S T I INTE E D E L L U T S N I JOURNAL...

INI TT ES ALED E EL DU T UU CT AI TT IS EN II

JOURNAL PEDAGOGY2019 (1) • LXVII

COLEGIUL DIRECTOR:Cercet. șt. dr. Mihai JIGĂU

Prof. univ. emerit dr. Viorel NICOLESCU,Universitatea din București, RomâniaProf. univ. dr. Constantin CUCOȘ

,Institutul de Științe ale Educației, România

,Universitatea „Al. I. Cuza” din Iași, România

COLEGIUL DE REDACŢIE:Prof. univ. dr. Gabriel ALBU, Universitatea de Petrol și Gaze din Ploiești, RomâniaCercet. şt. dr. Otilia APOSTU, Institutul de Științe ale Educației, RomâniaAcad. Alexandru BOBOC, Academia RomânăCercet. şt. dr. Laura Elena CĂPIŢĂ, Institutul de Științe ale Educației, RomâniaProf. univ. dr. Carmen CREŢU, Universitatea „Al. I. Cuza” din Iași, RomâniaLector univ. dr. Alina Narcisa CRIȘAN, Universitatea Tehnică din Cluj-Napoca, RomâniaConf. univ. dr. Roxana ENACHE, vicepreședinte, Asociația „Academia Pedagogilor”, RomâniaProf. univ. dr. Irfan ERDOGAN, Universitatea din Istanbul, Turcia

Prof. univ. dr. Dimitrios B. GOUDIRAS, Universitatea „Macedonia”, Salonic, GreciaCercet. şt. Atwell GRAHAM, Universitatea din Wales, Marea BritanieCercet. şt. dr. Irina HORGA, Institutul de Științe ale Educației, RomâniaProf. univ. dr. Violeta MIRCHEVA, Institutul Național de Educație, BulgariaProf. univ. dr. Ioan NEACŞU, Universitatea din București, RomâniaProf. univ. dr. Rodica NICULESCU, Universitatea „Transilvania” din Brașov, RomâniaProf. univ. dr. Aleksandra PEJATOVIC, Universitatea din Belgrad, SerbiaProf. univ. dr. Rossitsa PENKOVA, Universitatea „K. Ohridski” din Sofia, BulgariaLector univ. dr. Ana-Maria Aurelia PETRESCU, Universitatea „Valahia” din Târgoviște, RomâniaProf. univ. dr. Dan POTOLEA, Universitatea din București, RomâniaProf. univ. dr. Athina SIPITANOU, Universitatea „Macedonia”, Salonic, GreciaProf. univ. dr. Emil STAN, Universitatea de Petrol și Gaze din Ploiești, RomâniaAcad. Alexandru SURDU, Academia RomânăProf. univ. dr. Nikos TERZIS, Universitatea „Aristotel”, Salonic, GreciaCercet. şt. dr. Simona Luciana VELEA, Institutul de Științe ale Educației, RomâniaProf. univ. dr. Pavel ZGAGA, Universitatea din Ljubljiana, Slovenia

RESPONSABILI DE NUMĂR:Cercet. şt. drd. Alexandra ARAMĂ,Cercet. şt. dr. Oana GHEORGHE

REDACTOR:Miruna Luana MIULESCU

TEHNOREDACTARE COMPUTERIZATĂ ȘI TIPAR:Vlad PASCU

Prof. univ. dr. Natasha Angelska GALEVSKA, Universitatea „Chiril și Metodiu” din Skopje

2019 (1)LXVII

REVISTA DEPEDAGOGIE

JOURNALOF

PEDAGOGY

REVISTADEPEDAGOGIE

Prof. univ. dr. Natasha Angelska GALEVSKA, Universitatea „Chiril și Metodiu” din Skopje, Macedonia

ADRESA REDACŢIEI: Str. Ştirbei Vodă Nr. 37, sector 1, Bucureşti 010102

Tel.: 021-314.27.83 Fax: 021-312.14.47E-mail: Pagina web: http://[email protected]

Print ISSN: 0034-8678Online ISSN: 2559-639X

Informațiile și punctele de vedere prezentate în contribuțiile publicate sunt cele aleautorului (autorilor) și nu reflectă neapărat opinia oficială a Revistei de Pedagogie.

Indexare BDI: CEEOL, Citefactor, Crossref, De Gruyter (IBZ and IBR), DOAJ, EBSCO, ERIH Plus, GoogleAcademic și Ulrichweb. Articolele care conțin subiecte despre învățământul superior pot fi indexate și în HEDBIB.

BROȘARE:Constantin CHIȚU

mailto:[email protected];

REVISTA DE PEDAGOGIE/JOURNAL OF PEDAGOGY

2019 (1) • LXVII

CUPRINS

S T U D I I E M P I R I C E

Studiu asupra relaţiei dintre nivelul stării de conştientizare (mindfulness) şicel al echilibrului muncă-viaţă personală, la nivelul populaţieitinere din România ............................................................................................... 7Ion-Ovidiu PÂNIŞOARĂ, Georgeta PÂNIŞOARĂ, Cristina SANDU, RuxandraCHIRCA

Formarea cadrelor didactice pentru încurajarea dezvoltării competenţelor degândire superioare la clasă ................................................................................. 21Cristina TRIPON

Şcoala ca organizaţie care învaţă. Climatul şcolar în societatea digitalizată .... 41Mariana Georgiana MORARU

Contribuţia Jocului de rol la dezvoltarea competenţelor de comunicare alestudenţilor dintr-o universitate tehnică .............................................................. 57Elena TIRON

Utilizarea tehnologiei în predarea disciplinelor STEM. O cercetare empirică ... 73Olimpius ISTRATE, Cosmina MIRONOV, Anca POPOVICI

Creativitatea, învăţarea interdisciplinară şi folosirea tehnologiei – condiţii pentruun învăţământ modern ....................................................................................... 93Adina MIHAI (CĂLUGĂRU)

Dezvoltarea competenţelor de comunicare orală a copiilor, prin intermediulpoveştilor şi a setului LEGO® .......................................................................... 105Diana COJOCNEAN

Studiu comparativ privind percepţia elevilor despre utilizarea textelorliterare ca resurse autentice de învăţare a limbilor străine ................................ 123Lilia PETRICIUC

Mentimeter şi lecţia de limba şi literatura română .......................................... 139Mihaela STANCIU

Atitudinea elevilor de liceu faţă de utilizarea tehnologiei în procesuleducaţional ....................................................................................................... 161Lavinia DRĂGAN

Perspectiva şi efectele utilizării cursurilor de robotică în educaţia şcolarilor ..... 175Ana Maria POPA

R E C E N Z I I

SPERANŢA FARCA. INDEPENDENŢA COPILULUI. SPAIMA DE SEPARARE.Bucureşti, Editura Humanitas, 2018, 271 pagini, ISBN 978-973-50-6153-1 ....... 189Andreea-Diana SCODA

I N M E M O R I A M

In memoriam. Gabriel Albu, pedagogul .......................................................... 195Irina HORGA

* * *Dezvoltare şcolară prin parteneriate eTwinning .............................................. 199

CONTENTS

E M P I R I C A L S T U D I E S

Study on the Relationship Between Mindfulness and Work-LifeBalance Levels in the Romanian Young Population ............................................ 7Ion-Ovidiu PÂNIŞOARĂ, Georgeta PÂNIŞOARĂ, Cristina SANDU, RuxandraCHIRCA

Initial Teacher Training to Encourage Higher Order Skills in the Class ............ 21Cristina TRIPON

School as a Learning Organization. School Climate in Digital Society ............. 41Mariana Georgiana MORARU

Role Play in Building the Communicative Skills in Students from aTechnical University .......................................................................................... 57Elena TIRON

The Use of Technology in STEM Education. An Empirical Research .............. 73Olimpius ISTRATE, Cosmina MIRONOV, Anca POPOVICI

Creativity, Interdisciplinary Education and the Use ofTechnology – Conditions for a Modern Education ............................................ 93Adina MIHAI (CĂLUGĂRU)

Developing Young Learners’ Oral Skills Through Storytelling with LEGO® ... 105Diana COJOCNEAN

Constrastive-Comparative Study on Students’ Perceptions of UsingLiterary Texts as Authentic Language Learning Resources .............................. 123Lilia PETRICIUC

The Lesson of literature and ICT. The Mentimeter Application ..................... 139Mihaela STANCIU

Attitude of High school Students Towards the Use of Technology inthe Educational Process ................................................................................... 161Lavinia DRĂGAN

The Perspective and the Effects of Robotics Courses in School Education .... 175Ana Maria POPA

R E V I E W S

SPERANŢA FARCA. CHILD’S INDEPENDENCY. FEAR OF SEPARATION.Bucharest, Humanitas Publishing House, 2018, 271 pages,ISBN 978-973-50-6153-1 ...................................................................................... 189Andreea-Diana SCODA

I N M E M O R I A M

* * *School Development through eTwinning ........................................................ 199

In memoriam. Gabriel Albu, the Pedagogue ................................................... 195Irina HORGA

Revista de Pedagogie/ Journal of Pedagogy • 2019 (1) • LXVII 7

STUDY ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEENMINDFULNESS AND WORK-LIFE BALANCE

LEVELS IN THE ROMANIAN YOUNGPOPULATION

Ion Ovidiu Pânişoară*Georgeta Pânişoară**

Cristina Sandu***Ruxandra Chirca****

University of Bucharest,Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences,

Bucharest, [email protected]@gmail.com

[email protected]@yahoo.com

AbstractThe purpose of the present study is to investigate the relationship between the levelsof mindfulness and work-life balance at the Romanian young population. In theprocess of enhancing our levels of work-life balance, satisfaction or well-being,mindfulness plays an essential role, proved by its practice and its applications. Thequality of our professional life is a significant contributor to our quality of life as a

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Revista de Pedagogie - Journal of Pedagogy, 2019 (1), 7 – 19https://doi.org/10.26755/RevPed/2019.1/7

* Professor PhD., University of Bucharest, Faculty of Psychology and EducationalSciences, Bucharest, Romania.

** Associate Professor, PhD., University of Bucharest, Faculty of Psychology andEducational Sciences, Bucharest, Romania.

*** Lecturer, PhD., University of Bucharest, Faculty of Psychology and EducationalSciences, Bucharest, Romania.

****Lecturer, PhD., University of Bucharest, Faculty of Psychology and EducationalSciences, Bucharest, Romania.

whole. When society provides a qualitative professional life to its citizens, it alsoproves itself worthy of attracting and retaining employees. Mindfulness is not anindependent concept, but one which positively influences multiple areas ordimensions of an individual’s life. These dimensions include: perspective,connection, choice, and self-knowledge. The subjects of this study were 60 youngpeople, aged between 20-35. All of them were either students or graduates of highereducation institutions. The methods used for this study were two questionnaires:the first one was a questionnaire for identifying the level of mindfulness, based onfour dimensions – observe, describe, act with awareness and accept withoutjudgement – and the second one – a scale for measuring the level of work-lifebalance. The results were processed in SPSS Statistics using the T-test for independentsamples and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. The results showed a strongrelationship between the levels of mindfulness and work-life balance of the Romanianyoung population.

Keywords: mindfulness, satisfaction, well-being, work-life balance.

RezumatScopul prezentului studiu este de a investiga relaţia dintre nivelul stării de con-ştientizare (mindfulness) şi cel al echilibrului muncă-viaţă personală (work-lifebalance) la nivelul populaţiei tinere cu studii superioare, ce aparţine mediului urbandin România. În procesul de îmbunătăţire a nivelurilor de echilibru muncă-viaţăpersonală, satisfacţie sau stare de bine, mindfulness-ul deţine un rol esenţial,demonstrat prin rezultatele obţinute în urma acestei practici. Calitatea vieţii noastreprofesionale contribuie în mod semnificativ la sporirea calităţii vieţii în ansamblu.Atunci când organizaţia asigură membrilor săi o viaţă profesională optimă, aceastadevine, implicit, demnă de a atrage şi de a-şi păstra angajaţii. Conceptul de„mindfulness” nu acţionează în mod izolat, ci influenţează în mod pozitiv multipledimensiuni ale vieţii unui individ. Aceste dimensiuni includ: perspectiva asupramediului înconjurător, relaţionarea cu cei din jur, modul de luare a deciziilor şiautocunoaşterea. Subiecţii acestui studiu au fost 60 de tineri, cu vârste cuprinseîntre 20 şi 35 de ani. Aceştia urmează sau au absolvit instituţii de învăţământsuperior. Metoda de cercetare la care a apelat acest studiu a fost ancheta, iarinstrumentele utilizate au fost două chestionare: primul chestionar a avut ca scopidentificarea nivelului de mindfulness, pornind de la patru dimensiuni (observare,descriere, acţionare conştientă şi acceptare fără a judeca), iar cel de al doilea afost reprezentat de o scală pentru măsurarea nivelului de echilibru muncă-viaţăpersonală în ceea ce priveşte populaţia tânără din România. Este necesarămenţionarea faptului că rezultatele studiului nu denotă o relaţie de tip cauzal întrecele două variabile, ci demonstrează doar existenţa unei legături între variaţiileacestora.

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Cuvinte-cheie: echilibrul viaţă profesională – viaţă personală, mindfulness,satisfacţie, stare de bine.

1. Introduction

Throughout the past few years, researchers have provided multipledefinitions to describe the concept of mindfulness, such as self-disciplinecapacity (Brown & Ryan, 2003, apud Farghadani, Navabinejad &Shafiabady, 2010), focusing attention on the present (Parto & Besharat,2011) or concentrating on immediate experience (Gordon, 2013). A morecomplex definition though was advanced by Bishop et al. (2004, p. 234),who described mindfulness as “a process of regulating attention in order tobring a quality of non-elaborative awareness to current experience and aquality of relating to one’s experience within an orientation of curiosity,experiential openness and acceptance.”

According to Golden (2017), mindfulness practice can take two main forms:formal and informal. Formal practice refers to focusing on the action ofbreathing, whether it is when sitting in a quiet room or when experiencingcertain thoughts and feelings. Informal practice on the other hand involvestaking breaks from our daily activities (such as taking a shower or listeningto music) to observe our state of mind and body. Mindfulness is known toaugment consciousness and to improve our ability to focus. At the sametime, it helps us develop a routine of analyzing our internal and externalenvironments and be more aware in making decisions (Farghadani et al.,2010). This routine is also known to play an important role in handlingstressful situations, by reducing depression and anxiety symptoms andincreasing self-esteem (Dewi et al., 2015). Mindfulness practice teachesstress coping strategies, such as breath meditation or body scans, whichhelp us focus our attention, intentionally and nonjudgmentally, on the presentmoment, i.e. on our present emotions, feelings, perceptions, thoughts, etc.(Lutz et al., 2007; Vago & Silbersweig, 2012, apud Taylor et al., 2015).

Work-life balance, the second key-concept of the present paper, has alsoproved to be of grown interest in recent years, as employers start paying anincreasing attention to the personal needs of their employees. From the


very beginning, it is important to draw attention to the fact that all individualshave to face and deal with work and outside-work requirements, not onlythose who have family obligations (Dex & Scheibl, 2001; Fu & Shaffer,2001; Rotondo et al., 2003, apud Pânişoară & Şerban, 2013).

Work-life balance can be therefore defined as a state of equilibrium betweenwork and family or free-time activities, so that employees can “experiencea better fit between their professional and private lives” (White et al., 2003,apud Dolai, 2015). The balance between work and life is usually influencedby a series of factors, such as flexible work schedules or non-standard workarrangements, which “are likely to reduce work-family conflicts and personalstress as well as enhance the work attitudes of employees” (Sturges & Guest,2004, apud Omar, 2013). Together with individuals’ attitude towards work,the implementation of work-life balance practices is believed to both improveconditions for the workers themselves or enhance the productivity of theinstitution they work for (Adame-Sánchez et al., 2016).

Considering the above statement, according to which work-life balancereduces personal stress, and the fact that mindfulness holds a significantrole in dealing with stress, it can be observed that both mindfulness andwork-life balance share the common goal of increasing the individual’squality of life, a fundamental assumption for our main hypothesis.

The quality of professional life is a significant dimension of the quality oflife. When society offers a qualitative professional life to its employees, itis a good indicator for increasing its image in attracting and retainingemployees. The quality of professional life is a philosophy, a set of principlesthat claim that people are the most important resources in an organizationbecause they are trustworthy, responsible and capable of making a valuablecontribution when treated with dignity and respect. The quality ofprofessional life is both a multidimensional concept and a way of analyzinginterpersonal behaviors and relationships.

Aside from the connection between mindfulness and work-life balance, thetwo concepts are concurrently linked to other constructs, such as well-beingor life satisfaction (Brown & Ryan, 2003). Thus, mindfulness and work-lifebalance are thought to increase the individual’s level of well-being, generally

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seen as “positive functioning in life” (Keyes, 2009) and also the level oflife satisfaction, which implies fulfilling his/her needs, wishes and desires(Ardahan, 2012).

Satisfaction and well-being are key-elements in building a positive self-image, in agreement with the individual’s own strengths and abilities. Whenan individual manages to gain a strong feeling of self-sufficiency, thissignificantly contributes to achieving performance in his/her activities. Inorder to ensure a balance between well-being, self-image and self-confidence, it becomes necessary for any individual to possess specificmechanisms of self-assessment and self-perception, so that he/she canbecome capable to properly integrate into the outer environment. Anindividual’s self-perception is the primary indicator for his/her degree ofself-esteem, the latter one being a comprehensive concept which encompassesa series of mechanisms, such as behavioral, cognitive or affective ones.Self-esteem is influenced by a series of social factors, such as therelationships with friends or other important people, as well as the tasksteenagers are most successful at. People with a high level of well-being areusually extrovert, optimistic, open to new challenges and highly sociable.

As stated above, along with self-esteem, mindfulness and work-life balanceare also known to have a strong influence upon life satisfaction, regardedas “a global evaluation by the person of his or her life” (Dolai, 2015) andnot to be confounded with other concepts, like well-being (Goldon, 2017),positive affect (Parto & Besharat, 2011), etc. Up to the present moment,most of the studies regarding life satisfaction have focused their attentionon its occurrence among adult people (Keyes, 2009). Nonetheless, recentempirical work has proved that life satisfaction is equally important foruniversity students, adolescents and children as well, being a powerfulindicator of their general state of well-being. Thus, life satisfaction is integralto the subjective well-being, or in other words “happiness”, and it is highlydetermined by the students’ everyday tasks, if they are stressful or not(Civitci, 2015). According to Pânişoară’s et al. opinions (2016), what schoolshould teach students, in terms of positive psychology and life satisfactionas well, is how to develop their self-confidence, how to be more courageousand to take part in constructive and positive experiences, which bring themsatisfaction.


In the process of enhancing our levels of work-life balance, satisfaction orwell-being, mindfulness plays therefore an essential role, with “its powerlying in its practice and its applications (…). It is a way to take charge ofthe direction and quality of our own lives, including our relationships withinthe family, our relationship to work (…) and most fundamentally, ourrelationship with ourselves as a person”. (Kabat-Zinn, 2001, p. 23)

These being said, mindfulness is not a unidirectional or independent concept,but one which positively influences multiple areas or dimensions of anindividual’s life. These dimensions include: perspective (creating anobjective overall picture of our lives), connection (being aware of ourexperiences and linking them to our environment), choice (wisely choosingour life paths), self-knowledge (better familiarizing oneself with his/herstates) and compassion (displaying these behaviors towards oneself or theothers) (Silverton, 2016).

2. Topic statement

Mindfulness is one of the main elements that should be analyzed byeducational psychology, as the relationship between mindfulness and studentperformance is of the utmost importance not only in school, but also lateron, in developing a successful professional activity. Work-life balance, onthe other hand, is a powerful indicator for the awareness of the importanceof well-being, along with building a high level of emotional self-regulation,so that the individual is able to plan his/her activities and actions in anoptimal and positive way. In this context, the present study aims to investigatethe connection between mindfulness and work-life balance, and it is expectedthat the former one will positively correlate with the latter. In other words,a high level of mindfulness will correspond to a high level of balance betweenpersonal and professional life.

3. Research hypotheses

H1. There is a statistically significant correlation between the dimensions

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of mindfulness and the levels of work-life balance at the Romanian youngpopulation.

H2. There is a high level of mindfulness, for all its four dimensions, at theRomanian young population.

H3. There is a high level of work-life balance at the Romanian youngpopulation.

4. Purpose of the study

The first objective of this study is to identify the levels of mindfulness andwork-life balance in the Romanian urban young population, with highereducation.

This leads to the second and main purpose of the study, which is to investigateand analyze the relationship between the level of mindfulness, with all itsfour dimensions, and the level of work-life balance in the Romanian youngpopulation.

5. Research methods

5.1. Participants

The participants of this study were 60 people, all of them students orgraduates of the University of Bucharest. The students were both male andfemale, aged 20-35. Both categories were selected from the urbanenvironment. The subjects were briefly instructed before filling in thequestionnaires. The extend of the investigated population and itsrepresentativeness for the Romanian young population represent limits ofthe present research and of the findings of it.

5.2. Data collection

The first instrument used for this study was the Scale for assessing work-life

balance, developed in 2005 by Jeremy Hayman, professor at AucklandUniversity of Technology. The questionnaire includes 15 items, with a Likert1-to-7 response scale. The items are meant to investigate the level of work-lifebalance.

The second instrument was the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills,developed by professor Ruth Baer (2004), at the University of Kentucky.The inventory contains 39 items with a Likert-type response scale and ismeant to investigate four dimensions of mindfulness: observe, describe, actwith awareness and accept without judgement.

6. Findings

The collected data were entered into SPSS statistical software. Due to thenormal distribution of data, we were able to apply a Pearson correlation test,with the purpose of observing if there is a statistically significant correlationbetween the dimensions of mindfulness and the levels of work-life balanceat the Romanian young population investigated in the present study.

In order to identify the level of work-life balance for all the subjects selectedfor this study, we used the descriptive statistics (number of subjects, sum,mean and standard deviation) from Table no. 1. The results show a highlevel of work-life balance among young respondents, which leads to theidea that the profession-life relationship can be successfully built anddeveloped if it is found on satisfaction and self-esteem.

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Table no. 1. Results for descriptive statistics work life balance

N Minimum Maximum Sum Mean Std.Deviation

Work-lifebalance sum

60 15.00 105.00 89.00 142.2714 12.83310

Subject 60 1.00 140.00 9870.00 70.5000 40.55860

Valid N(listwise)

60

Table no. 2 shows the descriptive statistics which confirm the secondhypothesis, according to which there are high levels of mindfulness, for allits four dimensions, at the investigated Romanian urban young populationwith higher education. As it can be noticed in the table below, all the fourdimensions of mindfulness – observe, describe, act with awareness andaccept without judgement – show high scores, although the highest scorewe encounter is in the description of emotions, feelings, beliefs, opinions,perceptions and experiences. This can also be due to the age of theparticipants, all of them being aged 20-35. The ability to act without judgingis a common trait for the young people, as they take risks and approach newchallenges very easily, often without previously considering the possibleoutcomes of their actions (Steinberg, 2010).


Table no. 2. Results of the descriptive statistics forthe four dimensions of mindfulness

Group Statistics N MeanStd.

DeviationStd.

Error Mean

Observe 60 33.0714 4.33831 .51853

Describe 60 37.3714 4.97580 .59472

Act with awareness 60 32.0714 4.73446 .56588

Accept withoutjudgement

60 34.1000 4.89054 .58453

Table no. 3 presents the results of the Pearson correlation test, with astatistically significant correlation between mindfulness and work-lifebalance, sig=.179, which stands for a strong relationship betweenmindfulness and work-life balance among young Romanians. Awareness,expression and action of one’s emotional states, together with work-lifebalance, are amongst the most important elements in building well-being,self-esteem and a positive thinking.

7. Conclusion

As we can infer from the results above, mindfulness aimed at minimizingstress helps young people to live better by providing a balance betweentheir personal and professional lives. By forming skills such as describingand expressing their own emotional states, beliefs, opinions, perceptionsand personal experiences or accepting ourselves and others without judgmentor negative criticism, young people are able to focus only on those positivethoughts and emotions which can ensure them a high level of professionaland personal satisfaction.

Indeed, most students are not as yet in the position to deal with theresponsibility of a full-time job, but they are accountable for their ownpersonal and professional development and, depending on their inclinations,they gain satisfaction through specific activities or fields of interest. In thiscontext, it becomes of utmost importance to teach them how to focus theirattention on those areas of interest which bring them fulfillment.Concurrently, they should learn to be more self-confident and engagefearlessly in those activities which not only bring them contentment butalso help them evolve.

What should be retained is that mindfulness is most efficient not on itsown, but when associated with well-being and self-esteem, the last twobeing directly influenced by the practice of mindfulness. This partnershipis what supports the development of a productive self-image, the

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Table no. 3. Correlations between tests

Work-life Mindfulness

Pearson Correlation 1 .724

Sig. (2-tailed) .179Work-life

N 60 60

Pearson Correlation .724 1

Sig. (2-tailed) .179Mindfulness

N 60 60

augmentation of self-confidence, the ability to adapt and communicateefficiently and, ultimately, life satisfaction as a whole.

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INITIAL TEACHER TRAINING TOENCOURAGE HIGHER ORDER SKILLS IN

THE CLASS

Cristina Tripon*Politehnica University of Bucharest

Bucharest, [email protected]

AbstractLifelong learning has become a necessity in most professions due to the informationexplosion and technology integration in daily work. Teachers, obviously, fall intothis category, the teaching methods, and skills that need to be developed by studentsin need of continuous improvement. Changes in educational reform, too fast toadapt to children and teachers, also contribute to the daily school challenges. Ideally,the school should prepare its students for the challenges of an active life. But whathappens when the labor market is still growing and the necessary skills for thefuture are not yet required at the current level? What happens when competenciesof the 21st century or skills in the soft-skills category are not developed by thegraduates, that is, by the teachers?This research has focused on a specially developed program, about 1 year, for futureteachers. The main objective is to improve direct educational practices from theclassroom by using teaching methods that encourage the development of higher-level thinking skills.

Keywords: certification programs, high order thinking, teacher training.

RezumatÎnvăţarea pe tot parcursul vieţii a devenit o necesitate, în majoritatea profesiilor,datorită exploziei informaţionale şi a integrării tehnologiilor în activitatea zilnică.Profesorii, evident, se încadrează în această categorie, metodele de predare şicompetenţele care necesită dezvoltate elevilor având nevoie de îmbunătăţiri



* PhD., Assistant Lecturer, Teacher Training and Social Sciences Department,Politehnica University of Bucharest, Romania.

continue. Schimbările de reformă educaţională, derulate în manieră prea rapidăpentru adaptarea copiilor, dar şi a cadrelor didactice, contribuie şi acestea laprovocările zilnice şcolare. În mod ideatic, şcoala ar trebui să pregătească eleviiei pentru provocările unei vieţi active. Însă, ce se întâmplă când piaţa muncii esteîncă în plină dezvoltare şi competenţele necesare viitorului încă nu sunt cerute lanivel actual? Ce se întâmplă când competenţele secolului 21 sau competenţele dincategoria soft-skills nu sunt dezvoltate nici măcar de către cei care formeazăabsolvenţii, adică de către cadrele didactice?Această cercetare s-a concentrat pe un program special dezvoltat, de aproximativ1 an, pentru viitorii profesori. Obiectivul principal îl constituie îmbunătăţireapracticilor educaţionale directe, de la clasă, prin utilizarea unor metode de predarecare încurajează dezvoltarea competenţelor de gândire superioare.

Cuvinte-cheie: competenţe de gândire superioare, formarea profesorilor, programede certificare.

1. Introduction

Jaime Casap, Google’s representative, says in the Economist article (2018)that the job of teachers can be summed up “We have to stop asking kidswhat they want to be when they grow up because jobs are always changingand moving, thanks to technology. What we should be asking them is, whatproblem do you want to solve?”

For various reasons, education institution is mainly deeply conservative,especially in the case of mainstream education. The education system worksas having the primary task of preserving and transferring the capital ofknowledge to the next generation. Hirsch (1987) also invented a term thatdefines them, named “cultural training”.

In the context of developing a competitive, knowledge-based society, thedevelopment of human capital has become a strategic priority at bothEuropean and national level. Investments in human capital development ineducation and training are needed to strengthen the system’s ability torespond to rapid changes in society and the labor market.

In developing these skills, it is needed a complex process. This involvesintroducing or adopting policies to improve the quality of education and to

22 STUDII EMPIRICE

ensure that learning and teaching continue to reflect the needs of individualsand society.

Educational specialists find realistically how today’s school, by providingthe depersonalized national curriculum and by developing the preponderanceof conceptual thinking, underestimates the children’s learning potential atschool. We find at the curriculum, at least in the Romanian case, a series ofdiscrepancies. The isolation of highly fragmented educational disciplines,centered on the inventory of artificial content and methodologies, is a clearsymptom of the gap. In addition, there is a slight investment in teachertraining, that continuing education programs for teachers to prepare themfor the needs of future generations. This generally reflects the lack of unityof knowledge and holistic approaches in education.

2. The need for professional training

Today, the school is no longer the one that holds the monopoly in theformation of the younger generation, but its role cannot be questioned. Itgets new dimensions resulting from the complex problems of the world inwhich we live: technology, globalization, universal communication,multiculturalism and others.

The roles and responsibilities of the teacher are diversified and nuanced inrelation to new demands that come not only from the school environment,from new aspirations, new conceptions of the world and life, but also fromthe social environment, from the community where the school belongs. Inthis context, lifelong learning becomes an integral part of the continuousprocess of adapting the individual to the labor market. The school and,implicitly, the teachers should provide the learner (the future employee)with effective ways and strategies for a careful analysis of individual needs,effective self-organization, use of higher-level thinking skills to identifyappropriate solutions in the context of various issues.

Interestingly to be analyzed is the concept of learning from a constructivistperspective. Thus, learning is the construction of reality, the creation of aworld conception composed of:


a. Our experiences and memoriesb. Our networks of concepts and knowledgec. Our perspective and our way of thinking

Consequently, constructivism explores another perspective on humanlearning, interpreted as a process in which the human being engagescontinuously and totally, both cognitively and emotionally, both as a humanindividual and as an exponent of a community in which he lives. Obviously,the school should adapt the learning environment to these realities in whichthe student (learner) finds himself permanently. Dikel (2015) expresses hiscontribution that the teachers are in a unique position, they are like a wheelshaft that connects different specialists (for example, school administrators,social workers, psychologists, counselors, nurses).

It is noteworthy that the emotional character of reality, the logic ofaffections, things that were otherwise ignored in the discussion aboutlearning are in continuous demand. Affectivity was only taken intoaccount in the teacher-learner relationship and much less or even notinvolved in the learning process.

The idea of the need for teachers with certain skills to work with learners inthe context of constructivism is as real as in the present times. As we willsee the role of the teacher is not a secondary one in the sense that theresponsibility of the learning lies with the learner, but on the contrary, therole of the teacher becomes more and more important, the competencies ofdesigning the contexts of learning, the management of context resources toobtain the maximum of formative effects, like the use of certain impactteaching methods. Designing, organizing, deploying and evolving activitiesin the constructivist context involves redefining the role of teachers,additional efforts and responsibilities, not “relieving” their tasks.

Teaching in a global approach and creating connections between differentcontent is seen as a process that leads to new ways of thinking and learningthat connect different skills, develops high-order skills and forms the“complete picture” and deeper understanding of learning. Finally, there is abasic belief that teaching with impact on learners motivates both teachersand learners, also.

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It can be considered a good teaching approach, which is obviously relatedto the purpose of what is considered to be “good science education”. Harlen(2009) summarizes these goals as the development of scientific knowledgeand the ability to learn continually, it defines scientific education as “beingcomfortable and competent with extensive scientific ideas, with the natureand limits of science and with the processes of science, and having thecapacity to use these ideas in making decisions as an informed andpreoccupied citizen.”

School curricula for the gymnasium level introduced in 2017 are built inaccordance with the prerogatives stated in the Law of Education (2011),article no. 2 “promoting values, creativity, cognitive capacities, volunteercapacities and capacities, fundamental knowledge and knowledge, skillsand abilities of direct utility in the profession and society”. One of theproblems at the national level is that those teachers who are concernedabout this goal did not provide (on the part of the Ministry of Education)training courses to develop these competencies to learners. Each teachertries to find solutions for the challenge initiated by the Ministry, but accordingto time needs, personal financial possibilities, but poorly supported or notat all through free training courses.

3. High-order thinking in classroom

Facione and others (1995) describe high-order thinking as the ability toefficiently build and evaluate arguments. The skills include: a) identifyingproblems, b) identifying ways to address these issues, c) obtaining relevantinformation, d) recognizing undeclared assumptions and values, e) under-standing and using the language with accuracy, clarity and differentiation,f) the evaluation of the evidence and the evaluation of the statements,g) the identification of the logical link between the sentences, h) theelaboration of the justified conclusions and generalizations, i) the testing ofthe generalizations and conclusions, j) the recognition of the patterns basedon the personal experience, and k) the interpretation of the judgments.

Glaser (1941) believes that high-order thinking skills as a whole, implyingthe attitude of being open to rational approaches to problems faced by the


subject in his personal experience, knowledge of logical and rational researchmethods, ability to apply these methods. High-order thinking skills requirea sustained effort to examine any concept or form of knowledge, takinginto account the arguments that support them and the conclusions thatprefigure them.

As noted in a report, Ruggiero (2011) refers to critical thinking skills (partof high-order thinking) which consists of identifying and evaluating opinions.Critical thinking leads to reflection on the significance of the observationsand the veracity of the ideas. Thinking is considered a combination of twoprocesses. A process refers to the production of ideas (creative thinking),made by expanding perspectives and taking into account more possibilities.The second process consists of evaluating ideas (critical thinking), whichconsists in narrowing the perspective, sorting out the ideas that are generated,and identifying those that are reasonable.

The Delphi report (Facione, 1990) identifies the action of thinking criticallyas a deliberate, self-regulating judgment, resulting in interpretation, analysis,evaluation, and inference, as well as explaining the obvious, conceptual,methodological, contextual considerations, in terms of criteria bases thejudgment. Critical thinking is a research and interrogation tool. It is notsynonymous with efficient thinking, it is a universal, self-regulating humanphenomenon. The person displaying critical thinking is usually wellinformed, confident in his own judgments, flexible, correct in his assessment,honest in his own difficulties, prudent in the elaboration of judgments, opento the rethinking of the statements, ordered in the complexity of situations,able to collect only relevant information, moderate in the selection of criteria,persistent in obtaining results that are accurate regarding the subject and theassessed situations. It combines the development of critical thinking skills withuseful insights that are the basis of a democratic and logical society.

Starkey (2004) describes as actions of higher thinking, the ability to makeobservations, to be curious, to ask relevant questions and to find the resourcesyou need, the ability to examine beliefs, assumptions and opinions againstfacts, recognize and define problems, the ability to access the validity ofstatements and arguments, the ability to make wise decisions and findappropriate solutions, the ability to understand logic and logical reasoning.

26 STUDII EMPIRICE

Marzano and collaborators (2001) argue that superior thinking operationsinvolve actions such as argumentation, prospective analysis, comparison,and others.

comparison

classification

abstracting

inductive reasoning

deductive reasoning

explain reasoning

error analysis

perspective anaysis

Figure no. 1. High- order thinking operations

In the sense of the work and organization of the development activities ofhigher-level thinking, we define it as a cognitive capacity involving theconscious participation of the person in the process of improving a decisionin the direction, resulting in the analysis, interpretation, evaluation andexplanation of the considerations on the basis of which reasoning is based.

In the context described, it is imperative to develop the thinking andadaptation skills to develop a sustainable future of creativity, developdecision-making exercises, develop teamwork, collaborate, developinformation processing strategies, and recognize their potential for creatingnew ways of working through the restructuring of school curricula, workingmethods in the class as well as the entire learning experiences offered ineducational institutions. Education learners must become active citizens ofsociety, be prepared to solve real-life problems (not just those within the“micro-society” of lessons) through interdisciplinary and transdisciplinarytraining, by developing critical thinking, by developing effectivecommunication skills, the development of social and emotional abilitiesthat helps people to live and work together, etc. Such an investment in


education, if we look at it in the cyclical spirit, would return to society inthe form of citizens who participate effectively and innovatively in theeconomic development of the country.

4. Teaching methods in high-order thinking

In addressing teacher training issues, a variety of methods and exercises inthe classroom can be developed for the development of high-order thinking,clearly tailored to the learners’ needs, pace, and openness to experimentation.Some of these methods may also become evaluation methods, dependingon the context of the application of the methods themselves and the objectivesset. Some of these methods are used in the examples of good practice, whichwe explain in the following.

The method of debate is one that is highly used to develop the skills tobuild valid arguments in support of ideas supported by a group. Usually, inteaching, it is used in small groups of learners, to be easier to moderate anddebated. The groups are organized according to the preference or supportof some events, ideas to convince an audience. Such exercises developlearners’ ability to explore and understand other views to develop theircommunication skills, to think critically, to systematically analyze otherarguments in order to develop ideas of counter-argumentation.

Bloom cards and task cards (Imagine no. 1. Task-cards) are extremelyversatile teaching methods for use in training courses. There are many waysto adapt the method, depending on the goals of the training. The mainstrengths of its use lie in its ability to use, in a practical way, efficient waysof manipulating information. Thus, whether we are talking about practicalactivities, needs analysis, comparisons, content analysis, in small or individualgroups, the method respects the individual/group work pace, depending onthe complexity of the task on the cards. In organizing workloads of thetraining program, the cards were developed using Benjamin Bloom’s (1956)taxonomy and revised by Anderson and Krathwohl (2001) but adapted usingthe strategies described by Kagan (2005). Ciardiello (1998) argued that theuse of card-tasks offers multiple options for exploration and skilldevelopment, being a deliberate way to attract the attention of learnersthrough the ease of manipulation of content, through immediate attention

28 STUDII EMPIRICE

centered on real objects), by the attractiveness of the materials.

Imagine no. 1. Task-cards

Bailey and Pransky (2014), Gillies and Boyle (2010) argue that cooperativelearning has great valences for long-term learning for learners. Along withthe practical use of certain content, organizing in teams or in restrictedgroups simulates real adult life. Learners go through the process ofdeveloping common goals, assuming and empowering, by going throughimportant stages that only together can bring about the realization of acommon product. Thus, the interaction in front of the team, theinterdependence of the tasks in relation to the other team members, theadaptation of behaviors and attitudes towards other teammates, theprocessing of the obtained results and their refinement in order to achievethe common goal, the increase of the motivation, the solving of the conflictswithin the team, the interpersonal and intrapersonal development, alongwith high-order thinking, are just some of the advantages of using such amethod in the classroom. Of course, there is a need for classroommanagement and the setting of rules for such activities, but this can easilybe done as long as the teacher is aware of the benefits he has gained (bothfor himself and for those in the classroom, the students).


Corners: The trainer sticks answers to each corner of the room. When aquestion is posed, learners go to a corner and discuss their answer withothers who made the same choice.Experts: Groups are doping research upon a subject (all becoming expertsin their topic). Next, mix them up and the experts share the informationlearned.Quiz and find: Participants write a question they don‘t know about a topicon a slip of paper. They must also try and answer questions.Rally Robin discussion teaching strategies: In pairs, participants discuss atopic, talking one at a time-it turn. It is helpful to have a subject that can bepassed.!? method: Learners read a text and mark! for a piece of new information,and use for puzzling bits and information. After this stage, in groups,information marked with “!” and “?” is discussed and solved.

The Fishbone Diagram is used to analyze the causes and effects that led tothe occurrence of a particular problem. Whether we are talking aboutgeography, math, social sciences or other issues, the method is very effectivefor developing high-order thinking in the classroom. The Ishikawa diagramis a graphical technique with many online tools, which is often used to seeclearly and objectively the context of the problem to be analyzed and proposeoptimal solutions in accordance with its evolution over time. Thus, it ispossible to explore, in general, but also specific, what has led to the currentproportion of the problem in order to identify solution opportunitiesadaptable to the resources identified here and now (Tiann, 2012). Such useof the diagram can be visualized in Figure no. 2, on the theme of poorinvestment in education.

Strategic inquiry method. Changing sometimes causes uncomfortableemotions, including denial, fear, and resilience. However, the change alsooffers opportunities for the emergence of new ideas. The strategic questionhelps integrate new ideas and strategies into community development sothat people can feel positive about the change.

Six types of questions are used in the strategic inquiry method, accordingto Chesters (2012). These go from introductory questions to more dynamicand reflective questions. These six families of questions are:

30 STUDII EMPIRICE

Figure no. 2. Fishbone Diagram

• Observation questions• Feeling questions• Watching questions• Change your questions• Personal inventory and support questions• Personal Action questions

Strategic investigation helps people create their own solutions to their ownproblem. For example, the strategic question was used in India as a meansof identifying strategies to improve water quality in the Ganges River. Locals,in partnership with the government, are developing new ways to clean theriver for themselves and their children.

On the strategic question, participants usually work in pairs (with theircolleague or class/team), one as a speaker and one as a “listener” to discussa problem. According to Paul and Elder (2006), Socratic (strategic) questionscan be organized as follows:


1. Guidance questionsWhat do you know about the problem?How did you find out about this?What other people are concerned about?How does it affect your local area?

2. Feelings / Affective questions:How do you feel about this problem?Did this affect your own physical or emotional well-being?How do you feel when you think or talk about this problem?

3. Vision questionsWhat is the significance of this problem in your own life?How could the situation change or how would you want it to be?

4. Change the questionsWhat will be required to bring the current situation to your vision?What needs to be changed?How could these changes occur? Name as many possibilities as possible.

5. Inventory and personal assistance questionsWhat should you do to be able to participate in the change?Could your actions be helpful in bringing about these changes?What support should you have for this change?

6. Questions about personal actionsWho do you have to talk to?How can you get meetings with people who handle this to work on thisissue?

5. Description of the target group and research tools

The target group of the research consists of students preparing for theteaching career within the psycho-pedagogical module, level 1. The researchwas conducted for one semester (6 months) during the training courses forthe didactic career. The whole research group, made up of 29 future teachers,

32 STUDII EMPIRICE

was tested at the beginning of the semester with the help of the test describedbelow to analyze the level of high-order thinking skills. The group was notselected by any means, but it was organized as a third-year working partyon a voluntary basis. After this stage, the whole group participated inactivities designed to increase the level of high-order thinking skills, usingthe teaching methods described above.

The main hypothesis from which the study was developed implied that ifmethods such as debate, task cards, cooperative learning strategies, fishbonediagrams, the method of interrogation in training courses for the teachingcareer are used, the level of high-order thinking skills will increases againstthe initial stage (pretest time).

The Law Admission Test (LSAT), although used for admission to law schoolsin the USA, Canada and Australia, does not require prior knowledge in thefield of law, testing only the candidates’ judgment skills. In this sense, itcould be used anywhere anyone wishes to verify someone else with a certainlevel of thinking. LSAT is divided into three sections: Analytical Thinking,Logical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension. The items in the AnalyticalThinking section test the ability to penetrate into certain relationshipstructures and make inferences about these structures.

Items in the Logical Reasoning section test the ability to evaluate, analyze,or complete arguments. Such items are of the following types:- Identify a premise or assumptions of an argument.- Identify the main point of view in an argument.- Inferences. These items test the ability to identify the conclusion of an

argument (deductive or inductive).- Identifying some argument structures. Here it is required to show the

role played in an argument of a particular statement.- Use of principles. These items test the ability to identify general rules

and principles involved in reasoning and to understand their use.- Parallel structures. These items test the ability to recognize a pattern of

reasoning that is common to arguments.- Detecting wrong arguments. These items test the ability to recognize a

weakness or a mistake in an argument.


- Parallel structures in case of wrong arguments. Items of this type test theability to recognize a wrong model of reasoning common to arguments.

- Establish an additional test. These items test the ability to recognizewhich additional sample strengthens or weakens an argument.

The items in the Reading Comprehension section are centered on a largerargumentative text and test the ability to understand that text.- Identify the main point of view, the central idea, the main idea, the main

purpose.- Items that require the use of the context to refine, specify or refine the

meaning of an expression or term (the sense in context).- Items related to the function performed by some of the author’s words in

a certain context.- Another type of item refers to certain words from a passage of the text

or certain implications of the passage.- Items that require the recognition of features or patterns, analogous

patterns in various other situations.- Items related to the attitude (subjective, partisan, objective, etc.) of the

author of the text.- About the meaning of additional information.

6. Results and discussion

Before applying statistical tests, it is necessary to verify the normaldistribution of data, both pretest and during intervention. So, we graphicallydisplay the scores of both variables in the form of histograms, then wecompared the distribution of the scores with the normal distribution.

Since it is difficult to assess whether a distribution is consistent with normaldistribution, we will apply a statistical test, namely Shapiro-Wilk (beingstronger than the Kolmogorov-Smirnov-Field test). We run the results forboth variables.

34 STUDII EMPIRICE

Graph no. 1. Pretest.thinking histogram

Graph no. 2. Posttest.thinking histogram


The Tests of Normality table shows the results of the Shapiro-Wilk andKolmogorov-Smirnov tests; they must be statistically insignificant (p> 0.05),so that the variable is normally distributed in the population. We note thatthe result in the K-S test is 0.146, p = 0.118 and the result in the S-W test is0.907, p = 0.015. As the results on both tests are not statistically significant,it results that the pretest. thinking the variable is not normally distributed.For posttest.thinking, K-S test result = 0.115, p = 0.200 and the result forS-W test is 0.922, p = 0.034. As the results in both tests are not statisticallysignificant, it results that the posttest. thinking the variable is not normallydistributed.

Kolmogorov-Smirnov

Shapiro-Wilk

Statistic df Sig. Statistic df. Sig.

pretest.thinking .146 29 .118 .907 29 .015

posttest.thinking .115 29 .200 .922 29 .034

Table no. 1. Tests of Normality

N MeanRank

Sum ofRanks

Pretest.thinking-

Posttest.thinking

Negative RanksPositive RanksTiesTotal

0a

29b

0c

29

.00

15.00

.00

435.00

a. pretest.thinking < postest.thinking

b. pretest.thinking > posttest.thinking

c. pretest.thinking = posttest.thinking

Table no. 2. Ranks

36 STUDII EMPIRICE

Since the results obtained in testing the normality of the data distribution revealedthat they are not normally distributed, it is necessary to apply non-parametrictests. In this case, we will apply the non-parametric test for pairs.

The Ranks Table presents the average of rankings, the sum of rank and thenumber of subjects for each of the three comparison situations: negativeranks, positive ranks (29 cases where the rank of the posttest is higher thanthe rank of the pretest) and the equality situations.

Pretest.thinking-Posttest.thinking

Z

Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed)

-4.705b

.001

a. Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test

b. Based on negative ranks.

Table no. 3. Test Statistics

The Test Statistics table shows the results of the comparison test. As Z =-4.705b, p = 0.001, there are significant differences between the level ofdevelopment of high-order thinking skills measured before the interventionand those measured after the intervention. To see the meaning of thedifference, we analyze the values in the Sum of Ranks column in the Rankstable, and we will report the sum of the highest ranks. In our case, the highvalue is 435.00 and corresponds to the positive ranks, i.e. situations wherethe ranges of the posttest are higher than the pretest (after and before theranks).

We also calculate the magnitude of the effect and the median values foreach of the two pair variables.

To verify whether the high-order thinking competence of the tested subjectsis more developed after the intervention, compared to the previous situationwe applied the Wilcoxon test. The results indicate that the experimentalintervention the developed activities had a significant effect, resulting in


significant differences between the posttest and pretest variables, z = -4.705p = 0.001, the analyzed competences being more developed after theintervention. The magnitude of the effect is r = 0.760, which shows a strongeffect of the experimental intervention on the development of high-orderthinking competence with the help of the LSAT test, which means that wereject the null hypothesis and accept the one stated in the first part of thepaper scientific.

7. Conclusion

In conclusion, we can say that the research hypothesis has been fulfilled.The experimental group of subjects was evaluated after participating in thetraining activities, the results obtained having the magnitude of the effectr = 0.760, which shows a strong effect of the experimental intervention onthe development of high-order thinking competence with the help of theLSAT test, which means that we reject the null hypothesis and accept theone given in the first part of the scientific paper.

The main objective of the research was to develop the improvement of theeducational practices by using in the classroom the methods that developsuperior thinking skills. In the 21st century, if we analyze national andinternational reports, from the perspective of looking at the needs of labormarket and from the perspective of changing skills, we realise how importantit is for school, this means teachers and activities, to promote easy integrationcompetencies for students. This is not easy, given that education in Romaniareceives a 3% investment, as its own legislation (6%) is not respected.Teacher training is done sporadically, with significant syncope, aseducational pseudo-reforms are being introduced at a rapid pace. Investingin teacher training to develop innovative citizens, able to take risks, beresponsible in the community, and develop solutions tailored to their needs.Introducing such courses in initial teacher training is imperative here andnow if we want sustainable learning.

References

Anderson, L.W., & Krathwohl, D.R. (2001). A taxonomy for teaching, learning,

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and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives. NewYork, NY: Longman.

Bailey, F., & Pransky, K. (2014). Memory at work in the classroom: Strategiesto help underachieving students. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Bloom, B.S. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification ofeducational goals. New York: Longmans, Green.

Chesters, S. D. (2012). The Socratic Classroom: Reflective Thinking ThroughCollaborative Inquiry. New York: Sense Publishers.

Ciardiello, A.V. (1998). Did you ask a good question today? Alternative cognitiveand metacognitive strategies. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 42(3),210-219.

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Worldwide Educating for the Future Index. Building tomorrow’s global citizens.(2018). Yidan Prize Foundation, The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited.











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ŞCOALA CA ORGANIZAŢIE CARE ÎNVAŢĂ.CLIMATUL ŞCOLAR ÎN SOCIETATEA

DIGITALIZATĂ

Mariana Georgiana Moraru*Universitatea din Bucureşti

Bucureşti, Româ[email protected]

RezumatArticolul propune spre analiză dimensiunile climatului educaţional din organizaţiaşcolară, care nu doar facilitează procese de învăţare, ci învaţă ea însăşi,dezvoltându-se în permanenţă. Importanţa climatului educaţional în definirea uneişcoli este subliniată metaforic şi de către Freiberh şi Stein (1999), care descriauclimatul şcolar ca fiind „inima şi sufletul şcolii şi esenţa care îi determină pe profesorişi elevi să iubească şcoala şi să îşi dorească să fie parte din ea.” În ultimii ani auapărut studii îngrijorătoare cu privire la stările pe care, deopotrivă, elevii şi profesoriile asociază cu şcoala. Conform unui raport asupra stării educaţiei din Româniapublicat de UNICEF în 2013, ţara noastră se află pe ultimul loc în Europa în ceea cepriveşte starea de bine a tinerilor. Nici când vine vorba despre profesori, realitateaeducaţională nu stă foarte diferit. Un studiu realizat recent (2018) de FundaţiaRomanian Business Leaders (RBL) şi D&D Research arată că România ocupă ante-penultimul loc în lume şi ultimul loc în Europa cu privire la indexul global al statutuluiprofesorilor în societate. Pentru a putea construi un climat educaţional propiceînvăţării şi care să susţină dezvoltarea şcolilor este mai întâi necesară o analizăatentă a numeroaselor dimensiuni ale climatului educaţional, în scopul înţelegeriicomplexităţii şi valorii acestui concept.

Cuvinte-cheie: climat educaţional, dezvoltarea şcolii, dimensiuni, organizaţieşcolară, resurse educaţionale, societate informaţională.


* Drd. în Ştiinţe ale Educaţiei, Universitatea din Bucureşti, România.

AbstractThe paper analyses the components of the educational climate in the schoolorganization. The latter facilitates and co-participates in the learning processeswhile constantly developing itself. The importance of the educational climate indefining a school is metaphorically underlined by Freiberh and Stein (1999), whichdescribed the school climate as “the heart and soul of the school, and the essencethat directs teachers and pupils to love school and to want to be part of it.” Inrecent years, worrying studies have emerged about the feelings that both studentsand teachers associate with the school. According to a report on the state ofeducation in Romania, published by UNICEF in 2013, our country is the last inEurope in terms of the well-being of young people. Even when it comes to teachers,the educational reality is not very different. A recent study (2018) by the RomanianBusiness Leaders Foundation (RBL) and D & D Research shows that Romaniaoccupies the ante-penultimate place in the world and the last place in Europe inglobal index of the status of teachers in society. In order to build a learning climateand to support the development of schools, it is first necessary to carefully analyzethe many dimensions of the educational climate in order to understand the complexityand value of this concept.

Keywords: dimensions, educational climate, educational resources, informationsociety, school development, school organization.

1. Organizaţia şcolară în contextul societăţiiinformaţionale – elemente definitorii

În contextul fenomenelor care caracterizează societatea contemporană, aparzilnic numeroase provocări în faţa cărora „…şcoala trebuie să se adapteze,să ofere răspunsuri noilor cerinţe impuse îndeosebi de piaţa muncii. Şcoalaa intrat (aproape forţat) în era antreprenorială.” (Păun, 2017, p. 119). Neconfruntăm cu un boom - informaţional, şcoala având nevoie de oreorganizare şi regândire a propriilor roluri şi obiective, care să vină înîntâmpinarea nevoilor particulare ale fiecărui copil, dar şi ale fiecărui cadrudidactic, în aşa fel încât să se asigure suportul necesar pentru a construiexperienţe educaţionale cu sens.

Şcoala este privită ca o organizaţie care se dezvoltă în permanenţă, aceastăsintagmă fiind îndelung dezbătută şi studiată de numeroşi autori (Păun, 1999;Ion Barbu, 2009; Zaharia, 2013; Senge, 2016 etc.) care îmbogăţesc literatura

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de specialitate cu definiţii şi explicaţii cuprinzătoare.

O şcoală considerată organizaţie care învaţă „presupune ca toţi cei implicaţiîn sistem să îşi exprime aspiraţiile, să-şi extindă domeniul cunoaşterii şisă-şi dezvolte abilităţile împreună” (Senge, 2016, p. 15). Expresia deorganizaţie care învaţă pune accentul pe dimensiunea umanistă,interacţională şi a valorificării experienţelor şcolare, identificată şi de prof.Cătălina Ulrich (2016) în cartea sa „Învăţarea prin proiecte. Ghid pentruprofesori”. Oamenii şi interacţiunile dintre aceştia reprezintă sursa principalăa dezvoltării şi învăţării.

Discursul public în educaţie aduce în prim-plan nevoia de formare a cadrelordidactice şi utilizarea mijloacelor moderne de învăţământ care să stimulezeinteresul pentru învăţare al copiilor numiţi nativi digitali. SIVECO România(2014) afirma într-un articol că „ne mişcăm repede într-o lume tot maiaglomerată în care se nasc rapid nebănuite oportunităţi”. Care mai este, înacest context, rolul şcolii în formarea copiilor? Răspunsul este oferit delumea ştiinţifică şi presupune, mai ales, educarea competenţei de adaptarea copiilor pentru care profesorii sunt principalii responsabili. În acest sens,avem nevoie de o calitate superioară a formării iniţiale a profesorilor caresă devină specialişti autonomi, liberi şi responsabili să decidă asupraelementelor definitorii ale procesului de învăţământ. Calitatea sistemuluieducaţional presupune, dincolo de curriculum şi legi, existenţa unor profesoricare să fie specialişti în educaţie, capabili să îşi asume decizii cu privire lametodele didactice utilizate, conţinuturile predate, formele de organizare acopiilor etc.

Adaptabilitatea presupune capacitatea de a gestiona noul, schimbarea şisituaţiile incerte sau anumite evenimente care apar (The Association ofIndependent Schools of New South Wales, 2016). Pentru a educaadaptabilitatea avem nevoie de profesori care să deţină această competenţăşi să manifeste deschidere şi flexibilitate. Suntem oare pregătiţi să educămîn spiritul deschiderii pentru schimbare, al flexibilităţii şi al adaptabilităţii,dar să transmitem valori şi principii necesare unor interacţiuni optime peplan social? Acesta ar putea fi un subiect de investigare ştiinţifică foartenecesar şi captivant care ne-ar oferi o imagine coerentă asupra adaptabilităţiiîntregului sistem educaţional românesc.


Într-un ghid publicat de OECD în 2016 se prezintă ideea conform căreiaşcolile de astăzi trebuie să formeze elevii în spiritul unor cunoştinţe şicompetenţe de care vor avea nevoie pentru a reuşi în situaţii necunoscutepentru viitorul în permanentă schimbare. Din păcate însă, multe şcoli aratăastăzi aproape la fel cum arătau în urmă cu o generaţie şi prea mulţi profesorinu manifestă interes pentru a descoperi şi aplica strategii didactice necesarenevoilor elevilor secolului 21. OECD (2016) propune un model integratpentru înţelegerea sintagmei de „şcoală ca organizaţie care învaţă”, acestacuprinde şapte dimensiuni ce au în comun patru teme principale (the fourTs: trust, time, technology and thinking together): încredere, timp, tehnologieşi gândire colectivă. Figura nr. 1 prezintă modelul integrat pentru înţelegereaşcolii ca organizaţie care învaţă, propus de OECD.

Figura nr. 1. Şcoala ca organizaţie care învaţăSursa: traducere şi adaptare OECD (2016)

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Modelul propus prezintă o imagine complexă a şcolii ca organizaţie în carerolul principal îl deţine elevul, acesta aflându-se într-un deplin proces detransformare.

2. Climatul educaţional – dimensiuni cu impact asupraprocesului educaţional

Climatul educaţional este o realitate complexă a sistemelor de învăţământ acărei înţelegere şi analiză sunt necesare pentru proiectarea unor experienţeeducaţionale cu impact asupra educabililor.

Deseori apar în rândul practicienilor confuzii cu privire la definireaclimatului educaţional, acesta fiind asociat întocmai doar cu anumitedimensiuni ale sale, cum ar fi relaţiile din şcoli, siguranţa, mediul şcolarsau cu termeni foarte apropiaţi ca înţeles precum, cultură şcolară, atmosferă,starea şcolii. Acest capitol include o succintă analiză a principalelor definiţiiale climatului educaţional existente în literatura de specialitate precum şi adimensiunilor principale ale acestuia.

2.1. Înţelegerea conceptelor cheie - definiţii

Climatul şcolar este considerat a fi un concept complex şi multidimensional(Maxwell, Reynolds, Lee, Subasic, Bromhead, 2017), care a fost definitde-a lungul timpului în diferite forme, cu accente distincte. Unii autori(Brookover et al., 1978; Haynes et al., 1997; Petrie, 2014 apud. Maxwell etal., 2017) consideră că noţiunea de climat şcolar se referă la „personalitateanescrisă” a şcolii.

Pedagogul Emil Păun (1999) descrie climatul organizaţional ca fiind„ambianţa intelectuală şi morală care domneşte într-un grup, ansamblulpercepţiilor colective şi al stărilor emoţionale existente în cadrulorganizaţiei…” (Păun, 1999).

Alţi autori (Cohen et al., 2009, p. 182, apud. Maxwell et al., 2017) sunt depărere că prin climat şcolar se înţelege calitatea şi caracterul vieţii şcolii.


Un concept apropiat ca sens de climatul şcolar este acela de cultură şcolară,cercetătorii în domeniu identificând asemănări şi deosebiri şi încercând săofere definiţii cât mai coerente şi exacte pentru cei doi termeni. Gruenert(2008) oferă o diferenţiere clară între cultura şcolară şi climatul şcolar,opinia lui fiind că felul în care facem lucrurile defineşte cultura şcolii, iarfelul în care ne simţim se referă la climatul şcolar (Crown, apud Guenert,2008).

O altă delimitare a celor două elemente componente ale şcolii este propusăde către Emil Păun (1999) care subliniază dominanţa obiectivă a culturiicare se poate transpune în comportamentul oamenilor, în timp ce climatulconstituie dimensiunea subiectivă a şcolii (Păun, 1999).

Climatul educaţional este influenţat de mai multe variabile printre care D.K. Allen (2003) identifică o serie de şase factori care au legătură cupercepţiile angajaţilor asupra managementului schimbării: frecvenţa,predictibilitatea, deschiderea, gradul de participare, caracterul discontinuusau continuu al naturii schimbării şi stilul persuasiv sau coercitiv de luare adeciziilor. Acelaşi cercetător descoperă faptul că este mai probabil caabordările axate pe management să contribuie la dezvoltarea unui mediuinsecurizant caracterizat prin demotivarea personalului, precauţie, dorinţăscăzută de asumare a riscurilor sau discreţie şi şanse ridicate să aparărezistenţa la schimbare. La polul opus, în mediile unde relaţiile sunt bazatepe colegialitate, s-a observat dezvoltarea unui grup mai puternic, caracterizatprintr-o mai mare dorinţă de a manifesta deschidere şi de a împărtăşiinformaţii, prin existenţa mai multor conflicte cognitive şi relaţiiinterpersonale pozitive (Allen, 2003).

2.2. Dimensiuni ale climatului educaţional - analiză în contextulsecolului XXI

În ciuda faptului că este dificil să se stabilească o definiţie general acceptatăpentru climatul şcolar, majoritatea cercetătorilor sunt de acord cu opiniaconform căreia conceptul de climat şcolar este unul multidimensional careinclude dimensiuni fizice, sociale şi academice.

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Dimensiunea fizică se referă la elemente precum aspectul şcolii, numărulde elevi şi profesori din şcoală, organizarea claselor, resursele disponibile,siguranţă şi confort. Aspecte ce au legătură cu relaţiile dintre elevi, profesorişi restul personalului, comportamentele profesorilor faţă de elevi sau cuimplicarea elevilor şi a profesorilor în procesele de luare a deciziilor, suntdefinitorii pentru dimensiunea socială. Dimensiunea academică a climatuluişcolar se referă la calitatea instruirii, aşteptările profesorilor cu privire laperformanţele elevilor, monitorizarea rezultatelor elevilor şi comunicareacătre părinţi a acestora (Loukas, 2007).

Thapa et al. (2013) investighează climatul educaţional din şcoli dinperspectiva a cinci dimensiuni definitorii: siguranţa, relaţiile, predarea şiînvăţarea, mediul instituţional, procesul de dezvoltare a şcolii.

Chiar dacă nu există o opinie comună cu privire la elementele definitoriipentru climatul educaţional, oamenii de ştiinţă din cadrul Centrului Naţionalpentru Climat Şcolar (NSCC) au încercat o sintetizare a cercetărilor despreclimatul şcolar şi au propus cinci mari arii din perspectiva cărora poate fiînţeles climatul şcolar (mediul extern, siguranţa, predarea şi învăţarea,relaţiile, personalul angajat). Acestea sunt asemănătoare cu dimensiunileidentificate de Thapa et al. (2013), fiecare dintre ele implicând, la rândullor, mai multe sub-dimensiuni din care rezultă în total 12 dimensiuni aleclimatului şcolii (Kane, Hoff et al., 2016).

În tabelul de pe pagina următoare se pot analiza cele 12 dimensiuni aleclimatului şcolii şi indicatorii majori aferenţi fiecăreia dintre ele. Aceastăpropunere de analiză a dimensiunilor climatului şcolar este complexă şiinclude elemente prevăzute de majoritatea cercetătorilor în domeniulclimatului educaţional.


Tabelul nr. 1. Dimensiunile climatului şcolii şi indicatori majori

Sursa: adaptare după Kane, Hoff et al. (2016)

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Dimensiuni Indicatori majori

Siguranţa

1. Reguli şi normeComunicarea clară a regulilor cu privire la violenţa fizică,la abuzul verbal, hărţuire şi tachinare; o aplicare clară şicoerentă a normelor demonstrată prin intervenţia adulţilor.

2. Sentimentul siguranţeifizice

Elevii şi adulţii se simt protejaţi de abuzurile fizice.

3. Sentimentul siguranţeisocio-emoţionale

Elevii şi adulţii se simt protejaţi de abuzul verbal,tachinare sau excludere.

Predarea şi învăţarea

4. Susţinerea pentruînvăţarea

Utilizarea unor practici de predare suportive precum:încurajări şi feedback constructiv, oportunităţi variatepentru demonstrarea cunoştinţelor şi competenţelor,susţinere pentru asumarea de riscuri şi gândireindependentă, atmosferă bazată pe dialog şi întrebări,provocări academice, abordarea diferenţiată.

5. Învăţarea socială şi civică

Asigurarea suportului pentru dezvoltarea cunoştinţelor, acompetenţelor şi dispoziţiilor sociale şi civice, precum:ascultare activă, rezolvare de conflicte, auto-reflectare şireglare emoţională, empatie, responsabilitate personală şiluare de decizii bazate pe etică.

Relaţiile interpersonale

6. Respectul pentrudiversitate

Respectul mutual pentru diferenţele individuale (de gen,rasă, cultură etc.) la toate nivelurile: şcoală-elev-elev;adult-elev; adult-adult şi în general, respectarea tuturornormelor pentru toleranţă.

7. Suport social – pentruadulţi

Crearea unui pattern de relaţii bazate pe sprijin şi atenţie aprofesorilor pentru elevi, incluzând aşteptările ridicatepentru succesul elevilor, dorinţa de a-i asculta pe elevi şide a-i cunoaşte ca personalităţi şi preocuparea personalăpentru problemele elevilor.

8. Suport social – pentruelevi

Crearea unui pattern de relaţii interpersonale bazate pesuport între elevi incluzând: prietenie în socializare, înrezolvarea problemelor, pentru ajutor din punct de vedereacademic şi pentru integrarea elevilor noi.

Mediul instituţional

9. Conectarea şcolii /Angajamentul

Identificarea pozitivă cu şcoala şi normele sale pentruparticiparea completă în viaţa şcolii, a elevilor, apersonalului angajat şi a familiilor.

10. Materialele fiziceînconjurătoare

Curăţenie, ordine şi apelarea la facilităţi, resurse şimateriale adecvate pentru mediul şcolar.

Personalul angajat

11. LeadershipAdministraţie care creează şi comunică o viziune clară şicare este accesibilă pentru personalul şcolii şi susţinedezvoltarea acestuia.

12. Relaţii profesionale Relaţii şi atitudini pozitive în rândul personalului şcoliicare susţin lucrul efectiv împreună.

Alţi autori prezintă analize ale climatului şcolar din perspectiva unorelemente similare celor surprinse de Kane, Hoff et al., punând accentulasupra relaţiilor şi procesului educaţional. Cohen, McCabe et al. (2009),spre exemplu, prezintă cinci elemente care intră în alcătuireaclimatului şcolar:1. Relaţiile (respectul pentru diversitate, colaborare, comunicarea cu părinţii

etc.).2. Predarea şi învăţarea (calitatea predării, valorizarea creativităţii, dezvoltarea

socială, emoţională şi etică, dezvoltarea profesională, leadership etc.).3. Siguranţa (fizică şi emoţională, manifestate prin diferite elemente

specifice mediului fizic sau comportamentelor din şcoală).4. Mediul fizic (spaţiu adecvat).5. Sentimentul apartenenţei (sentimentul de regăsire în comunitatea şcolară,

angajament, entuziasmul elevilor, dar şi al profesorilor).

Dacă am încerca să includem într-o singură clasificare dimensiunileclimatului educaţional, identificate de specialiştii în domeniul educaţiei, amobţine o imagine globală şi detaliată asupra factorilor care influenţează eficienţaproceselor educaţionale din perspectiva climatului educaţional. Prezentăm întabelul nr. 2 o propunere de clasificare a dimensiunilor climatului educaţional,care doreşte să fie accesibilă celor care doresc să studieze conceptul în cauză.Propunerea se bazează pe analiza clasificărilor dimensiunilor climatuluieducaţional care există în literatura de specialitate, o parte dintre ele fiindprezentate într-o formă adaptată şi în cadrul articolului.

Tabelul nr. 2. Dimensiuni generale ale climatului educaţionalDimensiuni Subdimensiuni

Resursele materiale disponibile

Organizarea spaţiilor de învăţareMEDIUL FIZIC

Siguranţa în spaţiul şcolii

Relaţiile din cadrul şcolii

elevi – elevi elevi / părinţi / personal nondidactic

auxiliar – profesori profesori / elevi / părinţi / personal

nondidactic auxiliar – manager şcolar

MEDIUL PSIHOSOCIAL

Sentimentul apartenenţei

Rezultatele elevilor

Formarea personalului didactic şi nondidacticDEZVOLTAREA ORGANIZAŢIONALĂ

Dotarea cu materiale noi


Modelul propus încearcă să surprindă într-o manieră personală ideileprezentate în literatura de specialitate de către cercetătorii care au teoretizatsubiectul climatului educaţional. Activitatea de predare-învăţare este inclusăîn relaţiile care se stabilesc între profesori şi elevi, în primul rând, clasificareapropunând 3 dimensiuni majore (mediul fizic, mediul psihosocial şidezvoltarea organizaţională) care înglobează subdimensiuni ce au legăturăîntre ele. Dezvoltarea organizaţională apare ca o dimensiune majorădeoarece, în contextul actual caracterizat prin instabilitate şi schimbarerapidă, aceasta reprezintă un element care ar trebui să fie în atenţiapermanentă a şcolilor.

Ideile dimensiunilor „Mediul fizic” şi „Mediul psihosocial” se regăsesc şila Loukas (2007), Cohen, McCabe et al (2009) Kane, Hoű et al. (2016) şiau o relevanţă deosebită în contextul caracteristicilor copiilor epocii digitalecare au nevoie de mijloace variate de facilitare a învăţării. Dezvoltareaorganizaţională, a treia dimensiune propusă, este o viziune care se regăseşteîn studiile lui Kane, Hoff et al. (2016) precum şi în modelele propuse deNational School Climate Center din SUA şi care poate fi privită ca un rezultatal elementelor componente ale primelor două dimensiuni.

Cele trei dimensiuni propuse cuprind câteva elemente cheie necesare a filuate în considerare pentru asigurarea unor servicii educaţionale de calitateîn contextul caracteristicilor societăţii actuale. Aşa cum se prezintă şi înstudiul ISE „Cultura elevilor şi învăţarea” (Cuciureanu et al. 2014),provocările ridicate de elevii de astăzi necesită abordări de ordin psihologicşi pedagogic, în aşa fel încât profesorii să se apropie de elevi, să îi înţeleagăpentru a reuşi să identifice mijloacele adecvate de motivare a copiilor.Integrarea cu succes a noilor tehnologii în activităţile didactice implică opregătire atentă a cadrelor didactice, idee care, deşi există de multă vremeîn discursurile publice, nu se transferă eficient şi în practică. Astfel, riscămsă dezvoltăm o şcoală în care se întâlnesc două lumi distincte care pot uşorsă intre în contradicţie, lumea profesorilor şi a elevilor. Cum apropiem celedouă realităţi? Teoretic deţinem o multitudine de soluţii, în practică rămâneîncă o întrebare deschisă în mintea profesorilor şi a cercetătorilor în domeniuleducaţiei.

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3. Relaţia dintre noile tehnologii şi dezvoltarea climatuluieducaţional

Societatea secolului XXI este caracterizată printr-un ritm deosebit de alertal dezvoltării noilor tehnologii care se actualizează şi se transformă în fiecarezi. Copiii au acces la gadget-uri, internet şi aplicaţii care le stimuleazăinteresul pentru a descoperi lucruri noi şi care fac parte din vieţile fiecăruiadintre ei. În acest context putem discuta despre digitalizarea şcolii la nivelulfiecăreia dintre dimensiunile climatului său şcolar.

Un susţinător al schimbării stilului în care trăim este şi scriitorul AlvinToffler care afirma că „oamenii şi societăţile au nevoie să înveţe modalităţiprin care să se adapteze şi să gestioneze schimbările rapide prin transformareainovaţiilor tehnologice în ceva ce poate fi controlat colectiv”, făcând astfellegătura dintre schimbare şi tehnologie (Toffler, 1981, apud Wan FarizaWan Zakaria, 2012, p. 7).

Ultimele studii despre modul în care elevii digitali preferă să utilizezetehnologiile şi cum este influenţată învăţarea acestora dacă se folosesctehnologii moderne au arătat că utilizarea echipamentelor moderne conducela creşterea calităţii învăţării şi a interacţiunilor din rândul elevilor (Raja et.Nagasubramani, 2018). Se pare că transferul informaţiilor în memoriacopiilor se produce mai uşor dacă predarea este însoţită de mijloace moderne,care sunt mai aproape de lumea reală a elevilor. Mediul fizic al şcolii, primadintre dimensiunile climatului şcolar pe care am propus-o în capitolulanterior, are nevoie de o gamă variată de mijloace audio-vizuale care să îiapropie pe copii de şcoală şi să le menţină şi stimuleze curiozitatea pentru asusţine procesul de învăţare.

Utilizarea noilor tehnologii în procesele de predare-învăţare din clasele deelevi este un îndemn prezent în majoritatea discursurilor publice pe temaeducaţiei, utilizarea tehnologiilor poate conduce la rezultate pozitive şi încalitatea climatului educaţional. Apropierea copiilor de activităţile şcolarepoate fi facilitată de introducerea unor mijloace moderne de învăţare caresunt accesibile şi care oricum fac parte din vieţile copiilor.

Lumea contemporană se împarte în două categorii de persoane în funcţie defelul în care interacţionează şi utilizează noile tehnologii: nativii digitali şi


imigranţii digitali. Nativii digitali sunt copiii care s-au născut în epocadigitală şi care au avut acces la tehnologii moderne încă de la cele maifragede vârste. Marc Prensky (2001), cercetătorul care introduce în literaturade specialitate termenii de nativi digitali şi imigranţi digitali, afirmă cănativii digitali sunt copiii născuţi după anul 1980, an valabil pentruconstatările sale din Statele Unite ale Americii.

În România nu poate fi luat ca referinţă acelaşi an ca în SUA pentru aceastăcategorisire, deoarece contextul naţional a condus la o dezvoltare mai lentăa ţării noastre din perspectiva noilor tehnologii. Literatura de profil dinRomânia îi numeşte drept nativi digitali pe cei născuţi după anul 1987 sauchiar după 1994, în anumite studii.

Dacă anii naşterii nativilor digitali nu sunt foarte bine delimitaţi la noi înţară, sunt destul de clare criteriile pe care nativii digitali le îndeplinesc, maiexact aceştia sunt copii care au crescut într-o lume în care au fost înconjuraţide computere, jocuri video, telefoane şi alte gadget-uri (Prensky, 2001).Din acest motiv, Prensky (2001) afirmă că aceşti copii au competenţe deutilizare a noilor tehnologii datorită accesului neîngrădit şi timpuriu lautilizarea unor astfel de resurse.

Pe de altă parte, eticheta de „imigranţi digitali” este oferită persoanelorcare nu au avut acces la tehnologii moderne din primii ani de viaţă, ci auînvăţat mai târziu să le utilizeze şi să le transforme în parteneri în munca lorcotidiană şi nu numai, ci şi să le integreze în vieţile lor.

Au apărut însă dezbateri pornind de la teoria lansată de Prensky, dezbatericare prezintă idei conform cărora nativii digitali nu ar deţine neapăratcompetenţele necesare pentru utilizarea corectă a noilor tehnologii (ECDLRomânia, 2015). Profesorii, majoritatea imigranţi digitali, ar putea să preiaresponsabilitatea educării elevilor în spiritul utilizării conştiente şi corectea noilor tehnologii.

Un alt aspect care se află în centrul interesului cercetătorilor în domeniulimpactului noilor tehnologii asupra sistemului educaţional este legat demodul în care învaţă copiii şi tinerii numiţi „digital natives”. Comunitateacercetătorilor este de acord cu ideea conform căreia structurile cognitiveale nativilor digitali sunt diferite de cele ale imigranţilor digitali. Aceasta

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este o concluzie pe care practicienii au nevoie să o analizeze în activităţilelor, în aşa fel încât să înţeleagă particularităţile dezvoltării elevilor şi săproiecteze experienţe de învăţare cu sens.

Cu privire la diferenţele dintre nativii digitali şi imigranţii digitali, în„Teaching the digital generation”, Frank Kelly, Ted McCain şi Ian Jukes(2009) exprimă puncte de vedere similare cu cele ale lui Prensky desprefelul în care noile tehnologii au influenţat comportamentele, gândirea şifelul în care nativii digitali învaţă. Există numeroase studii cu privire lastiluri de învăţare diferite ale copiilor, la inteligenţe multiple pe care esteimperios necesar să le avem în vedere în calitate de specialişti în educaţie,în aşa fel încât să avem succes în activităţile educaţionale proiectate.

Dezvoltarea organizaţiilor şcolare, o dimensiune majoră a climatului şcolar,presupune şi atenţia, în activitatea de proiectare a experienţelor educaţionale,la elementele prezente în microsistemele sociale şi familiale din care aparţincopiii. Pentru a crea un climat propice dezvoltării, care să îi motiveze pecopii să devină parte activă în propriile procese de învăţare, climatuleducaţional în care se desfăşoară procesul de învăţământ este necesar săincludă elemente din realitatea copiilor. Utilizarea cu moderaţie şi atenţie agadget-urilor în activităţile de la clasă poate reprezenta un ingredient caresă facă diferenţa în eficienţa proceselor educaţionale.

4. Concluzii

În contextul societăţii secolului XXI, în care ritmul dezvoltării tehnologiiloreste foarte rapid, climatul educaţional are nevoie să ofere o mai mare atenţiemijloacelor de învăţământ moderne, care fac parte din vieţile tuturor celorimplicaţi în procesul de învăţământ, mai ales ale copiilor.

Climatul educaţional reprezintă un termen complex care înglobează factoriicheie ce pot asigura eficienţa procesului educaţional, precum activitateaprofesorilor, spaţiul fizic al şcolii, sentimentele asociate cu şcoala de cătreprofesori şi elevi, în primul rând. O mai mare grijă pentru dezvoltareaelementelor componente ale climatului educaţional ar putea conduce laîmbunătăţiri semnificative în dezvoltarea sistemului nostru educaţional.


Utilizarea noilor tehnologii în procesele instructiv-educative din şcoalăreprezintă un îndemn pentru practicienii din sistemul de învăţământ, carear putea obţine rezultate pozitive cu copiii atât în planul performanţei şcolare,cât şi la nivelul atitudinii şi motivaţiei pentru învăţare a copiilor.

Ştim deja că rolul central al profesorului nu mai este cel de transmitere deinformaţii, ci de designer de experienţe de învăţare relevante pentru copii,ceea ce presupune valorificarea potenţialului elevilor, implicarea acestoraîn procesele decizionale de la clasă şi atenta îndrumare în fiecare etapă aprocesului de învăţare.

Referinţe

Crown, A. (2012). The importance of building a safe and caring schoolclimate. Wellbeing@School research. Disponibil la: http://www.minedu.govt.nz/NZEducation/EducationPolicies/Schools/Policy AndStrategy/PlanningReportingRelevantLegislationNEGSAndNAGS/TheNationalAdministrationGuidelinesNAGs.aspx. (accesat la: 04.08.2018)

ECDL România. (2015). Eşecul nativilor digitali. Europa se confruntă cu ogeneraţie pierdută. Disponibil la: https://ecdl.ro. (accesat la: 20.02.2019)

Cuciureanu, M., Alecu, G., Badea, D., Catană, L., Mircea A. Ş., Tarău, I., &Ţăranu, A. (2014). Cultura elevilor şi învăţarea. Disponibil la: https://www.ise.ro/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Cultura-elevilor-si-invatarea.pdf. (accesat la:20.06.2019)

Ion Barbu, D. (2009). Climatul educaţional şi managementul şcolii. Bucureşti:Editura Didactică şi Pedagogică.

Kivunja, C. (2014). Theoretical Perspectives of How Digital Natives Learn.International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 3(1), 94-109.https://doi.org/10.5430/ijhe.v3n1p94.

Loukas, A. (2007). What Is School Climate. Leadership Compass Journal,5(1).

Maxwell, S., Reynolds, K., J., Lee, E., Subasic, E., & Bromhead, D. (2017).The impact of school climate and school indentification on academicachievement: Multilevel modeling with student and teacher data. Frontiers inPsychology. Disponibil la: www.frontiersin.org. (accesat la 15.08.2018)

Păun, E. (1999). Şcoala, o abordare sociopedagogică. Iaşi: Editura Polirom. Păun, E. (2017). Pedagogie. Provocări şi dileme privind şcoala şi profesia

didactică. Iaşi: Editura Polirom.

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Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. Disponibil la: https://www.marcprensky.com. (accesat la: 20.02.2019)

Raja, R., & Nagasubramani, P. C. (2018). Impact of modern technology ineducation. Journal of Applied and Advanced Research, 3.doi:10.21839/jaar.2018.v3S1.165.

Research Romania Team. (2018). Studiu: Statutul profesorilor din Româniaeste cel mai scăzut din Europa. Disponibil la: https://www.researchromania.ro/2018/03/studiu-statusul-profesorilor-din-romania-este-cel-mai-scazut-din-europa/. (accesat la 11.08.2018)

Senge, P. (2016). Şcoli care învaţă. A cincea disciplină în educaţie. Bucureşti:Editura Trei.

SIVECO România. (2014). Cum ne pregătim copiii pentru meseriile de mâine?Disponibil la: http://www.siveco.ro/. (accesat la: 28.02.2019)

The Association of Independent Schools of New South Wales. (2016). The link.Where researchers meets practice. Disponibil la: https://www.aisnsw.edu.au/DesignerFiles/Articles/7f276ad4-b47a-4b98-bd98-6805cff44eed.pdf. (accesatla 27.02.2019)

Ulrich, C. (2016). Învăţarea prin proiecte. Ghid pentru profesori. Iaşi: EdituraPolirom.

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Safe and Healthy Students. (2016).Quick guide on making school climate improvements. Disponibil la: http://safesupportivelearning.ed.gov/SCIRP/Quick-Guide. (accesat la 14.08.2018)

Wan Fariza Wan Zakaria, A. (2012). Alvin Toffler: Knowledge, Technology andChange in Future Society. Disponibil la: https://www.researchgate.net/. (accesatla 24.02.2019)

European and national level. Investments in human capital development ineducation and training are needed to strengthen the system’s ability to respondto rapid changes in society and the labor market.












ROLE PLAY IN BUILDING THECOMMUNICATIVE SKILLS IN STUDENTS FROM

A TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

Elena Tiron*“Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iaşi,

RomaniaTeacher Training Department

[email protected]

AbstractThe article presents a brief history of role play from Moreno’s work to the present timeand the specificity of role play as a teaching method. The conceptual differences amongsimilar interactive methods are identified: group work, thinking hats, the mosaic method.The didactic method of role play is applied to a group of 90 first-year students froma technical faculty, taking the subject of Communication Techniques, for 12 weeks.The research aims to develop professional communication skills by using roleplay. We identified the communication problem of the students from a technicalfaculty, set research objectives, present the research design, the results and theirinterpretation. The communication problem of the first-year students from a technicalfaculty consists in the difficulty of dealing with active listening, empathy, negotiationwith others. As a result, the research objectives focused on the development ofthese subcomponents of the communication competences. The criteria for assessingthe application of this method for the development of professional communicationcompetences are established by the teacher. Through the SWOT method applied atthe end of the 12-weeks research, students highlighted the positive aspects, thenegative ones, the opportunities and the risks of implementing role play.The conclusions of the paper emphasize the need to use interactive methods withthe aim of developing students’ transversal competences, but also the limitations orinadequacies of these methods.

Keywords: professional communication skills, role play, technical higher education,training.


* PhD., Senior Lecturer, “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iaşi,Romania, Teacher Training Department.

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RezumatArticolul prezintă un scurt istoric al jocului de rol de la Moreno până în prezent şispecificul jocului de rol ca metoda didactică. Se identifică diferenţierile conceptualeîntre metode interactive asemănătoare: lucrul pe grupe, pălăriile gânditoare, metodamozaic.Metoda didactică a jocului de rol este aplicată pe un lot de 90 de studenţi de la ofacultate tehnică, din anul I, la disciplina Tehnici de comunicare, timp de 12săptămâni.Cercetarea îşi propune să analizeze impactul aplicării jocului de rol asupradezvoltării competenţelor de comunicare profesională.Demersul de cercetare evidenţiat în articol a pornit de la problema de comunicarea studenţilor din anul I de la o facultate tehnică, ce constă în dificultatea relaţionăriiprin ascultare activă, empatie, negociere cu ceilalţi. Ca urmare, obiectivelecercetării s-au concentrat pe dezvoltarea acestor subcomponente ale competenţeide comunicare. Se stabilesc de către profesor criteriile de evaluare a aplicăriiacestei metode pentru dezvoltarea competenţei de comunicare profesională.Prin metoda SWOT aplicată la sfârşitul cercetării de 12 săptămâni, studenţii aupus în evidenţă aspectele pozitive, pe cele negative, oportunităţile şi riscurileaplicării jocului de rol.Concluziile lucrării subliniază necesitatea folosirii metodelor interactive cu scopuldezvoltării competenţelor transversale ale studenţilor, dar şi limitele sauinadecvările acestor metode.

Cuvinte-cheie: antrenament, competenţe de comunicare profesională, joc de rol,învăţământ superior tehnic.

1. Brief history of role play

Role and role play appeared with the ancient theatre (5th century, BC) keepingits main function of catharsis or emotional purification (Aristotle) so far.The audience laughed, screamed, whistled, applauded at the ancientperformances thus releasing their emotional tension with the aim of curingtheir passions. The role theory and the role play method with cognitivefunctions, and moreover socio-affective, therapeutic and organizationalfunctions have been resumed in modern science and research. One of themost important representatives of psychosociology, who founded a newscience, “Sociometry”, with new concepts and methods, was J. L. Moreno.Moreno’s multidimensional preparation, in mathematics, medicine andphilosophy, provided him with a complex and creative vision of the inter-


human relationships that form the core of the nucleus of group formation.The diverse cultural environments in which he lived and worked inBucharest, Vienna, New York favoured the discovery of the positive andcreative potential of the conflict. Thus Moreno, starting from improvisationaltheatre, develops two new methods of inter-human conflict management,problem solving and groups reconstruction which he names: psychodramaand socio-drama. These methods consist in applying role theory and roleplay, either individually or in groups, to identify and solve intrapersonal orinterpersonal conflicts that block or disrupt the natural and creative evolutionof the person or group. Moreno critically reported to Freud and the artificial,office environment of the Freudian research compared to the naturalenvironments in which he discovered the role of conflict in personalityreconstruction. Morelian psychodrama and sociodrama have a broadapplicability: therapeutic, pedagogical, organizational, leading to theformation of new individual and group competencies. These methods arewell-organized by selecting the protagonist, the group, by describing thecharacters, choosing the themes that reflect the main actor’s conflicts. Thedramatic play consists in the protagonist’s monologue, his dialogue withhis alter egos, the conversation with the psychotherapist or the groupaccording to the spontaneity laws, and, finally, the dismantling of thefossilized roles and the building of new roles. The structure and catharticfunctions of this morenian dramatic game resembles in a decisive way theones of the ancient Greek theatre.

In the view of the Romanian Psychodrama Association, sociodrama isconsidered as a method of active exploration in society, organizations andcommunities to enforce, where it is appropriate, individual or group changes/developments / transformations.

“A sociodrama session has three primary goals: a better understandingof the situation from a social point of view, a clearer perception of theparticipants about their roles and the roles of others in relation to thatsituation (explored in the sociodrama session), an emotional release orcatharsis as the participants express their emotions about the subject.”(Wiener, 1997).

The association for classic psychodrama quotes Ken Sprague, who, in 1998,shows that “sociodrama is a method of education. It gives us the opportunity

to use our imagination to practice life situations in the sociodrama group,even making mistakes for which we could be punished if we do them in ourdaily lives. The sociodrama method provides group training for collectiveactions and education.” (Sprague, 1998).

In this vision, as training and education methods, we use the didacticsociodrama with the specific aspect of role playing.

2. Role play as a teaching method

Why the game?

Game is a method of biologically proven development, present in all animalspecies, it is a method of learning verified by our species, it is spontaneous,it is based on pleasure, it comes from the player’s interest, it is active anddynamic, stimulating and offering satisfaction, unleashes the creativepotential of the conflict, is not evaluative or critical, is a good way to solveconflicts. Education has gradually taken over and developed the naturalvalences of the game by transforming them into the didactic method.In order to become a method, it is necessary to meet the requirements of ateaching- method:1. to be a way of knowing, acquiring knowledge for students;2. to allow the development of skills, abilities, didactic competences for

students;3. to be appropriate for the pupils/students age;4. to be organized in time and space appropriate to the needs of students/

appropriate to educational context;5. to have specific, clearly and explicitly designed educational objectives;6. to correspond to didactically and legally approved teaching curricula;7. to have verified results, verifiable by other actors on the stage;8. to be correlated with similar or different educational methods;9. to be accepted by pupils/students;10.to be pleasant, stimulating, engaging, but also efficient.

In the didactic activity, we found a predominant use of the didactic game inthe lower grades. Hence, we ask ourselves whether the didactic game is

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applicable only at younger ages to primary/secondary school or it is alsoapplicable to students in the higher grades as well.

If the specific conditions for a didactic method are met, we consider thatrole play can also be applied at older ages: high school and college, incollaboration with other methods, with specific objectives, contents, andtechniques.

3. Conceptual differences

Role play is part of the category of interactive, participatory methods withall their features but, at the same time, having its own specificity.

Among the classifications of these methods (Muchielli, 1982; Bocoş, 2002;Cerghit, 2003, 2007; Oprea 2003, 2006, 2009; Negreţ-Dobridor, I.,Pânişoară, I. O, 2005), we selected:

a) Interactive teaching and learning methods in group: the reciprocalteaching/learning method (Palinscar), the mosaic method (Jigsaw),comprehensive reading, “Cascade” method, the method of learning insmall groups (“STAD -Student Teams Achievement Division”), TGT-Teams/Games/Tournaments method, the ”Share-Pair Circles” method, the “Pyramid” method, dramatized learning.

b) Methods of knowledge acquisition and systematization and

verification: cognitive/conceptual map, “cognitive chains”, “fishskeleton”, the cause and effect diagram, “spiderweb”, “water lilyflower” technique, “light-up cards”.

c) Problem-solving methods by stimulating creativity: brainstorming,

“starburst”, thinking hats method, “carousel”, “multi-voting”, “theround table”, group interview, case study, “critical Incident”, “Phillips66”, “technique 6/3/5”, “creative Controversy”, “aquarium” technique,“four corners”, “Frisco” method, sinectica, “buzz groups”.

For all the methods in this classification (Tiron, Buju, Tufeanu, Stanciu,


2017, p. 19), we identified the principle of play: cognitive, socio-emotional,behavioural, creative. The game and the game method can be used asteaching-learning-evaluation methods or procedures for the fixing andconsolidation of knowledge, as techniques, methods or procedures forstimulating creativity. The roles that pupils/students perform aresummarizers, solvers, experts, critics, leaders, idea generators, emotional,creators, observers, participants, those who describe, compare, associate,analyse, argue, apply, draw, deduce, explain.

In the literature, it is important to differentiate, although it is not essential,between role-playing and simulation, the latter being more complex. Thesimulation category includes didactic play, dramatized learning, opponentlearning, learning on simulators. Simulation games are considered ways oftraining to fulfil roles in real social life. They can be games, arbitrage games,prediction games, negotiation games, etc. Role play is an active-participatorymethod that can fulfil all the functions of a teaching method in teaching,learning, assessment. Role play can also be used in all types of lessons:acquiring knowledge, developing new skills abilities. The pupils/studentsform new types of behaviours need to understand and influence interactionpartners.

Role play has the following advantages: addresses the entire personality on a cognitive, socio-affective,

behavioral, mobilizes and trains students to action and interaction; is implicit in other active methods: problem-solving, group work,

heuristic conversation; primarily contributes to the training and development of those behaviours

and attitudes less targeted by other methods: effective self-control, groupmanagement, spontaneity, intrapersonal and interpersonalcommunication, creativity;

offers the possibility of correcting incorrect or incomplete behaviours incertain role situations.

So, we ask ourselves: why is this method not used frequently?

The role play method has the limitations of interactive methods in apredominantly traditional education: the preparation, design and conclusion are time consuming;

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emotional blockages may occur in the application and interpretation ofroles, but these also represent a surplus of knowledge for the pupils/students/teachers involved;

if it is not well prepared, role play can easily be devalued and then it canbe harder to resume;

require specific but complementary skills for theatre and directing forteachers.

Role play must have clear objectives, formulated in action terms achievablein one lesson or more, one chapter (benchmarks), until the learning of thespecific role to a particular social or professional status.

Didactic role play also has well-established stages that increase theeffectiveness of the proposed and developed objectives. These stages are:1. the identification of the educational professional or social situation which

is suitable for simulation using role playing;2. the modelling of the situation and the design of the scenario by retaining

the essential aspects that establish an interactive model;3. the selection of the partners and training them on the specifics and

requirements of role play, using role cards;4. the individual learning of the role by each participant by studying the

card;5. the acting of the roles;6. individual and group reflection on the game experience, debating with

all participants on acting and replaying sequences in which the grouphas not achieved the expected behaviours.

The observers can also participate in the debate. It is necessary forinterpreters to be given priority to communicate what they have felt.

The conditions of effective role play can neither be ignored:1. the method should be familiar to pupils/students through similar exercises

and debates on roles;2. choosing roles should take into account the preferences of the

participants;3. it is important to avoid or resolve emotional blockages of the

group leader or of the teacher;


4. it is important to monitor the evolution of the participants in order tohighlight certain positive or negative aspects of the roles.

Specialized literature (Cerghit, 2007) presents several types of role-playinggames with a wide range of possibilities for applying to educational subjects,for example:- The game of representing structures refers to the simulation of activity

in enterprises, institutions, firms that contribute to understanding thefunctioning of these organizational structures, to the learning of newstatuses and roles.

- Decision making is the one in which decision-making activities aresimulated in which pupils/students learn to make decisions, dependingon the objectives, the specifics of the activity, the possible effects ofthese decisions.

- The arbitration game can be used in certain interpersonal andinstitutional conflictual situations; the participants are playing the rolesof those involved in the situation and learning the role of arbiter inresolving a conflict.

- The competition game simulates competition in any field, in a school,in a company, economically, socio-culturally, in sports. The competitioncan be between two or more people, inter-individual or groupcompetition. The roles, the ways to resolve a competition of the typesvictory-victory, victory-defeat, defeat-defeat are explained and playedtaking turns.

- The negotiation game - it simulates negotiation in any field with specialreference to specific educational subjects or to professional, financial,banking, sales, commercial, or other social activities where negotiationis involved.

For education, are indicated those games role arising from the issue of age,group and individual characteristics of pupils/students or conflict situationsthrough which they pass.

4. Description of the research

The research was applied on a target group of 90 first-year students of theFaculty of Civil Engineering, “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University in

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Iaşi, attending the Communication Techniques class, for 12 weeks, firstacademic year 2018-2019, 1st semester.

Researched problem is the inadequate development of communication skillsof students of technical profiles. The motivation of this research was due tothe difficulty that students have in active listening, empathetic socializingand negotiation observed in the first 2 weeks of the semester.

In terms of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages(2007), the student’s or user’s general individual skills are mainly based onknowledge (savoirs), skills (savoir-faire) and existential competence(savoir-être) that he or she possesses, and on his/hers ability to learn(savoir-apprendre). In this view, we can define the communicationcompetences as a set of suitable and efficient knowledge, abilities, attitudesand behaviours regarding:a. social positions as transmitter or receiver of communication (writing,

reading, listening);b. communication functions: cognitive, emotional, behavioural

(understanding, expressivity, decision, action);c. types of communication: verbal, nonverbal and paraverbal and their

efficient use;d. learning, correction, creation in communication.

In the structure of the communication competences, these elements do nothave the same degree of development and representation, they are differentdepending on the participants to communication and the communicativesituation. In the dynamics of the communication phenomenon, we encounterthe following aspects: native (linguistic intelligence) and acquired/ formed/corrected/ invented (language).

The Communication Techniques course, first semester, in the curriculumof a technical faculty is two hours long weekly course and targets thefollowing contents: meanings and axioms of communication, types and formsof communication, communication functions, professional communication,institutional communication crisis. Out of the specific objectives of thediscipline, we retain for our research: applying the verbal, nonverbal,paraverbal, oral, written, individual, group, interpersonal, mass, educational


and professional communication techniques in specific domains and thepsychological foundation of student behaviour for the engineeringprofession.

The objectives of our research have been correlated with the objectives ofthe course but are designed according to the research principles as follows:1. identifying communication sub-skills that can be trained by applying

the simulation game, of the construction engineer role-status;2. participation of all students (90) to at least 4 role plays;3. increasing student satisfaction in the application of this method;4. determining the degree of realization of the communication

subcomponents perceived by each student.

Communication sub-competencies from a psychological and pedagogicalpoint of view that were evaluated through research were:- accepting a new role;- the relationship with the other, within the role;- empathy towards the other, by mentally assuming the role of the other;- active listening;- cooperation in the context of the role, through the application of

negotiation techniques;- tolerance towards participants in the communication situation;- flexibility in solving the conflictual situation;- spontaneity in playing the game;- expressivity in verbal communication, consistent with non-verbal

communication;- role and script creativity.

The methods used in the research are: brainstorming to identify thedifficulties of communication, role play involving poor communication skillsand SWOT analysis to evaluate the results obtained after the training ofstudents during the course.

The students were trained for 12 weeks (course and seminar) about thesocial positions of the transmitter and receiver, in all communicationfunctions: cognitive, affective, volitive, behavioural, in all types ofcommunication situations: verbal, non-verbal, paraverbal. They werestimulated to elaborate scenarios of those role games, in which to involve

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construction companies and employers’ roles, employees, employmentcommission, designers, designers, inspectors. They were allowed tochoose their roles and we worked with them in writing the scenarios. Wedetected huge group emulation, an engaging, active, cheerful, positive,collaborative and problem-solving environment, great flexibility in scenariodevelopment and conflict resolution.

Students perception of the degree of realization of the communicationsubcomponent skills was checked after each role-play by granting a gradeof 10 – the maximum level of the sub-component embodiment to 5 – theminimum level. These grades were compared with the teacher’s grades forthe achievement of communication sub-components. Finally, the averageof these grades was made.

Table no. 1. The degree of achievement of the communication subcomponents


SUBCOMPONENTS OF COMMUNICATIONCOMPETENCE

AVERAGE

1. accepting a new role 8.55

2. relating with the other in the role 7.41

3. empathy towards the other, by mentallyassuming the role of the other

7.42

4. active listening 7.74

5. co-operation in the context of the role byapplying negotiating techniques

7.23

6. tolerance towards participants to thecommunication situation

7.43

7. flexibility in solving the conflict situation 7.32

8. spontaneity in playing the game 7.14

9. expressivity in verbal communicationconsistent with non-verbal communication

7.05

10. role and script creativity 7.19

As a method of self-knowledge and knowing pupils/students (Stănculescu,2008) SWOT method was applied in our research to evaluate the role-playmethod. Therefore, students have listed, after the completion of training incommunication, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that theyexperienced in the method of role play.

The SWOT analysis

At the end of the research, students completed the four quadrants of theSWOT table and centralizing assessments has highlighted these aspects ofthe method of role play to develop communication skills.

Strengths: development of communication skills, training, positive climate,trust, dynamism, collaboration.

Weaknesses: emotional blockage, low self-esteem, conflicts in solving therole.

Opportunities: role play cannot be applied to all educational disciplines inany didactic situation but only to certain disciplines, in some situations thathave been described here. In conclusion, in a class such as “Communicationtechniques”, role play offers a great opportunity for training and psychosocialdevelopment.

Threats: the students have also discovered some relationship difficultiesor complexes that cannot be solved by the role play method alone. But oncediscovered, these problems can be addressed later by other methods includingtherapeutic ones.

5. Interpretation of results

Intermediate grades were obtained, between 8.55 and 7.05. The best resultswere obtained for accepting the role, active listening and tolerance towardsother participants subcomponents. The lowest results were obtainedin expressivity, spontaneity and role-creativity.

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For the three subcomponents for which the students obtained smaller grades,more training is needed, especially for role creativity, both in terms of thescenario developed by them and the proper application of the scenario. Thestudents’ self-evaluation was realistic, being very close to the teacher’sevaluation. Therefore, the degree of satisfaction of the students in achievingthese components was very high.

As far as the research objectives are concerned:- objective 1: identifying the communication subcomponents that can be

trained through role play, was entirely accomplished by using thebrainstorming method;

- objective 2: 78 of the 90 students participated in at least 4 role-playing;- objective 3: the high degree of satisfaction among students resulted from

their positive, high self-evaluation;- objective 4: was achieved by engaging the 10 subcomponents of

communication by all the participating students.

6. Conclusions

a. Applying role play by simulating a professional role-status, in our casefuture construction engineer, was a new method for the students, differentfrom the methods they know from the technical specialty disciplines.

b. The novelty of the method and the fostering of a pleasant, secure, dynamicsocial-emotional climate stimulated participation in teaching activities,enthusiasm to engage into and learn new roles.

c. The students’ own perception of the achievement of the communicationsubcomponents was verified by the teacher’s perception. The similarthe two marks were, the more conclusive the results.

d. The sub-components of psychological and pedagogical communicationwere achieved in a proportion of 100% with different values but similarto each other.

e. Applying interactive methods especially to technical students is aneffective way to stimulate, learn, acquire, consolidate, and evaluateknowledge.


References

Aristotel (1998). Poetica. Bucureşti: Editura IRI. Bocoş, M. (2002). Instruire interactivă. Repere pentru reflecţie şi acţiune.

Cluj-Napoca: Editura Presa Universitară Clujeană. Cerghit, I. (2003). Sisteme de instruire alternative şi complementare. Structuri,

stiluri, strategii. Bucureşti: Editura Aramis. Cerghit, I. (2007). Metode de învăţământ, Ed. a IV-a. Iaşi: Editura Polirom. Goullier, Fr. (2007). Le Cadre européen commun de référence pour les langues

(CECR) et l’élaboration de politiques linguistiques: défis et responsabilités.Strasbourg.

Karp, M., Holmes, P., & Tauvon, K. B. (Eds.). (1998). The handbook ofpsychodrama (K. Sprague, Illustrator). Florence, KY, US: Taylor & Frances/Routledge.

Moreno, J. L. (1953). Who Shall Survive? Foundations of Sociometry, GroupPsychotherapy and Sociodrama. Beacon House.

Muchielli, R. (1982). Metode active în pedagogia adulţilor. Bucureşti: EdituraDidactică şi Pedagogică.

Oprea, C. L. (2003). Pedagogie. Alternative metodologice interactive. Bucureşti:Editura Universităţii din Bucureşti.

Oprea, C. L. (2006). Strategii didactice interactive. Bucureşti: Editura Didacticăşi Pedagogică.

Oprea, C. L. (2009). Strategii didactice interactive, Ed. a IV-a. Bucureşti:Editura Didactică şi Pedagogică, R.A..

Palincsar, A.S. (1986). Reciprocal teaching. In: Teaching reading as thinking.Oak Brook, IL: North Central Regional Educational Laboratory.

Pânişoară, I. O. (2008). Comunicarea eficientă. Iaşi: Editura Polirom. Spolin, V. (1986), Theater Games for the Classroom. Northwestern University

Press. Stănculescu, E. (2008). Psihologia educaţiei, de la teorie la practică. Bucureşti:

Editura Universitară. Tiron, E., Stanciu T., Buju, S., & Tufeanu, M. (2017). Cum să devină studenţii

la inginerie şi arhitectură mai interactivi şi mai creativi? Răspund profesoriilor. Iaşi: Editura Politehnium.

Wiener, R. (1997). Creative Training: Sociodrama and Team Building. Bristol,PA, Jessica Kingley.

www.psihodramaclasica.ro

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THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN STEMEDUCATION. AN EMPIRICAL RESEARCH

Olimpius Istrate, Cosmina Mironov, Anca Popovici*University of Bucharest, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences

Bucharest, [email protected], [email protected],

[email protected]

AbstractIn Romania, the latest results in PISA as well as national exams show a decrease inthe interest of students in studying sciences, whilst the results are much below theOECD average. The present study has been carried out at national level by a researchteam from the University of Bucharest within the framework of the internationalHorizon 2020 project Scientix, coordinated by European SchoolNet. The studyaddresses the beliefs and attitudes of STEM teachers in the pre-university educationon current practices, evolution and trends in the science-related skills of students.Two investigative techniques have been used: document analysis and an onlinestandardized questionnaire-based survey. The questionnaire was developed by FridayInstitute for Educational Innovation, NC State University. So far, the quantitativedata was collected from 259 STEM teachers.The survey invited teachers to express their opinions related to their attitudes, valuesand beliefs on their teaching efficacy, development of the 21st Century skills,educational leadership, as well as some other themes such as the extent to whichteaching and teachers affect student learning, the amount and quality of use of ICTfor learning in STEM classes, the frequency of using certain STEM instructionalpractices, awareness of STEM careers.This article’s focus is on one out of the seven constructs – the use of technology inSTEM classes. The construct is operationalised in eight sub-items. The discussionon the each of the constructs as well as on the relations between them is quiterelevant in the light of the relationship between beliefs and practices, while theresults are quite striking, with impact on tailored professional developmentapproached.


* Associate Professors, PhD., University of Bucharest, Faculty of Psychology andEducational Sciences, Bucharest, Romania.

Keywords: computer-assisted instruction, ICT tools in education, teachers, STEMeducation.

RezumatÎn Romania, rezultatele ultimei evaluări PISA, precum şi rezultatele examenelornaţionale arată o scădere a interesului elevilor în studiul ştiinţelor, iar rezultatelesunt cu mult sub media OCDE. Studiul de faţă a fost implementat la nivel naţionalde către o echipă de cercetare de la Universitatea din Bucureşti, în cadrul proiectuluiScientix, coordonat de European SchoolNet. Cercetarea vizează credinţele şiatitudinile cadrelor didactice care predau discipline STEM la nivel preuniversitarprivind practicile curente, evoluţiile şi tendinţele în educaţia pentru ştiinţe. Au fostutilizate două tehnici investigative: analiza de documente şi ancheta pe bază dechestionar online standardizat. Chestionarul a fost dezvoltat de Friday Institutefor Educational Innovation, NC State University. Până în acest moment, au fostcolectate date de la 259 de cadre didactice care predau STEM.Ancheta a invitat profesorii să îşi exprime opinii pentru a surprinde atitudinile,valorile şi credinţele pe teme precum eficacitatea demersurilor de predare,dezvoltarea competenţelor pentru secolul XXI, leadership educaţional, măsura încare predarea şi cadrele didactice influenţează performanţa şcolară la disciplineleSTEM, măsura utilizării TIC, frecvenţa anumitor strategii didactice la lecţii deSTEM, conştientizarea carierelor profesionale în domeniile STEM.Articolul abordează prioritar un construct important (dintre cele şapte vizate deinvestigaţie) – utilizarea tehnologiilor informaţiei şi comunicării în activităţile deînvăţare la disciplinele STEM. Constructul este operaţionalizat în opt elemente.Cadrul mai larg al dinamicii dintre constructe este relevant pentru a înţelege atâtrelaţiile dintre credinţe şi practica educaţională, cât şi modul în care rezultatelecercetării pot fi utilizate pentru a proiecta parcursuri de dezvoltare profesionalăcontinuă pentru cadrele didactice care predau discipline STEM.

Cuvinte cheie: cadre didactice, instruire asistată de calculator, resurse şiinstrumente educaţionale digitale, STEM, educaţie pentru ştiinţe.

1. STEM Education – European Context and NationalApproach

Providing an overview of competitiveness in 140 countries, the WorldCompetitiveness Report 2015-2016 (Schwab, 2015) reveals that educationreforms must be a key focus of the governments’ agenda to increase thecompetitiveness of the economy today, an economy based on innovation,technology and entrepreneurship. The importance of science and technology

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for economic prosperity, social welfare and sustainable development iswidely recognized. In this respect, science education has been a majorpriority to ensure that a sufficient number of students will continue theirstudies for a career in science, technology and engineering (EuropeanCommission, 2015).

1.1. Training for a Changing Labour Market

STEM is a collection of scientific fields with the fastest growing impact onthe corresponding school disciplines. Generally speaking, there should bemore interaction between science, labour market and research education togive the pupil a goal, a real commitment to science, and those skills thatwill really serve his later career path.

A study on the challenges of science education, developed by the EuropeanSchoolNet, points to the fact that in Asia, the interest in developingcompetences in science is high for about 20% of students, while in Europeit is only 2%. The first three factors that should be addressed in the nearfuture are (1) negative perceptions and stereotypes about STEM and itsrole in society, (2) the lack of policy connections: the disjunction betweengovernment policies and industry practice, evident primarily by thediscrepancy between declared priorities and poor support (through adequateinvestment in education), (3) the lack of inspirational models, lowinvolvement and motivation for career in science, largely caused by negativeexperience in within the school disciplines in the STEM area.

Analysis of connections between disciplines and professions shows thatinterest in discipline can increase interest in different professions. Also,interest in a particular profession can strengthen the understanding ofa discipline. It is possible that the same profession is associated with severaldisciplines. This means that when choosing a career or shaping a life plan,students have multiple options, each of which can be embodied in variousprofessions. Students should be helped to understand, from an early age,what job is close to their skills, inclinations and interests, and also to beinformed about the links between disciplines and one or more professions.In order to ensure the attractiveness of studying the STEM disciplines, theyneed to be updated with new themes, corresponding to the dynamics of the


sciences and the needs of the labour market. Exact sciences and technologieshave revolutionized the past ten years – nanotechnology, computerization,innovation in engineering. In contrast, the contents of the STEM disciplinesare preserved and reorganized rather than up-to-date, and the numberof hours in the curriculum is progressively reduced.

Teachers teaching subjects in the STEM area need support andprofessional development in the effective implementation of teachingstrategies and in updating the understanding of learning outcomes (keycompetencies, including the “21st Century skills”) in the context ofcontemporary education.

Professions unknown so far have arisen due to advances in science andtechnology. There is a great demand for a new type of human resources inalmost all professional fields linked to STEM competencies.

The education system is neither flexible, nor adaptable enough to incorporaterapid change – in these conditions, it can hardly be proactive in theprofessions that do not yet exist. However, skills for new jobs can be, to alarge extent, anticipated: there is a direct link between new jobs and thedevelopment of science.

Still, despite all efforts to popularize science over the past decades, learningsystems fail to attract enough students. Traditionally, many formal andinformal science initiatives have been based on the belief that if sciencescan be made more interesting than careers in related fields would becomemore attractive (Archer, DeWitt & Wong, 2014). Recent significant studies(ASPIRES – Archer & all, 2013) show that the problem is not just a lack ofinterest. Moreover, the negative view on sciences and scientists is not theproblem. Students have a good idea about scientists, and their parents thinkit is important for them to study science. Despite these positive views of themajority, few of the 10-14-year-olds aspire to a career in science. Thesestudies have identified the factors that explain why 10 to 14-year-olds wantor do not want a scientific career. Factors consist in what students believe,what they know, what they do and who they know - together, being calledthe “capital of science”. Low-science students are those who have littleknowledge of science and low confidence in their own skills and abilities,

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poor participation in science outside school, and not much talking abouthome-based science and whose families or social groups are not interestedin science and tend not to include people with science trades. The authorsof the study found that these factors have a strong prediction potential forguiding students to careers in science. From the “capital of science”perspective, studies reveal aspects of the current situation that indicate whythe study of science is not attractive to students. Particularly, students oftendo not see the relevance of science, which seems abstract and distant; moststudents do not see beyond the career of researcher when it comes to scienceoccupations. They were not aware of their transferability in a wide range ofcareers; students with limited science capital rarely have contact withscientists, so it is not surprising that they know little about the variety ofscientific careers and what they are supposed to do. Most significantly, onecannot imagine having a job in a scientific field.

The model of intentional learning (Boyatzis & Akrivou, 2006) is based onthe idea that people are motivated to develop certain competencies only tothe extent that they perceive the beneficial and meaningful change for them.As a result, in order to be sustainable, any change must start from what isimportant in the context of everyone’s life and community and society towhich he or she belongs. The challenge is therefore to reveal what isimportant to the context of today’s and future life, to raise awareness of therelevance of science, to highlight their transferability in a wide range ofcareers, to ensure access to and constant interaction with scienceprofessionals, and to activate family members in the STEM area, for example,through “citizen science” projects.

1.2. Curriculum Reform in Romania: STEM disciplines

Romania prioritises the education in STEM domains through the NationalStrategy for Education 2020. The curriculum reform is implementedfollowing the studies carried out on education in Romania, the numerouspilot programs funded by the European Social Fund, as well as the resultsobtained by the students in the sciences in the PISA and TIMSS tests. Themost prominent aspects of this curricular reform, as they were included inthe methodological suggestions in the national school curriculum for STEM


disciplines, are: promoting inquiry-based learning; promoting context-basedteaching with approaches centred on socio-economic aspects of science(aspects of everyday life and current issues); promoting small-groupdiscussions during science classes. In addition, these teaching-learningstrategies are also assessed in the current evaluations of schools and teachers(e.g., during the process of professional development: “definitive” teacher,teaching degrees, performance, etc.).

The curriculum reform started in 2013 stipulates, for the first three classesin primary education, that mathematics is studied integrated with sciencewithin a new discipline called Mathematics and Environment Exploration.Due to the fact that the development of new technologies is one of the goalsof the sustainable development of the economy, education in STEMdisciplines has high chances to remain a priority in the near future.

Romania has benefited from several projects funded by the European SocialFund (ESF), which have been directly targeted on the continuousprofessional development of teachers. These projects, involving variouspartners at national level, have produced a wide range of mixed courses forteachers on different education themes. Moreover, the Ministry of NationalEducation has endorsed several optional courses resulting from these ESF-funded projects, which are now taught in primary, secondary and high schools.

Teacher training activities are also carried out on e-learning platforms (e.g.,iTeach - suntprofesor.ro – a CPD platform with courses and activities forteachers, then the project platform “MaST Network – Quality in thedevelopment of key competences for Mathematics, Sciences andTechnology” and the project platform “Continuous training of Mathematicsand Science teachers in the knowledge society”).

To integrate the effective use of new technologies in STEM education, themost significant project, implemented by the National Evaluation andExamination Centre, is “Key ICT Competences in School Curriculum”.Through this project, teachers who teach STEM disciplines have developedICT skills, and digital resources specific to each discipline have beenproposed. Besides the mentioned project, the Ministry of Education hasimplemented various other projects: “eSchool”, “Digital Mathematics.

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Optional curriculum and educational resources for the 3rd Grade”.

Several new strategic programs have been developed at national level todevelop relevant ICT tools and educational resources, and to connect schoolsto the Internet: “CRED – relevant curriculum and open educationalresources”, “Internet in your school”, “Wireless Campus – national integratedplatform”.

2. STEM Education: Empirical Research Framework andMethodology

An investigative approach was carried out within the framework of theScientix international project, coordinated at European level by EuropeanSchoolNet. It continues the research initiated during the previous cycle ofScientix (Kearney, 2015) by complementing with specific data the currentEuropean approaches initiated within this project cycle (Nistor, 2018). Theresearch conducted in 2015 had been seeking to obtain relevant data onnational initiatives with an impact on increasing student motivation towardsSTEM education and choosing a professional career in this field. The 2018research brings insights into the STEM disciplines and practices of teachingand learning.

The project team from the University of Bucharest (the National ContactPoint for Scientix, since 2015) elaborated an evaluation researchmethodology, identifying the necessary tools and means to apply them. Thepresent article is revealing a part of research findings, focusing on the useof technologies in STEM education practices.

The conceptual framework of the research is based on data and informationon STEM training and – evaluation reports and recommendations developedin recent years in Europe and at national level. Relatively recent studiesindicate the main landmarks of science education, providing usefulinformation to circumscribe further local or focused researches:Recommendations for Educational Policies, material developed inNovember 2017 within the European TTTNet project (Teamwork, Trainingand Technology Network); Science, Technology, Engineering and


Mathematics Education: A Survey of Challenges in Europe, a bookletpublished by European SchoolNet in 2011, a starting point for the EuropeanScientix program (2011); ASPIRES - Young people’s science and careeraspirations, age 10-14, study conducted in the UK in December 2013 (2013).Accordingly, several contextual and local features justify our investigativeapproach: the need for qualified specialists in STEM-related fields to properly

support the development of a dynamic and innovative knowledge-basedsociety and economy;

existing initiatives to integrate formal education with institutions,initiatives and resources supporting science education through non-formalapproaches; developing and expanding non-formal education programsfor STEM;

support networks comprised by scientists, researchers and practitioners,through punctual support, directly or indirectly, through citizen scienceprojects, etc.

recent documents on European education recommendations and policies,as well as the increasing allocation of financial sources of funding fromthe EU for projects to promote, train, increase the attractiveness of scienceand science education;

repeated reports in the Romanian public space on the programs andprojects carried out or in progress, the focus on the transfer of the resultsof the scientific research projects and their extension within theeducational system;

the existence in Romania of extensive networks and among the mostactive at European level of teachers attached to different initiatives andprojects (e.g., Scientix, ESERO, ROEDUSEIS, eTwinning, etc.)emphasizing the need to connect and participate in organizing anddeveloping the system.

The research questions revolve around the following topics: which are thebeliefs and attitudes of teachers related to their self-efficacy, classroompractices, use of technology, learning results and STEM related careers?Do these attitudes and beliefs explain in any way the actual results ofstudents?

The aim of the investigation is to highlight the extent to which current

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STEM training practices in pre-university education contribute to thedevelopment of students’ STEM competencies.

The investigative strategy is related to the priorities and trends identified inthe area of science education, the characteristics of the investigatedpopulation and the effective investigation possibilities of the project team.Two investigative techniques were used: document analysis and standardizedquestionnaire survey to reveal views, underlying values, attitudes and trendsin teaching practice, training content, available or needed resources, andthe opportunity and the value of STEM education.

The questionnaire survey was chosen as main research tool in order to reacha significant number of teachers, being applied online. The grids composingit are standardized tools developed by the Friday Institute for EducationalInnovation (2012), NC State University (Innovation, 2012). The table belowpresents the STEM survey summary as the authors proposed it and the detailson each of the constructs included.

Table no. 1. [T-STEM Survey Summary]


Construct Measurement Application

Personal Teaching Efficacy andBeliefs

self-efficacy and confidence related to teaching the specificSTEM subject

Teaching Outcome ExpectancyBeliefs

degree to which the respondent believes, in general, student-learning in the specific STEM subject can be impacted byactions of teachers

Student Technology Use how often students use technology in the respondent’s classes

STEM Instructionhow often the respondent uses certain STEM instructionalpractices

21st Century Learning Attitudes attitudes toward 21st century learning

Teacher Leadership Attitudes attitudes toward teacher leadership activities

STEM Career Awarenessawareness of STEM careers and where to find resources forfurther information

The Personal Teaching Efficacy and Beliefs (PTEB) and the Teaching OutcomeExpectancy Beliefs (TOEB) constructs were derived from a well-knownsurvey of science teachers, the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument,or the STEBI (Riggs & Enochs, 1990). The Student Technology Useconstruct was developed from the Student Technology Needs Assessment,or STNA (SERVE Center, 2005). The STEM Instruction construct was basedon items that were developed by The Friday Institute and used in a state-wideevaluation of the professional development activities of North Carolina’sRace to the Top grant (Corn, et al., 2013). The 21st century learning attitudesconstruct was adapted from the Friday Institute’s Student LearningConditions Survey (2011). Finally, each item in the Teacher LeadershipAttitudes construct was taken from the North Carolina Department of PublicInstruction’s professional standards for educators (2012). The versions ofthe T-STEM Survey vary in the specific subject area referenced in the surveyitems. For example, one item is written in the Science T-STEM, “I amcontinuously improving my science teaching practice,” and in the MathT-STEM the same item is written, “I am continuously improving my mathteaching practice.” The Elementary T-STEM includes both versions ofthe science-specific and math-specific items since most elementary teachersteach both. The 21st Century Learning Attitudes, Teacher LeadershipAttitudes and STEM Career Awareness sections, however, are identicalacross all five survey versions.

In this study, we did not intend to sample the target population, as by meansof collecting the answers we get a sample of opportunity, made up of thosepeople who have chosen to fill in the research tool we used. This method ofinvestigation has some obvious advantages and disadvantages. As far as thebenefits are concerned, it allows investigating as many people as possiblein the target population. Of course, from a methodological perspective, theabsence of a sampling rule may cause distortions due to exogenous factorsof research, such as the quality of databases with contact data held by theinvestigative team, the availability of people to complete a research toolquite the level of individual interest in participating in such research, andothers. We believe, however, that the influence of such factors is inherentin any social research approach, regardless of the sampling method. Inaddition, the use of an online research tool offers the opportunity to recorda relatively large number of responses, higher than would be possible by

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applying face-to-face questionnaires.

A number of 259 Romanian teachers responded to the invitation to depictthe current situation: the attitudes of the teachers in the pre-universityeducation system towards the training activity, the results of the pupils’learning and their attitudes towards the use of technologies and currentSTEM education – physics, chemistry, biology, ICT, computer science,technology, engineering, mathematics.

Three quarters of the sample teachers are urban (76%), and a quarter fromrural areas (24%), covering all counties in Romania, in different proportions.Primary education is represented by 22% of the sample of respondents,while secondary education comprises three quarters of the surveyed teachers.

The disciplines taught by the respondent teachers are predominantlymathematics (74%), chemistry (52%), physics (52%), computer science(43%) and technologies (43%). The disproportion of the number of teachersteaching mathematics in relation to the other categories can be explainedby the higher number of teachers of this discipline within the educationsystem, due to the high number of hours allocated to mathematics in thecurriculum.

Figure no. 1. Distribution of teachers sample by education levels


As in most European countries, mathematics in Romania is taught as acompulsory discipline in both primary and lower secondary education,representing the main subject of the STEM category. At upper secondarylevel, the distribution tends to be diversified, according to the profile andspecialization of the study paths.

In primary education, mathematics is taught interdisciplinary in the first twogrades, alongside the other STEM disciplines, and has a monodisciplinaryapproach in the last three classes of this cycle. In lower-secondary education,pupils begin to be acquainted with other STEM disciplines: Biology – 5th to8th grade, Physics – 6th to 8th grade, Chemistry – 7th to 8th grade, Informaticsand ICT – 5th to 8th grade, mathematics continuing to keep a constant numberof 4 hours per week. Mathematics is a compulsory discipline for thegraduation of the gymnasium cycle, which counts for the admission at highschool and for certain profiles and specializations, a baccalaureate subjectswhose grade counts for admission to university studies.

From the point of view of experience in teaching, the sample ispredominantly distributed in the age category of 21-30 years (43%) andover 30 years (27%), while 8% have less than 10 years old experience.

Figure no. 2. Distribution of teachers sample by teaching experience

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Most of the teachers participating in the research have the I-st didactic degree(84%), a situation that reflects the distribution on the didactic degrees ofthe Romanian educational system.

60% of teachers are connected to eTwinning professional networks andalmost 35% are involved and are constantly pursuing Scientix activities.Only 16,21% of teachers admit they are not connected to a professionalnetwork. Other relevant professional networks gathering Romanian STEMteachers are the Romanian General Association of Teachers, the RomanianMathematical Society, the Romanian Physical Society, the Romanian ChemistrySociety or the European Resources Centre for Space Education - Romania(ESERO Romania).

3. Use of Technology by Students – Data Analysis andInterpretation

For essential reasons supporting an effective, applied, anchored andforward-looking education pathway, ICT tools are increasingly encounteredin learning situations in Romanian education system. To them ourinvestigation dedicates a series of questions, with the mention that in thiscontext ICT is not an object (or content) of training, but a support thatfacilitates teaching, learning and assessment approaches to variousdisciplines (including Informatics or Technologies). The questions addressthe extent to which students use information and communicationtechnologies during the teaching and learning activities proposed by teachers.

Urban ecosystems are privileged from this point of view, schools in citiesbeing better equipped with computers and having better connectivity thanrural schools. This enables students to use a variety of information andcommunication technologies in the education situations proposed by teachersin STEM disciplines: digital resources (online), tools to increase efficiencyand productivity, tools that enable data visualisation, research tools andcommunication media.


STEM education in primary “keeps up” with technological change,benefiting equally from the advantages of introducing new technologiescompared to lower and upper secondary cycles.

The reasons for which an education situation calls for new technologiescan be very diverse, with the most prominent categories being (1)collaboration – the use of ICT to communicate and collaborate with othercolleagues, possibly beyond the classroom, in homework or in eTwinningcollaborative projects, as well as (2) documentation – use of technologiesto access online resources and information as part of the educational activities

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Figure no. 4. The extent to which students are using ICT in STEM classes.Distribution by cycles

Figure no. 3. The extent to which students are using ICT in STEM classes.Rural-urban distribution


Figure no. 5. Scope of using ICT – communication and collaboration vs.access to resources

carried out. Teachers of STEM subjects propose to students both uses, in afairly comparable degree.

It also appears that the urban schools are more likely to offer students theopportunity to use the same types of tools that professional researchers use,such as simulations, databases, satellite images. Almost one in ten urbanteachers proposes students with advanced tools every teaching hour of STEMdisciplines.

Figure no. 6. Students are practicing with tools like those used by professionalresearches. Rural-urban distribution

In high school education, these new resources and advanced tools are usedto a greater extent than in lower secondary and primary education. In a

percentage we consider very high, half of the gymnasium teachers declarethat it is not the case (4%) or never use (45%) simulations, databases, satelliteimages, or similar tools in teaching and learning activities they carry outwith students.

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Figure no. 7. Students are practicing with tools like those used by professionalresearches. Distribution by cycles

As far as training strategies are concerned, the project-based learning methodseems to be sufficiently used, teachers saying they are inviting students towork on technology-assisted projects that focus on real-life applications ineveryday life. Three quarters of students work on STEM projects, with ICTsupport, at least occasionally.

Figure no. 8. Working on applied projects, using ICT. Rural-urban distribution


We would have expected the share of project-based learning activities to belower in the primary cycle and to gradually increase towards high school,but teachers have relatively similar approaches in teaching science to small-age compared to secondary education.

Figure no. 9. Working on applied projects, using ICT. Distribution by cycles

An equitable distribution is also to be met regarding the purposes for whichdigital resources and tools are integrated into STEM disciplines’ learningactivities. Students are equally taught, at least occasionally: to use technology to help solve problems, to use technologies to develop complex cognitive skills, such as analysis,

synthesis and evaluation of ideas and information, to use technology to create or develop new ideas and new ways of

representing information.

Figure no. 10. The extent to which students are taught to use digital tools, fordifferent purposes

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4. Conclusions

There are many ongoing efforts to document the importance or opportunityand value of STEM education as well as the use of technology in education,but few are aimed at transforming STEM education involving the use oftechnology and, moreover, grounding transformation directions on the basisof prospective analyses of teachers’ values, attitudes and beliefs underlyingthe teaching practice, content of the training, available or necessaryresources.

Based on our study in Romanian education system, some recommendationsand directions of action can be identified on the component of use oftechnologies by STEM teachers and their students.

Firstly, there is a need to increase the use of digital resources and tools inSTEM education activities, as a way to stimulate in-depth learning and toacquire 21st century skills such as problem-solving, analysis, evaluationand critical thinking, collaboration, creativity.

Secondly, we must increase access to and interaction with certain scientists(researchers, inventors, theoreticians) and to get acquainted with the toolsthey use. This can be direct, through visits to institutes and research centresof innovation-development, but also mediated by technologies –videoconferences, webinars, feeding common databases with localinformation, etc.

Not least, we would emphasize the need for a systematic and well-organizedapproach to the empowerment of teachers in STEM education areas,integrating the use of technology, by confronting and anchoring teachers’attitudes and beliefs in the reality of pupils, schools and community. Thiscould be transposed into a strategy for STEM teacher training andprofessional development, based on transformational learning, impactingon authentic learning and careers in the STEM area.

Acknowledgements:The authors would like to thank to Scientix Ro NCP team, in particular toDr. Bogdan Popovici (IFIN-HH), for creating the framework for the research,


as well as to Scientix Ambassadors who helped in disseminating the call forcompleting the research tools.

References

Archer Ker, L., DeWitt, J., Osborne, J. F., Dillon, J. S., Wong, B., & Willis, B.(2013). ASPIRES Report: Young people’s science and career aspirations, age10 –14. London, UK: King’s College London.

Archer, L., DeWitt, J., & Wong, B. (2014). Spheres of influence: What shapesyoung people’s aspirations at age 12/13 and what are the implications foreducation policy? Journal of Education Policy, 29(1), 58-85.https://doi.org/10.1080/02680939.2013.790079.

Boyatzis, R., & Akrivou, K. (2006). The ideal self as the driver of intentionalchange. Journal of Management Development, 25(7), 624-642.https://doi.org/10.1108/02621710610678454.

European Commission (2015). Science Education for Responsible Citizenship. Innovation, F. I. (2012). Teacher Efficacy and Attitudes Toward STEM Survey-

Science Teachers. Raleigh: NC. Kearney, C. (2015). Efforts to increase students’ interest in pursuing STEM

studies and careers: National Measures taken by 30 Countries – 2015 Report.Retrieved from: https://www.dzs.cz/file/3669/kearney-2016-nationalmeasures-30-countries-2015-report-28002-29-pdf/

Nistor, A. G.-V. (2018). Science, Technology, Engineering and MathematicsEducation Practices in Europe. Scientix Observatory report. Brussels: EuropeanSchoolnet.

Schwab, K. (2015). The Global Competitiveness Report 2015-2016. Geneva:World Economic Forum.











CREATIVITY, INTERDISCIPLINARYEDUCATION AND THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY –

CONDITIONS FOR A MODERN EDUCATION

Adina Mihai (Călugăru)*Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences,


AbstractThe teacher can develop the students’ creativity through different strategies, and itis up to him/her that the lessons should be attractive, interesting and lead on the onehand to a good collaboration among students, and on the other hand, to a goodcollaboration among the teacher and his/her students. Interdisciplinary teachingappears to be a necessity to overcome the artificial boundaries among disciplinesand to correlate their contents, and the use of technology within classes helps toimprove the educational process by seeking knowledge and skills that enable thestudent to adapt to the requirements of society, which are in constant evolution.The use of technology favours the teaching process through the following features:through multidisciplinary activities, by allowing access to non-school educationalresources, by using images, sounds that facilitate the understanding of some abstractconcepts, through the ability of searching for sources of information that stimulatecuriosity, through the possibility of practicing for the formation of skills, throughcollaborative interactions in solving some projects.In order to achieve a modern, but also highly qualitative education, the teacher hasto combine classical and modern methods correctly, to be creative, and the technologyshould be used with measure and at the right time. The key to the successful use ofinformational and communicational technology is not the choice of tools or programs,but the ability of the teacher to plan, create and implement a creative and effectiveactivity.

Keywords: collaboration, creativity, interdisciplinary teaching.


* PhD., Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Bucharest,Romania.

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RezumatProfesorul poate dezvolta creativitatea elevilor prin diferite strategii şi de el depindeca lecţiile să fie atractive, interesante şi să conducă pe de o parte la o colaborarebună între elevi, iar pe de altă parte între profesor şi elevii săi. Învăţareainterdisciplinară apare ca o necesitate pentru a depăşi graniţele artificiale întrediscipline şi pentru a corela conţinuturile acestora, iar folosirea tehnologiei încadrul orelor ajută la îmbunătăţirea procesului instructiv-educativ, urmărindachiziţionarea unor cunoştinţe şi formarea unor deprinderi, care să permită elevuluisă se adapteze cerinţelor societăţii, aflate într-o permanentă evoluţie.Utilizarea tehnologiei favorizează procesul de învăţare prin următoarele trăsături:prin activităţile multidisciplinare, prin faptul că permite accesul la resurseeducaţionale din afara şcolii, prin recurgerea la imagini, sunete care faciliteazăînţelegerea unor concepte abstracte, prin capacitatea de căutare a surselor deinformaţii ce stimulează curiozitatea, prin posibilitatea exersării unor deprinderi,prin interacţiunile colaborative în rezolvarea unor proiecte.Pentru a realiza un învăţământ modern, dar şi de calitate, profesorul trebuie săîmbine corect metodele clasice cu cele moderne, să fie creativ, iar tehnologia să fiefolosită cu măsură şi la momentul potrivit. Cheia pentru utilizarea cu succes atehnologiei informaţiei şi a comunicaţiilor nu constă în alegerea unor instrumentesau programe, ci în capacitatea profesorului de a planifica, a crea şi implementa oactivitate care să fie creativă şi eficientă.

Cuvinte cheie: colaborare, creativitate, învăţare interdisciplinară.

1. The use of technology in gymnasium education

The emergence of technology has produced important changes in theeducational environment because teachers have improved their teaching byintegrating the computer using both its facilities and web tools to create amore creative teaching approach, being in tune with the concerns of thecurrent generation for which technology has become a “modus vivendi”.According to the Annex to the Recommendation of the European Parliamentand the European Council from 18 December 2006 concerning keycompetences for lifelong learning, one of the eight key competences is thedigital competence. One of the objectives of the European Union, establishedsince 2000, is to make it the most competitive knowledge-based economyin the world, and the integration of ICT tools into the educational process isan important step in achieving this goal.


“The digital curriculum and the network applications will transform theteaching-learning-evaluation process. The School of the Future will certainlybe a cybernetics school, an interdisciplinary ‘living’ computer lab that willearly prepare the students to become problem solvers, new creators andcapable of making optimal decisions to address increasingly to the unusualand novel situations of the present and future social life” (Oprea, 2006).Digital classes will bring together students from several continents, and inthe classroom and digital school the teacher’s roles are diversified. Overtime, the teacher has benefited from society’s respect for his/her knowledge,being considered “the source of wisdom”. Now, a teacher can no longercompete with the information on the internet, which can be written by theworld’s largest experts in a particular field. Students’ technologicalknowledge often exceeds that of teachers, so new pedagogical skills areneeded to gain students’ respect. Teachers’ contribution is no longer toprovide information, but to help the student find, select, identify reliablesources, and teach him how to use them.

Learning in a virtual environment is based on self-learning and co-operativelearning theories, and the modern teacher becomes facilitator, encouragingdebate, initiative, creativity, teamwork. Students and activities are at thecentre of attention. They can work together even if they are in differentplaces, share information and resources, and work on the same document.Digital systems can make teaching work more efficient, creating new waysto promote personal initiative, critical skills and social interaction. The pupilcan acquire the values and attitudes of an entrepreneurial citizen who worksin a team that manages to interpret reality, to be tolerant with those studentswho have different points of view.

Everett M. Rogers in the paper: “Diffusion of innovation” identifies fivesteps concerning the use of computers in class by the teacher: 1) thedissonance phase – the teacher does not use the technology, instead, thestudent uses it but guided by others. The student has a computer at homeand takes lessons in private; 2) the convincing phase – the teacher starts toprovide new information through the computer, and the technology is just asupport for traditional methods; 3) the decision stage – the teacher acceptsto adopt technology and begins to learn how to use it (“technical changes”)– the teacher uses CDsCD sites, videos, attends courses to improve his

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skills; 4) the implementation stage: the teacher goes from computer familiarityto systematic use and considers it a useful tool in the teaching-learning-evaluationprocess. The students use the computer to present their projects, makepower-point presentations, make websites, etc; 5) confirmation stage: theteacher invents new computer-aided applications to support students,communicates and collaborates with other teachers to streamline the use oftechnology in school.

A survey conducted in several schools in America last year, involvinginterviewing 700 teachers, showed that most teachers use technology toimprove the teaching process (94.9%), others 81.3% to introduce a subject,and 77.4% to demonstrate a concept. The most used multimedia tools in theclass were: Power Point and YouTube.

With regard to the use of web-based tools by students, 40% of them, agedbetween ten and eighteen years old, confessed in a poll conducted in Spainthat they built a blog, a website, thus passing from the consumer to thecontent creator. Students know more about the technological tools that definethe reality we live in.

On the other hand, numerous studies have highlighted the significant impactof using technology on school performance. The students who usedtechnology for learning had better cognitive and affective outcomes thanthose who did not use the technology. It has been highlighted that ICT hasa positive impact on the performing students and less on those with a lowerperformance. Parents consider notebooks to have a positive effect onstudents’ IT skills (Mitchell Institute, 2004).

One of the international evaluations, TIMSS (Trends in InternationalMathematics and Science Study) in 2011, at the 4th grade, also pursuedinterest in the use of ICT in the educational process, and the results revealeddifferences in the percentage of teachers using computers in the process ofteaching, among the European countries. In Italy, Serbia, Hungary, Poland,Spain and Romania, half of the teachers use the computer in the teachingprocess, being considered an average level. The second level was found tobe high in terms of computer use, as about two-thirds of teachers use thecomputer encompassing the following countries: Czech Republic, Germany,


Russia and Croatia. Countries where almost all teachers use the computerare: Finland, Ireland, Denmark, Lithuania, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia,Sweden, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Irelandhave the highest percentage of teachers using technology in teaching.

The computer is an instrument in student education. Through computerlessons and educational games, teachers increase students’ interest in schoolbecause these things stimulate their imagination. In fact, using technologyis not a revolution in education, but it brings renewal to education, anevolution that leads to profound changes.

2. Digital instruments used in gymnasium

The means of education used by teachers have changed over time and thedemand for the revolution of education through the introduction of newtechnologies is constantly increasing. Also, the enthusiasm for these modernmeans is high.

Digital textbooks were introduced at both primary and secondary levels.They can be accessed free of charge by teachers, students and parents. Theiruse represents multiple advantages through the functions they perform.Among these, they recall: the training function, favoring a rapidcommunication of information that can be rapidly received by students, themotivation function of learning, because the visual and auditory messageshave the role of motivating the student; the function of guiding professionalinterests, helping students get information about certain professions (Oprea,2006).

Gymnasium students may be involved, given the advanced knowledge theyhave to create content in the form of videos. An experiment of this kind wascarried out in Spain, students having as a topic the creation of a video thatshould include information about a particular subject in the sciences. Whenpupils presented the videos in the classroom, they noticed the intensediscussion about the content, being a useful reflection moment (Souza &Ferreira, 2008). Students have come to understand the information, havinga critical attitude, too. There are certain points of the technique used in

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television that can be used in education too, such as “factic” or contactfunction, which aims to establish and maintain contact between interlocutors.The teaching-learning process can achieve its objectives only if it succeedsin determining changes in the recipient of the education, and the schoolshould work to produce content without limiting itself only to a field, andthrough interdisciplinary learning the artificial boundaries betweendisciplines can be overcome to correlate their contents. Digital textbooksalso serve as aesthetic function, the students having access to the artworkand life lessons.

We can also highlight the ergonomic function of digital textbooks becausetheir use involves saving time in the transmission of information andfacilitating the development of activities that are suited to students’ agepeculiarities. Of course, teachers cannot limit only to the use of digitaltextbooks in class, because these digital textbooks cannot perform theexperimental investigation and practical skills training.

The interactive whiteboard is another very useful tool in teaching becausethe lessons made by the teacher can be presented to the students in anattractive way. Any application can be activated and controlled simply bytouching the board. Observations can be made on the accessed documentand the information can be saved and sent to students. In science classes, atGeography, for example, this tool can find its usefulness because phenomenaand geographic processes can be viewed and analysed, and students canunderstand them much easier. The evaluation process also has a considerableimprovement, “by increasing its objectivity and the ability to personalizethe evaluation”. Evaluation can be done by applying grid tests, interactivetests, or handouts that students can work in digital format.

Google Docs contributes to collaborative learning among students by usingthe programs: “Documents”, “Spreadsheets” or “Presentation”.

Students are increasingly involved in group activities with interdisciplinaryapproaches. For example, in the Romanian language and literature disciplinestudents can create a travel journal and, for their realization, they willcapitalize both geography information, draw sketches and maps, andultimately exercise their literary talent by writing the resulting ideas andimpressions after the trip. Then the information obtained can be posted on


a blog to be read by other colleagues or to be debated by other interestedparties. By using new technologies and applying them to the teachingprocess, the role of the teacher changes as he/she becomes a facilitator inonline communities.

A useful communication tool available to teachers is the eTwinning platform,the main purpose of which is to facilitate communication and collaborationbetween pupils, as well as between teachers from different countries in theEuropean Union. Through communication, facilitated by this platform,various educational products can be created and students can engage incommon curricular activities.

Two digital tools that can be used in the classroom both to achieve cognitivegoals and also to verify students’ knowledge in a creative way, are Kahootand Storybird.

The Kahoot application turns learning and evaluation into a play and canbe used at any age. Students can participate individually or in a team, andverification of content assimilation becomes an easy procedure for bothstudents and teachers. A positive aspect is the diminution of stress associatedwith the evaluation, and a limitation is that the real skills of the students,corresponding to higher taxonomic levels, cannot be assessed.

Storybird is an application that allows the creation of illustrated storiesusing the resources available online. Stories can also be published online. Itis an easy-to-use digital tool for subjects in the Language and CommunicationCurriculum, but also in other disciplines: history, biology, geography, andmanagement.

Educreations is an application for creating mini-lessons. Teachers can createvideos to explain their concepts to students and ask them to collaborate onthe content.

Glogster is another application that involves using images, videos, musicand photos to create multimedia pages. It is possible to create multimediainteractive posters, which can then be shared, multimedia portfolios andcross-curricular activities.

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Bubbl.us is an online brainstorming application. Conceptual maps can becreated to improve creative thinking. An application that encouragescreativity is ThinkLing, an interactive media platform that can createinteractive images, maps, posters, and albums.

Educational software is an important resource that can be used in teaching/learning activities, turning learners into active participants in learning. Themain objective of using educational software is to increase interaction withstudents who “can perform various didactic tasks, adapted and integratedeffectively in learning situations.” (Buxarrais Estrada, 2011). The softwareis attractive, suggestive, being coherent as image and text and is adapted tothe competencies specified in the curriculum. An important and veryattractive resource in Geography classes is Google Earth, which allows forvariable-scale visualization of territorial reality. Students can watch “satelliteimages”, digital maps. By using this application, students are activelyinvolved in the teaching-learning process, their visual memory, new desire,their curiosity is being stimulated, allowing the objective assessment of theresults and progress they have achieved. In this context, it can surely beemerged that creative teachers determine the momentum of students’creativity without any special effort. “The secret lies in transferring the setof values favorable to creativity from the mentor to the disciple, aphenomenon followed by self-development and self-formation.” (Dulamă,2008). The good teacher will allow the student to take intellectual risks,make unusual associations, be an active and creative participant in theirown training, know how to collect information from as many sources aspossible. That is why the school has to keep up with the new and use asmany resources as possible, updating the methods, but also the knowledge.In terms of developing the student’s creativity it is very important to stimulatehis/her personal effort to make his own contributions, to be original, creative,and inventive.

The motivating, interesting activities that are in accordance with the student’sinterests and desires will stimulate his/ her personal effort, his/ her tendencyto bring an original contribution, and the activity of the teacher does notcease once the lesson is completed and through the modern means ofcommunication can go beyond its framework.


The use of teaching moments in educational software helps to stimulatestudent creativity in a 50% proportion, and the introduction of a powerpoint helps to better understand the studied concepts. The method of buildinglessons with the help of technology helps to increase the efficiency of thelesson, both for the student and for the teacher. Even in Math classes ingymnasium, students’ uncertainties can be resolved by using technology, asthe teacher can make students “visualize” Math problems using videos.Many students fail to translate to the level of imagination the requirementsof problems, and when using classical methods of working on a blackboardfails, the use of a program dedicated to computer-aided design or the use ofanimated materials makes it possible to understand abstract concepts.

The lesson of teaching-learning-using which uses these digital techniquesbecomes “an adventure of knowledge” in which the student activelyparticipates, asking questions, clarifying his possible doubts, and eventuallydiscovering plausible solutions. The role of the teacher is more ofencouraging and guiding, and the student who is involved both in theteaching, learning and evaluation process acquires a self-discipline of work.It is the teacher the one who can develop students’ creativity through differentstrategies, it depends on him/her that the lessons should be attractive,interesting and lead, on the one hand, to a good collaboration among students,and on the other hand, among the teacher and his/her students. Mark Goddardasserted that teachers are responsible for the success of their students. Theteacher influences the active and creative behavior of the student, andcooperative learning also ensures the development of optimal relationships.

In the actual context, the teacher must be a good organizer of learningsituations in which he demonstrates a lot of creativity and should be a linkbetween student and society, helping him to correlate the informationobtained in various disciplines.

Beyond the inherent benefits of using technology, the student does not haveto become an uncritical user who knows how to exploit the computer. Itshould be borne in mind that in some subjects human involvement is neededto be more emotional, so that emotional desires, and team work should bevalued. Although some specialists consider that teaching based on the useof technology and the Internet is too static, the use of these tools opens up

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multiple training opportunities in various fields and offers the teacher theopportunity to create interactive, creative, and accessible lessons, but alsoto the student to become a creator of content.

I believe that student-centered education cannot ignore modern teachingmethods, involving the use of interactive whiteboard, educational software,digital textbooks, the Internet, and various applications that can make thecontents of different disciplines more accessible. The teacher’s role is tocorrectly combine traditional and modern methods, to plan activities in orderto surprise students.

References Buxarrais Estrada, M. R., & Evaristo, O. (2011). El impacto de las nuevas

tecnologias en la educacion en valores del siglo XXI. Sinectica, 37(1). Constantin, L.-V., & Dinică, L. (2006). Eficienţa utilizării TIC în procesul

instructiv educativ. Conferinţa Naţională de învăţământ virtual, ediţia a IV-a. Dulamă, M. E. (2008). Metodologii didactice activizante. Cluj-Napoca: Editura

Clusium. Goddard, M. (2002). What do we do with these computers? Reflections on

technology in the classroom. Journal of Research on Technology in education,35(1), 19-26.https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2002.10782367.

Higgins, K., & BuShell, S. (2018). The effects on the student-teacher relationshipin a one-to-one technology classroom. Education and Information Technologies,23(3), 1069-1089.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-017-9648-4.

Loague, A., Caldwell, N., & Balam, E. (2018). Professors 2 attitudes andperceptions about technology use in the classroom. Alabama Journal ofEducational Leadership, (5), 1-11.

Marinescu, M. (2007). Tendinţe şi orientări în didactica modernă. Bucureşti:Editura Didactică şi Pedagogică.

Martin, F., & Carr, M. (2015). An exploratory study on k-12 teacher’ use oftechnology and multimedia in the classroom. Journal of Educational Technology,12(1), 7-14.https://doi.org/10.26634/jet.12.1.3431.

Oprea, C. L. (2006). Strategii didactice interactive: repere teoretice şi practice.Bucureşti: Editura Didactică şi Pedagogică.

Souza, I. K., & Ferreira do Amaral. (2008). The use of digital video in class: a











pedagogical proposition. Comunicar, 16(31), 457-461.https://doi.org/10.3916/c31-2008-03-035.

Vescan, S. I. (2010). Dinamizarea procesului de predare-învăţare-evaluare cuajutorul resurselor TIC în ora de geografie. Cluj-Napoca: Colegiul Economic„Iulian Pop”.

Warwick M. L. P., Rasmussen, I., Ludvigsen, S., & Cook, V. Classroom dialogueand digital technologies: a scoping review. Education and InformationTechnologies, 23(5), 1995-2028.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-018-9701-y.

DEVELOPING YOUNG LEARNERS’ ORALSKILLS THROUGH STORYTELLING WITH

LEGO®

Diana Cojocnean*Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Babeş-Bolyai University,

“Spectrum” International School,Cluj-Napoca, Romania

[email protected]

AbstractThe current study shows how LEGO® was used as a learning tool in the foreignlanguage classroom with young learners (7-10 years old) during an English ForeignLanguage (EFL) course in order to enhance fluency and develop students’ oral skills.The findings of this small-scale study support the idea that storytelling engagesyoung learners in the process of foreign language learning and that LEGO® brickscould create contexts very favorable to language learning. Likewise, it indicatesthat students’ engagement in the storytelling task is determined by several factors,such as their interest in LEGO®, their level of assertiveness, their creativity andlanguage level. As to the type of tasks, collaborative or individual, the current paperputs forward the idea that in the case of storytelling tasks, young learners performbetter individually than in pairs or in small groups. This article approaches thelanguage benefits of storytelling activities with young learners and displays a fewpedagogical suggestions for the use of LEGO® as a language learning tool.

Keywords: collaboration, EFL, engagement, LEGO, oral skills, storytelling.

RezumatStudiul prezintă modul în care a fost folosit LEGO ca material didactic în cadrulunui curs de limbă engleză cu elevi cu vârste cuprinse între 7 şi 10 ani, pentru a ledezvolta fluenţa în limba engleză şi abilităţile de comunicare orală. Rezultateleacestui studiu susţin ideea că învăţarea prin poveşti îi captivează pe cei mici


* Doctor in Educational Sciences-TESOL, Associate Teaching Fellow at Babeş-BolyaiUniversity, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration and English languageteacher at “Spectrum” International School, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.


facilitând procesul de învăţare a unei limbi străine, LEGO oferind un context extremde favorabil învăţării. De asemenea, studiul indică faptul că interesul elevilor înactivităţile care implică povestea este determinat de mai mulţi factori, precuminteresul lor pentru LEGO în general, nivelul lor de asertivitate, nivelul decreativitate individual precum şi de nivelul de limbă. În ceea ce priveşte tipul desarcini de lucru, acestea au fost atât colaborative, cât şi individuale, elevii cei micidescurcându-se mai bine în sarcinile individuale de lucru decât în perechi saugrup. Pe parcursul procesului a fost folosit setul special LEGO pentru poveşti.Articolul pune accentul pe modul de folosire a setului LEGO pentru a spune poveştiîntr-o limbă străină prin angrenarea elevilor în diferite activităţi de construit şiprezentat poveşti şi relevă diverse avantaje pentru folosirea pieselor LEGO camateriale didactice în activităţile de învăţare.

Cuvinte cheie: abilităţi orale, colaborare, EFL, implicare, LEGO, povestit.

1. Introduction

Storytelling is considered to be a useful and effective learning activity foryoung EFL learners improving multiple language skills, including oral skills(Tahriri, Tous & Movahedfar, 2015), listening comprehension skills (Yoon,2013), sentence building ability (Kim, 2014; Tsou, Wang & Tzeng, 2006)and writing (Figg & McCartney, 2010; Yang & Wu, 2012; Yoon, 2013).Although we know the benefits of storytelling in general, storytelling withLEGO bricks has not been discussed extensively in the EFL literature.

The LEGO Story Starter Set (used in the current context along with LEGOclassic) has been used in UK schools in order to develop narratives. Forthis purpose, LEGO has provided resources to be included in the UK NationalCurriculum and to be used by teachers in class. However, these resourceswere mainly designed for native speakers, not for EFL purposes. Based onthe fact that LEGO has always captured children’s interest and also basedon my personal experience with LEGO in other international EFL contexts,I decided to try it out with Romanian EFL learners as well.

Since the current study investigates students’ engagement in the storytellingtask, engagement is defined as active participation in the learning processwhich contributes to learning in a positive way. According to Kearsley &Schneiderman (1998), when students are engaged in tasks they enjoy, they

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learn more effectively. Likewise, engagement is a construct defined byvarious dimensions such as interest, curiosity, challenge, attention, feedback(O’Brien & Toms, 2008; Trevino & Webster, 1992). The term “engagement”is related to the concept of “flow”, a state which is very familiar to childrenwho get involved in an activity for its own sake. Therefore, children usuallyenter a state of flow while listening to and telling stories, which has a positiveimpact on learning in general.

In order to fill a gap in the research literature related to the use of storytellingwith LEGO materials in EFL, I attempted to answer the following researchquestions:1. How did young learners engage in the story building and storytelling

activities?2. What factors determined students’ engagement and flow in the tasks?3. How did students approach collaborative and individual tasks?

2. Context

The study was conducted in Romania, during a six-week summer course in2018. The course was designed for young learners (7-10 years old), learningEnglish as a foreign language in mainstream schools. There were 7 groupsof 6 students each and their language level ranged from PreA1 to A2. I usedthe LEGO Story Starter Set (including the resources prepared by LEGO forthe UK National Curriculum), LEGO classic, as well as different existingshort stories for kids. I used existing short stories, which students had tolisten to and then build the story accordingly using LEGO classic.

The story building and storytelling tasks were chosen according to thegroup’s language level and interests. Thus, the resulting syllabus was quiteflexible since it depended mostly on the language level of the students joiningthe course and their interests (e.g., stories related to “space” for a group ofboys).

Each session lasted for two hours with a short break in between, for fivedays a week. Students would build approximately 10 stories per week. Atthe beginning of each session, students were given the prompts to take into


account throughout the story building and storytelling phases. Also, duringthe story building phase, students themselves asked for very specificvocabulary as well as language structures to be used. Therefore, the studentsused both the vocabulary I had suggested but most often they used languagestructures which they considered appropriate for their individual stories.The following types of activities were used during each session:

2.1. Storyboards

Students watched or listened to a given story and then they had to createstoryboard images in order to represent the story. Thus, students felt moreconfident to build a familiar story or to be involved in a task which did notrequire them to build a narrative on their own. This type of task enabledstudents to be more focused on the language they heard and on the teacher’squestions related to the story. Once the students finished building, theywould have to answer questions about the story, characters, setting. Thistask was more appropriate for lower level students since they neededconsiderable scaffolding. Both the LEGO Story Starter Set and LEGO classicwere used for this task.

2.2. Beginning/Middle/End

For this activity I used the LEGO Story Starter Set which includes ideas tobuild stories on a variety of topics. The Story Starter Set also enabled studentsto build narratives using fantasy characters and props. Students had to builda narrative based on given prompts, making sure that their story has all thethree parts of a story: beginning, middle, end. This task was more creativeas it enabled students to use their imagination in order to build a narrativefollowed by storytelling. This task was more appropriate for A2 levelstudents.

2.3. Can you build it?

In order to enable students to better describe their characters, animals or

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buildings, they were shown different models to follow. The focus of thisactivity was on the use of descriptive language while focusing only on thebuilding of one item at a time. This task enabled students to pay more attentionto individual item building as well as to the use of various language structuresfor descriptions. This type of task was mainly used as a warm-up activity.

2.4. Creative story telling

Students could also build a story entirely on their own. This type of taskwas usually given at the end of a one-week course as students became morefamiliar with both the building and the storytelling phases.

2.5. Everyday storytelling

This activity was used as a warm-up, students had to quickly build aneveryday activity allowing them to share personal experiences through playand talk about them. It also enhanced inter-student communication and wassuitable for both A1 and A2 learners.

3. Theoretical Framework

The current study was informed by Communicative Language Teaching(CLT) (Littlewood, 1981) which takes into account the communicativepotential of language, having as a final goal the notion of communicativecompetence. I chose this framework as CLT focuses on the functions oflanguage. According to Halliday (2003, apud Richards & Rodgers, 2003,p.160), there are seven functions below which children develop whenlearning their native language:1. The instrumental function: using language to get things.2. The regulatory function: using language to control the behavior of others.3. The interactional function: using languages to create interaction with

others.4. The personal function: using language to express personal feelings and

meanings.


5. The heuristic function: using language to learn and discover.6. The imaginative function: using language to create a world of

imagination.7. The representational function: using language to communicate

information.

I consider that all of the above functions can be traceable in the context ofa storytelling task which takes place in a formal learning context enablingstudents to develop their communicative competence in a natural way.

Accordingly, the course was designed on the basis of the abovecommunicative functions, focusing on language in use, making“communication competence the goal of language teaching” (Richards &Rodgers, 2003, p.155). Within the CLT framework, the role of teachers andlearners changed, instruction being more learner-centered, the teacher beingthe monitor and facilitator of the learning process. As to the role of learners,within this approach, learners are expected to interact with one anotherbeing engaged in cooperative tasks and also involved in the process oflearning (Richards & Rodgers, 2003).

4. Methodology

Action research was the methodology approach used in the current study.Action research is a cyclical or spiraling process that integrates theory withpractice through reflection and action planning. The process of action researchincludes four steps: posing research questions, collecting data, analyzingdata and reflecting/reporting results (Altrichter, Feldman, Posch & Somekh,2007). Therefore, the current study is framed as an action research studyintegrating teacher’s action, the teacher conducted the course and collectedthe data in order to find out the answer to specific research questions. Thecollected data were analyzed qualitatively and finally some reflections basedon the data were discussed. This approach to research was considered themost appropriate since it allowed the teacher to be part of the researchprocess. (Burns, 1999).

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4.1. Data collection procedure and analysis

The two techniques used for data collection were classroom observationand video documenting of the stories created by students. The stories weretranscribed by the teacher using a standard transcription scheme whereasteacher’s observation sheets were also used. A number of 15 stories werevideo documented in six weeks, however for the purposes of the currentstudy, only 5 stories were analyzed. The stories are analyzed based onlanguage productivity (the vocabulary and language structures used), storyrepresentation (the documented photo of the stories) as well as overallperformance and engagement in the task.


This is the haunted house in the town and there are many…there are many peoplethat want get close to it. .but when (pause) Jenny (pause) lost her cat and seen thecat running there, she went there. She went to the house to take her kitty back. Shewent…she went and tried to enter but when she seemed that was a trap….a….anothertrap pushed her on the trap slide but the witch and the cat are nearby and she takedthe cat but getting in the witch’s trap. But when the witch came and opened thechamber, the cat jumped on her and Jenny escaped and then she took the cat andshe get back home and after she seen the witch a..getting..leaving on her broomstick.

Story1: The haunted house, Philip (A2, 10 years old), individual story

Figure no. 1: The haunted house

In the story above, Philip had to build a narrative based on a given beginning.Philip had to continue the story and find a solution for Jenny and her cat. Asto Philip’s language productivity, he used the vocabulary related to the topicof the story and did not ask for any vocabulary support throughout thestorytelling phase. As he was telling the story, Philip also played with thecharacters in the story in a very natural way. In terms of grammar, Philipused several past tenses correctly without any support from the teacher. Healso used 127 words in his story and the sentences range from simple tomore complex, the outline of his story is easy to follow. The recordingshowed that the pace of storytelling was normal, without interruptions, whichindicates that Philip was in a state of flow while telling the story. As far asthe story representation, Philip used fantasy characters and objects (e.g.,the witch, the flying broomstick) but he did not build unnecessary sceneryon his board and he used and mentioned all the elements in the story duringstorytelling. The tone and the pace during storytelling suggest that Philipwas very engaged in the task. Overall, his performance was very good.

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Story 2: Larry’s escape, David, (A2, 8 years old),Rob (Pre A1, 8 years old), pair work

D: David escaped from the jail and gived a magic potion to the police and then itslept. Then he took one of its clothes and put its clothes on him. Then when theywoke up, the police arrested the other one because he thought he was Larry.R: The Larry…. (pause)D: Then Larry went to Mrs Lopez and stoled her…dinner service (pause, the word“dinner service”, given by the teacher).R: The Lopez telephone the police…the police…the car…The police come…arrestT: Who is in the car?R: The policeman, the LarryT: Where was Larry when the police arrested him, David?D: He was hiding behind a rock then another police car and saw Larry behind therock. Then he gone and catch him and arrest him.


Figure no. 2. Larry’s escape

In the story above, David and Rob had to build the story on three separateplates, indicating the beginning, the middle and the end of the story. As tolanguage productivity, David used vocabulary related to the story, however,Rob was not able to produce too much vocabulary, needing the support ofthe teacher. David also used past tense simple and continuous and a total of106 words in the story, David’s sentences were quite complex, whereasRob did not produce too much language during the storytelling phase. Robwas very engaged during the building phase and he picked up vocabularyrelated to the story props and characters. As to the story representation,they both used the right props to build the story and overall, they engagedin the production of the story. The pace of the story was slower, given thefact that Rob had difficulties in telling the story. Also, another aspect totake into account is the relationship between student’s proficiency leveland student assertiveness. In the case of David, his level was A2, however,he also needed to be prompted in class although he had the necessarylanguage to tell the stories he built. Rob, on the other hand, was moreassertive than David, and throughout the two-week course he madeconsiderable effort to retain and use vocabulary related to the stories hebuilt. However, his production was limited to word level only.

The family got a lucky envelope. The dad go to take it and in the envelope ..it waswritten (structure provided by the teacher) “They won a holiday” ...and they arearguing where to go. Mum say “I want to go at the big city and father say I want togo camping..and brother say I want to go to the seaside”. And the phone ring andDaria go to pick up the phone and people asked “Where do you want to go?” AndDaria say “We don’t know yet.” And she close the phone and say to her family.Mum say “I have an idea”: We can go to Mamaia because Daria can swim, I cango shopping, Ahmet can eat very much food, and the dad can stay at the beach andDaria go to the phone and she call the people and say “We want to go to Mamaia”and they put things in the car and they go to Mamaia. And then Daria going toswim, and Ahmet pick money with mum to go shopping and dad stayed on thebeach.

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Story 3: Our holiday (Alexandra, 9 years old, A2)

Figure no. 3. Our holiday

Alexandra worked individually to build the story “Our holiday”, startingfrom the prompt “You won a holiday.” She used the given prompt, but chosefreely the time and setting, the characters and the props. She used thenecessary vocabulary to complete the task and she also direct speech in thestorytelling phase, which is very similar to children’s everyday play contexts.

Alexandra is not able to use the tenses very accurately, however during thestorytelling phase she showed great confidence while telling the story. Interms of story representation, the picture shows the setting of the story andthe characters she built. The recording indicated that the pace of the storywas quite fast, which suggested engagement in the task but also the factthat she entered a state of flow while telling the story. This student was alsovery assertive and active in class but she preferred to build storiesindividually.


Story 4: Pick me, Pick me (Mary, 9 years old, A1-A2)

Figure no. 4. Pick me, pick me!

The black knight and the white knight go to the princess and say: “Pick me, pickme” and the princess didn’t know and go to our house and a fairy transformed intoa granny and go to the black knight and say: “Can I stay one night because I’mtired?” “No, go away”, he said, and the granny go to the white knight and say“Can I stay one night because I’m very tired? Yes. Thank you.” And the grannytransformed into a fairy and say to the princess. And the princess go to the whiteknight and married him.

The story above was based on a given beginning, the student had to continuethe story using her own imagination. The story has 100 words and it usesmostly direct speech, the student also played with the characters on thestory board while telling the story. She also tried to use tenses accurately.The outline of the story is easy to follow, the pace of the story was normaland the student’s attitude indicated engagement in the task. Overall herperformance in the task was successful, she also preferred to build andwork individually.

The story above was told by Andrew, a student who enjoyed fantasy storiesand telling stories in general. As to language productivity, his story is 161

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Story 5: Creative storytelling (Andrew, 8 years old, A2)

Figure no. 5. Creative storytelling

A time in the castle it’s a wizard, he looking everywhere. He’s got a super big magicwand and it’s a policeman in that castle with a flower. The flower is given to thegirl. The girl is not a normal girl, it’s a princess. An bad man is escaping and takesan sword, that’s the knight’s sword. He attacks that man very angry and he’s got anfriend, but the friend is dead; is coming a bat, the bat is killing the bad man. Shetakes the sword, it’s going back the sword. The king is very sad. There, a fool manis in the castle. It’s angry, the man is attacking the fool man and the princess ishappy. The princess is going to take the baby wizard and an guard is going here.And the guards very angry. The baby wizard and his hands he puts this…handcuffs,and the wizard going away, the bat is taking the handcuffs.


words long and the vocabulary he used was appropriate for the chosen topicof the story. Unlike the other stories, he also used descriptive language (e.g.“super big magic wand”, “a fool man”) and made an effort to give moredetails related to the setting, characters and actions in the story. As togrammar, the student used a wide range of language structures, such as thepassive voice, present simple and continuous and going to future. Therecording shows that his storytelling pace was quite fast, showing a lot ofengagement during the storytelling phase and the desire to go on with thestory for longer, as children normally do in play situations.

5. Discussion

5.1. Students’ engagement in the tasks

The data collected from both teacher observation and from the documentedstories indicated that students were engaged in the storytelling task andtried to perform to the best of their abilities. Students liked LEGO inparticular and they enjoyed the building phase of each session which hadan impact on their performance in the storytelling phase. However, thereare other factors that account for students’ performance in the tasks, such asstudents’ English level, their degree of assertiveness and also their generalinterest in telling stories.

Likewise, based on the data and my observation, students’ engagement wasalso connected to the environment, the context where the learning activitytook place. In the case of the current study, the context was entirely connectedto the children’s world of play, which is very meaningful for young learners.Children learn new words in the context in which they encounter them andthey have more chances to retain those words and language structure if theyencounter them again in the same context (Cojocnean, 2017). Therefore,the more they learn in a context which is familiar to students, the moreengaged they are in the task and the more likely it is that their performanceis more satisfactory. Also, given the fact that young learners felt at easeduring the sessions, displaying confidence and enjoyment, indicates thatlearning activities were perceived in a very positive way.

5.2. Overcoming language challenges

One of the challenges I observed was students’ struggle to build narrativessimilar to the ones they would produce in their native language. Younglearners tend to be very creative in their play and in the case of the currentstudy, they tried very often to build more than they could talk about.Therefore, lower level students had difficulties during the storytelling phase.However, these difficulties could be overcome with prompting andscaffolding. In the case of lower level students, their progress was recordedat word level only. By the end of a two-week course, they were not able totell a story, but they were able to name the characters, the setting and theprops used on their building plate and also to answer questions about theirstories. This outcome was possible since the teacher had to monitor onlyone small group per session, which enabled her to provide the necessarysupport individually.

Also, while working with monolingual groups, the main challenge was toprevent them using their L1 as much as possible. This challenge wasmanageable since the tasks were all given in English, teacher-studentcommunication was most of the time in English and students had individualstorytelling tasks.

Another significant challenge was monitoring students’ performance incollaborative tasks or pair work. Based on my observation and students’performance, the participants performed better individually than whenworking in pairs or small groups, being able to focus more on their individualstory. Moreover, the most assertive students tend to dominate the group/pair, making it thus even more challenging for lower level students tocontribute in the task.

5.3. Language learning benefits

Given the fact that the activities during the course were part of a summercourse, with the focus on developing oral skills, fluency and confidenceduring speaking activities, there was no particular focus on teaching certainvocabulary or certain language structures, the students learnt new words as

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they needed in their stories, most often students would ask for the vocabularythey needed. This proved to be very efficient since students gained specialinterest in particular words, which increased their retention chances.Moreover, by learning words and structures in the context of play, learnersbecame more motivated to retain those words.

Another positive outcome is the fact that young learners practiced their oralskills but also used their imagination to create stories in a foreign language.At their age, stories and play are much closer to their universe, whichfacilitates learning in context. Therefore, developing oral fluency andbuilding confidence during speaking activities are benefits to take intoaccount when using LEGO during storytelling activities.

6. Conclusions

In conclusion, the current paper showed how English teachers could makeuse of LEGO when focusing on developing young learners’ oral skills andfluency during storytelling activities. The paper also indicated that students’engagement in the storytelling tasks was related to their language proficiency,level of assertiveness but also to their particular interest in LEGO and stories.The use of LEGO sets created a learning context which had positive feedbackon students’ engagement and motivation in the tasks, bridging the gapbetween informal and formal learning contexts. The current paper indicatedhow the use of LEGO in EFL tasks could help learners strengthen theirspeaking, listening, role-playing and storytelling skills as well as build ontheir confidence and imagination.

References

Altrichter, H., Feldman, A., Posch, P., & Somekh, B. (2007). Teachers investigatetheir work: an introduction to action research across the profession (2nd ed.).Routledge.

Burns, A. (1999). Collaborative Action Research for English Language Teachers.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Cojocnean, D. (2017). The Vocabulary learning behavior of Romanian HighSchool students in a digital context. Cluj: Presa Universitară Clujeană.


Figg, C., & McCartney, R. (2010). Impacting academic achievement withstudent learners teaching digital storytelling to others: The ATTTCSE digitalvideo project. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education,10(1), 38-79.

Kearsley, G., & Shneiderman, B. (1998). Engagement theory: A Framework fortechnology-based teaching and learning. Educational Technology, 38(5), 20-23.

Kim, S. H. (2014). Developing autonomous learning for oral proficiency usingdigital storytelling. Language Learning & Technology, 18(2), 20–35.

LEGO Education (2013). A system for learning, Billund. Denmark, LEGOEducation. Retrieved from: https://le-www-live-s.LEGOcdn.com/sc/media/files/marketing-tools/LEGO-education-manifesto-d218aa7fac50c89c1b307b8f1ab94b16.pdf. (accessed on 20.02.2019)

Littlewood, W. (1981). Communicative language teaching: An introduction.Cambridge University Press, pp. 541-545.

O’Brien, H. L., & Toms, E. G. (2008). What is user engagement? A Conceptualframework for defining user engagement with technology. Journal of TheAssociation for Information Science and Technology, 59(6), 938-955.https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.20801.

Richards, J. C., & Rodgers, Th., S. (2003). Approaches and methods in languageteaching (2nd ed.). Cambridge: CUP.

Tahriri, A., Tous, M. D., & Movahedfar, S. (2015). The Impact of digitalstorytelling on EFL learners’ oracy skills and motivation. International Journalof Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 4(3), 144-153.http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.4n.3p.144.

Trevino, L. K., & Webster, J. (1992) Flow in computer-mediated communication:Electronic mail and voice mail evaluation and impacts. Communication Research,19(5), 539-573.https://doi.org/10.1177/009365092019005001.

Tsou, W. L., Wang, W. C., & Tzeng, Y. J. (2006). Applying a multimediastorytelling website in foreign language learning. Computers & Education,47(1), 17-28.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2004.08.013.

Yang, Y., & Wu, W. (2012). Digital storytelling for enhancing student academicachievement, critical thinking, and learning motivation: a year-long experimentalstudy. Computers & Education, 59, 339-352.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2011.12.012.

Yoon, T. (2013). Are you digitized? Ways to provide motivation for ELLs usingdigital storytelling. International Journal of Research Studies in EducationalTechnology, 2(1), 25-34.https://doi.org/10.5861/ijrset.2012.204.

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CONTRASTIVE-COMPARATIVE STUDY ONSTUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF USING

LITERARY TEXTS AS AUTHENTIC LANGUAGELEARNING RESOURCES

Lilia Petriciuc*State Pedagogical University “Ion Creangă”,

Chişinău, Republic of [email protected]

AbstractThis comparative study represents an attempt to identify students’ perceptions andneeds at the same time, in terms of incorporating literary texts in the foreign languageclass. For quite a long time literary texts (LT) have been massively marginalized asa language learning resource and consequently students display significantdeficiencies in interpreting figurative language, making inferences, thinking critically.The researcher assumes that revitalizing LT in the language class would bring multiplebenefits to the students who learn EFL as part of a double program training them tobecome teachers of other subjects as well as primary and secondary school teachersin Moldova. It is a contrastive-comparative study involving 83 students, 48undergraduates from the University of Granada and 35 from SPU “Ion Creangă” ofChişinău, Moldova. The data were collected through mixed instruments: all of thestudents filled in a survey for quantitative data and the students from Moldovaparticipated in a semi-structured interview at the end of their 2nd year course inEnglish. The findings reveal rather positive attitudes in favor of LT as a languagelearning resource, but at the same time there are differences between the perceptionsof Spanish and Moldovan students. The pedagogical implications of the study forstakeholders at “Ion Creangă” University suggest reconsidering the EFL curriculumwith a view of incorporating more LT alongside other types of authentic materialsused to develop students’ language proficiency.

Keywords: attitudes and perceptions, authentic materials, benefits, differences,literary texts.


* Senior Lecturer, State Pedagogical University “Ion Creangă”, Chişinău, Republic ofMoldova.

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RezumatStudiul dat reprezintă o încercare de a identifica atitudinea, dar şi trebuinţele celorce studiază limba engleză ca limbă străină (LES) vis-a-vis de utilizarea textelorliterare (TL) în calitate de resursă didactică autentică. Pentru o perioadă destul deînsemnată textul literar a fost marginalizat în conţinuturile curriculare de limbăengleză, ceea ce a condus la formarea defectuoasă a competenţelor lor decomunicare, în special în ceea ce ţine de decodarea şi interpretarea limbajuluifigurat, a face inferenţe şi a gândi critic. Considerăm că revitalizarea TL va aducemultiple beneficii instructiv-educative celor ce studiază LES ca parte a programuluicu dublă specializare, în formarea lor ca profesori de istorie, pedagogie, limbăromână şi limbă engleză pentru învăţământul primar sau gimnazial. Studiulcontrastiv-comparativ a implicat 83 de respondenţi, dintre care 48 studenţi aiFacultăţii de Ştiinţe ale Educaţiei de la Universitatea din Granada, Spania şi 35de la aceeaşi Facultate a Universităţii Pedagogice „Ion Creangă” din Chişinău.Datele obţinute prin desfăşurarea sondajului de opinie şi a unui interviu, relevăpercepţii diferite: deşi admit multitudinea de beneficii educaţionale a TL, studenţiispanioli sunt destul de reticenţi referitor la exploatarea lor ca resursă didacticăpentru dezvoltarea competenţelor lor de comunicare în LE, iar cei moldoveni susţininiţiativa de a încorpora TL în curriculumul de LE, alături de alte genuri de texte.Factorii de decizie de la Universitatea Pedagogică „Ion Creangă” ar trebui săţină cont de constatările date ca temei pentru potenţiale modificări în curriculumulde LES.

Cuvinte-cheie: atitudini şi percepţii, beneficii, diferenţe, materiale autentice,texte literare.

Context

Education in Moldova has undergone a series of reforms lately, some ofwhich have proven effective and some others not quite so. The country isstill in its transition to adopting and implementing international standardsat all levels and education is among the vulnerable domains that requireimmediate and constant attention. The reforms implemented at lower levelsof the educational system seem to be more functional than at higher levels.Ever since Moldova joined the Bologna Process, the stakeholders are makingsustainable efforts to upgrade educational programs to train high qualityprofessionals for the national and international labour market. In this context,teacher training programs at universities have been upgraded and renewedto meet the requirements of the never-ending changes in our society. English


as a foreign language is taught in almost all teacher training programs, fordifferent periods of time. In this case, I am not going to refer to any of theprograms at the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, butmainly to those programs training primary school teachers of English, orthe double programs like History and English or Pedagogy and English.

Although specialized literature in the field of EFL has witnessed a significantawareness increase related to the need of integrating literary texts in thelanguage curriculum, there is still much reluctance to do it, for a number ofreasons. At “Ion Creangă” University, pre-service teachers of EFL to primaryschool learners do not have much opportunity to interact with LT on thegrounds that they are not going to teach literature or that LT are by far toocomplex and require too much time to cover. In the current context, withEnglish being highly commercialized and those learning it requiringimmediate results, LTs have gradually been ousted from many universitylanguage learning programs. The exclusion has inevitably generated anumber of deficiencies in students’ level of language proficiency and generalculture. The researcher believes that future teachers need extensiveinteraction with different types of language input, particularly literary texts,which are notorious for bringing numerous educational benefits, alongsidelinguistic ones.

Learning English as a foreign language is a real endeavor for Moldova’sstudents as there are limited opportunities for them to expand theircompetencies outside the classroom and obviously, the majority havedifficulties when interacting in English with users of some other language,despite their pretty good level of linguistic competence. There are a numberof English Language courses, but none of them contains any reference toincluding literary texts. On the contrary, LT have been massively rejectedfrom any instructional content on the assumption that they are too complex,too sophisticated and do not reflect students’ communicative needs. Thekey argument against LT in the EFL curriculum in these programs referredto their outdated character and students’ needs, which meant that they shouldbe able to use the language communicatively instead of “doing literature”.The only opportunity to explore a literary text is given to them in theirfinal semester at the university, several months before graduation. It is a30-hour course called Literary Text Analysis. Ongoing class observationand semi-structured interviews revealed that the students displayed major

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deficiencies in dealing with a LT ranging from decoding figurative languageto drawing inferences and thinking critically. The students themselvesacknowledged their incapacity of getting to grips with LT, although they allstated it was very interesting for them and extremely useful for their overallcommunicative competence in English inquiring why the course was sobrief. They emphasized their need and eagerness of having more hoursallotted to LT and not only in their final semester, but much earlier.

The class observation and the students’ remark led to the next move:conducting surveys among students from non-philological departments toidentify their needs and perceptions in terms of authentic texts in general,and of literary texts in particular. They have been dealing with other typesof authentic texts alongside inauthentic ones previously, but these have beenmainly informative like excerpts from newspapers, magazines or YouTubevideos. In this respect, the texts selected were always interesting and caughttheir attention entirely with students being involved in a wide range ofcommunicative activities. Nonetheless, there was always a sense ofsomething missing “to make the picture complete”.

The referential texts used to study the language are suitable if the studentsare expected to develop language skills that would ensure they pass an examor get a certain job. In our particular case, the students are pre-service teachersand we strongly believe that having skills to deal with any kind of text is amust. Besides, the course-books used in primary and secondary school inMoldova contain an extensive number of literary texts, which should serveas another argument in favor of re-incorporating LT in the mainstreamCurriculum for EFL at this level. Though the students will not major asphilologists, we believe that as teachers they should have extensiveknowledge of how to approach LT for language acquisition purposes.

Globally speaking, while conducting lesson observation, it was pretty simpleto notice that their previous interactions with English relied heavily onexpanding their linguistic competence, without enough emphasis on theother components of the CC, notwithstanding the global acknowledgementthat language cannot function without culture and vice-versa. Additionally,the students had major deficiencies when it came to creative writing, whichindicated that the referential texts they used as contents for linguisticacquisition were not enough to facilitate it. Henceforward, a change in


contents and approaches is imminent and fully grounded from a practicaland theoretical perspective.

Literature Review

“Although literature occupies a place in some advanced ESL courses, literarytexts, which could permit us to achieve many important goals for a widerange of mature ESL students, remain largely neglected and they do notenjoy the resurgence of attention we might expect” (Gajdusek, p.227).Taking into account Gajdusek’s viewpoint, we will share her conception ofliterature as used in the language classroom: “Here, literature is used todenote original-not adapted fairly short, and fairly contemporary fiction,poetry, and drama of the target culture.”(ibd). Since English nowadays doesnot belong to any particular country, it implicitly means that it couldencompass any original piece of writing in English, notwithstanding whatpart of the world it comes from. Incorporating literature in EFL classroomsdoes not mean just the canonical texts belonging to the great classics. Whatwe mean is literature with a small “l”, according to MacRae (1996), whichnowadays has come to include adverts, slogans, song lyrics, graffiti andany other original text that is created on the basis of some representation.

Despite the claim forwarded by an increasing number of researchers whostate that LT are resurrected and we are witnessing their coming back intoEFL curricula, especially due to concerns over the apparent internationaldecline in reading and writing standards, (Xerri & Xerri, 2012, p.18) wewould like to note that the majority of mainstream course-books currentlyin vogue and many educational programs still reject it from their contents.And, to quote Sivasubramaniam’s words (2006) this contemporary emphasison course-books seems to be monopolizing English classrooms all over theworld, promoting a reductionist view of language learning and hindering studentsfrom experiencing the imaginative content of literary texts (pp. 254-255).An explanation to this rejection could be found in the idea that the termliterature in the language class is over-generalized to refer to the classics,instead of being used as an umbrella term to include a wide range of contents(song lyrics, sketches, short stories, poems, etc.) alongside a huge numberof different activities to engage the learners and promote languageacquisition.

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Another reason for repudiating TL from the language classroom is found inCollie and Slater’s wording: literature was thought as embodying a staticconvoluted kind of language, far removed from the utterances of dailycommunication and “was seen as carrying an undesirable freight of culturalconnotations” (1897, p.2). A similar view is shared by Guillian Lazar, who,analyzing literary discourse comparing its features with non-literary languageuse, states that literature does not constitute a particular type of language in itself, butthat it may reveal a higher incidence of certain kinds of linguistic features which aretightly patterned in the text, as metaphors, similes, and assonance are extensivelyused in different other forms of discourse (1993, p. 7).

Literature has manifold outstanding benefits for the learners of a language.Undeniably, it is the best source of vocabulary enrichment. Students explorethe language in a variety of contexts, styles, and registers, which are differentfrom the strict formal or quasi formal style characteristic of referential texts.When dealing with a literary text, the students get in contact with figurativelanguage, irony and sarcasm, which are not as pertinent in referential texts.Critics of LT as a language resource claim that these are overloaded withmetaphorical language and sophisticated structures, it is worth noting that theseare natural characteristics of human communication: figurative language isexcessively present in daily conversations, starting from the most trivial onesabout weather (It’s raining cats and dogs, It’s boiling hot!) to more formal oneslike pillar of society, a weak /strong economy and so forth.)

A further strong argument for bringing the LT back to language classesresides in the fact that English nowadays does not belong to a single nation;it is a “global language”, as David Crystal (2003) notes, featuring anextensive number of variations which could be presented to EFL learnersthrough LT belonging to writers from different parts of the world reflectingpluri-linguistic and pluri-cultural trends of modern times.

The most frequent imputation refers to its extremely complex structuresand sophisticated vocabulary and to the idea that learners are supposed toalready have a strong grip of the language intricacies. The opponents tousing LT as a language learning resource should most probably realize thatthe objective is not to study literature, but to exploit it to study the language inits many forms of use against usage. Although many textbook writers claimthey included mainly authentic texts in the contents of the course book, it is


hardly ever so since these materials are selected with the purpose of introducingsome language structures as Collie and Slater point out (1987, p.3)

Authors like Collie and Slater (1987, 1996), McRae (1996), Savvidou, C.(2004), Van (2009), Alemi, M. (2010, 2013), Khatib, M. (2011), Das, B.B.(2014), Ortells, E. (2013), Paran A. (2006), Duff, P. A. (2001), Bobkina, H.(2014) have identified an extensive number of instructional benefits LTmay bring into the language class, sharing the belief it can be a powerfulpedagogical tool (Savvidou, 2004) and supplementing other types of contentswith LT will provide the students with a more holistic language experience(Xerri & Xerri, 2012, p.18)

G. Lazar (1996) lists six major educational benefits that LT can bring in thelanguage class: motivating material, access to cultural background, encouraginglanguage acquisition, expanding students’ language awareness, developingstudents’ interpretative abilities, and educating the whole person. Literarytexts are excellent sources of motivation, since they involve the readers’emotions “giving them a sense of involvement” in the subject-matter (Lazar,1993), a dimension the mainstream course book fails to attain, as they arefocused on promoting a consumer’s pattern of language in use with almostno consideration paid to emotional intelligence and other values that makeus Human. The way we incorporate texts into the language class dependsgreatly on our students’ level of language proficiency, but even at lowerlevels these can be successfully used for language practice and mostly forfostering their emotional intelligence and inculcating human values likesympathy, compassion, empathy, and tolerance. At higher levels ofproficiency, the shift could be made to develop other skills like criticalthinking and creative writing.

Literature is authentic texts as they are “real life texts” not written forpedagogic purposes.

The literary texts, if properly used, can serve as a very powerful tool fordeveloping all the language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing)and it is obviously relevant for both teachers and course book writers toadopt this perspective, in view with Maley’s words who emphasizes that itall depends on the purpose for which literature is being used. What mattershere is to make a distinction between the study of literature and the use of

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literature as a resource for language teaching (Maley, apud Lazar, 1993,p.13).

The manifold benefits LT bring in educational contexts outweigh thedrawbacks some harsh critics hurdle at them. Interacting with LT belongingto various writers from a number of cultures will most certainly expand thelearners’ worldviews and develop their intercultural competence and havea positive impact on their empathy and tolerance levels (Amer, 2003, p. 63).In line with Amer (2003) we posit that a syllabus that incorporates bothrepresentational and referential texts provides more opportunities fordiversity and challenges the learners’ critical thinking skills alongsidedeveloping their communicative competence in the target language. One ofthe many benefits highlighted by Collie and Slater (1987) refers to thepotential of LT to increase readers’ awareness of and ability “to cope withlanguage intended for native speakers and thus they get additional familiaritywith many different linguistic uses, forms and conventions of the writtenmode: with irony, exposition, argument, narration, and so on”.

In these authors’ opinion, LT “provides a rich context in which individuallexical or syntactic items are made memorable” thus highlighting thepotential for linguistic and discourse competence development. Apart fromit, when interacting with LT, learners explore an immense variety of languagepatterns in use, styles and registers, which gradually, upon repeatedencounters, will become internalized and hopefully transformed into output,as components of their sociolinguistic competence in target language.

Apart from the advantages listed above, LT contributes considerably to thedevelopment of interpretative and critical thinking skills, which are essentialtools in dealing with everyday situations. Though extremely demandingupon the reader at times, well-chosen LT will prove incredibly rewarding inthe language class and beyond, since they serve to supply learners withmany useful skills to help them tackle different situations. It is perfectlytrue that not all literary texts are suitable for classroom interaction and notall language they might contain is relevant for studies, nevertheless, thereis always a choice to be made from among the huge ocean of literary worksavailable nowadays which can be done in keeping with many aspects: timeavailable, historical period, topics of interest, readability, pertinence, etc.


For example, Costello (1990) emphasizes the positive impact LT has onlearners and deems it “an invaluable adjunct to ESL composition, especiallywhen teaching units are built on reading selections that are contemporaryand challenging. And as reading comprehension improves, so does masteryof grammar, rhetoric, and Western culture” (p. 22).

Another benefit LT brings to learners of English, which is absolutely relevantto young adults, refers to tapping into their ability to transcend the textitself, to connect their own experiences to the ones described by the author,thus gaining a deeper insight and understanding of their own identity asbelonging to a society, group, community, culture, etc. As a teacher, I stronglybelieve and identify my teaching creed with Erkaya’s viewpoint “thatliterature can be used to reinforce language skills and complement teaching”(Erkaya, 2005, p.3). Cultural enrichment, which is in line with all languagelearning theories and the recommendations contained in the CEFR can besuccessfully attained through judiciously selected LT. Interacting withliterature belonging to different geographical areas and historical periodsnot only contributes to expanding the students’ knowledge of culture, butalso plays a crucial role in opening their minds to change and diversity(Moecharam, 2014). Obviously, the advantages a literary piece of writingcould bring into the language classroom outweigh by far its drawbacks andeven if it means that there is an extra effort for the teacher, it is definitelyworth it: short term, there might be a feeling of Sisyphean task, but longterm, the outcomes will be absolutely rewarding.

Study design and instruments

This is a diagnosis study, as part of a larger research project, aiming atidentifying the students’ needs and perceptions with respect to introducingLT as supplementary content to their communicative EFL university course.The survey aims at identifying their perceptions about exploiting LT regularly,alongside other types of authentic materials in their learning English as a foreignlanguage. Additionally, I intend to compare Moldovan students’ perceptionswith those from Spain to determine if there are significant differences and towhat factors these might be attributed, pursuing the objective of revitalizingLTs in EFL teacher training programs in Moldova.

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The aim of this study is to identify if students really do not need literarytexts to expand their horizons and boost their Communicative Competence(CC) in English. The research questions we are aiming to answer include:- What is their perception of AT, particularly LT, in the language

classroom?- How do they react to dealing with poetry, drama, short stories as a way

of linguistic and cultural development?- Do they believe that their overall CC can be influenced by the study of

literature?- Are there significant differences between students’ perceptions at the

University of Granada (UGR) and those of State Pedagogical University“Ion Creangă” of Chişinău (SPU “Ion Creangă”)?

The study consisted of ten questions and the students were to provide answersto reflect their position using a 5 units Likert-type scale where 1 – stronglydisagree, 2 – disagree, 3 – undecided, 4 – agree, 5 – strongly agree.

The first 3 questions referred to the use of authentic texts as a broad categoryand the other 7 were focused on exploiting literary texts as a languagelearning resource more specifically.

Participants

Participating in an Erasmus K+ program at the University of Granada, theresearcher, considered it relevant to conduct a comparative study to identifyif students belonging to different geographical, economical, and socio-cultural areas have similar or opposing views with regards to exploring LTsas an authentic language learning resource.

The participants in the survey were 48 second-year students from theUniversity of Granada and 35 from State Pedagogical University “IonCreangă” of Chişinău. The informants represent a random sample from theSciences of Education departments, all pursuing more or less similaracademic programs training to become primary school teachers, teachersof History and Geography. They have been studying English for 8,4 yearson average and their age range was 19-22.


Data Collection

At the UGR the paper-based questionnaire was administered at the beginningof a lecture to insure high attendance rates and participation in a short amountof time. Those from SPU “Ion Creangă” were given the survey to completeat home and bring it back to their teachers on the following day. Somestudents from Moldova got it via email and had to fill it in and send it backto the researcher some days later for plausible reasons. It has to be notedthat the informants have had quite limited exposure to literary texts in theircontact with the foreign language. Sporadically, they have explored someshort stories and pieces of poetry and never dealt with drama within theclassroom. However, during a short interview that preceded the survey, theyadmitted to have read different types of LT on their own, mainly for personalenjoyment. So, they were familiar with what literary texts in English entailand they could explain what difficulties they had to face when reading textsthat they did not usually work with in class.

Data Processing and Findings

Considering the data yielded by the UGR students, it appears that even ifthey admit that LT can bring a lot of benefits in the language class, with54,16% voting agree and 20,83% opting for strongly agree, neverthelessthey do not seem enthusiastic about expanding their language skills throughliterature, with only 20,85% expressing agreement followed by a modest6,25 % who chose strongly agree (which accounts for just 3 students out of48). A strikingly impressive number of the respondents indicated that 47,91%agree and 25% strongly agree that LT provide an authentic context for theteaching of grammar and vocabulary. More than half of the students fromSPU “Ion Creangă” share the same belief: 34,28% agree and 31,42%strongly agree.

A curious fact is that, on the one hand, such a high percentage of the UGRstudents believe that LT provide an authentic context for the teaching ofgrammar and vocabulary and bring benefits to the learners, but on the other,they express their unwillingness to expand their language horizons throughLT on a regular basis (items 4 and 5). Just 10,41% chose agree as contrasted

to 56,26 % who disagree and 16,66 % who strongly disagree. Though therewere not many confusing answers like this, nevertheless it indicates twopossible scenarios: either the students filled in the survey without giving itmuch consideration, or, without really understanding what using LT forlanguage acquisition purposes entails.

20% of the SPU “Ion Creangă” respondents expressed their strong agreementto exploiting LT as a language learning resource, supported by 24,28% whoagree to it. The number of those who reject the idea is rather high, with13,72% strongly disagreeing and 18,57% disagreeing. When compared tothe UGR respondents’ option, rejection level in much lower, but still ratherhigh. Additionally, the undecided represents a significant proportion, 16,66%UGR and 22,85% SPU “Ion Creangă”. Their indecisiveness could have anumber of different underlying reasons, which should be looked into indeeper study. Undoubtedly, their choices might greatly depend on previousexperiences with LT. If they studied some extremely difficult piece ofliterature, then they probably reckon that all literary texts are burdensomeand impossible to use as a language learning resource.

Item 7 revealed some quite surprising fact: for 10,41% (strongly disagree)and 31,25% (disagree) UGR students and SPU “Ion Creangă” with 11,42 %(strongly disagree) and 20% (disagree) responded that language complexitydoes not represent and impediment for them to interact with literature. Onthe other extreme, there is a significant difference between the two samples:only 6,25% of UGR admit language level is a challenge for them ascontrasted to 27,41% of SPU “Ion Creangă” respondents.

The respondents from the two institutions differ greatly in their perceptionsof literature as a source of cultural enrichment: 31,33% strongly agree and34,28% agree as contrasted to 8,33% and respectively 18,8%.

Considering all the data, the researcher considers that the respondents fromthe two institutions involved in the survey display a wide array of differentperceptions in terms of using AT and more specifically LT as a source oflanguage education. Altogether, the UGR students indicate they are nottoo eager to consider LT as a source of authentic language input, thoughthey admit it might bring considerable benefits with 39,58% of them agreeing

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followed by 10,41% who strongly agree that the study of literature educatesthe whole person in a way that other functional approaches to languageteaching do not (item 10).

Students from SPU “Ion Creangă” supplied data which lead to the conclusionthat they are open and willing to develop their language skills throughliterature, with 44,58% of them agreeing and 14,75% strongly agreeing tothe perspective (item 5) as contrasted to 8,57% who strongly disagree and14,4 % disagree.

Limitations of the study and some negative aspects

It appears that UGR students are more reserved about expanding theirlanguage proficiency through LT as it was seen from their responses: rejectthe use of LT as a language learning resource, though they absolutely agreethat learning the language with authentic texts is paramount (item1). Anexplanation to this position could reside in the fact that the students whotook the survey were studying ESP as part of their specialization and animportant majority were young men. The Moldavan students participatingin this survey were 98% young females and, as it is well known, there is adifference of tastes in terms of literature between genders. Most obviously,same gender participants would have provided more similar answers. Apartfrom that, Moldavan students were not fully aware about the differencebetween authentic texts and non-authentic ones: they simply neverquestioned this aspect of instructional contents, though some admitted thatthey enjoy learning English more from materials other than the ones in thecourse book. There is also a high probability that the considerable numberof those who answered undecided did so because they either have no priorexperience learning EFL from LT or because it has no relevance to them.Some of the surveys contained corrected answers which could serve as anargument for this viewpoint. Presumably, the students should have beenprovided some more information about the different types of texts and whatis encompassed under the category LT to ensure they provided well-informedanswers.


Conclusions and suggestions

Although specialized literature in the field of EFL has witnessed a significantincrease of awareness related to the need of integrating literary texts in thelanguage curriculum, there is still much reluctance to do so, more so on thepart of stakeholders and sometimes teachers as well.

This survey attempted to identify students’ perceptions about incorporatingLT as part of their communicative EFL university courses and it revealedthat students at “Ion Creangă” Pedagogical University favor it more eagerlythat those at UGR, which serves as a strong impetus for implementing aliterature-based language learning project. Discussions held on a later date,after some short stories have been covered through different approacheslike reader response approach, transactional approach, and inquiry-basedapproach, revealed that students feel they gain a lot from interacting withrepresentational texts in terms of intercultural, linguistic, discourse, andmetaphorical competences than from exploiting just referential texts. Allthese findings alongside the valuable ones presented in the specializedliterature should be taken into account and some course curricula, at least,should incorporate literature as a source of input.

References

Aghagolzadeh, F. (2012). A Debate on Literature as a Teaching Material in FLT.Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 3(1), 205-210.https://doi.org/10.4304/jltr.3.1/205-210.

Alemi, M. (2010). Literature in the EFL/ESL Classroom. Consensus andControversy. Linguistic and Literary Broad Research and Innovation, 1(1),1-12.

Alemi, M., & Pashmforoosh, R., (2013). EFL Teachers’ Self-efficacy Beliefs inTeaching Literature. The International Journal of Literacies, 19(2), 25-36.https://doi.org/10.18848/2327-0136/cgp/v19i02/48770.

Amer. (2003). Teaching EFL/ESL Literature. The Reading Matrix. 3(2), 63-73. Bobkina, H., & Dominguez, E. (2014). The Use of Literature and Literary Texts

in the EFL Classroom; Between Consensus and Controversy. InternationalJournal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature, 3(2), 248-261.https://dx.doi.org/107575/aiac.ijalel.v.3n.2p.248.

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Collie, J., & Slater, S. (1987). Literature in the Language Classroom: A ResourceBook of Ideas and Activities. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Costello, J. (1990). Promoting Literacy through Literature: Reading and Writingin ESL Composition. Journal of Basic Writing, 9(1), 20-31.

Crystal, D. (2003). English as a global Language. New York: CambridgeUniversity Press.

Das, B.B. (2014). Literature – a Pedagogic Tool: a Defense. InternationalJournal of Humanities and Social Science Invention, 3(9), 10-18.

Duff, P. A. (2001). Language, Literacy, Content and (Pop) Culture: Challengesfor ESL Students in Mainstream Courses. The Canadian Modern LanguageReview, 58(1), 103-132.

Erkaya, O. R. (2005). Benefits of Using Short Stories in the EFL Context. AsianEFL Journal, 8, 2-15.

Gajdusek, L. (1988). Toward wider use of literature in ESL: Why and How.TESOL Quarterly, 22, 227-254.

Khatib, M. (2011a). Some Recommendations for Integrating Literature intoEFL/ESL Classrooms. International Journal of English Linguistics, 1(2),258-263.https://doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v1n2p258.

Khatib, M., Derakhshan, A., & Rezaei, S. (2011). Why & Why Not Literature:A Task-Based Approach to Teaching Literature. International Journal of EnglishLinguistics, 1(1), 213-218.https://doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v1n1p213.

Lazar, G. (1996). Exploring Literary Texts with the Language Learner. TESOLQuarterly, 30(4), 773-776.

Lazar, G. (1993). Literature and Language Teaching. Cambridge, UK:Cambridge University Press.

McKay, S. (2001). Literature as content for ESL/EFL. In M. Murcia (Ed.),Teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language (pp. 319-331). Boston: Heinle& Heinle.

McRae, J. (1996). Representational Language Learning: from LanguageAwareness to Text Awareness. In Carter, Ronald & John McRae (Eds.), Language,Literature and the Learner: Creative Classroom Practice, 16-41, PearsonEducation Ltd.

Moecharam, N.Y., & Kartika Sari, A. (2014). Let’s Talk and TolerateStrengthening Students’ Cultural Awareness through Literature Circles.Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 3(2), 117-127.http://dx.doi.org/10.17509/ijal.v3i2.662.

Ortells, E. (2013). Teaching English as a Foreign Language in Spanish SecondarySchools: The value of Literature. English Teaching: Practice and Critique.12(1), 91-110.


Paran, A. (2006). Literature in Language Teaching and Learning. Case Studiesin TESOL Practice Series. Alexandria.

Savvidou, Ch. (2004). An Integrated Approach to Teaching Literature in theEFL Classroom. Retrieved from: http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Savvidou-Literature.html

Sivasubramaniam, S. (2006). Promoting the Prevalence of Literature in thePractice of Foreign and Second Language Education: Issues and Insights.Asian EFL Journal, 8(4), 254-273.

Van, T.T. (2009). The Relevance of Literary Analysis to Teaching Literature inthe EFL Classroom. Forum, 3, 2-9.

Xerri D., & Xerri St. (2012). The Use of Literature in ELT. ETAS Journal,30(1), 18-23.










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MENTIMETER ŞI LECŢIA DE LIMBA ŞILITERATURA ROMÂNĂ

Mihaela Stanciu*Liceul Teoretic „Ştefan Odobleja”,

Bucureşti, Româ[email protected]

RezumatDiferenţele între generaţii se observă din ce în ce mai mult în şcoli, nu numai dinpunctul de vedere al mentalităţilor, ci şi din perspectiva evoluţiei tehnologiei. Înprezent, şcoala trebuie să se adapteze ritmului de dezvoltare a societăţii şi să răspundănevoilor de formare a tinerilor, care vor deveni adulţi într-o lume a viitorului,caracterizată de schimbare, de prezenţa în viaţa de zi cu zi a tehnologiilor avansateşi a ştiinţei.Întrebarea pe care ne-o punem, în calitate de profesori de limba şi literatura română,este în ce fel metodele şi instrumentele de lucru utilizate la clasă pot fi adaptate lanoile mijloace de comunicare, astfel încât interacţiunea profesor-elev să fie realizatăîntr-o manieră mai constructivă şi mai motivantă.Propunem în acest articol o nouă pistă de reflecţie pentru profesorii interesaţi deoptimizarea strategiilor de predare, aplicaţia Mentimeter, un element de noutate înRomânia, însă folosită în mod curent în Regatul Unit, în timpul cursurilorpreuniversitare şi universitare. Vom avea în vedere definirea conceptului, modul deutilizare, mijloacele materiale necesare, modul de realizare a unor sarcini de lucrucu evidenţierea rolurilor profesorului şi ale elevului, realizarea unei aplicaţiididactice.În opinia noastră, Mentimeter poate fi un instrument TIC pus în serviciul educaţiei,reuşita acestui demers depinzând însă, în bună măsură, de creativitatea şi deschidereaspre nou a fiecărui cadru didactic.

Cuvinte-cheie: aplicaţie didactică, lecţia de literatură, Mentimeter, optimizareametodelor şi instrumentelor de lucru, schimbarea societăţii.


* Profesor drd., Liceul Teoretic „Ştefan Odobleja”, Bucureşti, România.

AbstractProgressively, the differences between generations can be observed in schools, notonly from the mentality point of view, but also through the evolution of technology.Nowadays, school has to adapt to the society’s development rhythm and preparethe youth for the future, which is characterized by change, advanced technologyand science.As a Romanian Literature and Language teacher, the question which is raised is inwhat way the strategies, methods, and means used in class can be updated to thenew types of communication and the necessities that students have according tothe fundamental change of the society, such that the connection teacher-studentcan be realised in a more constructive and motivational way.This article proposes a new way of reflection for teachers interested in theoptimization of methods and teaching means used in class – Mentimeter representsan innovative element in Romania, but currently used in the United Kingdom forhigh-school classes and university lectures. We will take into consideration how todefine this concept, the process, the necessary means and materials, the lessoncategory, how to give suitable tasks in order to highlight the teacher’s and student’srole, realising didactic applications.In our opinion, Mentimeter can be an ICT method used in education, but it’s successdepends on the teachers’ creativity and open-mindedness to innovation.

Keywords: didactic application, literature lesson, methods and means optimization,Mentimeter, society change.

1. Introducere

„Şcoala oricând este o închisoare, când învăţătorul va fi mărginit, oricând ogrădină, când acesta va fi un om de spirit, care va şti să intereseze pe elevii

săi şi obiectul ce propune. Obiectul e cu totul indiferent, metoda depredare – lucrul de căpetenie.”

Mihai Eminescu1

Analizând vârsta populaţiei aflate în circuitul educaţional, se observă că, înprezent, elevii înscrişi la şcoală sunt născuţi în secolul XXI, în timp ceprofesorii lor sunt născuţi în secolul precedent. În cursul acestor decenii,societatea a trecut prin diferite transformări, vizibile, în primul rând, înechipamentele electronice pe care le folosim în viaţa de zi cu zi, precumcomputerele şi smartphone-urile, aplicaţii ale nanotehnologiei.

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Contribuţia tehnologiei avansate face ca paradigma educaţiei să se modelezecontinuu, potrivit progresului, idealurilor şi concepţiei societăţii despre viitor,prin care aceasta caută să le pună în operă pentru a supravieţui. NeelieKroes, vicepreşedintele Comisiei Europene şi comisarul pentru AgendaDigitală pentru Europa afirma că, azi, „ne confruntăm cu mult mai multdecât o tehnologie nouă: vorbim despre o schimbare fundamentală a societăţiişi a interacţiunii umane. Iar pentru a fi siguri că profităm de asta la maximumşi pentru a ne asigura că toţi cetăţenii beneficiază de asta, trebuie să investimîn capitalul şi competenţele umane” (Constantinescu & Dănăilă, 2013).

Având în vedere premisele de mai sus, studiul de faţă descrie, sub formaunui cvasiexperiment didactic realizat de noi, utilizarea Sistemului derăspuns Mentimeter în lecţia de limba şi literatura română, la două clase dela o şcoală din Bucureşti. În cadrul aplicării unor tehnici de învăţareinteractivă, elevii au utilizat smartphone-ul şi internetul pentru chestionarescurte, în activitatea curentă la clasă, în al doilea semestru al anului şcolar2018-2019, pe o temă comună: „Romanul”.

Scopul cercetării noastre este de a identifica care sunt acele aplicaţii aletehnologiilor, utilizate curent în practica şcolară modernă, care sătransforme folosirea necorespunzătoare a smartphone-ului de către elevisau ca distragere a atenţiei în timpul orei de curs, într-o oportunitate menităsă servească studiului, optimizând strategiile didactice de predare-învăţareşi evaluare.

Obiectivele centrale ale cercetării le-au constituit organizarea unor activităţididactice, utilizând Sistemul de răspuns Mentimeter, şi studierea moduluiîn care acest tip de interacţiune îmbunătăţeşte motivarea în lecţie. Întrebareaspecifică căreia a încercat să-i răspundă cercetarea noastră a fost dacă poatefi integrată, adaptată şi utilizată, în lecţia de limbă şi literatură, la nivelgimnazial şi liceal, aplicaţia Mentimeter. Am investigat, de asemenea, cefel de sarcini de lucru sunt adaptabile sistemului de răspuns Mentimeter,care sunt, în acest context pedagogic, rolurile profesorului şi ale elevului,încercând să înţelegem avantajele şi limitele Mentimeter, având în vederespecificul lecţiei de limbă şi literatură română.


Analiza datelor colectate calitativ, pe baza unei scurte anchete pe bază dechestionar, a validat beneficiile acestui tip de interacţiune în lecţie, subrezerva că eşantionul mic de aplicare nu permite generalizarea datelor, cioferă doar o pistă de reflecţie şi cercetare pentru profesorii interesaţi să-şioptimizeze strategiile de lucru cu elevii.

2. Cercetări în domeniu. Scurtă privire de tip investigativ

Într-o succintă descriere a mijloacelor de învăţământ, pe generaţii (Ionescu,Bocoş, 2009; Cristea, 2000) tabla, manuscrisele (I), manualele, texteleimprimate (II), mijloacele audio-vizuale (III), maşinile de instruire (IV),computerul (V), se observă că emiţătorul portabil se înscrie în categoriamijloacelor de învăţământ din generaţia a VI-a, din cadrul tehnologieiinformaţiei şi comunicării.

Fără a considera tehnologia exclusiv un panaceu universal sau a ignorapărerile acelora care spun elevilor să închidă mobilele în timpul orelor decurs, credem că, fructificat cu măiestrie de către profesori în cadrul uneiaplicaţii software, smartphone-ul se poate transforma într-un instrumentutil procesului de învăţământ. Mai mult, nu presupune alte costuri de dotareinstituţională, ceea ce devine un beneficiu pentru procesul instructiv-educativ,aspect care nu ar trebui neglijat.

În urma unei incursiuni on-line, am constatat că în practica curentă de predareuniversitară şi preuniversitară din Regatul Unit există mai multe aplicaţiisoftware, utilizate de mulţi ani, ca mijloace interactive de sondaj. Denumiteşi sisteme de răspuns ale clasei, Mentimeter, Poll Everywhere, Socrative,SMART Response System (Clarke, 2017), acestea operează on-line, folosinddispozitive mobile, în cele mai multe cazuri, smartphone-ul. Ele sunt softuride tip „clicker” (Bojinova & Oigara, 2013), ce funcţionează doar cu ajutorulunui telefon şi al unei conexiuni la internet, elemente de care dispun mulţi elevişi studenţi din majoritatea liceelor şi facultăţilor din România.

Sistemele clicker, care facilitează activităţi de predare (Bruff, 2009), suntfoarte populare în învăţământul universitar occidental. Ele se înscriu înfilozofia potrivit căreia secretul educaţiei este de a înţelege care este nivelul

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audienţei, de a ţine seama foarte bine de ce ştiu şi ce nu ştiu elevii, aşa cumafirma într-un interviu prof. Mark Hersam2 de la Universitatea Northwestern.Cercetările în domeniu au arătat că marele beneficiu al elevilor, în procesulde învăţare, este atunci când aceştia sunt angajaţi activ (Bloom, 1984).Potrivit lui Guthrie şi Karlin (2004), elevii sec. XXI sunt, în primul rând,activi. Tehnologia de tip clicker oferă o abordare pentru profesorii caredoresc să implice toţi elevii în învăţarea activă în clasă. Johnson (2005) adescris cum clickerii au ajutat profesorii prin angajarea activă a elevilor întimpul întregii ore, furnizându-le feedback prompt. Sistemul de răspunspublic precum Mentimeter creează cadrul optim pentru interacţiuneaprofesor-elevi, transformând clasa dintr-un public majoritar pasiv, într-unulcare este activ, prin simpla adresare a unei întrebări la care trebuie să răspundăîntregul colectiv. Folosindu-şi telefoanele, elevii pot să reflecteze asupraconceptului predat şi să răspundă la întrebări cu alegere multiplă. Mentimetereste un sistem prin care audienţa poate răspunde (lucrurile de bază pe carele poate face aplicaţia sunt oferite gratuit) şi combină hardware-ul wirelesscu prezentarea software (Rudolph, 2018). Într-un context educaţional,sistemul de răspuns Mentimeter este de tipul cloud-based şi open-source,iar elevii îşi pot aduce propriile dispozitive precum smartphone-urile,tabletele, laptop-urile pentru a folosi, în clasă, acest sistem.

Pentru participanţi, sistemul oferă posibilitatea de a răspunde la o întrebare,privind un anume subiect. Fiecare posesor al unui dispozitiv acceseazăîntrebarea folosind internetul. Potrivit opţiunii profesorului, sistemul opreşte„votarea” pentru întrebarea respectivă şi face clasificarea răspunsurilor. Îngeneral, rezultatele pot fi vizibile instantaneu pe videoproiector. În prezent,sistemul de răspuns pentru audienţă poate fi un simplu produs software,hardware-ul fiind adus de către utilizatori, astfel reducându-se vizibil costulpentru instituţie, iar dacă este folosită o versiune gratuită, atunci costul estezero.

Mentimeter reprezintă un mod simplu de interacţiune între audienţă şi celcare transmite informaţia, fiind utilizat în domenii diverse, în timpulcursurilor, al workshop-urilor sau al întâlnirilor de afaceri.

În învăţământul universitar şi preuniversitar din Marea Britanie, Mentimetereste un instrument de sondaj şi colaborare foarte popular, ce furnizează


feedback, instant, în timpul lecţiei (de exemplu, se foloseşte, în mod curent,la Imperial College London, potrivit menţiunilor existente pe site-ul acesteiuniversităţi). El permite utilizatorilor să creeze un mediu de învăţareinteractivă prin interogarea elevului în timp real, pe parcursul cursurilor, şide a vedea rezultatele învăţării.

Metoda se foloseşte zilnic, în special la disciplinele exacte. Întrebările sepot pune în orice moment al cursului, la început, pe parcurs sau la final, cuo frecvenţă variabilă, în funcţie de necesităţile profesorului. Ora capătăastfel atributele unei comunicări depline profesor-elevi, fiindcă îi face peelevi să participe mult mai mult decât în mod obişnuit, toţi fiind implicaţi,spre deosebire de o oră obişnuită de curs în care, utilizând metoda dialoguluisocratic, nu este posibil să fie implicaţi toţi în lecţie. Practic, elevii suntantrenaţi să răspundă la întrebarea profesorului, iar acesta poate vedea,statistic, câţi au înţeles şi câţi nu. Afişajul numeric efectiv oferă posibilitateaprofesorului de a observa precis câţi elevi au ales răspunsul corect. Maimult, şi ei văd asta, ceea ce înseamnă că se cunoaşte realitatea de către toţipartenerii educaţionali, conştientizându-se nevoile educaţionale alemomentului lecţiei la care s-a ajuns.

În vederea pregătirii unei lecţii, profesorul creează întrebări diferite.Mentimeter oferă mai multe tipuri de întrebări: alegere multiplă; scala Likert;open-ended, când elevii completează/redactează răspunsul; 100 de puncte,participanţii pot distribui 100 de puncte răspunsurilor alternative;participanţii pot evalua itemii în două dimensiuni şi „cine-va-câştiga”.

Datele aplicaţiei pot fi colectate anonim sau pot fi salvate pentru o analiză,în scopuri comparative şi de cercetare educaţională, rezultatele pot fiexportate în Excel. Există beneficii adiţionale ale sistemului de răspunspentru audienţă şi acestea sunt raportate şi discutate în mediul academic.Realizatorii aplicaţiei afirmă că vizualizarea răspunsurilor îi face pe elevisă reflecteze şi apoi să poarte o discuţie din acel punct împreună cuprofesorul. Cu Mentimeter, fiecare are posibilitatea de a-şi exprima opinia,fără a fi afectat de altă persoană prezentă în încăpere. Mentimeter îi face peelevi să interacţioneze într-o manieră inovativă. Ei se pot deschide şi le potspune şi celorlalţi perspectiva lor, astfel încât toţi se simt implicaţi, iarinteracţiunea creează o discuţie constructivă.

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3. Metodologie

Aflându-ne în faza preexperimentală, demersul pedagogic s-a desfăşurat ladouă clase din încadrare, clasa a VIII-a şi clasa a XI-a. Clasa a VIII-a este oclasă omogenă din punctul de vedere al rezultatelor la învăţătură, cu unnivel mediu în pregătirea şcolară, obţinând media 7,45 la teza la Limba şiliteratura română a semestrului I. Clasa a XI-a se caracterizează printr-ostructură eterogenă, corespunzătoare unei activităţi şcolare cu rezultate dela foarte slabe la bune (media 5,50 pe semestrul I). În general, clasa prezintădificultăţi la învăţătură şi disciplină, acesta fiind un motiv al alegerii eipentru cvasiexperiment. Nu am organizat clase de control, urmând carezultatele să fie comparate cu evoluţia claselor înseşi, de la o etapă la alta.Elevii celor două clase au utilizat smartphone-ul în rezolvarea unor testecu mai multe tipuri de itemi (alegere multiplă, adevărat sau fals) în activitateacurentă de la clasă, care au acoperit conţinuturile lecţiei („Romanul”),testele aplicându-se pe parcursul a trei săptămâni consecutive (Figurile nr.1-3). Numărul total al participanţilor a fost de 58, 28 la clasa a VIII-a şi 30la clasa a XI-a.

Cla

sa

Tot

al e

levi

Tot

al e

levi

prez

enţi

cudi

spoz

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mob

ile

Într

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. 1

Într

ebar

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. 2

Într

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e nr

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VIII 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28XI 30 20 19 19 20 19 18 19

Total 58 48 47 47 48 47 46 47

Tabelul nr. 1. - Sarcina de lucru nr. 1


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Într

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e nr

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Într

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Într

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e nr

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Într

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e nr

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Într

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Într

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Într

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Într

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Într

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XI 30 16 12 14 15 16 16 15 16 16 15 16 15



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XI 30 16 16 16 15 14 13

4. Prezentarea şi explicarea aplicaţiei didacticeexperimentate

4.1. Problematica şi identificarea nevoilor

Analizând contextul şcolar cotidian, se observă că majoritatea populaţieişcolare deţine astăzi telefoane inteligente pe care le foloseşte în mod curent.Interesul elevilor pentru smartphone, în timpul orei, poate deveni însăstânjenitor pentru profesor, care trebuie să facă faţă concurenţeimultitudinilor de tentaţii disponibile pe internet (Snapchat, Instagram, Twitteretc.). Apare problema câştigării bătăliei atenţiei elevilor pe care profesorul

146 STUDII EMPIRICE

trebuie să o ducă în fiecare clipă, pe parcursul unei lecţii. Soluţia o reprezintă,după părerea noastră, utilizarea unor strategii didactice care să includă acelemetode, tehnici şi mijloace ce trebuie să rezoneze cu sfera de interes aelevilor. Noi vedem tehnologia ca un facilitator al bunelor practici în procesulde predare şi învăţare şi, de aceea, ne preocupă în ce fel metodele şiinstrumentele de lucru utilizate la clasă pot fi adaptate la noile mijloace decomunicare, astfel încât interacţiunea profesor - elev să fie realizată într-omanieră mai constructivă şi mai motivantă. Demersul nostru se înscrie într-uncadru cvasiexperimental şi natural al cercetării care îşi propune să verificeurmătoarea ipoteză de lucru:

Dacă în ora de limba şi literatura română se utilizează sistemul de răspunsMentimeter, atunci ne putem aştepta la o îmbunătăţire a performanţelorelevilor şi la o creştere a motivaţiei pentru studiu. Alături de variabilaindependentă a cercetării, sistemul de răspuns Mentimeter, am reţinut câtevavariabile dependente ce ţin de stilul didactic, particularităţile elevilor, cât şivariabile de context, referitoare la spaţiul şcolar şi resursele materiale,deoarece profesorul trebuie să aibă acces la o sală de clasă dotată cucomputer, videoproiector, ecran de proiecţie, internet, iar elevii trebuie sădeţină un telefon conectat la internet.

4.2. Procedură. Mentimeter în lecţia de literatură

Înainte de aplicaţia didactică propriu-zisă, profesorul trebuie să-şi creezeun cont pe site-ul www.mentimeter.com, pentru înregistrare. Apoi, concepesetul de întrebări adecvate obiectivelor lecţiei. În timpul orei, se conecteazăla aplicaţia didactică creată şi le comunică elevilor codul care să le permităaccesul, prin telefon, la sarcinile de lucru. După un timp de reflecţie, eleviitrimit răspunsul, alegând varianta pe care o consideră corectă. Profesorulvizualizează statistica răspunsurilor. Urmează discuţii în care profesoruljustifică răspunsurile corecte şi constată, procentual, câţi elevi şi-au însuşitnoţiunile predate. Elevii scriu răspunsurile complete pe caiete. În final,profesorul permite vizualizarea răspunsurilor, pentru toţi elevii, pe ecran.

Cea mai mare parte a aplicaţiei noastre didactice a fost îndreptată, cuprecădere, spre crearea unor situaţii care să determine o mai mare implicarea elevului, stimulând interesul pentru lecţie şi interactivitatea.


Activitatea a început cu familiarizarea elevilor privind modalitatea deutilizare a telefonului în oră, prin intermediul aplicaţiei Mentimeter. Foarterepede, elevii au învăţat cum să se logheze la aplicaţie pe baza unui cod deutilizare. Cei care nu au avut telefon sau internet au lucrat în echipă cucolegul de bancă, selectând împreună răspunsul la întrebare. La clasele degimnaziu şi liceu, am optat pentru itemi cu alegere multiplă sau de tipuladevărat sau fals, care corespund unei variante de bacalaureat de tip grilă,subiectele I şi II, respectiv modelului de evaluare naţională. Sarcinile delucru au fost prezentate şi pe ecran cu ajutorul unui retroproiector, apoielevii şi-au exprimat, rând pe rând, opţiunile. Am analizat răspunsurileelevilor, urmărind statistica afişată de aplicaţia Mentimeter şi, apoi, amprezentat într-o discuţie amplă la nivelul întregii clase, varianta de răspunscorectă, justificând şi scriind la tablă rezolvarea completă.

4.2.1. Cărui model de lecţie îi este adecvat sistemul de răspunsMentimeter?

Acest demers pedagogic a presupus identificarea tipului de lecţiecorespunzător aplicaţiei, precum şi a rolului profesorului şi al elevilor.

Aplicaţia Mentimeter este adecvată, în special, modelului de lecţietehnocentric, fundamentat pe teoria neobehavioristă (Neacşu, 2015), cea acooperării operante a lui B.F. Skinner, însoţită cu unele elemente de feedback,ulterior primind un puternic impuls din partea teoriei informaţiei, asociatăcu valenţele experimentelor de instruire programată.

Atenţia noastră a fost orientată în direcţia „taylorizării” instruirii, adescompunerii actului de învăţare-predare în operaţii ce vor fi dispuse într-oordine optimă. Este un model de lecţie care conduce la îmbunătăţireaperformanţelor elevului şi ale profesorului, fiind centrat pe coacţiune.

Lecţia propriu-zisă presupune analiza, planificarea, identificareaconstrângerilor, care pornesc de la întrebările: Care sunt obiectivele vizate?Care sunt actorii implicaţi (numărul, vârsta, dotarea tehnică etc.)? Care suntnoile şi diversele nevoi ale educabililor? Care sunt aşteptările şi motivaţiilecolective şi individuale, în raport cu standardele programei şcolare?

148 STUDII EMPIRICE

4.2.2. Rolurile profesorului – contextualizare explicită

În principiu, putem vorbi despre gestionarea mai multor roluri aleprofesorului, care presupun alocarea unui număr mare de ore pentruconceperea şi integrarea întrebărilor în cadrul aplicaţiei: definireaoperaţională a obiectivelor; analiza riguroasă a conţinuturilor învăţării şi adificultăţilor pe care le prezintă; fragmentarea optimă a materiei şiorganizarea sistematică a operaţiilor de învăţare deduse din analiza amintită;tehnicizarea metodelor aplicate prin recurgerea la mijloacele de învăţământde tip digital; evaluarea atentă a eficienţei învăţării, bazată pe aplicareaunui control al rezultatelor performanţelor cu ajutorul unor instrumente demăsurare bine puse la punct; recursul frecvent la feedback adecvat operaţiilorimplicate în vederea reglării şi autoreglării continue a conexiunilor predăriicu învăţarea; crearea de itemi cu răspunsuri de tip grilă, care vizeazăstăpânirea conceptelor predate şi aplicarea acestora prin crearea de situaţiide învăţare creativă, nu numai algoritmizată; culegerea datelor şi analizalor; punerea elevului în acţiune, coresponsabilizarea faţă de calitateaeforturilor şi a cunoştinţelor sale.

4.2.3. Care sunt rolurile elevului?

La rândul lui, elevul trebuie să se angajeze în rezolvarea sarcinii de lucru,efectuând exerciţii şi construindu-şi astfel propria înţelegere asupraconceptelor învăţării. De asemenea, prin vizualizarea răspunsurilororganizate statistic, conştientizează propriul demers de învăţare, rezultatele,neajunsurile, îşi perfecţionează continuu tehnica de rezolvare, devenind activîn desfăşurarea lecţiei.

4.2.4. Aplicaţie specială

Un model comparativ operaţional cu sarcinile de lucru pentru subiectele Işi II, bacalaureat, modelate după varianta grilă (Sandu, 2002).

Derularea concretă a aplicaţiei o vom reproduce mai jos, pentru a se puteaobserva cum itemii propuşi şi răspunsurile elevilor sunt transpuse în


statisticile furnizate de aplicaţie. Menţionăm că textul-suport selectat dinromanul „Baltagul” de Mihail Sadoveanu nu a mai fost reprodus, dineconomie de spaţiu.

150 STUDII EMPIRICE

Figura nr. 1. Sarcina de lucru nr. 1 (clasele a VIII-a şi a XI-a)


Figura nr. 2. Sarcina de lucru nr. 2 (clasa a XI-a)

(continuare în pagina următoare)

2.1.

3.

(urmare din pagina precedentă)


152 STUDII EMPIRICE


5. Ce am descoperit? Prezentarea rezultatelor

Pentru a estima impactul Mentimeter în lecţie, am aplicat ancheta pe bazăde chestionar (după modelul Bojinova, Oigara, 2013) şi am folositmetoda observării calitative concretizată în notele cercetătorului şi înanaliza slide-urilor şi a prezentărilor obţinute prin aplicaţie.


Tabelul nr. 4. - Centralizator chestionare din cadrul anchetei

154 STUDII EMPIRICE

1 2 3 4 5

Nr.crt.

ÎntrebareTotalelevi

Dez

acor

dto

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acor

d

Neu

tru

Sunt

de

acor

d

Sunt

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acor

d fă

răre

zerv

e

1În general sunt satisfăcut cuutilizarea aplicaţiei Mentimeter 58 - - 2 10 46

2Aplicaţia Mentimeter a făcutora mai atractivă comparativ cuorele tradiţionale

58 - - 1 8 49

3

Utilizarea aplicaţiei Mentimetera îmbunătăţit gradul meu deimplicare în desfăşurareacursului

58 - - 3 7 48

4Distribuirea răspunsurilor claseiajută la creşterea încrederii mele 58 - - 0 11 47

5Discuţiile cu colegii mă ajută săînţeleg mai bine materia predată 58 - - 0 4 54

6Feed-back-ul imediat alprofesorului m-a ajutat săînţeleg conceptele

58 - - 0 3 55

7

Îmi place mai mult să particip înclasă cu aplicaţia Mentimetercomparativ cu ridicarea mâiniişi doresc să lucrez în continuare

58 - - 0 9 49

8Utilizarea aplicaţiei Mentimeterm-a motivat să studiez mai mult 58 - - 1 4 53

9Aplicaţia Mentimeter m-a ajutatsă înţeleg subiectele materieipredate

58 - - 0 5 53

10M-am simţit mai angajat înmunca din clasă 58 - - 2 6 50

Figura nr. 4. - Diagramă numerică - răspunsuri chestionar

Figura nr. 5. - Diagramă procentuală - răspunsuri chestionar


Tabelul nr. 5. - Tabel corespondent al diagramei procentuale

Scala 1 2 3 4 5

Întrebări Dezacordtotal

Dezacord NeutruSunt deacord

Sunt de acordfără rezerve

1 0% 0% 3% 17% 79%

2 0% 0% 2% 14% 84%

3 0% 0% 5% 12% 83%

4 0% 0% 0% 19% 81%

5 0% 0% 0% 7% 93%

6 0% 0% 0% 5% 95%

7 0% 0% 0% 16% 84%

8 0% 0% 2% 7% 91%

9 0% 0% 0% 9% 91%

10 0% 0% 3% 10% 86%

Rezultatele arată că utilizarea aplicaţiei Mentimeter a avut un impactsemnificativ şi pozitiv asupra elevilor atât din clasa de la gimnaziu, cât şidin clasa de la liceu.

Observaţiile noastre comparative pun în evidenţă că în practica tradiţională,verificarea cunoştinţelor este prima sau ultima parte a unei lecţii obişnuite/mixte. Procedeul curent folosit stă în examinarea şi notarea a 3-4 elevi în15-20 de minute sau, uneori, se adresează câteva întrebări şi celorlalţi eleviai clasei spre a-i determina să fie atenţi la răspunsurile elevilor. Procedeulare numeroase neajunsuri: nu poate antrena toţi elevii clasei într-o conlucrareactivă; menţine îngrijorarea elevilor faţă de verificare şi notare sau chiar îidetermină la calcule privind data ascultării sau nota pe care trebuie să oobţină; verificarea tradiţională contribuie, în măsură substanţială, lamenţinerea activităţii stereotipe de ascultare-predare; ea consumă o cantitatemare de timp (cel puţin o treime din timpul orei) cu un randament scăzut;euristica ce se practică la ascultare nu contribuie întotdeauna la învăţareaprin problematizare şi algoritmizare; se adaugă faptul că procedeul menţinerelaţii încordate, deseori conflictuale între profesori şi elevi şi cultivăinteresul mai mult pentru notă decât pentru învăţare.

156 STUDII EMPIRICE

Referitor la sistemul de răspuns Mentimeter, discuţiile cu elevii care autestat aplicaţia Mentimeter şi scurta anchetă (figurile nr. 5-7) care a urmat,au indicat că elevii s-au simţit mai angajaţi în activitatea din clasă (86%) şiau beneficiat imediat de un feedback din partea profesorului (95%), dorindsă lucreze şi în continuare cu această aplicaţie (84%), care nu presupune onotare, ci doar un feedback care conduce la conştientizarea şi stimulareaînvăţării. De asemenea, profesorul a putut constata imediat lacunele elevilorla sfârşitul orei de curs, ceea ce a permis intervenţia imediată pentru corijareaacestora şi formularea unor exerciţii viitoare care să permită consolidareacunoştinţelor. La teza din semestrul al doilea s-a constatat o îmbunătăţire arezultatelor elevilor pentru clasa a VIII-a (7,96) care nu este însă suficientde relevantă pentru studiul de faţă, deoarece toţi au fost interesaţi să înveţeîn vederea evaluării naţionale; clasa a XI-a nu a înregistrat o evoluţiesemnificativă, menţinând o constantă a mediei pe clasă.

În cadrul cvasiexperimentului didactic, s-a făcut constatarea că verificareaclasică orală a 3-4 elevi la fiecare lecţie consumă o mare cantitate de timp,rezultând o implicare redusă a elevilor, în timp ce prin aplicaţia Mentimetersunt implicaţi toţi elevii, într-un timp efectiv de lucru care se derulează peun interval de 3-5 minute, pe un număr de sarcini care pot varia de la 5întrebări la 20.

6. Concluzii preliminare, impact şi perspective aşteptate

Aplicaţia Mentimeter poate fi utilizată cu eficienţă şi uşurinţă în lecţiilededicate pregătirii examenelor de evaluare naţională şi bacalaureat.

Numărul elevilor care interacţionează este de 100% spre deosebire de situaţiaclasică, când verificarea orală presupune antrenarea a doar câtorva elevi.Este, de asemenea, şi un câştig de timp, deoarece într-un interval foartescurt se pot face mult mai multe exerciţii. Nu în ultimul rând, folosireatehnologiei îi entuziasmează pe elevi şi le focalizează atenţia pe sarcini delucru pe care trebuie să le rezolve în aşa fel încât să fie în pas cu întreagaclasă. De asemenea, nu au mai fost necesare costuri în ceea ce priveşteimprimarea fişelor de lucru. Acest studiu are şi limite impuse, în primulrând, de dotarea şcolii. Din cele două clase la care am folosit aplicaţia


Mentimeter, una nu avea internet, ceea ce a presupus deplasarea în cabinetulde chimie pentru accesul la internet şi videoproiector. De asemenea, amapelat, uneori, pentru accesul la internet şi la dispozitive personale. Nu toţielevii au telefon inteligent şi acces la internet.

Pe de altă parte, ar fi fost foarte bine pentru informare de a se ancheta eleviişi la începutul anului şcolar, nu numai în semestrul al doilea. Nivelul dedificultate a întrebărilor impune numărul acestora. Se pot formula trei-patruîntrebări pe oră de dificultate mai mare sau aproximativ 20 de întrebăriuşoare pentru a se înţelege un anumit concept. Cu această aplicaţie se potacoperi mai multe tipuri de activităţi didactice (reactualizarea cunoştinţelor,diagnosticul evaluării, evaluarea formativă, feedback-ul). Ceea ce amdescoperit a fost folosirea pozitivă a telefoanelor inteligente, în clasă,constatând că dăunător nu este faptul că elevii le folosesc, ci cât le folosescşi în ce scop.

Observaţiile noastre arată că, utilizând sistemul de răspuns Mentimeter înclasă, creşte învăţarea activă, elevii sunt mai angajaţi în procesul cognitivîn timpul învăţării. Mentimeter este doar unul din aceste instrumente ce sepoate adăuga ca alternativă la cele consacrate: Google Classroom, bibliotecadigitală, tabla interactivă etc. Putem observa cum informatica pedagogicătransformă şcoala şi modul de realizare mentală a unor operaţii fundamentale:cititul, scrisul, socotitul, transmiterea şi emiterea informaţiei. Definită dePatrick Mendelsohn (1992) la „A treia întâlnire francofonă de didactică ainformaticii”, informatica pedagogică este întâlnirea dintre o realitatepsihologică, un subiect care învaţă, şi instituţională, cadrul şcolar, spreexemplu, cu o realitate tehnologică, computerul şi limbajele sale.

Demersul nostru se înscrie în cadrul conceptului de practica reflectivă, fiindmenit „să monitorizeze, evalueze şi să reconsidere, în mod continuu, propriilepractici educaţionale” (Stăncescu, Drăghicescu & Petrescu, 2018). Acestproces reflectiv ne-a făcut să constatăm că „foarte adesea, elevii pe carenoi încercăm să-i inspirăm sunt cei care sfârşesc prin a ne inspira.” (SeanJunkins)3.Această experienţă pedagogică se înscrie în filozofia unei cercetăriinterdisciplinare care compară diferite tehnici de predare în diferite contextesau situaţii. Se confirmă valabilitatea afimaţiei că, în şcoală, metoda devinelucrul de căpetenie (Mihai Eminescu), nefiind vorba de conţinut, ci de

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abordarea acestuia. De asemenea, întrebarea este esenţială în lecţie, fiindcăaduce dialogul, activează elevul, transformându-l dintr-un public pasiv, înunul activ, capabil să interacţioneze, să acţioneze, să gândească şi să rezolveprobleme.

Note

1. Mihai Eminescu, „Timpul”, 9 august 1880, „D. Jules Ferry, ni se pare ...”2. Mark Hersam, profesor dr. ing, Universitatea Northwestern, https://

stiintasitehnica.com/nanotehnologie-interviu-mark-hersam/3. Sean Junkins, profesor, Whittemore Park Middle School, South Carolina,

https://sjunkins.wordpress.com

Referinţe

Bloom, B.S. (1984). The 2 sigma problem: The search for methods of groupinstruction as effective as one-to-one tutoring. Educational Researcher, 13(6),4-16.https://doi.org/10.2307/1175554.

Bocoş, M. (2017). Didactica disciplinelor pedagogice. Un model constructivist.Piteşti: Editura Paralela 45.

Bojinova, E., & Oigara, J. (2013). Teaching and Learning with Clickers inHigher Education. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in HigherEducation, 25(2), 154-165.

Bruff, D. (2009). Classroom response systems („Clickers”). VanderbiltUniversity. Published by Jossey-Bass

Clarke, S.L. (2017). Three Interactive Polling Tools Reviewed. Disponibil la:http://sydney.edu.au/education-portofolio/ei/teacheing@sydney/author/scla7456/

Constantinescu, R., & Dănăilă, I. (2013). Instrumente online – MicrosoftOutlook 2013. Bucureşti: Casa de Editură Euroaptitudini.

Cristea, S. (2000). Dicţionar de pedagogie. Chişinău, Bucureşti: Grupul EditorialLitera. Litera Internaţional.

Guthrie, R., & Carlin, A. (2004). Waking the dead: Using interactive technologyto engage passive listeners in the classroom. Proceedings of the 10th AmericasConference on Information Systems, New York, NY.

Johnson, J.T. (2005). Creating learner centered classrooms: Use of an audienceresponse system in pediatric dentistry education. Journal of Dental Education,69 (3).


Mendelsohn, P. (1992). L’ordinateur dans l’enseignment. Troisieme rencontrefrancophone de didactique de l’informatique, Jul 1992, Sion, Suisse. Disponibilla: https://edutice.archives-ouvertes.fr/edutice-00359178/document

Neacşu, I. (2015). Metode şi tehnici de învăţare eficientă. Fundamente şipractici de succes. Iaşi: Editura Polirom.

Rudolph, J. (2018). A brief review of Mentimeter – A student response system.Journal of Applied Learning & Teaching, 1(1). Disponibil la: http://journals.sfu.ca/jalt/index.php/jalt/article/view/6/2

Sandu, E. (2002). Literatură şi gramatică română – pentru gimnaziu şi examenulde capacitate. Iaşi: Editura Polirom.

Stăncescu, I., Drăghicescu, L.M., & Petrescu, A.M.A. (2018). Practica reflectivăa profesorului – o necesitate. Revista de pedagogie, 1, 93-109.

https://www.mentimeter.com










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ATITUDINEA ELEVILOR DE LICEU FAŢĂ DEUTILIZAREA TEHNOLOGIEI ÎN PROCESUL

EDUCAŢIONAL

Lavinia Drăgan*Universitatea din Bucureşti,

Facultatea de Sociologie şi Asistenţă Socială,Bucureşti, România

[email protected]

RezumatAceastă lucrare prezintă rezultatele unei anchete sociologice bazate pe tehnicasondajului de opinie, utilizând ca instrument chestionarul tematic. Atât prin modulde construire a eşantionului (eşantion de disponibilitate alcătuit dintr-un număr relativmic de subiecţi), cât şi prin analiza şi interpretarea datelor, prezenta cercetare esterelativ asemănătoare studiilor calitative. Chestionarul se adresează elevilor de liceuşi este elaborat cu scopul de a analiza percepţiile şi atitudinile acestora cu privire lautilizarea tehnologiei în procesul de învăţare şi evaluare. Am avut în vedere atâtgradul de utilizare a tehnologiei pentru studiul individual şi documentare, cât şinivelul de valorificare de către profesori şi elevi a acesteia în cadrul lecţiilor.Ancheta sociologică pe bază de chestionar surprinde şi modul în care respondenţiiprivesc felul în care tehnologia poate fi utilizată în domeniul predării ştiinţelorsocio-umane.Pornind de la dezvoltarea celor opt competenţe cheie stabilite în conformitate cunormele europene, am investigat modalitatea în care, pe lângă competenţele generaleşi specifice prevăzute de programa de sociologie, se poate urmări şi dezvoltareacompetenţelor digitale.Rezultatele cercetării indică un nivel crescut de receptivitate şi de interes din parteaelevilor faţă de integrarea tehnologiei în cadrul predării ştiinţelor socio-umane,precum şi o creştere a eficienţei în raport cu obiectivele didactice propuse.


* Drd., Facultatea de Sociologie şi Asistenţă Socială, Universitatea din Bucureşti,România.

De asemenea, se poate constata o creştere a motivaţiei intrinseci pentru studiu şiasumarea unui rol activ de către elevi pe parcursul procesului educaţional.În concluzie, integrarea tehnologiei în strategiile didactice utilizate în procesul depredare-învăţare-evaluare se dovedeşte a fi benefică, venind în egală măsură înîntâmpinarea nevoilor elevilor şi ale profesorilor.

Cuvinte-cheie: competenţe digitale, liceu, ştiinţe socio-umane, tehnologie.

AbstractThis paper takes into account the results of a sociological survey based on theopinion poll technique, using a thematic questionnaire. The sample construction(availability sample of a relatively small number of subjects) and the data analysisand interpretation make this research similar to qualitative studies. Thequestionnaire addresses high school students and it is designed to analyze theirperceptions and attitudes about the use of technology in learning and assessment.Both the degree of technology use during individual study and research and thelevel of capitalization by teachers and pupils during lessons were taken intoconsideration.The sociological survey also captures the respondents’ opinions on how technologycan be used in teaching social science.Taking into account the development of eight key competences established inaccordance with the European norms, the way in which digital competenciesdevelopment can be pursued – besides the general and specific competenciesprovided by the sociology curriculum – has been investigated.The research results indicate an increased level of students’ receptivity and interesttowards the integration of technology in teaching social science, as well as anincrease in efficiency regarding teaching aims and objectives.Also, an increase in learners’ intrinsic motivation to study and their willingness toplay an active role in the educational process can be observed.In conclusion, integrating technology into the teaching-learning-evaluation processproves to be beneficial, equally meeting the needs of students and teachers.

Keywords: digital competencies, highschool, social science, technology.

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Pornind de la precizarea conform căreia „Tehnologia pedagogică reprezintă„ansamblul tehnicilor şi cunoştinţelor practice imaginat pentru a organiza,atesta şi a asigura funcţionalitatea instituţiei şcolare la nivel de sistem (DeLandsheere, Gilbert, 1992, p. 294)”, pe care Sorin Cristea o prezintă înpreambulul definirii acestui concept în Dicţionar de termeni pedagogici(Cristea, 1998, p. 285) am derulat o cercetare empirică. În acest demers amavut în vedere două dintre cele patru dimensiuni operaţionale ale„conceptului de tehnologie a educaţiei/instruirii”, şi anume: „…pregătireaşi folosirea materialului pedagogic; aplicarea cunoştinţelor în activitateade învăţare” (Cristea, 1998, p.285).

Este de notorietate faptul că adolescenţii manifestă un interes deosebit faţăde tehnologia modernă, cu precădere pentru activităţi care ţin de domeniuldivertismentului, al comunicării interpersonale şi al informării curente,aspecte care ţin de educaţia non-formală şi de cea informală. Introducereamijloacelor tehnologice în sistemului educaţional formal reprezintă onecesitate şi vine în întâmpinarea acestui gen de interes din partea unuisegment social care se află în plin proces de formare.

Mai mult, abilitatea şi disponibilitatea tinerei generaţii – definită de MarcPrensky drept o generaţie de „nativi digitali” (Prensky, 2001) – pentruutilizarea mijloacelor tehnologice constituie o oportunitate care poate ficanalizată eficient, atât în scopul atingerii obiectivelor generale ale sistemuluieducaţional formal, cât şi pentru a consolida o conduită corectă de raportarela aceste modalităţi de comunicare şi de exprimare socială. Cu alte cuvinte,folosirea noilor tehnologii ar trebui să conducă la dobândirea unui nivel de„înţelepciune digitală”, concept atribuit tot de Marc Prensky persoanelorcare sunt capabile să utilizeze cu discernământ tehnologia digitală (Prensky,2009), astfel încât să poată selecta, tria şi ierarhiza în mod responsabilinformaţiile furnizate pe această cale.

Această problematică reprezintă un interes nu numai la nivel local, naţionalsau european, ci şi la nivel mondial. Este relevant în acest context raportulfinal al studiului „Internetul şi mediile de socializare virtuale în viaţaliceenilor”, realizat de Institutul de Ştiinţe ale Educaţiei şi publicat în 2017.În acest raport, capitolul Statistici comparative România – UniuneaEuropeană (pp.8-14), elaborat de Irina Boeru, ilustrează, prin date statistice,


situaţia existentă la nivelul ţării noastre sub acest aspect, iar capitolul Politicipublice în domeniul formării competenţelor digitale (pp.15-25), elaboratde Sorin Mitulescu şi Ioana Ştefănescu, prezintă cadrul general alpreocupărilor pentru acest domeniu atât la nivel naţional, cât şi la nivelinternaţional.

Este de remarcat faptul că încă din 2003, în procesul de parcurgere a etapelorde aderare la Uniunea Europeană, legislaţia românească urmăreşte integrareapoliticilor manifestate la nivel internaţional. Desigur, toţi aceşti paşi făcuţide România sunt foarte importanţi, însă procesul de dezvoltare şi schimbărilede natură tehnologică sunt deosebit de dinamice şi au un impact din ce în cemai amplu asupra vieţii de zi cu zi, inclusiv în ceea ce priveşte sistemul deînvăţământ.

În acest sens, în cadrul prezentei cercetări am avut în vedere faptul cămijloacele tehnologice reprezintă instrumente care pot susţine diferiteletipuri de activităţi şi în nici un caz nu le pot înlocui. Acestea, ca orice alteinstrumente, pot fi utilizate atât în scopuri benefice, cât şi reprobabile, însă,în orice caz fetişizarea sau blamarea lor constituie poziţii extreme care trebuieevitate.

Obiectivul acestei cercetări empirice este identificarea atitudinilor,percepţiilor şi a gradului de mulţumire a elevilor din ciclul superior alînvăţământului liceal cu privire la utilizarea mijloacelor tehnologice înprocesul educaţional formal.

Astfel, am optat pentru analiza preponderent calitativă a informaţiilorobţinute, folosind ca metodă de cercetare ancheta sociologică bazată petehnica sondajului de opinie, care a utilizat ca instrument un chestionaralcătuit din 10 întrebări, dintre care 9 închise şi o întrebare mixtă.

Chestionarul propus este structurat ţinând cont de patru dimensiunioperaţionale relevante în procesul de predare-învăţare-evaluare, iar rolulfiecăreia dintre ele este explicitat în cele ce urmează.

Prima dimensiune se referă la percepţiile şi atitudinile cu privire lautilizarea tehnologiei în procesul educaţional şi vizează identificarea

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gradului de disponibilitate a elevilor în raport cu introducerea noilortehnologii, ceea ce ar putea conduce la o implicare mai mare a acestora înactivitatea şcolară.

A doua dimensiune avută în vedere urmăreşte să surprindă gradul deutilizare a tehnologiei pentru studiul individual, documentare şievaluare, astfel încât metodele de predare să se armonizeze cu metodele destudiu utilizate frecvent de elevi.

Cea de-a treia dimensiune se axează pe elemente specifice cu privire lapercepţiile asupra nivelului de valorificare de către profesori şi elevi atehnologiei în cadrul lecţiilor, pentru a releva măsura în care aceasta vineîn sprijinul procesului de predare-învăţare-evaluare.

A patra dimensiune se referă la percepţiile elevilor asupra dezvoltăriicelor opt competenţe cheie stabilite în conformitate cu normeleeuropene, prin utilizarea mijloacelor tehnologice în procesuleducaţional, ceea ce urmăreşte evidenţierea rolului propriu-zis pe care îlpot deţine noile tehnologii în procesul educaţional în ansamblul său.

Această anchetă sociologică pe bază de chestionar vizează un eşantion dedisponibilitate, prin care se urmăreşte surprinderea aspectelor mai susenunţate, precum şi deschiderea unor noi direcţii de cercetare.

O limită a prezentei cercetări decurge din faptul că rezultatele anchetei nupot fi generalizate la întreaga populaţie pe care o reprezintă elevii de liceu,atât ca urmare a tipului de eşantion utilizat, cât şi a faptului că grupulinvestigat este alcătuit din doar 100 de elevi din ciclul liceal superior,rezidenţi în Bucureşti, cu vârste cuprinse între 16 şi 19 ani la data aplicăriichestionarului. De asemenea, o altă limită derivă din faptul că anchetasurprinde exclusiv opiniile elevilor, fără a investiga şi poziţia cadrelordidactice cu privire la tema cercetării.

Trebuie precizat faptul că datele înregistrate sunt raportate la numărul derăspunsuri acordate, acesta fiind variabil, deoarece la unele întrebărirespondenţii au putut opta pentru una sau mai multe variante de răspuns.


În cele ce urmează voi prezenta analiza răspunsurilor şi interpretarea datelorobţinute pentru fiecare dintre întrebările chestionarului pe tema percepţieielevilor de liceu asupra utilizării mijloacelor tehnologice în procesuleducaţional.

Întrebarea nr. 1. Marcaţi cât de frecvent sunt utilizate în timpul orelor decurs mijloacele tehnologice de uz comun (de exemplu: proiector, tablăinteractivă, monitor PC etc.).

Această întrebare vizează două dintre cele patru dimensiuni operaţionaleenunţate anterior şi anume: cea care are în vedere surprinderea percepţiilorşi atitudinilor elevilor cu privire la măsura utilizării tehnologiei în procesuleducaţional, precum şi cea referitoare la nivelul de valorificare de cătreprofesori şi elevi a tehnologiei în cadrul lecţiilor.

Astfel, în urma prelucrării datelor pentru această întrebare s-au obţinuturmătoarele rezultate, care reprezintă percepţia respondenţilor cu privirela frecvenţa utilizării mijloacelor tehnologice de uz comun în timpul orelorde curs: 8% frecvent, 47% uneori, 43% rareori, 1% niciodată, 1% N.Ş./N.R.

Se poate observa faptul că variantele de răspuns alese preponderent au valorifoarte apropiate, respectiv: 47% (uneori) şi 43% (rareori), situate la maredistanţă de celelalte variante, care înregistrează procente foarte scăzute,adică 8% (frecvent), 1% (niciodată) şi 1% (N.Ş./N.R.).

Rezultatele indică faptul că respondenţii percep utilizarea mijloacelortehnologice de uz comun într-o măsură moderată, acestea nefiind principalelemodalităţi de prezentare a informaţiilor în timpul orelor de curs.

Întrebarea nr. 2. Marcaţi cât de frecvent sunt utilizate în timpul orelor decurs mijloacele tehnologice de uz individual (de exemplu: mobil, tabletă,laptop etc.).

Întrebarea urmăreşte să surprindă dimensiunea operaţională referitoare lagradul de utilizare a tehnologiei pentru studiul individual, documentare şievaluare, iar analiza răspunsurilor de la această întrebare pune în evidenţă

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următoarele rezultate: 37% frecvent, 38% uneori, 25% rareori, 0%niciodată, 0% N.Ş./N.R.

Procentul cel mai ridicat îl deţine tot varianta uneori (38%), urmatăîndeaproape de această dată de varianta frecvent (37%), în timp ce variantarareori are, de asemenea, un scor ridicat (25%). Acest aspect relevă cămijloacele tehnologice de uz individual sunt folosite într-o mai mare măsurădecât cele de uz comun. De remarcat este că toţi respondenţii declară căfolosesc mai mult sau mai puţin mijloacele tehnologice în timpul orelor decurs, întrucât variantele niciodată şi N.Ş./N.R. întrunesc 0%.

Următoarele două întrebări pun în evidenţă aceleaşi două dimensiunioperaţionale, care au în vedere percepţia respondenţilor asupra importanţeiutilizării noilor tehnologii, atât în diferite etape ale studiului individual, câtşi în cadrul procesului de predare-învăţare-evaluare de la clasă.

Întrebarea nr. 3. Marcaţi scopurile pentru care utilizaţi mijloaceletehnologice în procesul de învăţare.

În ceea ce priveşte scopurile pentru care elevii utilizează mijloaceletehnologice în procesul de învăţare, din totalul celor 169 de răspunsuri arezultat următoarea distribuţie de procente: 48,5% documentare, 17,2%redactare, 28,4% prezentare/expunere, 5,3% altele şi anume care? ……,0,6% N.Ş./N.R.

Dintre variantele de răspuns, ponderea cea mai ridicată o deţine opţiuneadocumentare (48,5%), urmată de prezentare/expunere (28,4%) şi deredactare (17,2%). Trebuie subliniat faptul că elevii declară că folosescmijloacele tehnologice preponderent în scopul documentării şi mult maipuţin pentru celelalte două.

Referitor la varianta altele şi anume care? (5,3%), răspunsurile se grupeazăîn două mari categorii: una care vizează tot documentarea (de exemplu:„timp rapid de aflarea informaţiilor”/„pentru orice, chiar şi pentru teme”),iar cealaltă care indică o neînţelegere a sensului întrebării (de exemplu:„interes personal”/„distracţie”/„muzică”).


Varianta de răspuns N.Ş./N.R. înregistrează un scor nesemnificativ de0,6%.

Întrebarea nr. 4. Ordonaţi în funcţie de importanţă scopurile pentru careutilizaţi mijloacele tehnologice (1 = cel mai important, 3 = cel mai puţinimportant).

În mod similar, la această întrebare observăm că se menţine aceeaşi ierarhiea scopurilor principale pentru care respondenţii utilizează mijloaceletehnologice în procesul educaţional (documentare, prezentare/expunere,redactare), precum şi aceeaşi pondere a rezultatelor.

Astfel, respondenţii acordă în proporţie de 72% locul întâi (cel maiimportant) pentru documentare, în timp ce 17% dintre respondenţi plaseazăaceastă variantă pe locul al doilea şi doar 6% pe locul al treilea (cel maipuţin important).

Varianta de răspuns prezentare/expunere este aleasă pentru a doua poziţiede 42% dintre respondenţi, iar 35% îi acordă locul al treilea şi doar 18%locul întâi.

Pentru redactare, 55% acordă locul trei, considerând că acest scop este celmai puţin important, în condiţiile în care 36% îl plasează pe locul al doileaşi numai 4% îl percep ca fiind cel mai important.

Trebuie menţionat că 3% dintre respondenţi au dat răspunsuri nevalide şi2% au optat pentru varianta N.Ş./N.R.

Întrebarea nr. 5. Cât consideraţi că vă motivează utilizarea mijloacelortehnologice în timpul orelor de curs?

Dimensiunea operaţională referitoare la percepţiile şi atitudinile cu privirela utilizarea tehnologiei în procesul educaţional este relevată şi de aceastăîntrebare, care în acest caz sondează punctual motivaţia elevilor înlegătură cu acest aspect. Astfel, în urma prelucrării datelor s-au obţinuturmătoarele rezultate: 38% mult, 45% moderat, 10% puţin, 5% deloc,2% N.Ş./N.R.

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Se observă că cei mai mulţi dintre respondenţi consideră că utilizareamijloacelor tehnologice în timpul orelor de curs îi motivează moderat(45%) şi mult (38%), în timp ce la o distanţă semnificativă îi întâlnim pecei care se declară puţin (10%) şi deloc (5%) motivaţi. Doar 2% dintrerespondenţi au optat pentru varianta N.Ş./N.R..

Numărul celor care se declară puţin şi deloc motivaţi poate indica faptul cămijloacele tehnologice în sine nu sunt suficiente pentru a stimula activitateaelevilor în timpul orelor de curs.

Trebuie precizat faptul că în elaborarea chestionarului s-au avut în vedereatât complexitatea procesului de învăţare, cât şi diferitele aspecte aleimplementării şi utilizării tehnologiei moderne în actul educaţional. Acestaspect a determinat ca formularea primelor cinci întrebări să evidenţiezenumai una sau două dintre dimensiunile operaţionale amintite, în timp cefiecare dintre următoarele cinci întrebări, ale căror rezultate vor fi prezentateîn continuare, conduc la concluzii relevante pentru toate cele patrudimensiuni semnificative în procesul de predare-învăţare-evaluare.

Întrebarea nr. 6. Cât consideraţi că vă ajută utilizarea mijloacelortehnologice în procesul de învăţare?

Percepţia respondenţilor cu privire la ajutorul oferit de utilizarea mijloacelortehnologice în procesul de învăţare înregistrează următoarele rezultate:61% mult, 33% moderat, 3% puţin, 2% deloc, 1% N.Ş./N.R.

Majoritatea elevilor susţin că mijloacele tehnologice îi ajută mult (61%), întimp ce 33% declară că acestea îi ajută moderat. La distanţă considerabilăse situează scorurile obţinute pentru variantele de răspuns puţin (3%) şideloc (2%). Varianta N.Ş./N.R. a înregistrat 1%.

Întrebarea nr. 7. Marcaţi gradul de mulţumire faţă de orele de curs încare sunt utilizate mijloacele tehnologice.

Prelucrarea datelor referitoare la gradul de mulţumire a elevilor faţă deorele de curs în care sunt utilizate mijloacele tehnologice evidenţiază


următoarele rezultate: 43% ridicat, 50% mediu, 5% scăzut, 2% N.Ş./N.R.

Jumătate dintre respondenţi manifestă un grad mediu de mulţumire (50%),fiind urmaţi îndeaproape de cei care exprimă un grad ridicat de mulţumire(43%) în ceea ce priveşte utilizarea mijloacelor tehnologice în orele decurs. Se observă şi faptul că cele două variante de răspuns care însumează opondere considerabilă indică o deschidere a elevilor pentru utilizareamijloacelor tehnologice în procesul educaţional şi doar 5% dintre respondenţimanifestă un grad scăzut de mulţumire. Varianta de răspuns N.Ş./N.R. areun procent de 2%.

Întrebarea nr. 8. Pentru care dintre următoarele tipuri de activităţi şcolareutilizaţi mijloacele tehnologice?

La această întrebare respondenţii au putut opta pentru una sau mai multevariante de răspuns, ceea ce a generat următoarea frecvenţă a celor 116răspunsuri consemnate: 60,3% predominant teoretice, 14,7% predominantpractice, 19,8% predominant creative, 5,2% N.Ş./N.R.

Se poate remarca ponderea detaşată a opţiunilor pentru utilizarea mijloacelortehnologice în cazul activităţilor şcolare predominant teoretice (60,3%), pelocul al doilea situându-se activităţile predominant creative (19,8%), urmatede cele predominant practice (14,7%). În acest caz se înregistrează unprocent relativ ridicat de non-răspunsuri (5,2%).

Întrebarea nr. 9. Cum apreciaţi folosirea mijloacelor tehnologice înpredarea ştiinţelor socio-umane?

Percepţia elevilor faţă de folosirea mijloacelor tehnologice în predareaştiinţelor socio-umane este relevată de următoarele procente: 85% utilă,3% inutilă, 11% N.Ş./N.R., 1% răspunsuri nevalide.

Un procent foarte ridicat de respondenţi (85%) apreciază că folosirea acestormijloace este utilă în predarea ştiinţelor socio-umane, în contrast cu 3%,care o percep ca inutilă. Un aspect surprinzător îl constituie nivelul mare denon-răspunsuri (11%) la care se adaugă şi 1% răspunsuri nevalide.

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Întrebarea nr. 10. Pe lângă competenţele digitale, care dintre competenţelestabilite în conformitate cu normele europene pentru educaţia şi formareape tot parcursul vieţii, consideraţi că vă sunt dezvoltate prin utilizareamijloacelor tehnologice în cadrul orelor de curs?

În urma prelucrării datelor care reprezintă percepţiile elevilor cu privire larolul mijloacelor tehnologice în dezvoltarea altor competenţe, pe lângă celedigitale, au rezultat 290 de răspunsuri, deoarece întrebarea permitea opţiunimultiple. Astfel, s-au obţinut următoarele rezultate: 8,3% comunicarea înlimba maternă, 30,7% comunicarea în limbi străine, 5,9% competenţematematice şi competenţe de bază în ştiinţă şi tehnologie, 11,7% a învăţasă înveţi, 15,9% competenţe sociale şi civice, 14,1% spirit de iniţiativăşi antreprenoriat, 13,1% sensibilitate şi exprimare culturală, 0,3% N.Ş./N.R.

Cel mai ridicat procent se observă la comunicarea în limbi străine (30,7%), întimp ce valorile cele mai scăzute sunt înregistrate pentru competenţematematice şi competenţe de bază în ştiinţă şi tehnologie (5,9%) şicomunicarea în limba maternă (8,3%). Pentru celelalte patru competenţes-au obţinut rezultate relativ apropiate. Astfel, pentru a învăţa să înveţi –11,7%, pentru competenţe sociale şi civice – 15,9%, pentru spirit de iniţiativăşi antreprenoriat – 14,1% şi pentru sensibilitate şi exprimare culturală –13,1%. Un procent nesemnificativ îl reprezintă varianta N.Ş./N.R., pentrucare s-a optat în proporţie de 0,3%.

Concluziile cercetării empirice care se desprind din prelucrarea datelorobţinute în urma aplicării acestui chestionar sunt prezentate în cele ceurmează.

Măsura în care sunt folosite mijloacele tehnologice în procesul educaţionalformal le permite elevilor de liceu din eşantionul investigat să formulezeaprecieri referitoare la acest aspect. Astfel, în raport cu situaţiile în careacestea sunt utilizate, rezultă că cele de uz comun sunt folosite într-o maimică măsură în timpul orelor de curs (vezi frecvenţele pentru întrebarea 1:47% uneori şi 43% rareori), spre deosebire de cele de uz individual (vezifrecvenţele de la întrebarea 2: 38% uneori şi 37% frecvent).


Pe de o parte, atitudinea deschisă şi dorinţa clar exprimată de elevi pentruutilizarea mijloacelor tehnologice nu numai pentru divertisment, relaxaresau ca mediu de socializare, ci şi în procesul educaţional formal, reiese dinvalorile ridicate (45% moderat şi 38% mult) obţinute la întrebarea 5referitoare la gradul de motivare pentru utilizarea mijloacelor tehnologiceîn timpul orelor de curs. Pe de altă parte, la aceeaşi întrebare, procentulrespondenţilor care se declară puţin (10%) şi deloc (5%) motivaţi se poateexplica prin faptul că simpla utilizare a mijloacelor tehnologice nu estesuficientă pentru a asigura implicarea mai activă a elevilor la orele decurs.

O altă idee care rezultă din răspunsurile elevilor (vezi răspunsurile de laîntrebarea 8) este aceea că mijloacele tehnologice sunt insuficient folositeîn cadrul activităţilor predominant practice (14,7%) şi predominant creative(19,8%), spre deosebire de cele predominant teoretice (60,3%), care sesituează pe primul loc la distanţă mare. De asemenea, se poate observa căaceste valori corelează cu cele obţinute la întrebările 3 şi 4, referitoare lascopurile utilizării mijloacelor tehnologice, la care respondenţii considerăactivitatea de documentare ca fiind cea mai importantă (48,5% la întrebarea3), plasând-o pe prima poziţie în opţiunile lor la întrebarea 4.

Un aspect îmbucurător este cel relevat de răspunsurile la întrebarea 10,care dovedesc că respondenţii conştientizează faptul că utilizarea mijloacelortehnologice contribuie la consolidarea generală a competenţelor stabilite înconformitate cu normele europene pentru educaţia şi formarea pe totparcursul vieţii, ceea ce ar trebui să constituie o încurajare pentru dotareaunităţilor de învăţământ în vederea asigurării unui cadru atractiv pentruelevi şi din acest punct de vedere.

În acelaşi context se poate plasa şi interpretarea răspunsurilor de la întrebarea9, la care majoritatea elevilor (85%) sunt de părere că utilizarea mijloacelortehnologice în cadrul orelor de ştiinţe socio-umane este utilă, ceea ce poateconduce la oportunitatea înfiinţării în viitor a unor laboratoare/cabinetedestinate disciplinelor din această arie curriculară. Dotarea acestora cusisteme audio-video care să faciliteze experimentarea unor procedurispecifice (anchete sociologice, interpretări ale datelor obţinute dinchestionare, prezentări video ale unor cazuistici sociale), ar putea permite

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ca activitatea teoretică să-şi găsească o prelungire cu caracter aplicativ,specifică vieţii curente.

O concluzie cu caracter general şi în egală măsură o atenţionare pentrusistemul educaţional formal o reprezintă prioritatea opţiunii elevilor înutilizarea mijloacelor tehnologice cu scopul principal de documentare.Această situaţie poate conduce la ideea falsă că ar exista o echivalenţă întreexpunerea conţinuturilor aferente disciplinelor şcolare şi informaţiile, nuîntotdeauna corecte, obţinute prin intermediul mijloacelor tehnologice. Înfapt, cele două modalităţi de informare nu se exclud, ci dimpotrivă, sepotenţează reciproc.

Deoarece în prezent sistemul educaţional formal nu mai deţine monopolulasupra furnizării informaţiilor, acestuia îi revine rolul de a îi învăţa pe elevicum să gestioneze procesul de documentare, diminuând astfel riscul deutilizare a unor informaţii viciate furnizate din varii surse, inclusiv din zonainternetului.

Mulţumiri:

Mulţumesc tuturor elevilor care au acceptat să participe la această cercetare,prin răspunsurile acordate la chestionar.

Referinţe

Boeru, I., Dalu, A.M., Iftode, O., Manu, M., Mitulescu, S., Neacşu-Dalu, C.C.,Plăeşu, A., & Ştefănescu, I. (2017). Internetul şi mediile de socializare virtualeîn viaţa liceenilor. Bucureşti. Disponibil la https://www.ise.ro/internetul-si-mediile-de-socializare-virtuale-in-viata-liceenilor (accesat la 31.05.2019).

Cristea, S. (1998). Dicţionar de termeni pedagogici. Bucureşti: Editura Didacticăşi Pedagogică.

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. In: On the Horizon,MCB University Press (Vol.9, No.5). MCB University Press.https://doi.org/10.1108/10748120110424816.

Prensky, M. (2009). H. Sapiens Digital: From Digital Immigrants and DigitalNatives to Digital Wisdom.











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PERSPECTIVA ŞI EFECTELE UTILIZĂRIICURSURILOR DE ROBOTICĂ ÎN EDUCAŢIA

ŞCOLARILOR

Ana-Maria Popa*Universitatea din Bucureşti,

Facultatea de Psihologie şi Ştiinţele Educaţiei, Bucureşti, România

[email protected]

RezumatAceastă cercetare s-a concentrat pe explorarea modului în care introducerea cursurilorde robotică în şcoală poate îmbunătăţi procesul instructiv-educativ, în special îndirecţia antrenării copiilor către abilităţile specifice secolului 21, dar şi datorităroboticii care atrage din ce în ce mai mult. La această cercetare au participat douăgrupuri de elevi de la o şcoală de stat din Bucureşti: Şcoala Gimnazială Nr. 195.Grupul experimental a participat la cursul de Robotică şi grupul de control a participatla un curs de Matematică Aplicată în Transmiterea Mişcării, pe o perioadă de şaptesăptămâni, în anul 2017. În momentul respectiv, elevii din ambele grupuri erauclasa a III-a, iar media lor de vârstă era de 9-10 ani. Grupul care a desfăşurat cursulde Robotică a fost compus din 33 elevi, iar grupul care a desfăşurat cursul deMatematică Aplicată în Transmiterea Mişcării a fost compus din 37 elevi.Pentru această cercetare s-au utilizat kiturile furnizate de compania LEGO de tipulLEGO Mindstorm, acestea permiţând elevilor lucrul în echipă. Astfel, s-a facilitatînţelegerea noţiunilor de bază, iar copiii au reuşit ulterior să-şi exprime şi să-şidezvolte ideile proprii. Noţiunile de robotică, conceptele tehnologice de bază aufost uşor asimilate de grupele de elevi cu media de vârstă 10 ani. Dezbaterile dintreelevi, rezolvarea problemelor matematice, munca în echipă, valorificarea interesuluipe care copiii îl aveau pentru designul roboţilor, demonstrează că robotica este odisciplină ce câştigă teritoriu.


* Drd., Facultatea de Psihologie şi Ştiinţele Educaţiei, Universitatea din Bucureşti,România.

Cuvinte-cheie: copii, matematică, probleme, rezolvare, robotică.

AbstractThis research has focused on exploring how the introduction of robotics classes inschool can improve the educational process, especially in the direction of teachingchildren with the abilities of the 21st century, due to the new robotics that areattracting more and more. Two groups of students from a state school in Bucharest,Secondary School Nr. 195, participated in this research. The experimental groupparticipated in the Robotics course and the control group participated in a courseon Applied Mathematics in Transmission of the Movement, over a seven weeksperiod, in the year 2017. At that time, the students in both groups were in 3rdgrade, their average ages was 9-10 years. The group that conducted the Roboticscourse had 33 students, and the group that developed the Applied Mathematicscourse in Transmitting the Movement had 37 students.For this research, LEGO kits such as Lego Mindstorm have been used andassimilated, allowing students to work in teams. This facilitated the understandingof the basic notions, and the children subsequently succeeded in expressing anddeveloping their own ideas. The notions of robotics, the basic technological conceptshave been easily assimilated by groups of students aged 10. Student debates,mathematical problem solving, teamwork, and the interest of children in the processof designing robots shows that robotics is a winning discipline.

Keywords: children, math, problems, robotics, solution.

1. Scopul şi semnificaţia cercetării

Obiectivul principal al acestei cercetări exploratorii este acela de a observaprocesul prin care copiii îşi formează abilităţi tehnologice şi implementeazăsoluţii la problemele întâlnite, atât pentru cele din sfera tehnologiei, cât şipentru cele matematice, creându-se în felul acesta o finalitate imediată întreteorie şi practică. Proiectarea acestui curs urmăreşte să observe dacă construirearoboţilor poate fi un mijloc pedagogic în procesul instructiv-educativ al elevilordin clasele primare. Studiul îşi propune să stabilească nivelul de atracţie alcopiilor în activitatea practică de design al roboţilor, să determineconsecinţele pe care le are metoda rezolvării problemelor tehnologice asupraperformanţelor elevilor participanţi la curs, dar şi să măsoare gradul deschimbare a percepţiei părinţilor elevilor participanţi la cele două cursuri,înainte şi după finalizarea lor.

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Datorită faptului că tot mai mulţi părinţi aleg să-şi înscrie copiii la cursuride robotică, dar şi pentru că cercetările academice pe această temă suntdestul de rare, în momentul actual un studiu care să măsoare efectele roboticiiîn dezvoltarea şi educaţia copiilor este binevenit. De asemenea, aceastăcercetare exploratorie îşi propune să observe partea pozitivă a utilizăriitehnologiei de către copii, atât din punctul de vedere al dezvoltării cognitive,dar şi sociale (DePorter, 2001).

2. Programul Lego Mindstorm

Cu ajutorul acestui kit de tip Lego Mindstorm, copiii învaţă lucruri referitoarela modurile de transmitere a mişcării, construind roboţei care se deplaseazăcu ajutorul bateriilor şi motoarelor Lego. Copiilor li se prezintă şi li seexplică teme din domeniile ştiinţei, tehnologiei şi matematicii prin utilizareajocurilor şi modelelor aplicative (Robinson, 2005). Acest curs nu vizeazădoar distracţia, ci şi îmbogăţirea cunoştinţelor, dezvoltarea gândirii şi acreativităţii. Procesul de învăţare este susţinut de calculator. Această nouăabordare face ca procesul de construcţie a diferitelor mecanisme să fie maiatractiv şi îi ajută pe copii să îşi dezvolte orientarea în spaţiu. După efectuareafiecărei etape a construcţiei, softul instalat pe calculator permite rotireamodelului la 360 grade, astfel încât copiii să poată descoperi fiecare detaliual mecanismului şi să poată studia cu uşurinţa interacţiunea şi legăturiledintre piesele componente. (http://mindstormes.lego.com/)

3. Rezolvarea problemelor şi tehnologia

Folosirea elementelor de tehnologie ca mijloc de rezolvare a problemelormatematice a căpătat din ce în ce mai mult teritoriu, popularitate şi importanţăodată cu apariţia calculatoarelor performante şi a diverselor aplicaţii. Înprezent, există jocuri video care le oferă copiilor diverse modalităţi de aînţelege o problemă şi de a elabora strategii de rezolvare (Wegerif, 2002).Un procedeu prin care profesorii pot înlesni abilităţile elevilor de a rezolvaproblemele este acela de a-i îndruma pe aceştia să nu se orienteze pe rezultate,ci pe procese. În cartea Mindfulness, apărută la New York în 1989, EllenLangers a dezbătut această problemă, autoarea îndemnând cadrele didactice

să-i încurajeze pe elevi să se orienteze asupra modului în care pot rezolva oanumită problemă, şi nu să piardă timp preţios gândindu-se dacă pot ajungela rezultatul corect (Langers, 1989). Puţin mai târziu, un alt psihologamerican, William Huitt, vorbea în lucrarea Critical thinking: An overviewdespre puterea creativităţii pe care o demonstrează persoanele care arată căse descurcă în rezolvarea problemelor matematice, el numind creativitateaca fiind un mijloc deosebit de rezolvare a problemelor. Astăzi, persoaneledespre care se spune că au succes atât în viaţa personală, cât şi în ceaprofesională, pot fi caracterizate ca persoane care îşi pun şi identificăprobleme, explorează rezolvări variate, folosesc adecvat strategii de gândire,antrenând în felul acesta întregul proces metacognitiv (Huitt, 1999).

În lucrarea Blocks to robots: Learning with technology in the early childhoodclassroom (2008), Bers scria că deşi este esenţial să se ofere oportunităţi deînvăţare studenţilor pentru a crea proiecte tehnologice, bazate pe ideile şiinteresele acestora, în anumite situaţii, chiar dacă ideile lor sunt inovatoare,acestea se pot pierde fără o îndrumare adecvată şi fără un plan concret.Acest lucru se întâmplă, pentru că este posibil că ei să nu aibă încă formatăabilitatea de a face ca propriile idei să capete viaţă. Pentru învăţarea bazatăpe proiect, în special, în cazul elevilor şi studenţilor neexperimentaţi, unaspect important este construcţia scenariului de lucru. În mediul de lucru alînvăţării bazate pe proiect, rolul profesorului este esenţial, acesta devenindun mediator sau facilitator al echipei (Bers, 2008).

4. Metodologie

În prezentul studiu, accentul a fost pus pe stilurile de soluţionare aproblemelor tehnologice şi pe performanţa atinsă de către elevi în cadrulcursului de robotică. Cursul s-a desfăşurat pe parcursul a şapte săptămâni.S-au folosit instrumente de cercetare precum: chestionare pre-test şi post-test,atât pentru elevi, cât şi pentru părinţii acestora, câte 15 interviuri la fiecaregrupă şi observaţii consemnate la sfârşitul fiecărui curs de către toţielevii. Chestionarele au fost aplicate la începutul şi la sfârşitul cursuluiatât elevilor, cât şi părinţilor acestora. La această cercetare au participatdouă grupuri de elevi: grupul experimental a participat la cursul de Roboticăşi grupul de control a participat la un curs de Matematică Aplicată în

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Transmiterea Mişcării. Elevii din ambele grupuri erau clasa a III-a, iar medialor de vârstă era de 9-10 ani. Grupul care a desfăşurat cursul de Robotică aavut 33 elevi, iar grupul care a desfăşurat cursul de Matematică Aplicată înTransmiterea Mişcării a avut 37 elevi.

Înainte de începerea cursurilor a fost obţinută aprobarea administrativă aşcolii şi cea a părinţilor.

4.1. Metodele utilizate

Studiul a adoptat o metodologie mixtă, atât cantitativă cât şi calitativă, cuscopul de a expune cât mai multe aspecte ale procesului de învăţare, în modspecial gândurile şi acţiunile copiilor în relaţie cu munca din cadrulproiectului şi sentimentele dobândite de elevi.

Elevii au completat aceleaşi chestionare la începutul şi sfârşitul cursuluidesemnat primului grup, experimental (în Robotică) şi a celuilalt grup, decontrol (în Matematică Aplicată în Transmiterea Mişcării) într-un număregal de expresii. Părinţii elevilor au completat şi ei chestionare înainte deînceperea cursului şi după finalizarea lui. Chestionarele adresate părinţilorvizează încrederea în curs şi efectele asimilării cunoştinţelor tehnologice şiştiinţifice observate la copii în timpul şi după finalizarea cursului.Semnificaţia diferenţei medii între fiecare din cele două grupe a fostexaminată.

În acest studiu de cercetare, pentru chestionarele adresate părinţilor a fostutilizată scala Likert pe 5 niveluri unde: 1 = sunt deplin de acord, 2 = suntde acord în linii mari, 3 = am o părere oarecum diferită, 4 = nu sunt îngeneral de acord, 5 = nu sunt deloc de acord. Pentru chestionarele adresateelevilor s-a utilizat scala Guttman pe două niveluri: cu răspunsuri de tipulDa/Nu.

Această cercetare este în primul rând centrată pe procesele de lucru aleelevilor, pe modelele realizate de ei şi pe reflecţia pe care au avut-o lucrărilelor asupra cursului. Strângerea datelor a avut ca scop urmărirea activităţilorelevilor în sala de clasă, felul în care au abordat temele în mod individual şiîn echipă, procesele de completare a sarcinilor trasate şi textele expunerilorpe care le-au pregătit spre prezentare în clasă.


4.2. Analiza datelor

În prima etapă, datele au fost introduse în programul computerizat Excel,iar apoi, în a doua etapă, datele statistice au fost transferate pentru analizăîntr-un program de statistică. Pentru a demonstra cât mai multe faţete posibileale procesului de învăţare, în mod deosebit a sentimentelor şi gândurilorelevilor faţă de munca lor, cercetarea a adoptat şi o metodologie calitativă.Colectarea datelor a avut ca scop observarea activităţilor elevilor în clasă,felul lor de a participa la sarcinile de lucru în mod individual şi în echipă.Toate aceste date au fost colectate prin completarea unui jurnal al clasei lasfârşitul fiecărei şedinţe de lucru.

4.3. Ipoteza şi variabilele cercetării

Ipoteză: Dacă elevii participă la cursul de Robotică, atunci aceştia vor dadovadă de un grad de implicare şi motivare mai mare în participarea laactivităţi faţă de elevii care participă la cursurile de Matematică Aplicată înTransmiterea Mişcării.

Variabile:

Independente: participarea elevilor la cursul de Robotică sau la cel deMatematică Aplicată în Transmiterea Mişcării.

Dependente: gradul de implicare şi motivaţia elevilor implicaţi.Studiul se axează pe răspunsul la următoarele întrebări:1) Pot fi găsite diferenţe în dezvoltarea motivaţiei de învăţare a matematicii

pe parcursul desfăşurării celor două cursuri?2) Dau dovadă elevii participanţi la cursul de Robotică de un grad mai

mare de implicare şi entuziasm în rezolvarea sarcinilor de lucru?3) Părinţii elevilor participanţi la cursuri observă efecte pozitive de

comportament şi relaţionare ale copiilor în timpul şi după finalizareacursurilor. Dacă da, care din cele două cursuri este mai productiv, dinacest punct de vedere?

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5. Interpretarea calitativă şi cantitativă a datelor

5.1. Interpretarea calitativă a datelor

La ambele grupe, atât cel de Robotică, cât şi cel de Matematică Aplicată înTransmiterea Mişcării, s-a ţinut, pe parcursul celor 7 săptămâni de curs, unjurnal al clasei în care elevii şi-au notat impresiile despre curs, ce au învăţatşi ce le-a plăcut din conţinutul şi modul de desfăşurare a fiecărui curs înparte. Jurnalul s-a ţinut atât în forma individuală, cât şi colectivă. La sfârşitulcursurilor, elevilor li s-au luat scurte interviuri care au vizat observareaatingerii obiectivelor cursurilor. Din interpretarea datelor din jurnale/interviuri, s-au putut extrage următoarele concluzii:- Copiii aşteptau cu mai mult interes şi entuziasm desfăşurarea cursului

de Robotică decât a celui de Matematică Aplicată în TransmitereaMişcării.

- Din datele jurnalelor copiilor s-a observat o mai mare motivaţie şi plăcerea elevilor de la Robotică de a participa la următorul curs, decât a elevilorcare participau la cursul de Matematică Aplicată în Transmiterea Mişcării.

- Nu s-au semnalat absenţe şi întârzieri la cursul de Robotică, în schimbla cursul de Matematică Aplicată în Transmiterea Mişcării, 10 din cei 37copii au avut cel puţin o absenţă şi s-au semnalat şi întârzieri la curs,având în vedere că cele două ore s-au ţinut în afara programuluiobligatoriu de şcoală.

- Copiii au prezentat un grad mai mare de curiozitate în cadrul cursului deRobotică. Această constatare a putut fi observată prin frecvenţaîntrebărilor pe care copiii le puneau profesorilor, dar şi prin timpul alocatacasă documentării suplimentare despre temele cursurilor. 20 dintre cei33 copii participanţi la cursul de Robotică au declarat că au urmăritacasă filmuleţe despre Lego Mindstorm, pe când doar 5 dintre cei 37copii participanţi la cursul de Matematică Aplicată în TransmitereaMişcării au declarat că au pus întrebări părinţilor despre mecanismelede transmitere de la diferite aparate sau au căutat pe internet informaţiisuplimentare despre mişcare şi mecanismele ei.

- La finalul celor două cursuri au fost intervievaţi câte 7 părinţi ai elevilorparticipanţi la ambele cursuri. Toţi cei 7 părinţi ai copiilor participanţi lacursul de Robotică au afirmat că au sesizat la elevi entuziasm şi interesatunci când povesteau acasă despre curs, iar 3 din cei 7 au declarat că au


achiziţionat câte un robot de tip Lego Mindstorm, astfel încât copiii săpoată exersa şi acasă ce învaţă la şcoală. În schimb, 4 din cei 7 părinţi aicopiilor participanţi la cursul de Matematică Aplicată în TransmitereaMişcării au afirmat că au sesizat la propriii copii sentimentul că percepca pe o obligaţie participarea la curs.

- Chiar dacă programul Lego se prezintă ca unul de construcţie şi design,deseori copiii care au participat la cursul de Robotică şi-au proiectat întimpul liber diverse modele de roboţei, pe care i-ar fi putut construi cuajutorul pieselor din kit. În timpul cursului, ei şi-au împărtăşit ideile cuceilalţi colegi din echipă. Aşadar, munca de echipă în proiectarea şidesignul roboţilor a întărit relaţiile de colegialitate şi socializare dintremembrii echipei.

5.2. Interpretarea cantitativă a datelor

5.2.1. Comentarii legate de cele două grupuri de copii în funcţie deelementele comune/diferite referitoare la cele două tipuri de cursuri

În ceea ce priveşte aşteptările copiilor legate de cursul de MatematicăAplicată în Transmiterea Mişcării (CMATM), dacă înainte de începutulacestuia, 32 afirmau că le-ar plăcea să participe la un astfel de curs, la final,doar 17 afirmau că acesta le-a plăcut. Comparativ, aşteptările copiilor legatede cursul de robotică nu s-au modificat în intervalul început de curs/final decurs, toţi cei 33 de copii afirmând că le-ar plăcea şi că, într-un final, le-aplăcut acest curs. Acest element ar putea constitui un prim indiciu careevidenţiază diferenţa dintre modul în care cele două tipuri de cursuri auacţionat asupra cunoştinţelor şi raportărilor copiilor.

În cazul CMATM, participarea copiilor la acesta nu a modificat substanţialatitudinile lor faţă de capacitatea de a-şi aduce contribuţia la proiecte sau înceea ce priveşte posibilitatea de a aplica noţiunile de matematică învăţate lacurs în afara şcolii, ratând unul din principalele obiective ale cursului şianume construirea unei relaţii între aspectele teoretice şi modalitatea încare acestea pot fi aplicate. Cu toate acestea, se constantă că un aspectpozitiv al CMATM este acela că percepţia copiilor referitoare la cunoaştereamecanismelor care stau la baza transmiterii mişcării a crescut (de la 23 de

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copii care cunoşteau aceste mecanisme înaintea cursului, până la 32 dupăfinalizarea sa); acelaşi lucru putându-se afirma şi în cazul înţelegerii faptuluică transmiterea mişcării sau proiectarea unui mecanism nu se poate facefără cunoaşterea noţiunilor de matematică (percepţia modificându-se de la22 de copii care considerau la începutul cursului că e important să cunoştinoţiuni de matematică pentru a înţelege modul în care se producetransmiterea mişcării, până la 30 la final; respectiv de la 23 de copii careconsiderau la începutul cursului că e important să cunoşti noţiuni dematematică pentru a proiecta lucruri, până la 36 la finalul lui). Acesteelemente par a fi în concordanţă cu asumpţia privind capacitatea teoreticăexplicativă ridicată a modelelor matematice prezentate la CMATM. Cu toateacestea, parcurgerea cursului nu oferă cifre îmbucurătoare în ceea ce priveştecapacitatea lui de a dezvolta competenţe practice în rândul copiilor. În acestsens, se observă că acesta nu a reuşit să inducă ideea conform căreia existăposibilitatea de a aplica noţiunile teoretice învăţate în sala de clasă asupraunor situaţii din viaţa reală - ba din contră, parcurgerea cursului pare că adus la întărirea unei convingeri contrare. Dacă la începutul cursului 25 decopii credeau că ceea ce înveţi în clasă nu se poate aplica unor situaţiireale, la finalul acestuia, contrar aşteptărilor asumate de obiectivele cursului,29 de copii au ajuns la această concluzie. Situaţia este complet diferită încazul copiilor care au parcurs cursul de robotică. Dacă la începutul acestuia,17 credeau că nu pot aplica noţiunile de matematică învăţate la şcoală înviaţa reală, la finalul lui doar 10 mai aveau această opinie. În acest sens, seîntăreşte un trend care este în concordanţă cu unul din obiectivele asumateale cursului şi anume crearea unei punţi între teorie şi practică.

Referitor la posibilitatea de a înţelege mai uşor cum se rezolvă problemelede matematică dacă ar exista o legătură între acestea şi modul în carefuncţionează jucăriile, cu toate că la începutul CMATM, 36 de copiiconsiderau că dacă ar exista această legătură ar putea învăţa mai uşor, pânăla finalul cursului, doar 32 dintre ei mai afirmau acest lucru. Această situaţiepoate fi determinată de o dezamăgire pe care copiii care au participat laCMATM au avut-o la finalul acestuia, aşteptările lor personale legate derezultatele cursului neconcordând cu ceea ce s-a întâmplat la final. Un altminus al CMATM, comparativ cu cursul de robotică, este reprezentat şi deincapacitatea de a întări relaţiile dintre colegi, pentru că la finalul cursului,18 dintre copiii participanţi au declarat că acest curs nu a atins acest obiectiv.


Se poate astfel afirma că participarea la cursul de Matematică Aplicată înTransmiterea Mişcării le-a modificat percepţia copiilor în ceea ce priveştecapacitatea de a lucra în echipă într-o mică măsură. Dacă la începutulcursului, 28 de copii afirmau că ar lucra mai bine de unii singuri, la finaldoar 23 mai afirmau acest lucru, iar dacă la începutul cursului doar un singurelev afirma că lucrul în echipă nu te ajută să rezolvi problemele dematematică, la final doar 10 dintre ei afirmau acest lucru.

În ceea ce priveşte cursul de Robotică, conform datelor statistice, reiese căelevii care l-au parcurs şi-au modificat percepţiile într-un sens mai apropiatde obiectivele asumate de acesta. De exemplu, la întrebarea „dacăimprimanta clasei este un robot”, s-a constatat că dacă la începutul cursului,13 dintre elevi afirmau că „da, aceasta este un robot”, după parcurgerealui, doar 2 nu mai afirmau acest lucru. Acest aspect reprezintă un indicatoral modului în care cursul le-a modificat copiilor imaginea despre ceea ceînseamnă un robot şi care sunt caracteristicile care îl definesc. Unul dintrecele mai importante aspecte ale cursului de robotică este acela că (contrarrezultatelor obţinute în cazul copiilor care au parcurs CMATM) a reuşit săîntărească capacitatea elevilor de a lucra în echipă, 24 dintre copii afirmândla sfârşitul cursului că nu ar lucra mai bine singuri atunci când trebuie săconstruiască roboţi, spre deosebire de începutul cursului, moment în caredoar 9 considerau acest lucru.

5.2.2. Comentarii legate de atitudinile/părerile părinţilor din cele douăgrupuri

În ceea ce priveşte percepţia părinţilor copiilor care au făcut CMATM, aceştiaconsideră, la finalul cursului, că acesta a avut efecte pozitive asupra copiilorîntr-o măsură mai mică decât aşteptările pe care le aveau la început. Dacă laînceputul cursului 29,7% dintre ei erau de acord în linii mari, iar 70,3%considerau că au o părere oarecum diferită despre efectul cursului, la final,29,7% migraseră dinspre „am o părere diferită” spre răspunsul mult maicategoric „nu sunt în general de acord că acesta va avea efecte pozitiveasupra copilului”. În ceea ce priveşte percepţia părinţilor copiilor care aufăcut cursul de Robotică, din punct de vedere comparativ, se poate observao diferenţă majoră. Dacă la începutul lui, 89,3% considerau că sunt de acord

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în linii mari că acesta va avea efecte pozitive asupra copiilor, la final, 96,4%erau de această părere. În schimb, datele sunt oarecum contradictorii atuncicând ne raportăm la capacitatea CMATM de a dezvolta gândirea analiticăabstractă a copiilor. Dacă la începutul cursului, 27% dintre părinţi consideraucă nu sunt în general de acord cu această afirmaţie, la final niciunul dintreei nu mai continua să aibă această părere. Cu toate acestea, faptul că 44,1%dintre părinţi considerau la finalul cursului că au o părere oarecum diferităîn ceea ce priveşte capacitatea CMATM de a dezvolta gândirea analiticăabstractă a copiilor, acest fapt reprezentând un procent mult mai marecomparativ cu cei 8,1% care dădeau acest răspuns înainte de începerea lui.În ceea ce priveşte percepţia părinţilor privind capacitatea cursului deRobotică de a dezvolta abilităţile legate de rezolvarea problemelor dematematică ale copiilor, acestea sunt oarecum constante în rândul părinţilor,observându-se totuşi o mică schimbare a procentelor la finalul cursuluidinspre „sunt de acord în linii mari” – 78,6% către 64,9% şi „am o părereoarecum diferită” de la 17,9% spre 32,4%, reliefând o aparentă neatingerea aşteptărilor părinţilor faţă de curs în ceea ce priveşte această temă.

S-a observat că CMATM nu a reuşit să modifice, în sensul obiectivelorstabilite, părerea părinţilor în ceea ce priveşte capacitatea lui de a-i face pecopii să înţeleagă şi să asimileze mai uşor noţiunile de tehnologie. În acestsens, la finalul cursului, 27,6% dintre părinţi considerau că nu sunt delocde acord cu capacitatea acestuia, în condiţiile în care la începutul lui, niciunulnu îşi exprima această părere. În ceea ce priveşte părerile părinţilor copiilorcare au parcurs cursul de Robotică pe această temă, s-au modificat în sensulobiectivului asumat de curs. Dacă la începutul lui, 78,6% dintre părinţierau de acord în linii mari că acest curs va atinge acest obiectiv, la final,numărul lor a crescut până la 89,2%. Cifre mai bune obţine CMATM lacapitolul „capacitatea de dezvoltare a creativităţii copiilor”. Dacă laînceputul cursului, 45,2% dintre părinţi considerau că nu sunt deloc de acordcă acest curs va reuşi acest lucru, la final doar 5,4% mai erau de aceastăpărere. Acelaşi trend pozitiv se poate observa şi în cazul părinţilor copiilorcare au trecut prin cursul de robotică. Dacă la începutul acestuia, 77,8%considerau că sunt de acord în linii mari cu capacitatea cursului de a ledezvolta copiilor creativitatea, la finalul lui, 94,6% erau de această părere.De asemenea, se mai observă şi că percepţia părinţilor referitoare la rolulCMATM în implicarea lor în procesul de învăţare a scăzut în intervalul


începutul cursului - finalul cursului, ajungându-se ca la final 29,7% dintreei să considere că nu sunt deloc de acord cu ideea că acest curs ar fi reuşit săatingă acest obiectiv. În schimb, se observă că în cazul percepţiei părinţilorcopiilor care au trecut prin acest curs, trendul este unul mai degrabă înfavoarea ideii că acest curs a reuşit să crească nivelul de implicare alpărinţilor în procesul de învăţare.

6. Concluzia studiului

În contextul actual al învăţământului românesc, un curs de Robotică, adaptatvârstei copiilor, este capabil să motiveze copiii să înveţe nu doar elementesolide de tehnologie, dar şi de matematică. Atracţia copiilor spre lucrurilepe care le pot pune în mişcare, dorinţa de a-şi construi propriile jucării într-omodalitate naturală, le poate produce acestora, fără să-şi dea seama, unprogres intelectual remarcabil. Un curs de Robotică poate fi un puternicinstrument de dezvoltare a creativităţii şi inteligenţei, mai ales in educaţiade azi din şcoli, când copiii învaţă cu ajutorul gadgeturilor. Cursurile deRobotică au potenţialul de a crea abilităţi necesare elevului pentru a aveasucces în lumea reală de astăzi. Pasiunea de a răspunde la provocărileprezentului este impulsul care îi mobilizează pe unii profesori să introducăîn sala de clasă şi robotica educaţională. Profesorii/mentorii trebuie să ţinăcont că unul dintre rolurile pe care le au la clasă este de a-i provoca pe elevisă fie creativi şi cât mai inovativi în rezolvarea problemelor.

Robotica reprezintă un aspect pozitiv a influenţei tehnologiei în rândulcopiilor şi are şanse şi argumente de a putea fi urcată la rangul de disciplinăîn şcoala contemporană şi modernă.

Referinţe

DePorter, B. (2001). Accelerated Learning. New Horizons for Learning.Accesat la: www.newhorizons.org

Theory in the constructivist debate. Educational Psychologist, 31(3/4), 163-174.

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Huitt, W. (1998). Critical thinking: An overview. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta StateUniversity.

Bers, M.U. (2008). Block to Robots: Learning with technology in the earlychildhood classroom. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Langer, E. J. (1989). Mindfulness. New York: Merloyd Lawrence. Papert, S. (1980). Mindstorms: Children, computers, and powerful ideas. New

York: Basic Books Inc. Papert, S., & Harel, I. (1991). Constructionism. Norwood, NJ: Ablex. Robinson, M. (2005). Robotics-driven activities: Can they improve middle

school science learning? Bulletin of Science. Technology & Society, 25(1), 73-84.

Rogers, C., & Portsmore, M. (2004). Bringing engineering to elementaryschool. Journal of STEM Education, 5(3&4), 17–28.

Wegerif, R. (2002). Literature review in thinking skills, technology, and learning. Bristol, England: NESTA, 2002. Accesat la: www.nestafuturelab.org/research/reviews/ts01.htm

http://mindstormes.lego.com/












* Researcher, PhD., Institute of Educational Sciences, Bucharest, Romania.

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SPERANŢA FARCA. INDEPENDENŢA COPILULUI. SPAIMA DESEPARARE (Child’s independency. Fear of separation)Bucharest, Humanitas Publishing House, 2018, 271 pages, ISBN 978-973-50-6153-1

Andreea-Diana Scoda*Institute of Educational Sciences,


Speranţa Farca’s book, Independenţa copilului. Spaima de separare. (Child’sIndependency. Fear of separation) sees light in 2018, and it was publishedby Humanitas Bucharest, under the “Parenting” collection coordinated byOtilia Mantelers.

Speranţa Farca is a psychoanalyst specialized in the mother-childrelationship, former researcher in the Department of Educational Theory,Institute of Educational Sciences Bucharest, current Director and AssociateLecturer in the Department for Teacher Training, National University ofArts Bucharest (UNArte).

Her previous work focused on certain topics related to: the development ofthe mother-child relationship; the development of interactions with otherimportant people in a child’s life (grandparents, friends, physicians,babysitters, etc.); the reaction and solution to various behaviors from a childor adult related to different contents that reveal aggression, anger, isolation,etc.

Among her written books, we can recognize: Cum întâmpinăm copilul, capărinţi, bunici, medici şi educatori (“How do we receive the child, as parents,


grandparents, physicians and educators”), Ce trăieşte copilul şi ce simtemama lui (“What a child lives and how does his/her mother feel”), Psihanalizaşi cele patru vârste ale Eului. Cum devenim părinţi (“Psychoanalysis and thefour ages of the Ego. How do we become parents”), Grădiniţa mea favorită!Ghid pentru părinţi şi educatoare (“My favorite kindergarten! Guide for parentsand educators”), The Newborn and his Mother, etc. As one can notice, theauthor has consistently in addressed challenging topics in her writing.

Looking into this volume, Speranţa Farca has accomplished to bring togethermany fields of interest which are of great significance. Thus, we are dealingwith a volume which, for psychology, psychanalysis and pedagogy, isrelevant. The author discusses various themes which for parents,psychologists, educators, school counsellors and even physicians in thisrespect, could reflect upon when faced with common or uncommon problemsin developing the child’s independency from a fragile age up to adulthood.In this sense, she includes in this volume essential “remedies” for theireveryday life through frequent suggestions or recommendations, which aremostly likely to be based on her experience, on the one hand aspsychoanalysis and on the other, as a researcher during her years at theInstitute of Educational Sciences in Bucharest; aspects that shouldn’t betaken lightly but more so, as an added value in our view.

The author’s main theme in this book is “separation”, a key factor indeveloping a child’s independency: “separation allows a new perception oftime, space and affective environment, leading to important acquisitionsfor independence” (2018, p. 14). What our readers should comprehend isthat the emphasis is mainly on the need to practice various strategies inorder to develop “pillars” of stability and independency in correlation tothe child’s needs; aspects that are underlined by our author, S. Farca,throughout this book.

Our main “character” that upholds this “separation” is the mother, the personthat has to understand the prerequisite to let his/her “child go”. In her view,through the different stages of one’s life, in our case the child’s, whichstarts from eating, walking on its own, until receiving an occupation isprecisely based on the relationship between the two through time, spaceand the affective environment created, in order to assure the acquisition for

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independence. In other words, in this equation, we are discussing about themother-child relationship which is to be considered a modus operandi, inthat the mother’s presence from the beginning of her child’s life is just asimportant as understanding the need of how to assure this “separation” thatwill take place; a separation process that will determine the attainment ofthe child’s independency: “the baby knows that outside the uterus, the world,he/she will survive, because the mother has a cure for everything he feels”(2018, p. 11).

The author’s book contains an introduction, with six chapters and severalassociated subchapters. These chapters could be understood through aholistic approach, seen as a whole from the beginning till the end: slowly,slowly, they detach themselves, as the theme of the title suggests, whereeach chapter becomes more and more “independent” through the supportof these subchapters giving this theme more connotations for the readers.Likewise, the child is detached from his/her realities based on the mother-child relationship as they comprehend and achieve this separation by notfeeling the fear of separation or of being free to be on their own: “The fearof separation is found beyond babyhood: the child who enters the community,the adolescent, the newly married, the mother with the little child, the humanwho cannot rely on his abilities to survive” (2018, p. 12).

The author offers in these chapters and subchapters many examples,descriptions, explanations, etc., with psychoanalysis or psychologicalillustrations for the readers from a parenting perspective, which is applicablefor many areas, such as education, child psychology, psychosocial stages,sociology, neuroscience, etc.

The first chapter entitled “Door towards separation” (Poarta către separare)consists of two other subchapters, which simply contextualize the ideasurrounding “separation”, alongside with other terms such as: “anxiety”,“fear” of separation and the fear of “abandonment”. The generalrecommendation for her readers when encountering difficulties in achievingthis “door of separation” on both parts (child and mother) is to learn to havetrust in one another (2018, p. 11). An incentive we recommend, in that youtrust that this book will respond to some of the answer’s parents are lookingin to achieving their child’s autonomy.


In the second chapter, “Characteristics of separation” (Caracteristici aleseparării), the author discusses about the potential distance betweenmother-child, a distance which is represented through the space developedfor assuring the child’s independence. In this part of the book, sheconcentrates on some main symbolist axes in which both mother and childface as they perceive the distance of separation in time, space and in theiraffective environment through: language, play time and fairy tales. Apartfrom this, our author provides the readers with other definitions, sets ofcategorization or examples familiar to the writer, in order to elaboratedifferent hypotheses. Thus, Speranţa Farca highlights in this part of thevolume that the healthier the maternal relationship between mother-childis from the beginning, the better the chances for the child to becomeindependent (2018, p. 23).

“Acquisitions specific to segregation” (Achiziţii specifice separării) isanother chapter in this book, where the acquisition process is explainedcomprehensively and where in her view, it can be accomplished easily whenthe child discovers the way to keep his/her mom in mind. This processtakes place when he/she moves away from the mother, “recollection”,through the support of the introspection process: “Introspection is the wayto maintain the relationship with the mother in terms of autonomy” (2018,p. 29). She goes on with highlighting the forms in which interiorization ofmother occurs before the child undertakes certain functions: bipedal walking,sphincter control, ability to feed on their own, the ability to communicateverbally (2018, pp. 22-91). One of her recommendation for adults is “torespond simply and in a true sense to the child’s curiosity” (2018, p. 38). Inother words, it is important to experiment and to assure play time with thechild in this communication process no matter the prejudices on the adults’part.

In the chapter “Individual configurations of separation process” (Configuraţiiindividuale ale procesului de searare), Speranţa Farca emphasizes the factthat other key people or factors contribute to this separation process, suchas: paternal support (how he fits in the triangle), society and communityinclusion (adaptation to cultural and his/her environment) and the child’slivelihood (contradiction process felt by the child) (2018, pp. 100-194). Inthis part of the book, the author presents some more delicate topics,

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“Abandonment and adoption”, in which she explains that in both situationsthe parents, natural or adoptive, are confronted with similar fears” (2018, p.133).

In the penultimate chapter, the author highlights the fact that there are “Safetylimitations in assuring separation” (Limite asigurătoare pentru separare),in which through different processes in which the child goes through:frustrations, interdiction, borders or decisions, etc., he/she becomesindependent. These aspects support the child’s independence by setting clearrules, responsibility and understanding the consequences of their actions:“the readiness to reorient from the world towards the subjective responsesof the parent keeps the child in a state of addiction. The child needs to beable to cope with the natural consequences of his acts, in order to adapthimself” (2018, p. 210).

In the last chapter of this book, “The importance of the play in separation”(Importanţa jocului în separare) the author presents, as the title suggests,aspects associated to “play”: how to role play (why from a therapeuticallyperspective), where it could take place (magical place), the benefits(adaptation, experimentation of freedom, etc.), the consequences related tothe lack of play (frustration, boredom, etc.) and the forms of play associatedto developing an independent child (“Hide go seek,” “Yo-yo”, “An-tan-te”,etc.).

Our author hopes to guide the adult in various directions in developing onthe one side their child’s independency, while not neglecting to give attentionto the mother’s fear of separation due to the tendency to frequently putbarriers through reflection or projection of one’s own traumas fromchildhood, giving of birth or felling different postpartum symptoms thatcan affect this separation, on the other hand.

These chapter are independent as the readers can observe, allowing them toselect their main areas of interest. As a recommendation, this book wouldbe more rewarding and useful if one were to read the book from cover tocover and thus, he/she has a sense of consistency between each chapter. Inthe framework of these six chapters, with much ability Speranţa Farca guidesus, provides examples, describes techniques and operational methods,


especially, for how mothers in order to forsake the fear of separation betweenherself and the child, after giving birth to her child, an aspect which bringstogether many mixed feeling: how to identify this fear, how to approach it,how to achieve results, how it could be approached in the stages ofdevelopment (childhood until adulthood), etc. In other words, the authorconstantly makes the transition from the theoretical approach to the practicalone, in order to enable, likewise, the capacity to tackle the different issuesassumed throughout this book.

We can therefore perceive the emergence of this book in Romanian ofimportance for literature reading, useful for those with psychological ornon-psychological approach, who are looking to become mothers, bysimplifying as a starting point various response to apprehend, particularfears or challenges that parents face, as for instance, the children’s need todiscover the world around him/her that may be frightening for even a veryprepared mother today. An artistic part of Speranţa Farca’s work is revealedin her suggestions when describing various themes, themes which areassociated to different stories or fair-tales (e.g. Andersen, Grimm, Ispirescu,etc.) without, however, neglecting the scientific confirmation of thesepractical proposals.










194 RECENZII



* Cercet. şt. dr., Institutul de Ştiinţe ale Educaţiei, Bucureşti, România.

In memoriam. Gabriel Albu, pedagogulIrina Horga*

Un traseu profesional dedicat educaţiei

A absolvit Liceul Pedagogic din Ploieşti şi a urmat cursurile Facultăţii deIstorie-Filosofie, Specializarea Filosofie-Istorie a Universităţii din Bucureşti.Ulterior, a fost profesor la Liceul teoretic Băicoi, judeţul Prahova. Înintervalul 1986-1989 a lucrat ca asistent universitar la Institutul de Petrol şiGaze din Ploieşti în cadrul Catedrei de Ştiinţe Socio-Umane şi Politice. Operioadă de opt ani (1990-1998) a fost cercetător la Institutul de Ştiinţe aleEducaţiei din Bucureşti, secţia Teoria educaţiei. După anul 1998 a revenitla Universitatea de Petrol-Gaze din Ploieşti, devenind profesor universitardoctor la Departamentul Ştiinţele Educaţiei al Facultăţii de Litere şi Ştiinţe.A obţinut titlul de doctor în ştiinţe ale educaţiei în anul 1997, cu lucrareaIntroducere într-o pedagogie a libertăţii. Despre libertatea copilului şiautoritatea adultului. Pe parcursul vieţii a publicat peste 20 de cărţi în calitatede autor sau coautor şi peste 130 de articole de specialitate. A avut o implicareactivă în viaţa ştiinţifică a domeniului ştiinţelor educaţiei, prin participareala conferinţe internaţionale şi naţionale, la proiecte din domeniul educaţieişi formării. A fost editor al Buletinului UPG, seria Ştiinţele Educaţiei şicoeditor al Journal of Educational Sciences and Psychology, precum şimembru în Colegiile ştiinţifice ale unor reviste de specialitate şi edituri.

Domeniile de expertiză în care a făcut demersuri de cercetare şi aprofundareteoretică au vizat multiple ramuri din ştiinţele educaţiei: filosofia educaţiei,psihologia educaţiei, sociologia educaţiei, managementul relaţiilor umane,

GABRIEL ALBUS-a născut la data de 14 aprilie 1957, în Ploieşti, judeţul Prahovaşi a trecut în nefiinţă la data de 23 iunie 2019, tot în Ploieşti.

teoria şi metodologia evaluării, pedagogia culturii, psihopedagogie socială.Menţionăm câteva din publicaţiile lui Gabriel Albu: Introducere într-opedagogie a libertăţii. Despre libertatea copilului şi autoritatea adultului(1998); Mecanisme psihopedagogice ale evaluării şcolare (2001); Încăutarea educaţiei autentice (2002); Concepte fundamentale ale psihologiei.Memoria. Gândirea. Imaginaţia (2003); Repere pentru o concepţie umanistăasupra educaţiei (2005); O psihologie a educaţiei (2005); Comunicareainterpersonală. Aspecte formative şi valenţe psihologice (2008); Educaţia,profesorul şi vremurile (2009); Grijile şi îngrijorările profesorului (2013);Relaţiile interpersonale. Aspecte instituţionale, psihologice şi formativ-educative (2013); Autoeducaţia. Căutări şi clarificări (2016); Interogaţieşi autointerogaţie în educaţie (2016); Introducere într-o pedagogie acurajului (2017).

Pentru Gabriel Albu, dezvoltarea profesională şi creaţia ştiinţifică stau subsemnul pedagogiei, al preocupării pentru faţetele văzute şi nevăzute aleeducaţiei ca intenţie, ca proces, ca relaţie, ca organizare, ca rezultat.

Frânturi de amintiri despre Gabriel Albu, ploieşteanul

Timp de opt ani (1990-1998), Gabriel Albu a lucrat ca cercetător la secţiaTeoria educaţiei din cadrul Institutului de Ştiinţe ale Educaţiei din Bucureşti.A fost o perioadă de construcţie şi reconstrucţie în planul pedagogieiromâneşti, de formulare de întrebări şi căutare de răspunsuri, deexperimentare şi de reflecţie pentru tot institutul.

Gabriel Albu făcea parte din echipa ploieştenilor – colegi care, în fiecare zi,băteau drumul Ploieşti-Bucureşti şi retur de dragul cercetării, al educaţiei,al colaborării într-o echipă lărgită de personalităţi care puneau umărul larevigorarea cercetării în educaţia românească.

Demersurile de cercetare din secţia Teoria educaţiei invitau atunci la studiuaprofundat al literaturii din străinătate, la revenirea la pedagogii clasiciromâni – uitaţi uneori, atunci ca şi acum – sau la lucrul direct cu actoriişcolii româneşti, care îşi regândea profilul şi perspectivele.

Anii de institut au fost „anii de libertate”. Gabriel Albu se remarca prinautenticitate şi profunzime, prin căutarea pe îndelete a sensului şi prin firesculrelaţionării cu semenii. În planul cercetării educaţionale, a interogat – într-un

196 In memoriam. Gabriel Albu, pedagogul

stil elegant şi personal – semnificaţiile mai puţin vizibile ale actuluieducaţional, fundamentele devenirii prin educaţie.

Ulterior, în anii de după institut, publicaţiile sale au adâncit aceste zone decercetare. De la „pedagogia libertăţii”, Gabriel Albu a căutat răspunsuri cuprioritate în domeniul filosofiei educaţiei. Aici s-a concentrat mai ales asupraproblematicii valorilor care întemeiază statutul de profesor şi asupraabordării autoreflexive – aspecte intens valorizate şi promovate de politicileeducaţionale actuale. Alături de căutările în plan teoretic, Gabriel Albu apus în practică – prin rolul său de profesor universitar – aceste valori, dăruindstudenţilor săi, cu preaplină măsură, din cunoaşterea acumulată în ani destudiu, din pasiunea sa pentru educaţie, din bucuria unei vieţi aflate înpermanentă căutare a rostului.

Mai apoi, căutările lui Gabriel Albu au făcut popas în domeniul „pedagogieicurajului”. Cartea sa care face elogiul acestei viziuni inovative despreeducaţie ca act de curaj cuprinde, spre final, câteva cuvinte cu rol depremoniţie pentru sine: „a sosit momentul unui popas; că vrem să ne oprimpuţin, să facem un bilanţ şi să reflectăm la ceea ce am făcut, la ceea ce ne-aieşit şi la ceea ce – poate – ar mai urma să facem”.

Gabriel Albu s-a oprit din viaţa pământească, convins fiind – aşa cum spuneîn cartea sa Autoeducaţia. Căutări şi clarificări – că „bucuria nu este cătrăim, ci că ne trăiesc cei dragi”. Aşadar, Gabriel Albu continuă să fie trăitprin cărţile sale, de către cei cu drag pentru educaţie.












Dezvoltare şcolară prin parteneriate eTwinningInstitutul de Ştiinţe ale Educaţiei,

Centrul Naţional eTwinning, Bucureşti, România

Schimbarea este catalizator al dezvoltării, iar piesele care pun în mişcare proceselede dezvoltare sunt echipele, relaţiile acestora, strategiile de management, echilibruldintre management şi leadership, şi nu în ultimul rând capacitatea de inovare. Înorganizaţiile şcolare, dată fiind misiunea şcolii de a contibui la o dezvoltarearmonioasă a societăţii, echipele joacă un rol foarte important în procesele degestionare a activităţilor şcolii şi în cele de dezvoltare a organizaţiei (Sparks, 2013).Având în vedere acest aspect, dezvoltarea echipelor, construirea unei identităţifuncţionale şi susţinerea acestora în activităţile desfăşurate sunt elemente foarteimportante pentru a susţine procesele de dezvoltare a organizaţiilor şcolare.

Acţiunea eTwinning (comunitatea şcolilor din Europa) susţine şcolile care se implicăîn dezvoltarea de proiecte colaborative on-line, în care echipele de profesori şimanageri manifestă deschidere pentru abordări europene şi inovative, facilitândacestora contexte de dezvoltare personală şi instituţională precum şi recunoaştere.

Flexibilitatea şi adaptabilitatea eTwinning, accentul pus pe colaborare, inovare didacticăşi implicarea motivată a elevilor şi şcolilor reprezintă importante elemente care aucontribuit la dezvoltarea comunităţii. În eTwinning, colaborarea nu este rezumată lasala de clasă şi la elevi, potrivit studiului de impact realizat în 2013, aproximativ 1 din5 (19%) respondenţi (şi 24% dintre cei implicaţi într-un proiect) a spus că relaţiile maibune cu colegii din şcoală reprezintă unul dintre avantajele eTwinning.

Recunoaşterea activităţilor şi a calităţii acestora are un rol foarte important îneTwinning, iar şcolile participante la Acţiune pot obţine, începând din aprilie 2018,certificatul de Şcoală eTwinning. Principiul care stă la baza acestei forme decertificare este necesitatea de a evalua şi recunoaşte nu doar implicarea, angajamentulşi devotamentul eTwinner-ilor izolaţi, ci şi a echipelor de profesori şi directori dinaceeaşi instituţie. De asemenea, obţinerea titlului de Şcoala eTwinning se aşteaptăsă contribuie la implicarea mai multor cadre didactice/directori şi, prin urmare, săîncurajeze echipele de conducere să devină proactive în sprijinirea altor instituţiide învăţământ şi să servească drept model la nivel local, regional şi naţional.Certificatul de Şcoală eTwinning poate fi obţinut în urma parcurgerii unui procesde dezvoltare instituţională, cu etape care pot fi evaluate obiectiv. Procedura de

200 eTwinning

recunoaştere constă într-un proces cu două etape, una automată prin care se verificăo serie de criterii de eligibilitate, în timp ce a doua etapă presupune completareaunui formular de autoevaluare structurat în şase puncte/criterii:1. Utilizarea responsabilă a internetului în activităţile educaţionale.2. Colaborarea activă între cel puţin 3 profesori eTwinning din instituţie.3. Implicarea în proiecte eTwinning, a cel puţin 2 grupuri de elevi ai şcolii.4. Participarea a minimum 2 profesori ai şcolii, la cel puţin un eveniment eTwinning.5. Demonstrarea, în mod public, a implicării în eTwinning.6. Organizarea, în anul certificării, a unei activităţi de promovare a Acţiunii.

La nivel european, au fost organizate 2 sesiuni de acordare a certificatelor de ŞcoalăeTwinning, 115 instituţii de învăţământ din România obţinând certificatul în urmaprocesului de evaluare internaţională.

Studiile de impact realizate (Kearney, Gras-Velázquez, 2018) au arătat că introducereaparteneriatelor on-line în practicile educaţionale sprijină inovaţia de jos în sus prin:comunicare şi colaborare, diversitate şi deschidere spre noi experienţe de învăţare şipredare, oportunităţi de dezvoltare profesională şi experienţe educaţionale.

Referinţe Kearney, C., & Gras-Velázquez, À. (2018). eTwinning Twelve Years On: Impact

on teachers’ practice, skills, and professional development opportunities, asreported by eTwinners. Central Support Service of eTwinning - European Schoolnet,Brussels.

Sparks, D. (2013). Strong teams, Strong schools. Disponibil la:https://learningforward.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/strong-teams-strong-schools.pdf (accesat la: 11.05.2019).

Study of the impact of eTwinning on participating pupils, teachers and schools.(2013). Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (E.C.).

BOARD OF DIRECTORS:Researcher Mihai JIGĂU

Prof. emeritus Viorel NICOLESCU, PhD.University of Bucharest, RomaniaProf. Constantin CUCOȘ

, PhD. Institute of Educational Sciences, Romania

, PhD. “AlexandruIoan Cuza” University of Iași, Romania

EDITORIAL BOARD:Prof. Gabriel ALBU, PhD. Petroleum-Gas University of Ploiești, RomaniaResearcher Otilia APOSTU, PhD. Institute of Educational Sciences, RomaniaAlexandru BOBOC, PhD. Romanian AcademyResearcher Laura Elena CĂPIŢĂ, PhD. Institute of Educational Sciences, RomaniaProf. Carmen CREŢU, PhD. “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iași, RomaniaLecturer Alina Narcisa CRIȘAN, PhD. Tehnical University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Prof. Irfan ERDOGAN, PhD. University of Istanbul, TurkeyProf. Natasha Angelska GALEVSKA, PhD. “Cyiril and Methodius” University of Skopje, MacedoniaProf. Dimitrios B. GOUDIRAS, PhD. University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, GreeceResearcher Atwell GRAHAM, PhD. University of Wales, United KingdomResearcher Irina HORGA, PhD. Institute of Educational Sciences, RomaniaProf. Violeta MIRCHEVA, PhD. National Institute of Education, BulgariaProf. Ioan NEACŞU, PhD. University of Bucharest, RomaniaProf. Rodica NICULESCU, PhD. “Transilvania” University of Brașov, RomaniaProf. Aleksandra PEJATOVIC, PhD. University of Belgrad, SerbiaProf. Rossitsa PENKOVA, PhD. “K. Ohridski” University of Sofia, BulgariaLecturer Ana-Maria Aurelia PETRESCU, PhD. “Valahia” University of Târgoviște, RomaniaProf. Dan POTOLEA, PhD. University of Bucharest, RomaniaProf. Athina SIPITANOU, PhD. University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, GreeceProf. Emil STAN, PhD. Petroleum-Gas University of Ploiești, RomaniaAcad. Alexandru SURDU, Romanian AcademyProf. Nikos TERZIS, PhD. “Aristotle” University of Thessaloniki, GreeceResearcher Simona Luciana VELEA, PhD. Institute of Educational Sciences, RomaniaProf. Pavel ZGAGA, PhD. University of Ljubljiana, Slovenia

ISSUE COORDINATORS:Alexandra ARAMOana GHEORGHE, PhD.

EDITOR:Miruna Luana MIULESCU

GRAPHIC DESIGNER AND DTP:Vlad PASCU

Senior lecturer Roxana ENACHE, PhD. Vice-President, Association “Teachers’ Academy”,

Researcher Ă, PhD. Candidate,Researcher

2019 (1)LXVII

REVISTA DEPEDAGOGIE

JOURNALOF

PEDAGOGY

REVISTADEPEDAGOGIE

Senior lecturer Roxana ENACHE, PhD. Vice-President, Association “Teachers’ Academy”, Romania

Print ISSN: 0034-8678Online ISSN: 2559-639X

CONTACT: 37 Ştirbei Vodă Street, sector 1, Bucharest 010102Tel.: 004 021 314.27.83 Fax: 004 021 312.14.47E-mail: Webpage: http://[email protected]

The information and views set out in the published contributions are those of theauthor(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the Journal of Pedagogy.

JOURNAL BINDING:Constantin CHIȚU

Indexing: CEEOL, Citefactor, Crossref, De Gruyter (IBZ and IBR), DOAJ, EBSCO, ERIH Plus, GoogleAcademic and Ulrichweb. The articles on Higher Education can also be indexed in HEDBIB.

mailto:[email protected];

Revista de Pedagogie/Journal of Pedagogy

2019 (1) • LXVII

Print ISSN: 0034-8678

Online ISSN: 2559-639X

STIMAŢI CITITORI,

Revista de pedagogie îşi propune, ca şi până acum de altfel, să

popularizeze rezultatele cercetării ştiinţifice în domeniul

educaţiei la nivel naţional şi internaţional, să dezbată puncte de

vedere şi aspecte de actualitate din domenii precum

management şcolar, curriculum, evaluare, educaţie permanentă,

consilierea şi orientarea carierei. Revista contribuie astfel la

facilitarea schimbului de experienţă şi la consolidarea pregătirii

riguroase şi consecvente a resurselor umane din domeniul

educaţiei.

Revista de pedagogie reprezintă o sursă valoroasă de documente

care trebuie să facă parte din biblioteca profesorilor, a tinerilor

care se pregătesc pentru cariera didactică şi a celor interesaţi de

progresele, direcţiile de dezvoltare, inovaţiile şi bunele practici

în domeniul educaţional.

Vă informăm că redacţia dispune, pentru consultare, de colecţia

Revistei de pedagogie pe anii 1995-2015, precum şi, pentru

vânzare, de diferite numere din perioada 2010-2018.

Pentru informaţii suplimentare privind preţul unui exemplar al Revistei

de pedagogie şi modalităţile de achiziţionare vă stăm la dispoziţie la

sediul revistei din strada Ştirbei Vodă nr. 37, sector 1, Bucureşti, tel.:

021-3142783, e-mail: [email protected], http://revped.ise.ro.

Vă mulţumim,

REDACŢIA

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