“WORLD CAFÉ” IN THE PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICE

Abstract

The performance of a teacher in classroom has always been challenging. That only got worse with the arrival of Digital Information and Communication Technologies (DICT) and born-digital students. Teaching methodologies that foster student interactions and motivation, ultimately bringing them as protagonists in the construction of their knowledge is excellent alternative in the teaching-learning process. This is the proposal of the active methodology “World café”, coined by Brown & Isaacs (2007), which seeks to engage students in the collective construction of knowledge using relevant questions with elaborated discussions involving a simple and direct dynamic, which is revisited in the present study. The essence of this methodology is centered on the elaboration of pertinent questions and having meaningful discussions, for which we indicate some alternatives to facilitate their preparation/conduction. Furthermore, we report experiences in pedagogical practice, demonstrating the potential of the application of the "World Café", in different contexts, in educational institutions. The use of this methodology increases the set of possibilities of teaching strategy in the classroom. Thus, the instructor will be able to use non-formal formats to direct students in meaningful discussions and to bring the required understanding on a topic, in an instigating way.