision. American Anthropologist. 1994;**96**(3):606-633. DOI:

Teacher Educator. 2016;**4**(2):188-199. DOI: 10.5951/mathteaceduc.4.2.0188

actions. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education. 2005;**13**(3):475-491

Education. 2004;**20**(2):163-183. DOI: 10.1016/j.tate.2003.08.001

mathematics. Mathematics Teacher. 1997;**90**(9):732-737

cation Leadership. 2007;**10**(1):42-57

10.1525/aa.1994.96.3.02a00100

New York: Routledge; 2011. pp. 134-151

Transition. Mahwah, NJ: Laurence Erlbaum; 1997. pp. 19-54

Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics; 2001

Sciences. 2009;**18**(1):100-137. DOI: 10.1080/10508400802581668

American Educational Research Association; 1999. pp. 173-209

It is important to note that James is not alone in his discomfort, as is it normal and typical for teachers to find the experience of peer video review and discussion nerve-racking, especially in the beginning [7]. The study shared in this chapter captured James' perspective at a moment in time when he was relatively new to teaching and brand new to classroom videotaping. While we do not know if James' extreme discomfort eased over time, extant literature supports a dynamic understanding of this possibility [1, 7], thereby motivating mathematics education leaders' continued investment in spotlight teachers who do not immediately present like Linda. Both Linda and James said that one-on-one review with a trusted peer felt safer, which suggests that non-evaluative classroom coaching may be a good place to start this work.

The findings of the study also have in-the-moment implications for teacher leaders who facilitate video clubs. An attuned facilitator might notice the "zoning out" of a spotlight teacher (as James noted happened to him) and pause the action for spotlight teacher to take a minute to reflect on a colleague's comment or to think of a follow-up question to ask. Facilitators can and should pay close attention to the spotlight teacher's affect during the debriefing portion of the video club to ensure that spotlight teachers do not experience a barrage of suggestions or criticisms. Keeping the focus on student learning would also help to mitigate feelings such as what James experienced. Lastly, closely-followed discussion protocols for this type of work, such as those created for use in critical friends groups, can help to create safe learning spaces for spotlight teachers [21].

Although this study analyses the experiences of only two spotlight teachers, their experiences resonate broadly with the lived experiences of teachers who have varying degrees of comfort with video-based collaborative learning. With the assumption that both of the spotlight teachers' experiences are typical, we used the cases of Linda and James to theorize more generally about the importance of tuning into and supporting the varying needs of the spotlight teacher in context of their felt risks, observations, and learning goals. This research contributes insights that help guide the essential support and facilitation work mathematics education leaders must provide for developing, supporting, and sustaining video-based professional learning communities.

### **Author details**

Nicole Bannister1 \* and Fran Arbaugh2

\*Address all correspondence to: nbannis@clemson.edu

1 Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA

2 The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

### **References**

to the professional development meeting since the spotlight teacher may not be physically

It is important to note that James is not alone in his discomfort, as is it normal and typical for teachers to find the experience of peer video review and discussion nerve-racking, especially in the beginning [7]. The study shared in this chapter captured James' perspective at a moment in time when he was relatively new to teaching and brand new to classroom videotaping. While we do not know if James' extreme discomfort eased over time, extant literature supports a dynamic understanding of this possibility [1, 7], thereby motivating mathematics education leaders' continued investment in spotlight teachers who do not immediately present like Linda. Both Linda and James said that one-on-one review with a trusted peer felt safer, which suggests that non-evaluative classroom coaching may be a good place to start

The findings of the study also have in-the-moment implications for teacher leaders who facilitate video clubs. An attuned facilitator might notice the "zoning out" of a spotlight teacher (as James noted happened to him) and pause the action for spotlight teacher to take a minute to reflect on a colleague's comment or to think of a follow-up question to ask. Facilitators can and should pay close attention to the spotlight teacher's affect during the debriefing portion of the video club to ensure that spotlight teachers do not experience a barrage of suggestions or criticisms. Keeping the focus on student learning would also help to mitigate feelings such as what James experienced. Lastly, closely-followed discussion protocols for this type of work, such as those created for use in critical friends groups, can help to create safe learning

Although this study analyses the experiences of only two spotlight teachers, their experiences resonate broadly with the lived experiences of teachers who have varying degrees of comfort with video-based collaborative learning. With the assumption that both of the spotlight teachers' experiences are typical, we used the cases of Linda and James to theorize more generally about the importance of tuning into and supporting the varying needs of the spotlight teacher in context of their felt risks, observations, and learning goals. This research contributes insights that help guide the essential support and facilitation work mathematics education leaders must provide for developing, supporting, and sustaining video-based pro-

able to get what they need during the meeting.

82 Advanced Learning and Teaching Environments - Innovation, Contents and Methods

this work.

spaces for spotlight teachers [21].

fessional learning communities.

\* and Fran Arbaugh2 \*Address all correspondence to: nbannis@clemson.edu

2 The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

1 Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA

**Author details**

Nicole Bannister1


[15] Patton MQ. Qualitative interviewing. In: Patton MQ, editor. Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods. 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage; 2002

**Chapter 6**

**Provisional chapter**

**Outdoor Learning Activities as Facilitators in the**

**Outdoor Learning Activities as Facilitators in the** 

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.70248

The results of an educational research project on a teaching and learning practice developed in the context of primary school teachers' continuing education in which didactic-pedagogical practices of outdoor learning are given a main role are analysed. The research followed a qualitative approach. It was assumed that environmental literacy is based on the premise of training for critical and responsible citizenship, with the aim of developing knowledge and skill for active participation in making decisions and following behaviours, of social-environmental interest. In this context, a didactic pedagogical component on the topic of "Water" was developed and implemented. The didactic strategy followed was that of outdoor learning, with a teaching learning perspective based on the interrelationship between the sustainability of natural water resources and individual behaviour. The following categories of analysis were used: didactic transformation of curricular content; environmental literacy; science-child-environment interaction. This training course highlighted the acquisition by this group, primary school teacher's, of skills that are fundamental to the development of a teaching and learning process that promotes environmental citizenship through the discovery of the surround-

**Keywords:** continuing education, primary education, environmental citizenship, water,

Primary education is a privileged opportunity for children's environmental literacy, in line with the construction of environmental citizenship. Children at the beginning of compulsory schooling should have educational practices that allow them to understand the importance of their role in the construction of a society committed to environmental citizenship in a daily base

> © 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution,

© 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use,

distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

**Construction of Environmental Citizenship**

**Construction of Environmental Citizenship**

Maria Eduarda Ferreira and Rui Pitarma

Maria Eduarda Ferreira and Rui Pitarma

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.70248

ing natural environment.

outdoor learning

**1. Introduction**

**Abstract**

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter


**Provisional chapter**

### **Outdoor Learning Activities as Facilitators in the Construction of Environmental Citizenship Construction of Environmental Citizenship**

**Outdoor Learning Activities as Facilitators in the** 

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.70248

Maria Eduarda Ferreira and Rui Pitarma Maria Eduarda Ferreira and Rui Pitarma Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.70248

#### **Abstract**

[15] Patton MQ. Qualitative interviewing. In: Patton MQ, editor. Qualitative Research and

[16] Weiss RS. Learning from strangers: The art and method of qualitative interview studies.

[17] Dyson AH. On the Case: Approaches to Language and Literacy Research. New York,

[18] Glaser B, Strauss A. The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative

[19] Merriam SB. Qualitative Research and Case Study Applications in Education. 2nd ed.

[20] Fendel D, Resek D, Alper L, Fraser S. Interactive Mathematics Program. Emeryville, CA:

[21] National School Reform Faculty: Frequently asked questions. Available from https://

[22] Little JW. The persistence of privacy: Autonomy and initiative in teachers' professional

Evaluation Methods. 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage; 2002

84 Advanced Learning and Teaching Environments - Innovation, Contents and Methods

Research. Chicago: Aldine Publishing Company; 1967

relations. Teachers College Record. 1990;**91**(4):509-536

San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers; 1998

New York. Free Press. 1994

Key Curriculum Press; 1997

www.nsrfharmony.org/node/9

NY: Teachers College Press; 2005

The results of an educational research project on a teaching and learning practice developed in the context of primary school teachers' continuing education in which didactic-pedagogical practices of outdoor learning are given a main role are analysed. The research followed a qualitative approach. It was assumed that environmental literacy is based on the premise of training for critical and responsible citizenship, with the aim of developing knowledge and skill for active participation in making decisions and following behaviours, of social-environmental interest. In this context, a didactic pedagogical component on the topic of "Water" was developed and implemented. The didactic strategy followed was that of outdoor learning, with a teaching learning perspective based on the interrelationship between the sustainability of natural water resources and individual behaviour. The following categories of analysis were used: didactic transformation of curricular content; environmental literacy; science-child-environment interaction. This training course highlighted the acquisition by this group, primary school teacher's, of skills that are fundamental to the development of a teaching and learning process that promotes environmental citizenship through the discovery of the surrounding natural environment.

**Keywords:** continuing education, primary education, environmental citizenship, water, outdoor learning

### **1. Introduction**

Primary education is a privileged opportunity for children's environmental literacy, in line with the construction of environmental citizenship. Children at the beginning of compulsory schooling should have educational practices that allow them to understand the importance of their role in the construction of a society committed to environmental citizenship in a daily base

Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons

practice (behaviours). According to Roth [1] there is a causal relationship between environmental literacy and environmental impacts associated to behaviour. The environmentally literate individual understands the existence of interconnection between nature and human societies [2]. We share these convictions and we conclude that an environmentally literate individual must have knowledge, abilities, values, attitudes and behaviours committed to solving environmental problems. In short, critical scientific literacy should be developed in the child. Children must develop skills to analyse critically what they learn. They need to use this scientific knowledge to control, solve problems along their lives, in particular those related to their relationship with nature. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)/Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) states:*"Scientific literacy is the capacity to use scientific knowledge, to identify questions and to draw evidence-based conclusions in order to understand and help make decisions about the natural world and the changes made to it through human activity"* [3].

of the physical environment; natural resources of the environment; quality of water and existence of living beings in ecosystems; pollution of watercourses; preservation of water resources. The choice of the topic "Water" is justified by the local region having rivers, hot springs, recreational areas framed by river banks and by the scientific community acknowledging that drinking water is determinant for the survival of living beings and a basic right of humanity to meet their vital biological needs. We are living in a time when prospects of guaranteeing drinking water for all are threatened, not only because of availability limitations of this natural resource, but also because of the growing consumption of water by Western societies due to cultural practices, believes and anthropomorphic values (nature exists to serve humanity). Quality water alteration in natural ecosystems has consequences on population health. Even more, it has widespread environmental consequences. Each year, about two million people, mostly children under 5 years of age, die of diseases associated to water quality. For example, in Sub-Saharan Africa, 65.2% of the population does not have access to clean water [7]. According to the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the threat of hunger, water rationing and extinction of species is a reality. It is recognized, therefore, the need of the individuals to have interventions for preservation and solving envi-

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87

It is a major challenge for teachers of primary education the promotion of interaction with the surrounding natural/humanized environment in a non-formal context, in order to develop skills for environmental responsibilities. Competences of the individual *"integrates knowledge, skills and attitudes and can be understood as knowing in action or in use"* [8]. According to Ref. [9], *"the change in behaviour resulting from learning usually comes from a series of practical experiences and interactions with the environment"*. The sooner the child understands how fundamental it is to value the local natural/humanized environment and develops attitudes based on critical and participative responsibility, in the preservation of this environmental heritage, the greater the possibilities, as an adult, of coming to exercise an active and responsible citizenship. Exercising an active and critical environmental citizenship is participating with environ-

The Portuguese Law of Fundamentals of the Educational System [10] states that compulsory school starts with primary education. One of its general objectives is: *"To ensure that in this stage of education know-how, theory and practice, school culture and everyday culture are interrelated"*. These goals can only be achieved if the child has the opportunity to interact with the natural and humanized contexts of the environment in which he lives (family, school, social, cultural and environmental contexts). Along his life, the child experiences and acquires knowledge, practices (behaviours) and values that condition his development, the relation

The curriculum of primary education in Portugal [11] recommends that in the curricular area of "Study of the Environment": *"Students will deepen the knowledge of Nature and Society, and it* 

ronmental problems of local and global society.

with his community, and the global society.

**2. Theoretical background**

mental literacy.

The teaching-learning process, in the context of interaction with problems generated at the local natural/humanized environment, can provide opportunities to experience. That is, the context provides the scenario for a meaningful learning. It propitiates the acquisition of scientific knowledge interconnected to the appropriation of ecocentric values. It prepares the children for exercising an active participatory citizenship. Then, children develop a critical and committed citizenship to the protection, the preservation of the environment and the resolution of environmental problems. Primary school is the formal context that has the tools to develop in children critical scientific literacy and make them environmentally literate. The approach to the ecocentric concept [4], the child must understand that children are part of all ecosystems that constitute the ecosphere. That is why it should be provided education for the exercise of active and critical environmental citizenship from the very beginning of the compulsory school. Primary school teachers play a fundamental role in the appropriation of these skills. The teaching strategies used the most are the transmission of factual knowledge and memorization [5]. The professional development of teachers is subject to a triad of interrelated dimensions: research-actiontraining. This interdependence must always be present throughout his career [6].

The higher education institutions specialized in initial and continuing education has domain in the diversity of didactic-pedagogical arena. Thus, they play a fundamental role in promoting education for environmental citizenship (environmental literacy). Consequently, they contribute to developing critical scientific literacy in science.

In this research, we analyse the results of a pedagogical-didactic experiment carried out as an outdoor learning activity. The experiment was developed with a group of primary school teachers attending an in service training course at a Higher Scholl of Education.

The core of the didactic experimentation was the relation between contextualization-relation of sciences concepts with surrounding everyday reality. It intended to give meaning to the interrelation between scientific knowledge, values and attitudes for a participatory environmental citizenship.

Water was the natural resource selected for this experiment. The topic "Water" makes part of the curricular area of "Study of the Environment" the Portuguese primary education. The following content was explored: physicochemical characteristics of the molecule; components of the physical environment; natural resources of the environment; quality of water and existence of living beings in ecosystems; pollution of watercourses; preservation of water resources. The choice of the topic "Water" is justified by the local region having rivers, hot springs, recreational areas framed by river banks and by the scientific community acknowledging that drinking water is determinant for the survival of living beings and a basic right of humanity to meet their vital biological needs. We are living in a time when prospects of guaranteeing drinking water for all are threatened, not only because of availability limitations of this natural resource, but also because of the growing consumption of water by Western societies due to cultural practices, believes and anthropomorphic values (nature exists to serve humanity). Quality water alteration in natural ecosystems has consequences on population health. Even more, it has widespread environmental consequences. Each year, about two million people, mostly children under 5 years of age, die of diseases associated to water quality. For example, in Sub-Saharan Africa, 65.2% of the population does not have access to clean water [7]. According to the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the threat of hunger, water rationing and extinction of species is a reality. It is recognized, therefore, the need of the individuals to have interventions for preservation and solving environmental problems of local and global society.

### **2. Theoretical background**

practice (behaviours). According to Roth [1] there is a causal relationship between environmental literacy and environmental impacts associated to behaviour. The environmentally literate individual understands the existence of interconnection between nature and human societies [2]. We share these convictions and we conclude that an environmentally literate individual must have knowledge, abilities, values, attitudes and behaviours committed to solving environmental problems. In short, critical scientific literacy should be developed in the child. Children must develop skills to analyse critically what they learn. They need to use this scientific knowledge to control, solve problems along their lives, in particular those related to their relationship with nature. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)/Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) states:*"Scientific literacy is the capacity to use scientific knowledge, to identify questions and to draw evidence-based conclusions in order to understand and help make decisions about the natural world and the changes made to it through human activity"* [3].

86 Advanced Learning and Teaching Environments - Innovation, Contents and Methods

The teaching-learning process, in the context of interaction with problems generated at the local natural/humanized environment, can provide opportunities to experience. That is, the context provides the scenario for a meaningful learning. It propitiates the acquisition of scientific knowledge interconnected to the appropriation of ecocentric values. It prepares the children for exercising an active participatory citizenship. Then, children develop a critical and committed citizenship to the protection, the preservation of the environment and the resolution of environmental problems. Primary school is the formal context that has the tools to develop in children critical scientific literacy and make them environmentally literate. The approach to the ecocentric concept [4], the child must understand that children are part of all ecosystems that constitute the ecosphere. That is why it should be provided education for the exercise of active and critical environmental citizenship from the very beginning of the compulsory school. Primary school teachers play a fundamental role in the appropriation of these skills. The teaching strategies used the most are the transmission of factual knowledge and memorization [5]. The professional development of teachers is subject to a triad of interrelated dimensions: research-action-

training. This interdependence must always be present throughout his career [6].

teachers attending an in service training course at a Higher Scholl of Education.

contribute to developing critical scientific literacy in science.

mental citizenship.

The higher education institutions specialized in initial and continuing education has domain in the diversity of didactic-pedagogical arena. Thus, they play a fundamental role in promoting education for environmental citizenship (environmental literacy). Consequently, they

In this research, we analyse the results of a pedagogical-didactic experiment carried out as an outdoor learning activity. The experiment was developed with a group of primary school

The core of the didactic experimentation was the relation between contextualization-relation of sciences concepts with surrounding everyday reality. It intended to give meaning to the interrelation between scientific knowledge, values and attitudes for a participatory environ-

Water was the natural resource selected for this experiment. The topic "Water" makes part of the curricular area of "Study of the Environment" the Portuguese primary education. The following content was explored: physicochemical characteristics of the molecule; components It is a major challenge for teachers of primary education the promotion of interaction with the surrounding natural/humanized environment in a non-formal context, in order to develop skills for environmental responsibilities. Competences of the individual *"integrates knowledge, skills and attitudes and can be understood as knowing in action or in use"* [8]. According to Ref. [9], *"the change in behaviour resulting from learning usually comes from a series of practical experiences and interactions with the environment"*. The sooner the child understands how fundamental it is to value the local natural/humanized environment and develops attitudes based on critical and participative responsibility, in the preservation of this environmental heritage, the greater the possibilities, as an adult, of coming to exercise an active and responsible citizenship. Exercising an active and critical environmental citizenship is participating with environmental literacy.

The Portuguese Law of Fundamentals of the Educational System [10] states that compulsory school starts with primary education. One of its general objectives is: *"To ensure that in this stage of education know-how, theory and practice, school culture and everyday culture are interrelated"*. These goals can only be achieved if the child has the opportunity to interact with the natural and humanized contexts of the environment in which he lives (family, school, social, cultural and environmental contexts). Along his life, the child experiences and acquires knowledge, practices (behaviours) and values that condition his development, the relation with his community, and the global society.

The curriculum of primary education in Portugal [11] recommends that in the curricular area of "Study of the Environment": *"Students will deepen the knowledge of Nature and Society, and it*  *will be up to the teachers to provide them with the necessary tools and techniques in the way they can construct their own knowledge in a systematic way"*. It also states that: *"All human activity leaves traces and causes changes in nature. In this sense, attitudes related to conservation and improvement of the environment, the rational use of natural resources, and active and enlightened participation in solving environmental problems should be promoted"*.

heritage. It contributes to the development of research capacities and critical and reflective thinking [21]. Outdoor activities are preferred in promoting conservation and environmental

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Before beginning any outdoor learning activity the teacher should reflect on the following aspects [21]: *"How can learning outdoors enhance and deepen learning within curriculum areas?; Which experiences are best suited to a combination of indoor and outdoor learning?; How can learning indoors best be consolidated, progressed or enhanced using the outdoors?; What opportunities exist for* 

The curricular area of "Environmental Studies" of Portuguese primary education [11] is organized in groups of subjects. The *"In the discovery of the natural environment" group of subjects states that "the teacher should promote in his students attitudes of respect for life and nature, as well as sensitize them to the aesthetic aspects of the environment"*. The *"Discovering the interrelationships between nature and society"* group of subjects states *"teachers should promote attitudes related to the conservation and improvement of the environment, the rational use of natural resources, as well as an informed active participation in solving environmental problems"*. The education in primary school should be committed to provide skills that empower children for a proactive citizenship. Then, they will be capable of finding solutions to local and global issues (environmental literacy).

Students have *"rudimentary, subjective, incoherent, inexperienced knowledge, and they are incapable of grasping the complexity of the environment"* [11]. Martins et al. [23] highlights *"the importance of the mental implication of the individual as agent of their learning so that school learning will be seen as a process of (re) construction of this knowledge, and teaching will be seen as facilitator of this process"*. The beliefs of individuals are result of their experience of life, their acquired knowledge and

Educating behaviours is a complex and multidimensional task since they are rooted in individual and societal beliefs. Nevertheless, we consider that environmental citizenship attitudes must be learned in practice acquired during the development of children when attending

The teacher realizes the importance to implement teaching strategies for children to develop skills to solve problems and make decisions [25]. But, the way in which scientific knowledge is introduced can be a serious obstacle to learning. Teaching methodologies are necessary to provide learning for understanding. Problematizing, and exploring situations and phenomena constitute moments of discovery, knowledge and opportunities to raise awareness for participation in order to preserve the environment and solve environmental problems [26].

The line of thinking quoted above was possible to be experienced with a group of teachers of primary education that were attending an in-service training course about pedagogical-didactic strategies. In this context, the group developed a didactic pedagogical intervention on the curricular content "Water". The didactic strategy followed was that of outdoor learning. They were taught about: promotion of participation, interventional and committed citizenship with values for preservation of natural/humanized environment; analysis of the pedagogicaldidactic potential of outdoor learning activities, with student-centred active learning, in the

protection [22].

their values [24].

primary school.

development of environmental literacy.

*linking learning across the curriculum?"*.

It is recognized the importance of developing interdisciplinary pedagogical-didactic practices. Thus, it has to be centred in real word contexts and focused on the articulation of scientific knowledge with the development of capacities. These conditions lead to exercise a critical, responsible and participatory citizenship for solving environmental problems.

There is an interrelation between education about the environment, education for the environment and education into the environment. Indeed, the outdoor learning activities allow the use of natural/humanized spaces in the vicinity of the school as natural laboratory of: knowledge, attitudes and values that promotes the practice of a participatory and critical environmental citizenship [12]. Outdoor learning *"is a method where parts of the everyday life in school are moved out of the classroom into the local environment"* [13]. Underlines the need to develop a comprehensive and proactive pedagogical approach, oriented towards solving concrete problems of the environment through interdisciplinary approaches and active and responsible participation of each individual, and of the community [14].

In the structure and programming of the Portuguese primary education [11], it is stated *"the need to carry out active, meaningful, diversified, integrated and socializing learning experiences. This statement is in the guiding principles of pedagogical action"*.

The curricular area of "Environmental Studies" [11] can still be the motive and the engine for this type of learning. Consequently, it could be example of practicing interdisciplinarity among other fields of primary education in Portugal. According to Ref. [15], *"if several subjects are grouped under a common root that meets the interests of the students by combining activities – till now hitherto compartmentalized – they will increase their performance"*.

The methodology of teaching-learning applying outdoor activity stimulates the development of interdisciplinarity among all study fields of the primary education program. This is favourable to the student-centred active learning environment. These activities bring great benefits for achieving the objectives of the educational program, even more, the physical and emotional development of the child can also be enhanced [16]. In fact, the lack of opportunities may result in *"nature deficit disorder"* [17]. It is therefore up to the teacher *"to organize demanding and stimulating learning contexts, that is, formative environments that favour the cultivation of healthy attitudes and the unfolding of capacities, which purpose is the development of skills that allow the students to live in society, that is, to participate and intervene in interaction with other citizens"* [18].

The Ref. [19] divide attitudes into four main categories: (a) attitudes are persevering; (b) attitudes are acquired; (c) there is an association between attitude and behaviour; and (d) attitudes are dependent on individual values. The attitudes can influence cognitive, affective and behavioural structures [20].

Outdoor learning is a pedagogical-didactic resource that provides children with interaction with the natural/humanized environment, and affective attachment to local and global heritage. It contributes to the development of research capacities and critical and reflective thinking [21]. Outdoor activities are preferred in promoting conservation and environmental protection [22].

*will be up to the teachers to provide them with the necessary tools and techniques in the way they can construct their own knowledge in a systematic way"*. It also states that: *"All human activity leaves traces and causes changes in nature. In this sense, attitudes related to conservation and improvement of the environment, the rational use of natural resources, and active and enlightened participation in* 

It is recognized the importance of developing interdisciplinary pedagogical-didactic practices. Thus, it has to be centred in real word contexts and focused on the articulation of scientific knowledge with the development of capacities. These conditions lead to exercise a critical, responsible and participatory citizenship for solving environmental problems.

There is an interrelation between education about the environment, education for the environment and education into the environment. Indeed, the outdoor learning activities allow the use of natural/humanized spaces in the vicinity of the school as natural laboratory of: knowledge, attitudes and values that promotes the practice of a participatory and critical environmental citizenship [12]. Outdoor learning *"is a method where parts of the everyday life in school are moved out of the classroom into the local environment"* [13]. Underlines the need to develop a comprehensive and proactive pedagogical approach, oriented towards solving concrete problems of the environment through interdisciplinary approaches and active and

In the structure and programming of the Portuguese primary education [11], it is stated *"the need to carry out active, meaningful, diversified, integrated and socializing learning experiences. This* 

The curricular area of "Environmental Studies" [11] can still be the motive and the engine for this type of learning. Consequently, it could be example of practicing interdisciplinarity among other fields of primary education in Portugal. According to Ref. [15], *"if several subjects are grouped under a common root that meets the interests of the students by combining activities – till* 

The methodology of teaching-learning applying outdoor activity stimulates the development of interdisciplinarity among all study fields of the primary education program. This is favourable to the student-centred active learning environment. These activities bring great benefits for achieving the objectives of the educational program, even more, the physical and emotional development of the child can also be enhanced [16]. In fact, the lack of opportunities may result in *"nature deficit disorder"* [17]. It is therefore up to the teacher *"to organize demanding and stimulating learning contexts, that is, formative environments that favour the cultivation of healthy attitudes and the unfolding of capacities, which purpose is the development of skills that allow the students to live in society, that is, to participate and intervene in interaction with other citizens"* [18]. The Ref. [19] divide attitudes into four main categories: (a) attitudes are persevering; (b) attitudes are acquired; (c) there is an association between attitude and behaviour; and (d) attitudes are dependent on individual values. The attitudes can influence cognitive, affective and

Outdoor learning is a pedagogical-didactic resource that provides children with interaction with the natural/humanized environment, and affective attachment to local and global

responsible participation of each individual, and of the community [14].

*now hitherto compartmentalized – they will increase their performance"*.

*statement is in the guiding principles of pedagogical action"*.

behavioural structures [20].

*solving environmental problems should be promoted"*.

88 Advanced Learning and Teaching Environments - Innovation, Contents and Methods

Before beginning any outdoor learning activity the teacher should reflect on the following aspects [21]: *"How can learning outdoors enhance and deepen learning within curriculum areas?; Which experiences are best suited to a combination of indoor and outdoor learning?; How can learning indoors best be consolidated, progressed or enhanced using the outdoors?; What opportunities exist for linking learning across the curriculum?"*.

The curricular area of "Environmental Studies" of Portuguese primary education [11] is organized in groups of subjects. The *"In the discovery of the natural environment" group of subjects states that "the teacher should promote in his students attitudes of respect for life and nature, as well as sensitize them to the aesthetic aspects of the environment"*. The *"Discovering the interrelationships between nature and society"* group of subjects states *"teachers should promote attitudes related to the conservation and improvement of the environment, the rational use of natural resources, as well as an informed active participation in solving environmental problems"*. The education in primary school should be committed to provide skills that empower children for a proactive citizenship. Then, they will be capable of finding solutions to local and global issues (environmental literacy).

Students have *"rudimentary, subjective, incoherent, inexperienced knowledge, and they are incapable of grasping the complexity of the environment"* [11]. Martins et al. [23] highlights *"the importance of the mental implication of the individual as agent of their learning so that school learning will be seen as a process of (re) construction of this knowledge, and teaching will be seen as facilitator of this process"*. The beliefs of individuals are result of their experience of life, their acquired knowledge and their values [24].

Educating behaviours is a complex and multidimensional task since they are rooted in individual and societal beliefs. Nevertheless, we consider that environmental citizenship attitudes must be learned in practice acquired during the development of children when attending primary school.

The teacher realizes the importance to implement teaching strategies for children to develop skills to solve problems and make decisions [25]. But, the way in which scientific knowledge is introduced can be a serious obstacle to learning. Teaching methodologies are necessary to provide learning for understanding. Problematizing, and exploring situations and phenomena constitute moments of discovery, knowledge and opportunities to raise awareness for participation in order to preserve the environment and solve environmental problems [26].

The line of thinking quoted above was possible to be experienced with a group of teachers of primary education that were attending an in-service training course about pedagogical-didactic strategies. In this context, the group developed a didactic pedagogical intervention on the curricular content "Water". The didactic strategy followed was that of outdoor learning. They were taught about: promotion of participation, interventional and committed citizenship with values for preservation of natural/humanized environment; analysis of the pedagogicaldidactic potential of outdoor learning activities, with student-centred active learning, in the development of environmental literacy.

### **3. Issues and objectives**

In this investigation, we have considered the following research questions:

(a) Do the activities of outdoor learning itineraries constitute proper didactic resources for the transformation of scientific content based on the assumption of promotion of children's environmental literacy?

**5. Development of the pedagogical-didactic intervention**

didactic activities in a non-formal context based on examples.

**Figure 1.** Conceptual map to approach the topic of "Water".

The conceptual map followed in this pedagogical-didactic study is presented in **Figure 1**. A

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This pedagogical-didactic study was structured in two phases (three sequential moments).

Phase I (Theoretical-demonstrative session lasting 3 hours): (1) transmission of articulated concepts to ecocentric perspective of the natural/humanized environment; demonstration of

conceptual map is a strategy that could potentially facilitate meaningful learning [29].

In this case, the topic "Water" the curricular area of "Environmental Studies" is explored beforehand in theoretical-demonstrative dialogue session with teachers.


Thus, to provide answers to the questions we raised, the following learning objectives were defined for the pedagogical-didactic:

(i) To revisit of the scientific concepts related to the water molecule; (ii) To highlight the ecocentric vision of the natural water resource; (iii) To discover/highlight the potential of outdoor learning activities as a didactic resource of the teaching-learning process in the study field content, from an interdisciplinary perspective to contribute to environmental literacy; (iv) To construct an outdoor learning guide to teach the topic of "Water" based on a perspective of interdisciplinarity and student-centred active learning environment. The didactic resource should provide active, meaningful, diversified, integrated, socializing learning experiences. It must contribute to the appropriation of values and attitudes that promote practices of responsible environmental citizenship, it mean an active, critical and engaged citizenship.

### **4. Methodology**

This pedagogy research was carried out under a qualitative approach [27]. The interpretive nature of this research leaded the researcher to have a participant-observer role.

The following categories of analysis were considered: didactic transformation of study field content; environmental literacy; articulation among science-child-environment.

The data were obtained using the following instruments: observation (direct and participant), the construction of learning itineraries, and the collection of considerations raised by the participants.

A group of 30 primary teachers participated. The pedagogical study was developed within an in-service training course (continuing education course) for teachers on new methodologies for teaching-learning.
