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- Play, Algorithmic Thinking and Early Childhood Education: Challenges in the Portuguese ContextPublication . Figueiredo, Maria Pacheco; Gomes, Cristina Azevedo; Amante, Susana; Gomes, Helena Margarida dos Santos Vasconcelos; Alves, Valter; Duarte; Rego, BelmiroALGOLITTLE is an EU-funded project, with partners from Portugal, Italy, Turkey, and Slovenia, supporting the integration of algorithmic thinking skills into preschool education for preparing future code literates from an early age. The paper presents the project and frames it in Portuguese Early Childhood Education. First, in terms of curricular areas and pedagogical approach, through a content analysis of the Portuguese Curricular Guidelines for Preschool Education. Second, by analyzing initiatives and projects that are connected to algorithmic thinking in Early Childhood Education in Portugal. Third, by presenting challenges that emerged from a set of discussions with several participants, highlighting the complexity and timeliness of the project.
- "It’s a Thing to Measure Things”: Learning about Measurement in Early Childhood Teacher Education in PortugalPublication . Figueiredo, Maria Pacheco; Gomes, Helena Margarida dos Santos Vasconcelos; Matos, Isabel AiresA Lesson Study (Lewis, 2002) about length measurement in Early Childhood Education was developed collaboratively by students in initial Early Childhood Teacher Education as part of their practicum. Although Lesson Studies are commonly used for in-service teacher education, there are studies that consider it for initial teacher education (Baptista, Conceição, & Ponte, 2020; Bjuland & Mosvold, 2015; Cajkler & Wood, 2016; Fernández, 2010; Leavy & Hourigan, 2016; Marble, 2012; Merichelli & Curi, 2016). An essential dimension in the education of future teachers is the development of their ability to learn from pedagogical practice, and Lesson Studies have the potential to serve as a context for this process (Cohan & Honigsfeld, 2007; Sims & Walsh, 2009). The students from the Master's Degree in Early Childhood and Primary Education were organized into three groups. Each group included four students that were placed in different Early Childhood Education (ECE) settings and, therefore, worked daily with up to 25 children from 3 to 6 years old. All groups planned together. The same “Lesson” was developed in three ECE settings and data was collected so it could be discussed in terms of: a) children’s knowledge about measurement revealed in actions and discourse, and b) features of the planning that were aligned with ECE Pedagogy. The second cycle of planning, implementation in the other three settings, and reflection was developed after the analysis and discussion of cyle 1. After the second cycle, reports were prepared by each group. The planning was based on listening to children as well as on valuing play as a means to understand children's knowledge and experiences. These principles are coherent with the perspective on Mathematics and its Didactics reflected in the Portuguese Curricular Guidelines for Early Childhood Education (Ministry of Education, 2016) and offer children opportunities for meaningful learning (Thiel, Severina, & Perry, 2020). Methodologically, the Guidelines take as a starting point the interests, experiences, and daily life of the children. The teacher should find ways to observe and reflect on those, and then offer diverse and challenging experiences and help children to reflect and discuss them to support the construction of mathematical ideas. In terms of content and learning expectations, the Guidelines present four blocks for mathematics: numbers and operations; data organization and analysis; geometry and measurement; and interest and curiosity in Mathematics. In this paper, we present results from the data recorded in the reports prepared by the students: participant observation records of the 125 children (corresponding to 6 groups) during the activities. The planning started with making available length measurement tools so children could play freely and then, after a large group conversation, it was suggested that children use the tools in role-playing situations connected to real-life situations. Children focused primarily on measuring as finding a result and measuring as an action associated with jobs or professionals. Most children mentioned home as the context where the tools were familiar. The diversity of experiences highlights the importance of home-school communication for mathematics (Bishop, 2016) and the relevance of play as an arena for children's complex understandings to be shared. Strict didactical sequences for measuring were perceived as disregarding that complexity.
- Playing with technology in Early Childhood Education: creation of a play centerPublication . Figueiredo, Maria Pacheco; Santos, Sara; Rego, BelmiroTechnology is an important part of what children experience in their daily life and in formal contexts like Early Childhood Education. For the Portuguese Curricular Guidelines, technology is part of the curricular area Knowledge of the World. It's acknowledged that the contexts, phenomena, and relationships that children connect with are technology-laden and, therefore, children should learn about technology and have a good and critical relation with it. The introduction of technology in Early Childhood Education centers needs, therefore, to be intentional and pedagogical. Following Early Childhood Pedagogy, listening to children and opportunities for rich and meaningful play are two important tenets. A study was developed in the context of a Master's Degree in Early Childhood and Primary Education about the meanings children attribute to technology in the context of creating and exploring a play center. Data collection took place in an Early Childhood Education center in Viseu, with 20 children between 3 and 6 years old. The descriptive study was based on participant observation and interviews with children. The creation of the play center was preceded by interviews with children about technology. The interviews were informal and took place in the center, during the normal daily routine. Permissions were obtained from the parents and also from the children, who were asked if they wanted to help with a special assignment. After analyzing the data, a project approach (Katz & Chard, 2009; Vasconcelos, 2011) was prepared and initiated. The planning was flexible and the project resulted in the involvement and participation of children in the reconstruction of the educational space of the activity room to create the "repair ICT" play center that had several real devices (laptops, PSP, tablets, mobile phones, flash drives) for make-believe situations. In this study, children's play was assumed to be essential for learning (Ministry of Education, 2016; Pramling & Fleer, 2009), also within the scope of technology (Aldhafeeri, Palaiologou & Folorunsho, 2016; Edwards, 2016; Nikolopoulou & Gialamas, 2015). With the creation of the play center, it was intended that children explored technology in various aspects: the play center afforded the role of users but also repair specialists, knowing how they work “from the inside”. The results suggest that the diversity of electronic devices and the possibilities of manipulation and free exploration in the context of playing allowed children to develop a diverse relationship with technology that included agency and specific knowledge related to the components and technical and social usage of the devices.
- Investigação e ensino: contornos e contributos na formação inicial de educadores de infânciaPublication . Figueiredo, Maria PachecoA ideia de professor/a investigador/a tem uma herança pedagógica muito rica. No atual enquadramento da formação inicial de professores em Portugal existe a expectativa de que os futuros professores desenvolvam uma atitude investigativa o que tem conduzido à introdução de trabalho de investigação em ligação com as práticas de ensino supervisionadas. Neste capítulo, analisam-se estudos realizados acerca da perspetiva dos formandos sobre a experiência de realizar investigação durante a formação. Com esta análise de resultados, pretende-se destacar a variabilidade existente do ponto de vista das formas de experienciar o processo. Esta variabilidade articula-se com as possibilidades distintas de propósito para a introdução de trabalhos de pesquisa na formação inicial. Num processo complexo como a formação inicial, o conhecimento das experiências e a atenção ao propósito, rumo e resultado das práticas revela-se essencial. Este capítulo inclui, ainda, um foco na especificidade da Educação de Infância nestes processos formativos.