Scientific Initiation
Pedagogical decisions mediated by technology
Pedagogical decision, planning, intentionality.
This scientific initiation project begins with a simple observation about the use of technology in education.
In recent years, digital platforms, virtual environments and interactive resources have become part of everyday school life. However, the presence of these technologies in the classroom does not in itself guarantee that learning will occur.
What truly makes the difference are the pedagogical decisions that guide their use.
A digital tool can expand access to content, encourage student engagement and support different forms of learning. But it can also be used merely as a replacement for traditional practices or as a response to institutional requirements, without a clear pedagogical intention.
This project arises precisely from this concern.
Rather than discussing only technological tools, the proposal is to create a small formative experience that encourages reflection on how teachers in training think about the role of technology in classroom situations.
The micro-experience
The project consists of the creation of an interactive micro-experience accessible through the browser.
In this experience, teachers in training go through a short sequence of simulated situations related to the planning of a review activity mediated by technology.
Throughout the experience, participants are invited to make pedagogical decisions that frequently appear in teaching practice. These decisions are organized into three important dimensions of educational planning:
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The pedagogical role of technology
Participants reflect on what function technology should play in the activity: supporting learning, replacing explanations or merely fulfilling an institutional requirement.
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The structure of the learning activity
The experience invites participants to think about how to organize the activity to monitor students' progress, considering aspects such as interaction, feedback and follow-up of the learning process.
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The purpose of assessment
Finally, participants must reflect on the pedagogical meaning of assessment: checking answers, supporting the learning process or simply recording a quantitative result.
After each decision, the system presents formative feedback discussing the pedagogical implications of each choice.
The proposal does not aim to indicate right or wrong answers. The objective is to stimulate reflection on the intentional use of technology in the planning of educational activities.
Why propose this experience
In initial teacher education, the use of educational technologies is often treated in an instrumental way. Teachers learn to use platforms, applications or digital tools, but the pedagogical decisions that guide their use are not always discussed in depth.
This project seeks to shift the focus from the tool to the pedagogical decision.
By experiencing simulated teaching planning situations, teachers in training can reflect on important aspects of pedagogical practice, such as:
- the role of teacher mediation
- the structure of learning activities
- the use of feedback during the process
- the pedagogical meaning of assessment
The micro-experience therefore functions as a small reflective exercise on the intentional use of technology in teaching.
Core idea
The proposal begins from a simple principle: technology is not pedagogical by itself.
Its educational potential depends on the decisions made by the teacher during the planning and implementation of learning activities.
By proposing an interactive experience based on pedagogical decisions, the project aims to contribute to a more reflective teacher education, in which the use of technology is aligned with clear educational objectives.
Connection with other projects
This project uses an interactive micro-experience to provoke reflection on pedagogical decisions.
The proposal connects with other experiences developed in projects presented on this site. In all of them, learning or skill development occurs through interaction with a practical situation rather than solely through the exposition of content.
In some cases, this experience takes the form of investigation, as in the game Radio Hunter. In others, it emerges in the interaction with a tool applied to professional practice, as in the Puller application. In this research, it appears as a simulated pedagogical planning situation. In different contexts, the idea remains the same: experiences can provoke reflection and support learning processes.
About the project
This work is part of the Research Initiation Program of Centro Universitário São José, within the Pedagogy degree program, approved through an institutional selection process with scholarship support, under the supervision of Professor Victor Ramos da Silva.
The project involves the development of an interactive micro-experience that simulates pedagogical decision-making situations related to the use of technology in the classroom, inviting teachers in training to reflect on these choices, with the prospect of publishing a scientific article.
