Structured Rational Thought as a Resource to Design a Binding Case of Physics with Engineering

Abstract

Designing Engineering Cases contributes to learning Physics principles. This involves a method derived from Structured Rational Thinking. The research objectives were: analyze the design process of the Case by students evaluation, with the dimensions of: clarity, coherence, relevance, sufficiency. It was described the relationship of rational thinking with evaluation. The first stage consisted of theoretically basing pedagogy related with rational thought of ancient Greece; Secondly, was developed the test design through an interaction matrix for order and interpret data that reflect level of conceptualization, according to types of structured thought: logical, methodical, narrative; For each type, dimensions of content, purpose and structure are evaluated, through anecdotal logs of the designed Case ; with a sample of a control and experimental group of 45 students. To measure the impact of understanding, three levels considered: little, moderate and a lot; each level related to a type of rational thinking with its dimensions, coded with an ordinal scale from 1 to 3. A summary table was constructed for identifying type of thought in student's interpretation when wrote logs about the Case readed. The results of evaluation showed optimal levels of relevance and sufficiency; with acceptable assessments that the Case is not totally coherent with a linear reality but complex. Conclusion, Rational Thought is effective to design and study Cases due to its systematic processes, which may improve understanding.