Playful Learning And Ict For Training Science Teachers: Coordinating a Teaching-Innovation Project

Abstract

The problem statement of this study is the contribution to science-teacher training based on playful learning and the use of ICT tools. The research question is: How can teacher training programs best contribute to science-teacher training and foster playful-learning approaches while motivating the use of ICT tools? The aim of this study is to stimulate teachers in training to design and conduct educational approaches based on playful learning for science education, promoting the use of ICT as educational tools. With this objective, a teaching-innovation project was financed and developed for the higher education of kindergarten, primary, and secondary pre-service teachers, at the University of Granada, Spain, from 2015 to 2017. For kindergarten pre-service teachers, three teaching proposals were developed, the first in a course concerning formal and non-formal contexts, the second related to their practical professional training, and the third at their end-of-degree project. The proposal for primary pre-service teachers was also related to their internship training during the last semester of their degree. For secondary teachers in training, a proposal was made regarding the end-of-Masters project. By the end of the proposals, teachers in training were able to design and develop educational approaches based on playful learning for scientific literacy, together with cross-curricular skill development. They also showed an improved ability to use ICT tools as educational resources. It can be concluded that the teaching-innovation project presented is composed of successful proposals devoted to spreading playful learning for science education among pre-service teachers of different educational stages.