EVALUATION OF A NEW TEACHING PROPOSAL FOR BASIC HYDRAULICS

Abstract

This article presents the evaluation of an alternative approach to teaching basic hydraulics, based on three teaching strategies: meaningful learning, didactic transposition, and the history of the subject. Initially, a questionnaire related to the disciplinary content considered in the proposal was designed and initially administered to students in six groups from different schools. Classes were subsequently taught to three groups, referred to as "reference groups," using traditional teaching methods. The new teaching methods were used for the other three groups, referred to as "control groups." The same questionnaire was administered to all students at the end of the classes. Grade results were analyzed using simple averages and ANOVA. A survey of teacher opinions was also conducted. The simple averages among the control groups were slightly higher. The small differences could confuse the true effect of the experiment with the magnitude of random errors in the analysis. Using ANOVA, uncertainty was eliminated, making it clear that the new teaching method did influence the results. Additionally, the teachers' feedback was overwhelmingly positive.