Lifelong Learning Programme

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PUBLICATION INFORMATION

TITLE OF PUBLICATION
EVALUATION OF THE IMPACT OF THE TRAINING PROGRAM IN TEACHING EXPERIMENTAL SCIENCE:
A NATIONWIDE STUDY (AVALIAçãO DO IMPACTE DO PROGRAMA DE FORMAçãO EM ENSINO EXPERIMENTAL DAS CIêNCIAS: UM ESTUDO DE âMBITO NACIONAL)
NAME OF AUTHOR(S)
Isabel P. Martins, Celina Tenreiro Vieira, Rui M. Vieira, Patrícia Sá, Ana V. Rodrigues, Filomena Teixeira, Fernanda Couceiro, Maria Luísa Veiga, Cláudia Neves
NAME OF PUBLISHER
Ministério da Educação e Ciência
Direção-Geral da Educação
YEAR OF PUBLICATION
2012
LANGUAGE OF PUBLICATION
Portuguese
PUBLICATION TYPOLOGY
Report
TARGET GROUP OF PUBLICATION
Researchers, Teachers, Policy Makers
SIZE OF THE PUBLICATION
Over 10 pages
DESCRIPTION OF CONTENTS
We have selected here a report that assesses the impact of a Training Program dedicated to Experimental Science Education, developed for primary teachers and supported by the Ministry of Education.
The website of this training program (http://www.dgidc.min-edu.pt/outrosprojetos/index.php?s=directorio&pid=93) also includes a series of other important complementary publications. The program was implemented between 2006 and 2010, with the collaboration of a National Network of Higher Education institutions that form primary teachers, under the coordination of a Technical and Consulting Advisory committee, as described in the website of the Ministry of Education and Science. According to the authors, the main objectives of the program, translated here, were:
1. To deepen the understanding of primary teachers on the importance of an adequate Science Education for all, and mobilize them for an innovative action in science teaching in their schools.
2. To promote the (re)construction of didactic knowledge of contents, with an emphasis on Science teaching of experimental basis in the early years of schooling, taking into account research in Science Teaching, as well as the current Guidelines for the Basic Education Curriculum of Physical and Natural Sciences.
3. To promote the exploration of didactic situations for Science teaching of experimental basis in the primary school, by deepening and/or reconstructing of scientific knowledge and curriculum.
This program had three main areas of action: the continuous training of teachers during one or two academic years; the production and delivery of teaching guides; the financial support of schools for performing the laboratory work. To have a global view of the national impact of this initiative, it included a total of 5141 primary school teachers, 4245 schools and 149359 students. Also, this program was described thoroughly in a series of documents, publicly available, that describe many of its components such as:
- the training plan (http://www.dgidc.min-edu.pt/outrosprojetos/data/outrosprojectos/ciencias_experimentais/Documentos/plano_formacao.pdf)
- the training program for the first year (http://www.dgidc.min-edu.pt/outrosprojetos/data/outrosprojectos/ciencias_experimentais/Documentos/programa_formacao_ano_1.pdf)
- the training program for the second year (http://www.dgidc.min-edu.pt/outrosprojetos/data/outrosprojectos/ciencias_experimentais/Documentos/programa_formacao_ano_2.pdf)
- a series of teaching resources for primary school (http://www.dgidc.min-edu.pt/outrosprojetos/index.php?s=directorio&pid=94#i)
- two progress reports (2007, 2009), two final reports (2008, 2010) and an external evaluation report (http://www.dgidc.min-edu.pt/outrosprojetos/index.php?s=directorio&pid=107#i)

Finally, in 2012, an extensive and thorough evaluation report was published to assess the impact of this Training Program. We will present here a only a small selection of the main conclusions obtained by the authors, due to space limitations:
- indicators point that that teachers who attended this training program value the proposed experimental teaching and learning of science;
- the authors of textbooks acknowledge the relevance of the Program, in particular, to the teaching resources that were herein developed;
- indicators about the active role played by teachers who attended the program in creating dynamics in school, generating environments that reveal the importance of science education in the early years.

The authors also make some final considerations regarding the importance of science teaching in the first years of school and that such fact is recognized by policy makers. This would demand the existence of curricular time to include those experimental activities.
Another important aspect is the role of Higher Education Institutions, responsible for graduating future teachers, in the inclusion of curricular units that value experimental work.
REVIEWER’S COMMENTS ON THE PUBLICATION
The publication, presented here, is an important document that evaluates the impact of a very ambitious National Training Program in Teaching Experimental Science for Primary teachers, developed between 2006 and 2010. The numbers speak by themselves: 5141 primary school teachers, 4245 schools and 149359 students.
Its importance is also huge because it is very well supported by several documents (training plan, training programs, progress reports, final reports, external evaluation reports), publicly available, and though, to our knowledge only available in Portuguese, they can constitute very important sources of information for similar programs in other countries.
Another very important output of this training program were the teaching resources developed. In case of Physical-Chemical sciences, we can mention a few:
- Exploring… Floating liquids
- Exploring… Dissolution in liquids
- Exploring… Physical changes of state
- Exploring… Sustainability in the Earth
All of them have a didactic guide for teachers and a notebook for students to register their observations.
NAME OF THE REVIEWING ORGANISATION
Instituto Politécnico de Bragança

Comments about this Publication

Your comments are welcome


Date: 2013.05.30

Posted by GENOVEVA ILIEVA (Bulgaria)

Message: After the first conference of the United Nations on Environmental Education, environment is understood as a broad concept and is perceived as the overall natural and cultural heritage of mankind, which has not only physical, chemical and biological dimensions but it also covers the historical monuments, art, memorials, natural environment and the environment created by people, including fauna, flora and population. Regardless of the national features of the educational systems of different countries, this broader concept about the environment and the new priorities of ecologization of education is widely spread.
It is well known that every process, including education, has its own technology which is not always realized and given meaning by teachers but manifests itself in their attempt to build knowledge, skills, attitudes, interests and abilities in their students.
The teaching/learning content in Chemistry and Environment provides many possibilities for raising the cognitive interest of students not only in Chemistry but also in nature and Natural Sciences in general, in environment and its conservation, in healthy diets and human health. These possibilities can be sought in two opposite directions. On one hand, the abstract nature of chemistry, its theoretical concepts of the composition and structure of substances, as well as the mechanism of chemical reactions, brings elements of mystery and curiosity which can be developed into lifelong interest in the micro-world of atoms and theoretical knowledge. On the other hand, the strong interest provokes practice-oriented teaching/learning content - provision of latest and interesting facts about inventions and applications of various substances and processes, content updating with historical, health, ecological and other data which demonstrate the vital importance of chemistry for the modern scientific and manufacturing processes, for the customs and culture of people, for the industry and agriculture. If we place an emphasis on the links between chemistry and natural and other applied sciences when covering particular learning content, then we may have a positive effect on building cognitive interest in students, and in turn, developing this cognitive interest into professional one. In order to improve the motivation and raise the interest of students in Chemistry and Environmental Preservation, we should use not only appropriate approaches and methods but also interesting organizational forms and teaching tools.

National Reports on successful experiences to promote lifelong learning for chemistry The national reports on chemistry successful experiences to promote lifelong learning for chemistry are now available on the related section of the project portal. The reports presents examples of successful experiences in the partner countries and the results of testing of ICT resources with science teachers.

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