ACTIVE LEARNING METHODOLOGIES AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES: STUDENT PROTAGONISM AND PEDAGOGICAL MEDIATION

Abstract

The expansion of active learning methodologies articulated with digital technologies has occupied a central place in contemporary educational discourse, often associated with pedagogical innovation, student protagonism, and the overcoming of traditional teaching practices. However, the adoption of these methodologies requires critical analysis, especially when implemented in an instrumental or unreflective manner, detached from consistent pedagogical and ethical foundations. This chapter aims to discuss the relationship between active methodologies and digital technologies, problematizing the meanings attributed to student protagonism and pedagogical mediation in the context of contemporary schooling. Grounded in critical pedagogy, philosophy of education, and studies on educational technologies, the chapter examines how active methodologies may either foster emancipatory formative processes or reinforce logics of individual accountability, performativity, and the weakening of the teacher’s role. Drawing on authors such as Freire, Dewey, Biesta, Nóvoa, Moran, and Selwyn, it argues that active methodologies become inclusive and formative pedagogical practices only when articulated with pedagogical intentionality, dialogue, and commitment to human formation. The chapter concludes that the pedagogical potential of active methodologies lies less in technique and more in their integration into critical, dialogical, and socially committed educational projects.