Utilização das novas tecnologias de informação e comunicação para a aplicação da metodologia “Instrução pelos Colegas” no ensino de física no ensino médio

Abstract

The Peer Instruction technique (PI), known in Brazil as “instrodução pelos colegas” (IPC), is an active teaching methodology originally designed for classrooms with a large number of students. It is based on active learning through the interactions among students. This methodology requires a prior study of students in the topic to be addressed in the classroom to reduce the long lectures by the teacher. During class, after a brief explanation of the content, conceptual multiple choice questions are presented to students. After one or two minutes initially without interaction with other students, the students report their answer to the teacher through a voting system. Depending on the percentage of correct answers the teacher can put the question under discussion among the students and hold a new round of voting. This methodology provides a better interaction between students, where students can explain the concepts learned one to the other and reduces the time of lecture. The voting process can be done by voting cards, also called flashcard, gesture or clickers, which are electronic points that store the answers in a computer in an automated fashion. Although the methodology does not require the use of clickers, this voting system has some advantages over other. For example, it minimizes plagiarized responses among students during the voting process, the data acquisition is faster and it facilitates data storage for further analyzes. However, the clickers are relatively expensive devices, which does not correspond to the reality of most public high schools in Brazil. The aim of this study was to develop a cheaper electronic voting system that commercial clickers, which students use their mobile devices with access to the Wi-Fi network as an alternative to replace clickers. This system was developed in HTML and PHP language and is, basically, a website that runs locally on the teacher's computer. For its implementation a computer is required, a Wi-Fi router without connection to the internet, and the students' mobile devices. The system was implemented in school E. E. E. M. "Monsignor Miguel de Sanctis", located in Guaçuí in the state of Espirito Santo, in a total of 155 students. The system worked properly during class, created a distinctive and curious class environment for students and registered individual students’ responses to each question, allowing further analysis of the voting results and the student’s participation during the discussions.