O Pensamento Computacional como Prática Educativa no Ensino Médio Integrado: o entendimento de professores de informática a partir de uma formação continuada

Abstract

This research – which is part of the Educational Practices in Professional and Technological Education (EPT) research line – had as its theme computational thinking as an educational practice in Integrated High School Education. In Brazil, there is a well-known policy to encourage EPT, with federal institutes being its largest representatives. In the context of Integrated High School courses, it is common to use computer fundamentals in several curricular units. Thus, we observed a concern in using these concepts to solve problems, both inside and outside the classroom. In this context, we can highlight Computational Thinking (CT) as an initial path, a good starting point, already used in other countries, studied for decades, a methodological approach to problem-solving based on fundamental concepts of computing, which can be applied in different contexts and situations to assist in the tasks performed both in the school environment and in daily life. However, this approach requires that teachers already have contact with conceptual aspects of CT in order to envision possibilities of using it in their practices, however there are still few references on the subject in the Brazilian context. Thus, we started from the following guiding question: what is the understanding of computer science teachers regarding computational thinking as an educational practice in EPT based on continuing education? In this context, the present research had the general objective of verifying the knowledge that Computer Science teachers of Integrated High School have about the use of computational thinking as an educational practice, based on collaborative continuing education. As specific objectives, we established: To identify the prior knowledge that teachers have about computational thinking and its understanding as an educational practice in EPT; To analyze the understanding that teachers come to have, based on collaborative continuing education, about computational thinking as an educational practice in EPT; To understand the elements of collaborative continuing education that contributed to possible changes in the teacher's pedagogical view of computational thinking. Following a qualitative approach of a descriptive- explanatory nature and interventional character, for the methodological path we established the following steps: theoretical review; construction of the product; contact with the subjects; semi- structured interview before training; application of the product; semi-structured post-training interview; data analysis. The educational product was a continuing education program for teachers in the area of Computer Science at IFMS, with collaboration as a training principle. The training was structured as an extension course, in four modules, with synchronous online meetings and complementary materials organized in a virtual learning environment. The proposed activities prioritized the collaborative performance of the participants. As a result, we can highlight that, before the continuing education program, the teachers had little knowledge about the topic, but with many learning expectations. After the training, it was possible to assess their expressive contribution to the construction of knowledge in relation to the proposed topic, the definition of the Pillars of Computational Thinking, as well as the stimulation of new ideas for practical approaches in the classroom. As a way of corroborating the quality in the application of the educational product, we highlight the collaboration, which contributed to evolutionary, participatory learning based on the exchange of experiences among the teachers. In summary, the training allowed the teachers to incorporate a diversity of perspectives in their reflections and this diversity was essential for the meaningful construction of learning.