Professional development for the use of digital games in schools: changes in the pedagogical practice?

Abstract

Digital games integrated into pedagogical practice can result in a more engaging, contextualized and active learning. However, it is essential to offer education for the teachers ensuring contributions to the teaching and learning process. Therefore, an e-learning course on digital games directed to teachers was analyzed to evaluate if the education process favored the effective integration of digital games in school contexts. The study is characterized as a field survey with quantitative and qualitative approach accomplished with undergraduates after one year of the conclusion of the course. The results revealed that factors such as time spent playing and time experience did not indicate a significant effect on the scores related to pedagogical practices, and only the educational level could be associated to the scores of pedagogical practices with games after the course. It was observed the increase in the frequency that teachers use digital games in their pedagogical practices and a significant difference among the practices performed by teachers before and after the course. The conclusion is that there is strong evidence that the educational process caused changes in pedagogical practices, reinforcing the importance of policies and investments in teacher professional development.