A Strategy for Teacher Training on The Origin of Life Using a Virtual Environment

OCCELLI, M.; VALEIRAS, N.; GALLINO, M.

Journal of Science Education

Universidad Antonio Nariño

Lugar: Bogotá; Año: 2011 vol. 12 p. 32 - 35

0124-5481

The design, application and evaluation of a proposal for training teachers in the area of Natural Sciences is presented. The topic is The Origin of Life, and the tools used are Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). A didactic outline was designed using a technological platform, for which the Teaching for Understanding (TfU) framework and the current basis of Science Education were used as theoretical framework. A course was implemented in the form of distance learning, in which the educational materials, the interactions among participants and the participants´ learning were evaluated. The results of this experience provided elements necessary for the reformulation of the design, and the interactions among the participants could be characterized as sharing/comparing. Regarding the participants´ learning, it was observed that the current development stimulates progress concerning the concepts related to the origin of life. It is concluded that the proposal reported in this paper could be considered a useful strategy for teacher training.