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Laboratory and Virtuality in Primary Education

Code: 102088
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Primary Education OP 4

Contact lecturer

Name :
Bernat Rios Rubiras
Email :
bernat.rios@uab.cat

Teaching staff

Bernat Rios Rubiras

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

Students should have already passed the two previous courses "Ensenyament i Aprenentatge del Coneixement del Medi Natural, Social i Cultural" in 2nd year and "Didàctica de les ciències experimentals" in 3rd year.

Objectives

The course "Laboratori i Virtualitat" aims that participants, at the end of the course, will be able to:

  1. Know and know how to use the different existing ICT for science teaching and learning (virtual tools, digital devices, mobile technology, etc.).
  2. Understand the characteristics of the experimental work in primary education and how this can be supported by various ICT.
  3. Incorporate ICT in science education, integrating them across all the educational planning.
  4. Identify positive and negative aspects of each teaching ICT.
  5. Provide reflections on the educational changes that implies introducing ICT in school.
  6. Acquire criteria for selecting, using and designing virtual environments that foster scientific skills (exploration, observation, classification, prediction, variables control, etc.).
  7. Familiarize with creative technologies as resources to work from technology to primary content

Learning outcomes

  1. Identifying, describing, and analysing the characteristics pertaining to management of the area of experimental sciences in the classroom, and the implementation of activities involving experimentation and the use of CLTs.
  2. Produce and apply resources related to the teaching and learning of experimental sciences.
  3. Relating science with its technological applications, with its social impact on the didactic situations pertaining to the school.
  4. Identifying aspects common to all the experimental sciences and examining them in depth.
  5. Identifying the difficulties in the teaching and learning of experimental sciences, and designing activities that respond to the diversity of students' learning experiences.
  6. Planning for scientific learning situations in contexts outside of the school.
  7. Knowing how to communicate and present an argument in science lessons.
  8. Propose new methods or well-founded alternative solutions.
  9. Identify situations in which a change or improvement is needed.
  10. Propose new ways for measuring success or failure on implementing innovative proposals or ideas.
  11. Analyse a situation and identify its points for improvement.
  12. Weigh up the risks and opportunities of both one's own and other people's proposals for improvement.

Contents

Section 1: ICT and scientific practice in classroom. Which ICT shoud we use, when, how and why?



Section 2: Digital tools for enriching the experimental activities in school: mobilephones, digital sensors, digital lenses and videos.

Section 3: Digital tools for working with virtual models in the classroom: animations, simulations, video games and virtual laboratories.

Section 4: Digital tools to communicate scientifically: interactive whiteboard and Scratch language.

 

Section 5: Digital tools to address the content of technology in the primary classroom (creative technologies)

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Preparation of final project 10 0.4 2, 6, 12
Section 3 15 0.6 5, 10
Section 2 15 0.6 1, 3
Section 4 10 0.4 4, 9
Project and final reflections preparation tutorials 11 0.44 3, 4
Tutoring Section 2 5 0.2 1, 3
Autonomous work for elaboration of deliberables 60 2.4 5, 6
Tutoring Section 3 5 0.2 5, 10
Section 5 5 0.2 7, 8
Tutoring Section 4 5 0.2 4, 9
Section 1 5 0.2 1, 11
Tutories Section 5 4 0.16 7, 8

The course \"Laboratori i Virtualitat\" combines different kind of work: laboratory experimental activities, experimental field activities and computer room activities. Is particularly important work in small groups and whole-class discussions.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Delivery of individual tasks 20% 0 0 2, 5, 6
Activity with ICT 1 20% 0 0 5, 8, 11
Clasroom participation 10% 0 0 1, 3, 7
Pre-Post Reflection 10% 0 0 12
Final project 20% 0 0 10
Digitization project 20% 0 0 1, 4, 9

The evaluation of the subject Laboratory and Virtuality will be based on continuous evaluation and will have different sections:

  • Class participation: 10% (single).
  • Individual deliveries (2 in total along the course): 10% each; 20% in total (single). (the deadline will be after get over the first 1/3 of the course)
  • Preparation of a classroom activity with ICT and TAC: 20% (microteaching throughout the course) 10% presentation (group) and 10% reflection (single).
  • Initial and final reflection: 10% (single, Individual. At the beginning and at the end of the course).
  • Digitization project of a school space: 20%. (at the last two sessions)
  • Research project in the field of science with ICT tools and TAC: 20%. (at the end of the course)

It should be taken into account that:

  • In accordance with UAB regulations, plagiarism or copying of any work will be penalized with a grade of 0, losing the possibility of retaking it, whether it is an individual or group work (in this case, all group members will have a 0).
  • Class attendance is mandatory: students must attend all classes to be evaluated following continuous assessment (20% of justified incidents are considered), otherwise they will be considered non-assessable and the student will have to go to re-take, as long as the following condition is met.
  • Students who have handed in 2/3 of the assignments have the right to re-take, which will take place on January 20.
  • The re-take will consist of a practical laboratory, a FabLab practice and a theoretical part (Each practice will be 30% of the final grade and theoretical one will be 40%. In order to average the numerical value of each test, it will have to exceed 4 out of 10).
  • There is no synthesis test.
  • The use of AI is not permitted in assessed activities. Any use of AI will result in failure of the course.

Single assessment

  • This subject includes a single assessment, which will take place on December 16. The test will consist of a practical laboratory, a FabLab practice and a theoretical part (Each practice will be 30% of the final grade and theoretical one will be 40%. In order to average the numerical value of each test, it will have to exceed 4 out of 10).
  • The attendance condition is the same as the continuing assessment.
  • The recovery procedure and conditions are the same as for continuous assessment, and will take place on January 20.


Bibliography

Chivite, J. (2010). Com influencia la temperatura en el creixement de les hortalisses en un hivernacle. Ciències. Revista del Professorat de Ciències d'Infantil, Primària i Secundària, 17, 2-6.

Colette Murphy (2003). Literature Review in Primary Science and ICT. A NESTA Futurelab Series - report 5.

Demkanin, P., Kibble, B., Lavonen, J. Josefa Guitart Mas, Jozefina Turlo  (2008). Effective use of ICT in Science Education. University of Edinburg.

Hennessy, S., Wishart, J., Whitelock, D., Deaney, R., Brawn, R., la Velle, L., McFarlane, A., Ruthven, K. and Winterbottom, M. (2007). Pedagogical approaches for technology-integrated science teaching. Computers and Education, 48 (1), 137-152.

López, V. i Hernández, M.I. (2013). El Scratch com a eina de modelització computacional. Ciències. Revista del Professorat de Ciències d'Infantil, Primària i Secundària, 26, 28-33.

Osborne, J., Hennessy, S. (2003). Literature Review in Science Education and the Role of ICT: Promise, Problems and Future Directions. A NESTA Futurelab Research report – report 6.

Pintó, R., Couso, D., Hernández, M.I. (2010) An inquiry-oriented approach for making the best use of ICT in the science classroom. e-Learning papers, 20, 1-14.

Software

- Scratch

- Microbit

- Tinkercad

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(PLAB) Practical laboratories 20 Catalan first semester afternoon