Luís Tinoca

A influência do género nas salas de aulas de ciências: um estudo com docentes e estudantes de 9.º ano

Integrando uma investigacao mais vasta sobre a influencia do genero no ensino e na aprendizagem das ciencias, procede-se aqui a analise dos dados obtidos a partir de questionarios aplicados a estudantes de 9o ano (com idades de 14 a 15 anos) e docentes de ciencias. Procurou-se conhecer quais os modos de aprendizagem preferidos por estudantes e quais as estrategias de ensino desenvolvidas por docentes de ciencias. Conclui-se que, apesar de se registarem algumas diferencas entre mocas e mocos, estas diferencas se tornam mais acentuadas quando se comparam as preferencias manifestadas dentro de cada um destes grupos ou quando se comparam as preferencias do grupo de estudantes com as praticas docentes.

Formative assessment of teachers in the context of an online learning environment

This case study looked at how an assessment strategy designed for an online learning environment can support teachers’ professional development. More specifically, we intended to evaluate how a particular online assessment design can help the participating in-service teachers to recognize the added value of formative assessment, and promote their own use of formative assessment in their professional classroom practices. The presented assessment design consists of a combination of different, non-standard assessment methods in an online environment. We analysed data from 494 questionnaires, the participants’ critical reflections about their learning and the participants’ produced artefacts. The findings illustrate the participants’ recognition of the formative character of the proposed assessment design, reflected not only by the high scores reported in seven of the eight themes explored, but also from the qualitative analysis of the participants’ reflections and artefacts. Suggestions are offered for the improvement of the proposed assessment design, so as to better promote the formative character of assessment. In particular, implications for the development of formative assessment in online professional development are discussed taking into account its potential to promote the participants’ self-regulatory learning processes.