How the discourse of new professors is made up in the classroom

Abstract

Although schools are inserted within a dynamic social context surrounded by technologies, many secondary education science and chemistry professors still adopt the information transmission/reception model. This study was conducted in order to analyze changes in the discourse and understanding of the professor’s role in the classroom based on the professors’ experience in a teaching immersion project focused on the planning and teaching of theme-based classes and sharing of the researcher’s evaluation of the classes. To this end, we analyzed the classes taught by two professors undergoing professor training in the said project. Data collection was performed through class video recording and semi-structured interviews. Data analysis was based mainly on the professors’ discourse and their capacity to involve the students in the class dynamics. We observed that involvement with theme-based classes was important to the participating professors. In addition, evaluation sharing showed to be fundamental for improving the professors’ understanding of their role in the classroom. The data collected lead us to believe that the improvement achieved will reflect on the practice of the professors-to-be.