Education through Research: a New Approach for the

Development and Use of Educational Systems

Márcia Cristina Moraes1,2

Ana Carolina Bertoletti3

Roque Moraes1

Antônio Carlos da Rocha Costa4

1PUCRS, 2UFRGS, 3UPF, 4UCPel - Brazil

Introduction

Nowadays the evolution and use of new technologies have changed the society that has become, each day, more based on information and knowledge.

The use of computers and educational systems in schools and universities is transforming the ideas about knowledge, learning and the roles of teachers and learners.

Introduction

In this sense, Demo [2] presents a new approach for education, called education through research.

This represents a new kind of constructivism, because the emphasis is not the knowledge construction, but on knowledge reconstruction.

Introduction

The SAEP-NET (System to Support Education Through Research over the Internet) system supports the practice of educating through research, considering it as a cycle of three moments: reconstructive questioning, construction of arguments and communication and evaluation [3].

What is Education Through Research?

Educating through research proposes modifications in the teaching process, emphasizing learner participation through the involvement in research projects developed in the classroom.

Learnes have to produce innovative knowledge that includes their own interpretation and personal formulation.

What is Education Through Research? It is a cycle composed by 3 phases:

Questioning: time to question existing theories and contents and to build new understanding about the subject

Arguments’ construction: the new understandings must have a solid theoretical basis. This brings the construction of arguments that will ground the new ideas.

Communication: here the arguments are going to be analyzed and evaluated by the others. This analysis can bring critics and can start a new cycle of questioning, argument construction and communication. So, education through research is an interactive and recursive move.

What is the Idea?

We believe that each one of these phases can be developed inside of a computational system.

The system would allow the use of education through research both as a methodology for the development of educational software and a system to support learning.

SAEP-NET Description

The SAEP-NET system is an educational software that aims to provide a Web-based environment to help teachers and learners in the education through research practice.

It is structured on the three moments involved in education through research: questioning, argument construction and communication and evaluation.

Each one of these moments is implemented as a module.

SAEP-NET Description

Besides these modules, the system provides theoretical content about the approach, helping teachers to get involved with this new methodology.

The theoretical content is produced by a group of specialists in education.

Questioning module

In the questioning module the users will define the theme to be researched during the process.

Argument construction module

In the argument construction module the user will have access to the services for searching information that will be used in the study of the subject being researched.

The user can have access to virtual libraries, links for search sites and freedom to navigate over the Internet.

Argument construction module

One of the tasks that are part of the argument construction is the production of written texts.

In education through research the students should produce texts that contain their reflections and critical analysis of the subject that it is being researched.

Argument construction module

The system have special a tool for the edition of texts. This tool allow the learner to construct his/her own reflections.

When the learner finds convenient, he/she can make the document public, giving access to it to other participants.

To make a document public means to expose it to critic and evaluation in a larger group. This is one in the ways that the third moment of education through research is implemented.

Communication module

In the communication and evaluation module the learner has access to tools directed to information exchange and integration of learners and teacher.

One way of integration is the evaluation and critic of developed productions.

Communication module

Learners and teachers may present some comments or suggestions about some document.

These comments are attached to the document and are available to both author e others readers.

This process is intended to improve the documents and texts produced by the participants.

Communication module

Another kind of communication is virtual meetings that can be held through a chat.

Other comments can be done using the e-mail, the blackboard, forum and discussion lists.

Current phase of development

SAEP-NET is under development. Nowadays, the restricted areas for each user,

learner and teacher, are being implemented.

Conclusions

This paper has as its main objective to present education through research as a new approach for the development and use of educational software.

We present through SAEP-NET a initial way to insert this new approach in a support system for teachers that seek to innovate their practice in classroom.

Conclusions

Such innovation is characterized by the involvement of learners in research.

The SAEP-NET system supports education through research because each one of its modules allows for the execution of the methodology and the activities related to this approach to learning.

Acknowledgement

This project is supported by FAPERGS, state agency for funding projects in Brazil.

References

[2] P. Demo, Educar pela Pesquisa (Campinas, SP: Autores Associados, 1997)

[3] R. Moraes, M. Ramos & M. C. Galiazzi, Pesquisa em Sala de Aula: Fundamentos e pressupostos. In Pesquisa em Sala de Aula: tendências para educação em Novos Tempos. Roque Moraes and Valderez Lima (editors). Edipucrs, Porto Alegre, 2002.