Abstract:

The present study deals with an experience report of the use of the hybrid teaching modality adopted in the Didactics of Informatics I subject, of the Masters Course in Teaching of Informatics at the University of the Azores. It starts with reflections on the changes that have occurred in the ways of teaching and learning, given the technological revolution that has taken place in the last 30 years and the emergence of distance learning, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has changed many of the dynamics of society, including educational environments that had to adapt to an online teaching modality as a solution to overcome the barrier of social distance. It also starts from the need to enrich and strengthen the Didactics of Informatics component in a recently created course offered in an insular, ultraperipheral context, which seeks to create synergies with more qualified and experienced teachers in the area who can be an added value for the students' training. In this context, the hybrid model adopted, seeking to combine the need for regular and continuous participation of a lecturer specialized in Didactics of Informatics with its geographical distance, was based on an active teaching approach that prioritizes the student as the protagonist of his knowledge, collaborative learning, and learning by doing. The adoption of b-learning took place as a complement to face-to-face learning in the development and acquisition of transversal and specific skills by the students of the first semester of the master's degree in the field of Didactics of Informatics I, who, in their majority, are ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) teachers in basic schools in the Azores Archipelago, Portugal. Characterized as an exploratory study, this report of pedagogical practice aims to understand how the b-learning paradigm promoted in students the acquisition and improvement of certain skills, knowledge, and learning experiences that could be transposed to the contexts where they act as ICT educators. Methodological procedures were adopted that ensured the theoretical-practical articulation, with challenging activities and didactic models based on active learning strategies, promoting methodological experiences capable of developing knowledge about the educational approaches and theories that underpin the approach to ICT in preschool education and in the first cycle of basic education. The data for the reflection and analysis of the adopted pedagogical practice were collected in two distinct moments of assessment:
(i) a diagnostic assessment carried out at the beginning of the subject and
(ii) an assessment of the acquired knowledge carried out at the end of the subject.
Interpretative content analysis was used to interpret the collected data. From the results obtained, we highlight that the hybrid teaching modality adopted did not jeopardize students' learning or the development of the didactic competencies expected in the subject. We believe that, with this study, we intend to contribute to bridging a still existing perception regarding hybrid teaching projects in higher education, since, in Portugal, educational institutions are more anchored in face-to-face teaching than in online teaching. This report is only a starting point for future investigations aimed at innovative teaching modalities consistent with the current reality we live in.

Keywords:

Blended Learning, Higher Education, Active learning, Informatics education, Teacher training.