Abstract:

Vocational education and training (VET) programmes within the portuguese qualifications system lead to a double certification: an education and professional certification comprising general, scientific, technological and workbased learning components, enabling permeability with general programmes. The most popular of these VET programmes are the Professional programmes (cursos profissionais) which are part of compulsory education and of the formal education and training system. They target graduates of basic education aged between 15 and 18, who would like to attend a practical programme linked to the labour market. A significant percentage of students who attend these programmes never invested in their studies, showing a slow pace of work, little autonomy, little or no desire to learn and many gaps in all the knowledge that should have been acquired by the end of basic education.

In this paper we will present an experiment carried out with a 10th grade class of the Professional program in Management and Computer Systems Programming (MCSP). One of the subjects in the scientific component of the course (each course has four components: sociocultural, scientific, technological and work-based learning) is precisely MCSP which includes modules on Statistics and Probability. This course aims to integrate and enhance digital tools in the teaching-learning process, using active learning strategies, in which: the student participates in the construction of knowledge; the teacher is supportive in the teaching-learning process; collaborative and constant work among students is promoted.

In the didactic sequences implemented to teach the modules on Statistics and Probability, several digital tools were used, namely, the Google Classroom where a virtual class was created; the Google Drive, used to store the students’ works or other relevant material; the Padlet as the repository for the final work, to be used for presentations; the Google Forms used to collect statistical information; the Microsoft Excel to analyze the statistical data; the GeoGebra, a dynamical geometry software used in the study of bivariate data; the Quizizz and Mentimeter platforms that allowed the teacher to use and create quizzes for students to play, with immediate feedback.

The use of these digital tools turned the classroom more attractive, dynamic and closer to the students' reality, allowing them to develop autonomy, motivation and confidence, hence, successfully acquiring the mathematical concepts involved.

Students enrolled in vocational programmes need special strategies that engage them in their learning process. With this paper the authors intend to share their experience, providing teachers with tools that can help them to overcome the difficulties encountered with this kind of audience.

Keywords:

Statistics, Probability, Active learning, Professional programmes, Digital tools.