Fostering the Use of ICT in Pedagogical Practices in Science Education

The FICTUP project (Fostering the Use of ICT in Pedagogical Practices), funded with the support of the Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Union, aims to (1) create innovative training materials that suggest concrete pedagogical activities using ICT, accompanied by a close tutoring process, and (2) test the impact of the material and the tutoring on novice teachers' use of ICT in the classroom. The innovative training material, developed collaboratively by both experienced and novice teachers to ensure its accessibility, focuses on specific classroom activities that use ICT. Each case includes a detailed description of the activity (PDF file) and three short, pedagogical videos (ca. 2-6 minutes each) that describe the transversal ICT skills brought into play during the activity. During the first year of the project, nine cases were implemented, some of which focused explicitly on the use of ICT in science education. This paper presents a number of different sample applications, such as “Device – measurement – evaluation: Use of ICT in physics (Hungary)”, “Exploring growth factors: Applying inquiry learning in biology (Finland)”, and “GeoGebra software: Mathematics teaching (France)”. The increased use of ICT has led to the introduction of new pedagogical approaches, including Resource Based Learning (RBL) where varied learning needs are supported by a wide range of ICT assets. Science subjects in particular are extremely amenable to the advantages offered by RBL and the associated ICT assets. The implementation of technology-supported collaborative inquiry allows teachers to design the educational setting as an integrated whole that provides students with relevant technological tools, directs them to collaborate effectively, and promotes epistemologically high-level and creative ways of working with knowledge.