Design and Evaluation of Digital Content for Education |
Foundation of Computer Science USA |
DEDCE - Number 1 |
None 2011 |
Authors: Paula Costa, Isabel Chagas |
5c1fae39-e094-4802-a01c-f28f9fc212e6 |
Paula Costa, Isabel Chagas . Developing Digital Resources for science secundary education using newspaper information. Design and Evaluation of Digital Content for Education. DEDCE, 1 (None 2011), 37-43.
The purpose of this paper is to describe a Digital Educational Resource (DEL) that was developed for the Portuguese 6th grade science education curriculum. The topic under study is the prevention of cardiovascular diseases and problem-based learning (PBL) is the pedagogical method for integrating the resource in the teaching-learning process. The resource described is part of a larger project dedicated to the design, implementation and evaluation of DEL for science literacy, enhancing science process skills, critical thinking, problem solving, and cooperative work. The criteria for the validation of this resource are focused on the content, pedagogical approach, linguistic and technical issues, values and attitudes. In this paper a description is presented about the design process of the resource, its implementation in two 6th grade classes of a middle-school near Lisbon, and the evaluation of the resource itself and its potentialities concerning students’ science skills learning. Results show the relevance of pedagogical methods such as PBL in science education, and its adequacy for DEL design, development, and curriculum integration.