Analysis of an Inquiry-based Electricity Laboratory for Undergraduate Students


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Authors

  • Victor Travagin Sanches Federal University of São Carlos, Brazil
  • Tomaz Catunda University of São Paulo, Brazil
  • Jéssica Fernanda Mariano dos Santos University of São Paulo, Brazil
  • Gláucia Gomes Grüninger Costa University of São Paulo, Brazil

Keywords:

Electric circuits, Inquiry, Laboratory, Undergraduate

Abstract

It is well known in Physics Education literature that, even after attending to Introductory Physics courses (lectures and laboratory), students still have some difficulties with direct current electric circuits’ concepts. Since 2006, we are investigating the conceptual understanding of electric circuits in Brazilian college students. We observed that only ~13% of students answered correctly a question about the brightness of bulbs in simple circuits (series and parallel). This observation motivated us to adopt new laboratory guide with active learning strategies. The activities were adapted from Tutorials in Introductory Physics. We have been observing a significant gain of students learning using the mentioned question as pre and post-tests. More recently (since 2013) we have been applying the DIRECT which consists of 28 multiple choice questions on electric circuits. This test helps to identify specific difficulties which remain after instruction. In 2016, some groups of students were recorded in audio and video in order to investigate their interaction and learning process during the class. The student’s majority evaluated positively the active learning strategies used in the course, mentioning that they contribute to their learning (~78%).

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Published

09/18/2019

How to Cite

Sanches, V. T., Catunda, T., dos Santos, J. F. M., & Costa, G. G. G. (2019). Analysis of an Inquiry-based Electricity Laboratory for Undergraduate Students. International Journal of Physics and Chemistry Education, 10(3), 57–60. Retrieved from https://ijpce.org/index.php/IJPCE/article/view/23