José Armando Valente

Dept. of Media, NIED and GGTE – UNICAMP

CED – PUC/SP

Innovation in K-12

Education: what really

worked

Work based on 3 projects:

• ABInv - Aprendizagem

Baseada na Investigação

(Inquiry-based Learning) www.nied.unicamp.br/abinv

• XO Unicamp - Lápis,

Caderno e Laptop (Pencil,

Notebook and Laptop)

www.nied.unicamp.br/xounicamp

• UCA - Um Computador por

Aluno (One Computer per

Student) www.nied.unicamp.br/ucaunicamp

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Conceptual base

Paulo Freire, 1921-1997

Contextualized – the

constructed product is

relevant to the learner’s

reality

Constructionism – learner

engaged in constructing a

meaningful product using the

computer

Seymour Papert, 1928

Laptops in the

classroom

Laptops in the classroom:

3 to 1

2 to 1

1 to 1

Laptops in the hands of

students

Laptops in students’ hands

They can use it any time and any place

Students as active

learners

Implementation of active

pedagogy

Inquiry based learning

Project based learning

Themes are proposed by the teacher based on curriculum plan

Selection of questions or project

Students proposed questions or

projects ideas

Teacher and students select them based on: The question or project cannot be

solved by just finding answers in a book or using Google

Questions or projects have to lead to empirical experimentation and/or hands on

Proper teacher training

and support from the

university researchers

Proper teacher training

Teachers must change their

pedagogical concepts and understand the real potential of ICT as an

extension of the learners’ intellectual capacity

It is not enough to acquire

pedagogical and technological

knowledge

Changes in educators’ beliefs and theories

It is much easier for the teachers to adapt to an innovation if their

expectations match their concept of teaching

The pedagogical use of ICT is related

to personal concepts and theories

Teachers’ support from experts

Face to face as much as possible

Via technology (online or videoconference)

The objective is to be together with the teachers, helping them to learn

how to integrate technology and curricular activities

Online technology is helping the creation of a

cooperative network of intense interaction between

teachers and experts

Being together

face-to-face/virtually

Being together face-to-face/virtually

Professor Teacher

act

Professor Teacher

Being together face-to-face/virtually

act

reflect

Professor Teacher

Being together face-to-face/virtually

act

reflect describe

problems

Professor Teacher

Being together face-to-face/virtually

act

reflect describe

problems reflect

Professor Teacher

Being together face-to-face/virtually

act

reflect describe

problems

Report

ideas

reflect

Professor Teacher

Being together face-to-face/virtually

act

reflect describe

problems

Report

ideas

reflect

act

reflect

Professor Teacher

Being together face-to-face/virtually

Main takeaways from teacher

development:

Considering: The way schools work

Teacher development is complex, situated and takes time

Circumstantial and idiosyncratic factors impact teacher development

One cannot expect uniform results

Change curriculum

activities

Change curriculum activities

Have to change to the digital era

(explore image, hypertext, authoring, animation, simulation, visualization…..)

Curriculum activities which were

developed for the pencil and

paper era

Second degree equation for

pencil and paper

To solve the equation using Bhaskara

The main activity is to find x1 and x2

To plot the graphic is very complicated!

Expand the concept of literacy

Literacies: digital, visual, sound....

Production of digital narratives

Literacies: diverse languages and representations of knowledge

processes, skills and modalities

Studying the environment

Learning about Vila Manoel Marques (Acre)

Students selecting themes

Students collecting data

Students interviewing a long time

resident

Students produced digital

narratives incorporating themes:

The environment

changes because society

changes Investigated

and compared lifestyles and

relation with the environment

then and today

Transformed landscapes

Investigated natural

/environmental destruction,

implementation of industries

and how nature takes time to

recover

Living memories Interview the

Vila’s founder, and Dona

Doca, who is 82 and lived in the Vila since the beginning

when it had only 3 families

/www.curriculosemfronteiras.org/vol12iss3articles/almeida-valente.pdf

Example:

2º Grade studying science

2º grade – Studying Science

“Birds from Pantanal”

Students’ questions:

Why do the Tuiuiu’s legs bend

backward and not forward?

Why don’t the Tuiuiu’s skinny

legs break ?

Using the laptop to look for

information about Tuiuiu

Studying how the Tuiuiu bends

its legs

Where is the knee? How does it walk?

After a lot of investigation, a

concrete activity

Assembling the Tuiuiu legs

Assembling the Tuiuiu legs

Tuiuius assembled by the

students

Making the Tuiuiu walk!

But where is the knee?

The problem goes to the university

and the solution was to construct

a mechanical model

The mechanical model

Structure of the model

Students working with the model

The Tuiuiu’s legs are so difficult!

In conclusion

Great challenge

To integrate inquiry-based activities or project based

learning into the curriculum so this pedagogical approach

can be an effective component in the students process of

knowledge construction using ICT

The use of ICT in Brazilian Education has been a topic of research since 1981. We have

experience and knowhow

ICT implementation policies developed collaboratively by

government, society and educational institutions

What is missing ???

Thank you!

jvalente@unicamp.br