There is an expectation that university teachers have a good understanding of the value of educational technologies in learning and teaching as well as be able to incorporate them effectively into their teaching (Carter et al, 2011, Higher Education Academy, 2011; Sharples et al, 2016). However, according to key literature (Conole, 2004; Kennedy et al, 2011; Laurillard, 2007; Selwyn, 2007; Walker et al, 2016) the extent to which educational technologies have impacted on teaching and learning practices is considered to be minimal. While universities have invested heavily in educational technologies for teaching purposes, institutional virtual learning environments are predominately being used as a vehicle for information transmission and document repository (Armellini et al, 2012; Walker et al, 2016). The research I report here investigated the thinking and conceptions behind how Bryn, a university teacher, used educational technologies to optimise the quality of his students’ learning. I also report on the thinking and decision making behind how 15 of his students used educational technologies to optimise the quality of their university learning. The analysis of the data collected suggests that there is an evolution occurring in how university teaching staff are thoughtfully integrating educational technology into programmes and satisfying the majority of students with this development. It was also identified that influences of educational technology on student learning are mediated by students’ disposition towards learning and the task and social contexts of their learning. It is recommended that those students who are pioneer users of educational technology and ahead of the university teacher’s curve be incorporated into the planning and evaluating of experiences of learning and teaching in educational technology-mediated classroom contexts and be appointed as learning coaches to those students who are somewhat bewildered and frustrated by educational technology use.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-16T14:49:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Arquivototal.pdf: 3532094 bytes, checksum: c8e7eaeec2118e1284f0f7866c1fd2e9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-03-04 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The objective of this study is to analyse the role of learning in the development process of collective competencies at the Human Resources Department of the Federal University of Campina Grande. With this in mind, we outlined the following objectives: (a) to describe the process of including civil servants in the professional action context; (b) to describe the learning process at the Human Resources Department; (c) to characterize the factors which facilitate and jeopardise the development of collective competencies at the SRH. The theoretical background covered the following aspects: the contextualization of staff management in Brazilian public administration; the fundamentals of learning; the social learning context; social learning: concepts and characteristics; the development of competency logics; and the development of collective competencies in the realm of social learning. The methodology used producing this study was based on the interpretative paradigm. The study corresponds to basic exploratory and qualitative research. The method used was case study. The context was the Federal University of Campina Grande, whereas the analysis unit was the Human Resources Department. For data collection we used semistructured interviews with the coordinators and the secretary of human resources, as well as two focal groups with six civil servants each. In both ways, the interviews were recorded, transcribed literally and transformed into a protocol, out of which the theme categorization was taken. For the analysis of data we used a comprehensive/interpretative analysis. The results indicate that the civil servants inclusion takes place without a determined pattern and it is conclusive in their behavior in the institution. Learning is individual and related to the management of activities. The learner context does not favour either the integration or the social learning. We also identified determining factors which enhance or make difficult the process of developing collective competencies, such as: group dynamics in the professional context; the staff; individual characteristics and dispositions motivation for learning and teaching; team integration; communication; physical structure; manager s role and Career Planning and National Policy for Staff Development. The study also showed that the development of collective competencies at the SRH is made difficult because there is no team cooperation and, consequently, no single team identity. Thus the SRH needs to re-think its learning process and the integration of its members, as well as to focus on the importance of creating an action plan which could favour social learning and the development of collective competencies. / O objetivo deste estudo é analisar o papel da aprendizagem no processo de desenvolvimento das competências coletivas na Secretaria de Recursos Humanos da UFCG. Neste sentido, foram delineados os seguintes objetivos: (a) descrever o processo de inserção do servidor no contexto da ação profissional; (b) descrever o processo de aprendizagem da Secretaria de Recursos Humanos; (c) caracterizar os fatores que facilitam e dificultam o desenvolvimento das competências coletivas na SRH. A fundamentação teórica da pesquisa tratou dos seguintes aspectos: contextualização da gestão de pessoas na administração pública brasileira; fundamentos da aprendizagem; o contexto social da aprendizagem; aprendizagem social: conceitos e características; desenvolvimento da lógica das competências; e desenvolvimento das competências coletivas à luz da aprendizagem social. A metodologia utilizada na realização da pesquisa foi balizada pelo paradigma interpretativo. O estudo corresponde a uma pesquisa exploratória e qualitativa básica. O método utilizado foi o estudo de caso. O contexto foi a Universidade Federal de Campina Grande, sendo a Secretaria de Recursos Humanos a unidade de análise. Para coleta de dados, foram realizadas entrevistas semiestruturadas com os coordenadores e secretário de recursos humanos e dois grupos focais com seis servidores cada. Em ambas as formas, as entrevistas foram gravadas, transcritas literalmente e transformadas em protocolo, do qual se extraiu a categorização temática. Para análise dos dados foi utilizada a análise compreensiva interpretativa. Os resultados indicam que a inserção do servidor acontece sem padronização e é determinante em seu comportamento na instituição. A aprendizagem é individualizada e está relacionada a operacionalização de atividades. O contexto do aprendizado não favorece a integração e nem a aprendizagem social. Foram identificados fatores determinantes, que facilitam e dificultam o processo de desenvolvimento das competências coletivas, são eles: dinâmica das atividades no contexto profissional; quadro de pessoal; características e disposições individuais motivação para aprender e ensinar; integração da equipe; comunicação; estrutura física; papel do gestor e Plano de Carreia e Política Nacional de Desenvolvimento de Pessoal. O estudo revelou ainda que o desenvolvimento das competências coletivas na SRH é prejudicado porque não existe unicidade na equipe e, consequentemente, uma identidade coletiva. A SRH precisa, portanto, repensar seus processos de aprendizagem e integração de seus membros, bem como a importância da elaboração de planos de ação que favoreçam a aprendizagem social e o desenvolvimento de competências coletivas.