Class Computer Science Education in Vocational Training

Teaching Informatics in Vocational Training is an optional course unit of the scientific area SD, semiannual (2nd semester), with 6 ECTS and 168 hours of total workload, of which 30 hours are face-to-face contact hours (TP). Its scope centres on the pedagogical, legal, and organisational foundations that structure vocational education and training in Portugal and the European Union, applied to the teaching of informatics. The field of action is vocational education and the technical teaching of informatics; the area of practice is the didactics of informatics in vocational training contexts. The domains of intervention include didactic planning, active work-based learning methodologies, educational technologies, and the adaptation of content to different professional profiles. Its relevance stems from preparing teachers able to design, plan, and adjust informatics teaching practices for vocational audiences, integrating technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (TPACK).

Not applicable

PC1. Structure of vocational education and training in Portugal and the EU: frameworks, modalities, and key competences. PC2. Informatics in professional profiles and the development of digital competences. PC3. Didactics of informatics: active methodologies, work-based learning, workshops, and projects. PC4. Didactic planning in vocational education: training units, learning sequences, and assessment. PC5. Educational technologies and learning environments in vocational education. PC6. Practice analysis: observation and design of lesson plans for real-world contexts.

TM1. Analysis of real-life cases of teaching informatics in vocational education, linking theory and practice. TM2. Planning and experimentation workshops, focusing on the integration of pedagogical, technological, and content knowledge (TPACK), promoting discussion of digital educational resources to develop critical thinking about teaching practices. TM3. Group development of lesson plans tailored to different learner profiles and training modalities. TM4. Lesson simulations with peer feedback, encouraging reflective and collaborative practices.

Alves, N., Almeida, A. J., Fontoura, M., & Alves, P. (2001). Educação e formação: Análise comparativa dos subsistemas de qualificação profissional de nível III. Observatório do Emprego e Formação Profissional. Young, M. (2010). Para uma conceptualização do conhecimento vocacional. In M. Young (Ed.), Conhecimento e currículo. Do socioconstrutivismo ao realismo social na sociologia da educação (pp. 273-298). Porto Editora. Herring, M. C. (Ed.) (2016). Handbook of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) for Educators (2a ed.). Routledge.