Constructive trend in elementary teaching of informatics: teoretical principles and practice

Straipsnyje aptariama informatikos turinio bendrojo lavinimo mokykloje kaita, analizuojama, kaip taikomas konstruktyvistinio mokymo metodas jaunesniojo amžiaus moksleivių klasėse. Daugiausia dėmesio skiriama S. Paperto sukurtos Logo kompiuterinės mokymo sistemos ypatybėms atskleisti. Trumpai apžvelgiami Logo įvykių raida Lietuvos mokyklose.What kind of informatics curriculum should we provide for our students especially in primary education? What vision of society and learning should it embody? These are the key issues discussed in the paper. At the onset of introduction of computers into education, in 1970-1980, technocentric paradigms of computer use dominated in classroom practice. "The computer should be like a pencil, not as an isolated class, but as a tool which empowers children with knowledge, thinking skills and problem solving alternatives" - this is the fundamental tenet of humanistic computing. It represents an approach that is essentially constructive (or constructional, in Papert's terminology). The Logo philosophy is based upon a constructive approach of learning. It is assumed that knowledge is actively constructed by the learner instead of being simply transmitted from one mind to another. Primary education of informatics in Lithuanian schools is mainly based on the Logo constructive approach. We have completed a system of Logobased tools for teaching and learning in elementary and lower secondary education, namely, to localise "LogoWriter", "Comenius Logo", as well as prepared tutorials and methodical guides. Two national Logo seminars were organised for teachers as well as many lessons in teacher in-service training courses