International Technology, Education and Development (INTED) Conference is one of the largest international education conferences for lecturers, researchers, technologists and professionals from the educational sector. This meeting addresses teaching and learning methodologies and innovations in educational technology. After 12 years, it has become a reference event where more than 700 experts from 80 countries get together to present their projects and share their knowledge on teaching and learning methodologies and innovations on educational technology. INTED is an ideal platform for international strategic networking.

Within this context, Teresa Serra and Jordi Colomer participate in the 12^th INTED Conference in Valencia from 5 to 7 March 2018. The members of the Environmental Physics research group contribute with oral presentations within the framework of their “divulgation and innovation in the teaching of physics” research line, and of the STELYS educational project.

Dr. Serra gives the conference entitled “Reflective analysis of undergraduate students when working on non-formal science activities”. In this study, two non-formal science activities were chosen as platforms for undergraduate students to improve their competencies, especially in communicating science. Students answered a list of reflective questions. Four complete units were chosen with which to analyze the students’ responses, that were afterwards classified into three methodological (description, argumentation and contribution) and three reflective (understanding, reflection and critical reflection) levels. There was a high level of participation in the activity; seven out of the eight students that attended the non-formal science events answered the questions. They were motivated during the event and also with the ensuing reflection activity. From the methodological categorization, students mainly described the activity carried out and only a small percentage (25%) managed to give an argument of their reflections. Several students contributed to the activity by pointing out the method they used to adapt the language to the audience and its needs, the way they obtained feedback from the audience or to how they managed to acquire the information required from the audience in order to be able to introduce the information needed to develop the experiment. When the categorization was made in terms of the level of reflection, the majority of the students’ reflections about the activity were on the level of understanding. The majority of the answers to this indicator reflected scientific knowledge with only one student response about the methodology used during the activity. Furthermore, 32% pointed out that they had searched for new methods, not indicated by their teachers, to develop the non-formative event, indicating an important degree of creativity and critical reflection.

In addition, Dr. Serra and Dr. Colomer participate in another oral presentation entitled “Pre-service teachers’ reflective narratives on cooperative learning: configurations of need-supportive teaching in higher education” in collaboration with the Faculty of Education of the University of Girona. This study highlights the potential of collaborative learning as well as the potential to use reflective narratives to explore prior conceptions and beliefs on professional development. The use of mixing qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis identified the positive interdependences that trigger responsibility in primary school students. Positive interdependence binds group members together by both completing one’s share of the activity and helping the work of other group members. On the other hand, the design of the level of structure in the designed challenges by the preservice s teachers determined perceived scales of autonomy support, structure and involvement. It was proved that need-supportive teaching is a powerful instrument for teachers to encourage students’ motivation in order to increase student’s achievement.