The use of ICTs as an innovative pedagogical resource in the oral health assistant course

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

CREMONESE, Miriam Regina de Araujo ^[1], COSTA, Maria Salete da ^[2]

CREMONESE, Miriam Regina de Araújo. COSTA, Maria Salete da. The use of ICTs as an innovative pedagogical resource in the oral health assistant course. Revista Científica Multidisciplinar Núcleo do Conhecimento. 04 year, Ed. 10, Vol. 12, pp. 56-79. October 2019. ISSN: 2448-0959, Access link: https://www.nucleodoconhecimento.com.br/education/oral-health-assistant

SUMMARY

The present work aims to propose a teaching plan for the discipline of Dental Materials of the Oral Health Assistant course, using information and communication technologies, in order to make classes more attractive and stimulating to students and strengthen the teacher/students relationship, inquiring the traditional teaching methods, sometimes tiring and tedious. The study presents an exploratory research of qualitative character, based on a bibliographic review, with inductive and dialectical method. We discuss the importance of digital technology for student education and propose diverse ways of applying technological resources in the classroom. The result of the work is a new pedagogical proposal for the discipline cited, with innovative teaching and evaluation strategies, intensifying learning, making the school environment more interesting, increasing trust and mutual respect between students and teacher as well as refining skills and competencies required of students in the current labor market.

Keywords: Teaching plan, oral health assistant, dental materials, information and communication technologies.

1. INTRODUCTION

The study deals with the use of ICTs in the training of oral health assistants, as an innovative and stimulating resource to learning, relating the daily life and situational reality of the students with the experience in the classroom. This theme, studied in the post-graduation course of Teaching in Technical Education, between 2017 and 2018 in a private educational institution, facilitates the development of the content of the discipline of Dental Materials of the Oral Health Auxiliaries course, which requires attention and memorization of the student.

We will talk about the importance of using ICTs as an innovative pedagogical resource in technical education, especially in the Oral Health Assistant course, and specifically in the discipline of Dental Materials. The subject to be addressed is how and with what technological resources we can disseminate the use of ICTs in the discipline of Dental Materials, with the objective of developing the discipline in an attractive and competent way.

To this end, we propose to discuss the importance of digital technology for student education; to suggest diversified ways of applying technological resources in the classroom and to develop a teaching plan defining strategies that provide more dynamic and enjoyable classes for the students, ensuring better-performing learning and strengthening the relationship between teachers and students.

The study presents an exploratory research of qualitative character, based on a bibliographic review, with inductive and dialectical method. The delimitation of the theme focused on the use of ICTs in technical education, which will culminate in the elaboration of a teaching plan for the discipline mentioned. The so-called study is justified by the need to extrapolate traditional teaching methods, sometimes tiring and tedious. The use of digital technologies are already widely used by students due to age group. The development of strategies in this sense will intensify learning, making the school environment more interesting, increasing trust and mutual respect between students and teachers, refining skills and competencies required of students in the current labor market.

The school represents in modern society the space of formation not only of the young generations, but of all people. In a time characterized by rapid changes, people seek in school education the guarantee of training that allows them to master knowledge and better quality of life. (KENSKY, 2007, p.19)

Thus, we present an introduction delimiting our theme, specifying objectives, justifying the study and raising some hypotheses. Next we will present the follow-up of the work in two chapters, the first makes a bibliographic review on the use of ICTs in the life of the human being and its reflection in education, while the second chapter proposes a teaching work plan using ICTs as an innovative strategy in the development of a discipline that is invariably carried out in a traditional way.

Thus, we will be introducing in the school these technological resources that are already commonly used in family and social spaces and appreciated by the students;

“… providing a new way of dealing not only with technology in the day-to-day of school and the student teacher relationship, but also to change the way students and teachers treat (and produce) knowledge.” (SALDANHA, 2009, p. 138)

2. DEVELOPMENT

2.1 COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES

2.1.1 THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN HUMAN SOCIETY

According to Kensky (2007), since the creation of humanity there has been the mastery of technology, which men used as an instrument of power over their fellowmen, as a guarantee of survival.

With the evolution of the times, the new technologies that emerged not only ensured defense, but also domination over other peoples. And the emergence of a new technology led to others, for other purposes, and so on. Society began to adapt to them, and these, to be part of daily life, interfering in human behavior and defining cultures of social groups in each time of history.

Today, our life is marked by new digital communication technologies and microelectronics. Its use modifies and determines the social and professional way of life of people. Every way we use this technology, we call it technique. They are characterized by being constantly changing. Its field of action is virtual and its focus is information. This enabled the emergence of new professions, specific to this reality.

2.1.2 NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND HUMAN COMMUNICATION

For Kensky (2007), this new culture ends up excluding individuals who do not dominate it. These are tools that enable the expansion of memory and communication, especially in formal education. The digital language modified the narrative, previously linear and monotonous. Now, it offers a discontinuous language, interspersing new content, spaces, times and people, in the form of hypertext and hypermedia. The ease of navigation simplifies and makes the phenomenon more interesting to the user. This has completely changed our reality. There was a confluence of media, which are used for numerous purposes and in real time, of the most varied places.

The use of digital media permeates the social, entertainment, commercial, school, scientific, religious and are shared in groups. The internet is the point of the junction and transmission of the most varied objectives.

New terms emerge to define this culture: cyberspace, where everything happens and is shared by everyone, and cyberculture, the result of this experience.

With this new support of information and communication emerge genres of unusual knowledge, unprecedented evaluation criteria to guide knowledge, new actors in the production and treatment of knowledge. Any education policy will have to take that into account. (LÉVY, 1999, p. 169).

In this new model of society, the relationship of people with knowledge and power is also modified, which will be available to anyone, anytime and anywhere. There is a need for constant updating and acquisition of other skills, such as learning another language, especially English. The possibility of television interactivity is another feature.

Information and communication technologies are not simple technological resources, they have their own characteristics, based on a new culture, digital culture. And that reflects on social behavior.

Thus, a new language has been emerging, enabling communication between peoples who speak different languages. It would be a language that unites the digital language, vulgar English and the iconic language of emoticons.

2.1.3 TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION

Kensky (2007) states that these changes in social culture reach school and in the way of doing education, since the groups bring together the daily experience. It is necessary to know her better and transform her into an ally within our possibilities, and not just master her technique.

We know that most technologies are used as a learning aid. They participate in many actions in the school, especially bureaucratic ones, but have not yet been explored in all their pedagogical possibilities. Among them, we can mention the flexibility of schedules, teaching methods, flexibility in the physical space, disciplinary interactivity, use of hypermedia, use of software and programs, active methodologies, among others, requiring constant updating of knowledge and competencies, which can be acquired with the student himself and providing the training of professionals and autonomous citizens, critical and creative.

Millions of connected people, taking advantage of the information available in network, will be able to build together many collaborative projects, which will serve stakeholders. This type of work tends to grow and allow access to millions of others, who will also be able to enjoy or collaborate with it. This breaks with hierarchies and modifies the way knowledge is constructed. It is a new requirement for formal school, the readaptation of the educational and global framework.

The attitude of young people who are part of this digital generation is not passive. For them, the important thing is to participate and perform several actions at the same time, do the most in a minimum of time, learn and build alone, that is, the student is the protagonist of their knowledge.

Despite the advances and advantages of new technologies, there are difficulties ahead, individual and collective, such as technical, economic problems, student interest, teacher preparation, non-adaptation of technology to content, absence of continuing education, absence of habit and motivation of teachers due to professional issues, diverse reality among schools, etc.

2.1.4 THE NEW SCHOOL MODEL

According to Kensky (2007), the school traditionally prepared individuals for social life, work and scientific discoveries. In a society that prioritizes information, people need to have a basic preparation to learn it and keep up to date to use it. In this society of incessant transformations, the school needs to be a trainer of citizens capable of constant adaptation in social and professional coexistence, in the face of the challenges imposed in their reality, developing skills, attitudes and values necessary for this.

The new school model should use the new technologies to integrate school and community, uniting the formal and the informal, starting by listening to their students and adapting new pedagogical approaches that digital media enable. There will be no physical limits, since the virtual environment allows coexistence at any time or space.

The young generation, digital native, comes to school with specific skills developed through the games they share on the Internet. These skills will be important in professional behavior, such as reasoning, team spirit, strategy development, collective ambition, role definition, relationship, respect for the partner, communication, rules of good networked behavior, digital fluency, writing and drawing skills with both hands and sensory sharpening.

Virtual environments are expanding from computers to mobile phones, facilitating the portability and use of this type of media, which today converges several functions in one device. The challenge is to use in a pedagogical way in the teaching-learning process.

In this new profile, the student must acquire autonomy, interact socially in new communities, preparing for the exercise of citizenship and critical spirit, to be subject of his own history, recreating a new meaning for education with motivated and inspired students to learn. It is a new education focused on collaborative and cooperative learning, uniting several minds separated by several factors and facilitating those who present difficulties to face-to-face teaching for various reasons.

The creative use of technologies can help teachers transform the isolation, indifference and alienation with which students usually attend classrooms, in interest and collaboration, through which they learn to learn, respect, accept, be better people and participatory citizens. Teacher and student form “work teams” and become partners in the same process of construction and deepening of knowledge: to take advantage of the natural interest of young students in the technologies and use them to transform the classroom into a space of active learning and collective reflection; to empower students not only to deal with the new demands of the world of work, but mainly for the production and manipulation of information and for the critical positioning in the face of this new reality. (KENSKY, 2007, p.103)

For the success of this work will require careful planning. The transition may occur with the use of online material complemented by face-to-face classes with fewer students, use of varied digital media, discussion forums, online monitoring, virtual laboratories, collaborative projects and other pedagogical processes. This enables dynamic and attractive interaction in cyberspace for the students and teachers involved.

This possibility of virtual learning allows the permanent synchronous and asynchronous interaction of its users, socializes and stimulates cooperation, favors quick access to information and communication, ease of internet browsing, access on days and diversified times, and, even so, may feel that they are working together.

Education has another great ally, blogs, a kind of diary, which deals with various subjects and that must be constantly updated. They are simple to use and enable a collective work, transforming it into school pedagogical work. In this way we can also treat programs and applications that can be used in networks to contribute to the construction of collaborative learning.

2.1.5 THE DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED

Kensky (2007) reiterates that, like every change, there are some drawbacks, such as access to out-of-school equipment, economic unviability for computer acquisition, use of easily outdated software, fragmented curriculum, workload, poor teacher training for pedagogical use of ICTs, technical maintenance and internet quality.

The transformations will occur gradually and will be enormous, but they will not exclude the main role of the school in relation to education. Necessary will be the reformulation of pedagogical programs, the flexibility of teaching structures, the interdisciplinarity of the contents, the relationship of the school with the community, the flexibilization of schedules, the change of curricula, the hierarchical and cyclical administration, the autonomy of the school in the realization of its own educational projects with national and international institutions, change in the teacher/student relationship inside and outside the school, educational establishments with permanent learning, reorganization of educational policies and evaluation, use of creativity, adequate professional remuneration, time for self-training and continuing education, etc.

The school of learning is very different from the teaching school. The school of learning needs new spaces, other types of temporalities, another organization of groups of students and teachers, other pedagogical proposals, essentially new and that adapt to different ways and styles of learning of all participants: teachers and students. (KENSKY, 2007, p. 109).

The most important thing is that people are gathered concerned with learning together, this will give basis for a new model of education through their engagement, in a serious and responsible way.

There are teachers who resist change; these will create an abyss between themselves and their students, since the students’ lifestyle interferes directly in the school, since they live with technology in everyday life, in a natural way. And so, it gains space in other territories, social and professional. There must be an update and follow-up of this new way of living to live in society in general.

To ensure that this process progresses, we need well-trained technical teams for the development and maintenance of equipment and for the support and training of the pedagogical and administrative team. A new way of seeing and thinking education.

Major curriculum reformulation must be implemented. Disciplines and activities are created. Interdisciplinary and interinstitutional projects are possible. Mixed teams are formed: teachers, technicians and students integrated in projects and activities. Differentiated school periods and the offer of distance learning direct schools to permanent operation throughout the year. […]A longer time for the planning of activities. Establishment of various exchanges and conducting permanent courses for improvement and updating of all staff and staff. (KENSKY, 2007, p.126).

2.2 THE OPINION OF OTHER AUTHORS

Reading other authors, we observed the agreement of ideas in order to seek a solution for the changes that already occur in education and for those that are yet to come, permeating other existing issues.

Pretto (2013), talks about our current crisis in education and the need to bring this new virtual reality of the new millennium closer to the education system, despite the speed of the emergence of these changes. We cannot deny or ignore this context, but rather develop new educational policies that enable the formation of a new human being. This is another challenge to be solved in Brazil, digital “illiteracy”, even before we solved the illiteracy and literacy of the disadvantaged population, forcibly influenced by the international economy and speed of scientific and technological development.

The author comments that there is still a great prejudice of educators in relation to these media and a great difficulty in understanding these young people, constituting a worldwide phenomenon and in the training of these professionals.

For the transition from the old school model to a new school, with a future, it is necessary to carefully observe some aspects of the current educational structure. One of these aspects, certainly, is to promote an urgent review in the training of teachers and in the role of public universities in this area. (PRETTO, 2013, p.140).

Silva, i’m not going to Silva (2014), found that portable media are increasingly part of the students’ daily lives, in a widespread way, causing changes in school daily life as well. This brings up the discussion about the belief of using these media only as attractive, possibility of digital inclusion and curricular innovation. The authors affirm that these arguments reduce the issue to the simple use of the devices, without a democratization of their use and without the possibility of connected social spaces. Learning does not need to be limited to a physical space, but to be democratized for access by all, for interaction between users who do so under a critical eye, strengthened by pedagogical and curricular restructuring, focused on the autonomy of the student. But they make clear the need to prepare the team, institution, teacher, enabling their authorship and their empowerment in the teaching-learning process.

For Saldanha (2009), the decision of the moment and form of the use of portable media rests with the teacher and students and in different activities applied pedagogically. But the most important thing is the flexibility of the curriculum, so that these innovations truly raise the quality of teaching.

This author identifies in his study that, in addition to the preparation of teachers for the appropriation of technology, its proper use and the change of curriculum, it was necessary an improvement in the physical structure of the school for the use of ICTs in the classroom, such as the increase of access points of wireless networks, installation of multimedia projectors in the classrooms, interactive whiteboard , availability of USB sticks, suitable furniture and resizing of the power grid that supports the structure. This will depend on the reality of each school. The work also had the support of computer technicians and pedagogues.

The pedagogues involved in the study pointed out issues to be developed and evaluated in students and teachers, such as autonomy, mastery of technology, motivation for learning at any time and place, ability to work in teams, continuous training of teachers, assistance of monitors in class, continuous evaluation of the student and teacher, self-management of knowledge of the student, permeated by collaboration among all. However, there is still a lot of research to be done to consolidate the change of the traditional paradigm in education.

“It has changed the economic structure, changed the daily lives of our lives, and the school needs to keep up with these changes and work with the cultural instruments and languages that are part of the lives of the students of the new generation.” (SALDANHA, 2009, p. 90).

According to Setton’s conclusions (2010, p. 107):

Discussions on the interfaces between education and media are still under consolidation. Although a group of scholars has been focusing on this theme, there is a lack of theoretical and empirical research with national academic viability.

According to Oliveira (2016) the Brazilian government has already been developing public policies to enable the introduction of digital technologies in the country and try to minimize the impasses in this area. Nevertheless, its use as a pedagogical resource is still small in terms of education.

According to the new role of the mediator teacher, here is a review of the teacher’s pedagogical practice, empowering him to perform his/her duties, establishing partnerships with other realities, exercising his autonomy with the school and community, integrating these practices into the school curriculum, linked to the social reality of each region or community and especially to the profile of his students.

“Time is critical for teachers to learn how to use technologies, reflect on the possibilities of pedagogical uses, and share their impressions with their peers.” (OLIVEIRA, 2016, p. 47).

Finally, this will all facilitate the action of the teacher who is really interested in changing the traditional educational paradigm in Brazil and in the world. There must be interest and creativity.

3. TEACHING WORK PLAN

3.1 DESCRIPTION OF THE TEACHING WORK PLAN

INSTITUTION: Private educational institution.

COURSE: Oral Health Assistant (ASB), regulated by mec, law 11,889 of December 24, 2008, which deals with the exercise of the professions of Oral Health Technician and Oral Health Assistant.

COURSE WORKLOAD: 400 h, being 168 theoretical classes, 50 practical classes, 82 hours of extra activities and 100 h supervised internship.

DISCIPLINE: Dental Materials

DISCIPLINE WORKLOAD: 24 hours, distributed in 3 hours weekly races classes, for 8 weeks.

SEMESTER: THIRD SEMESTER

TEACHER IN CHARGE: Miriam Regina de Araujo Cremonese

MENU: Teaching work plan related to the development of the discipline of Dental Materials, with innovative strategies and evaluation, introducing information and communication technologies in the teaching-learning process.

OBJECTIVES: To recognize and adequately manipulate dental materials in their different specialties, using information and communication technologies as an innovative pedagogical resource, making classes more attractive to the student group and strengthening the teacher/students relationship.

“Planning is a process that requires organization, systematization, forecasting, decision and other aspects in the intention of ensuring the efficiency and effectiveness of an action[…], ” (LEAL, 1999).

Teaching planning requires reflection on the teacher’s conduct and choices and is related to the objectives, contents, strategies and evaluation of the teaching-learning process, requiring the teacher to practice reflectively before, during and after this process, which should be continuous and dynamic. The reflection culminates in a planning and this planning results in a plan, which concretizes the planned actions. In the case of this work, a teaching work plan will be proposed.

As all planning is intentional and reports the various steps listed for this to be successful, it is necessary to keep in mind the profile of the student, the school and the community in which they are inserted.

Because of this reality, we present an innovation proposal for the classes of the discipline already mentioned, in order to make them more interesting and facilitate learning, paying attention to objectives consistent with the needs found, necessary contents and competencies, innovative strategies in active methodologies and evaluation in process, encompassing the three types, diagnostic, formative and summative.

From a diagnostic evaluation, we will raise the needs to be overcome. In possession of the official teaching project, the teacher will create his teaching work plan, contemplating the achievement of the objectives and overcoming the difficulties.

According to the teaching work table transcribed below, we observed that it was elaborated for the discipline of dental materials, of the Oral Health Assistant course and presents the objectives that need to be met, related to specific knowledge, development of manual skills, memorization, positioning, resourcefulness, creativity, responsibility, initiative, autonomy, teamwork, increased interest and participation in class, improvement in the relationship between teacher and students and the exercise of citizenship. The objectives are designed so that the occurrence of learning is visible and evaluable and these define what is planned to be achieved. Thus, the teacher should know how he/she will establish his/her teaching strategies for the success of the objectives outlined and how he/she will make the assessment to have this certification.

The contents are extremely relevant in the theoretical and practical formation of the students’ profession, but their study and applicability may become more accessible and interesting, depending on the way they are developed, with the introduction of other values related to character, ethics, socialization, etc.

To this end, we have chosen innovative and creative strategies, using information and communication technologies, and providing acquisition of the above mentioned competencies. In this way we hope to improve the entire teaching-learning process related to the discipline. The use of active methodologies in education favors the pedagogical practice, the reflective character of the teacher and significant learning, knowing that we can take different paths in the pedagogical process and respecting the different learning styles of the students. The resources used will take into account the reality of the institution and will be consistent with the proposed content and strategies. We will make room for suggestions from the students during this period.

The evaluation of the study will begin with a diagnostic evaluation, raising the initial situation in relation to the profile of the students, previous knowledge and the reality of the school. In the course of the work, we will be based on the formative evaluation, which allows the teacher to monitor the development of learning, correcting failures, difficulties and even changing the orientation of the work, obeying the table of rubrics that proposes evaluation criteria unfolded in performance levels. Finally, each module will present a summative evaluation, and previously the contents will be resumed, new questions of the type that will be used in the summative evaluation and remedied the doubts that still exist. After the test, the correction will be made in the classroom, with the students discussing right and wrong as a means of fixing the content.

ICTs also connect the student/school with society, enabling dissemination and updating of results and knowledge sharing.

3.2 TEACHING WORK PLAN FRAMEWORK

3.2.1 SCOREBOARD VALUATION ITEM

Each unit developed will use this heading table, with the criteria and levels unfolded. Each student will be evaluated according to their performance and will receive feedback at the end of each unit, since what varies in this discipline are only dental materials that should be studied in each specialty.

4. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

At the end of the work, we highlight the need to innovate the educational strategies used in technical education, more specifically in the training course of Oral Health Auxiliaries, discipline of Dental Materials, extrapolating the traditional teaching methods and intensifying the teaching-learning process with the use of active methodologies, in this case, information and communication technologies.

We explore the theme studied by renowned authors and verify that this is a competence to be developed by the teacher and students who will be prepared for the demands of the current labor market and for social interaction in general.

The current profile of our student allows the development of the proposed strategies and achievement of the objectives, due to their age group and wide use that they make naturally of technologies, including in the classroom. The inclusion of ICTs in the curriculum will make classes active, attractive and interesting.

REFERENCES

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SALDANHA, Rubem Paulo Torri. Indicadores de um currículo flexível no uso de computadores portáteis. 2009. Dissertação de Mestrado- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação: Currículo, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo- PUC, São Paulo, 2009.

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^[1] Postgraduate in Teaching in Technical Education, Specialist in Dentistry in Collective Health, Bachelor of Dentistry, Graduated in Letters, Dentist.

^[2] Master’s degree in Education, Graduation in Philosophy.

Submitted: May, 2019.

Approved: October, 2019.