Atividades experimentais no ensino de engenharia a distância: percepções, dificuldades e possibilidades

Abstract

The expansion of Distance Learning and the rise of Engineering courses at ODL have resulted in new challenges regarding carrying out experimental activities within this modality. Among the main challenges there is the need for studying new pedagogic strategies and physical structures that aid educators in the implementation of experimental activities away from the walls of learning institutions. This study investigates the possibilities and the limitations related to the use of experimental didactic kits in an Electrical Engineering Distance Learning course at a private university based in Curitiba. The goal of this study is to understand what are the perceptions and difficulties of the students who carry out these activities. The results showed that the experimental activities performed at a distance were well accepted by the students and showed signs that they are close to some of the objectives that permeate the discussions on the subject of experimentation in the teaching area, such as: increased motivation for learning, improved understanding of the concepts taught through the relationship between theory and practice, and the stimulation of autonomy. At this point, there is no evidence that the distance between teacher and student is an impediment to the activity. However, the teaching literature believes that this is not the main objective of this type of activity. The researchers point out that the objective of the experimental activities is to bring the student closer to science through the development of investigative practices that help the teacher in a better evaluation of the knowledge construction process. Within this context, it was noticed that many students believe that the role of experimental activities lies merely in the verification of theoretical results through experimental data, which may reflect a pedagogical conception of traditional teaching adopted in activity planning. The research also reveals a specificity of the experimental activity performed at a distance with the use of the didactic kits, contrary to the researchers' expectations regarding the collaborative work: most students showed a preference to perform the experimental activities individually. It is hoped that the discussions held in this work will allow an initial approach on the subject of experimental activity in the distance mode and open the possibility for further studies to be carried out in future research, for instance, to investigate what teachers think about the activities in ODL or to understand students' changes in perceptions and difficulties when inserted in another pedagogical approach, for example, in the context of investigative experimental activity.