THE VIRTUAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT (AVA) AND SCIENCE TEACHERS TRAINING: experimental report in a Lato-Sensu Graduate Course in Maranhão

Abstract

This study analyzed the Virtual Learning Environment (AVA in Portuguese) during a training course for middle school science teachers in an online graduate course in Science Teaching. The qualitative, descriptive, and cross-sectional research was conducted with 38 teacher-students. The results were obtained through the analysis of the teaching and learning practices of the teacher-students in the AVA. Their experiences in the graduate course were examined regarding the potentialities and methodological pluralities in the use of virtual resources. We observed that there were students with varied academic backgrounds, and many of them already used these resources in their classes and understood Distance Education (EaD) as a teaching modality connected to the needs of students, enabling the construction of knowledge between teachers, students, educational institutions, and society. For the teacher-students, the classes in the AVA are dynamic and stimulating due to the ease of access and learning. Thus, the AVA, along with other digital resources, plays a crucial role in the teaching and learning process of students, enabling citizenship education within Science teaching, in addition to stimulating research through virtual and technological teaching practices in schools. The experiences acquired by teachers-students in the graduate course can be used in the classroom with the active participation of students through the use of various digital resources, promoting problem-solving, investigative, and critical Science teaching.