Play and professional development: analysis of a proposal of a continued teacher’s formation

Author(s)

Alessandra Pimentel

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Educação (FE/SBD)
• Defense date: 2004-05-19

Examining board members

Tizuko Morchida Kishimoto; Edda Bomtempo; Julia de Fátima Domingues Basto Oliveira Formosinho; Yoshie Ussami Ferrari Leite; Wanda Maria Junqueira Neves

• Advisor: Tizuko Morchida Kishimoto; Julia de Fátima Domingues Basto Oliveira Formosinho

Abstract

The present study aims to analyze the contributions of a proposal of a continued teacher’s formation for professional development of educators of 1st Cycle, belonging to a São Paulo’s public school. The research focalizes the current development related to processes not yet internalized in the professionality, but potentialized since the formative experience. The project is based on the critical-reflexive approach of professionality aiming to promote the academic investigation on the proper pedagogic acting, by means of teaching experiences with playful activities. In the light of Vygotsky’s historical and cultural meaning, we define the educative game as a proem inent mediator of scholar learning and in an isomorphic manner, propitiator of professional emancipation. The formative strategies are built on two axes: a weekly meetings with the teachers to plan and discuss the games; by playful activities made with students. Qualified as study of cases, the research is centralized on the formative course of two teachers, using analysis categories elaborated since the Experiential Learning theory by David Kolb, and considering all the data deriving from 3 sources: video recordings, interviews and camp daily journal. The results show expressive differences related to how the project provided the teacher’s to think on it pedagogical practice and to the appropriation of the playful educative referential. Comparing the cases points out that, paradoxically the less experienced teacher formulated knowledge of the experience more sophisticated than her colleague – with a longer career. This distinction indicates that, in the academic emancipation, several manners of learning are included, preponderating the observation, questioning and problem solving mechanisms. It also underlines the professional development of a multilinear and multifactorial process, not enough to relate it to a professional exercise period. The research reveals that the experiential formation is rich to implant playful practices of teaching, benefiting thinking by means of knowledge and experiences exchanges between teachers/molder’s and between teachers. Although the formative proposal, made in a short time, shows that teachers seized knowledge and incorporated it to their practice, the integration level is constituted, mainly, on the acquisition and performatic plans of learning. Thus, the following needs stand out for the teachers’ formation area, especially under the playful educational perspective: (a) short or medium term formation programs promotes the consolidation of a complex conceptual system integrated to professional development; (b) formative strategy variations, as well as continuous support to educator since planning until experience evaluation – are essential aspects of the molder’s work; (c) the teacher’s learning academic apprentice ship depends on the assurance, in the scholar context, of a permanent space of reflection on the pedagogic action (AU)