Search

Abstract Background Currently, multiple tools exist to teach and learn anatomy, but finding an adequate activity is challenging. However, it can be achieved through haptic experiences, where motivation is the means of a significant learning process. This study aimed to evaluate a haptic experience to determine if a tactile and painting with color marker interactive experience, established a better learning process in comparison to the traditional 2D workshop on printed paper with photographs. Methods Plaster bone models of the scapulae, humerus and clavicle were elaborated from a computerized scan tomography. Second year undergraduate medical students were invited to participate, where subjects were randomly assigned to the traditional 2D method or the 3D plaster bone model. A third group decided not to join any workshop. Following, all three groups were evaluated on bone landmarks and view, laterality, muscle insertions and functions. 2D and 3D workshop students were asked their opinion in a focus group and answered a survey regarding the overall perception and learning experience. Evaluation grades are presented as mean ± standard deviation, and answers from the survey are presented as percentages. Results The survey demonstrated the students in the 3D model graded the experience as outstanding, and in five out of the six questions, answers were very good or excellent. In contrast, for students participating in the 2D workshop the most common answers were fair or good. The exception was the answer regarding the quiz, where both groups considered it good, despite the average among all groups not being a passing grade. Conclusions To learn the anatomy of the shoulder, the conventional methodology was compared with a haptic experience, where plaster bone models were used, enabling students to touch and paint on them. Based on the focus group and survey this study revealed the 3D workshop was an interactive experience where, the sense of touch and painting greatly contributed to their learning process. Even though this activity was useful in terms of learning bone landmarks, view muscle insertions, and establish relations, further activities must be developed to increase their understanding regarding their function, and its relevance in a clinical setting.

Background Despite recognition by both the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and the American Board of Paediatrics (ABP) of the importance of bioethics education, curricular crowding, lack of perceived significance, and insufficient administrative support remain significant barriers to trainees gaining competency in bioethics. Few bioethics curricula at the graduate medical education level are evidence-based or comprehensive. We sought to develop and assess the effectiveness of a Team Based Learning (TBL) curriculum in improving residents’ bioethics knowledge and their ability to evaluate ethical dilemmas. Methods We integrated L. Dee Fink’s curricular design principles of “Significant Learning,” Jonsen et. al’s “Four-Box Method” of ethical analysis, and ABP bioethics content specifications to create 10 TBL bioethics sessions. Paediatric residents at a major academic centre then completed a 3-year longitudinal, integrated TBL-based bioethics curriculum. Primary outcomes included individual and group readiness assessment tests (iRAT/gRAT), pre-work completion, and satisfaction with sessions. Results The TBL-based bioethics curriculum contains 10 adaptable modules. Paediatric residents (n = 348 total resident encounters) were highly engaged and satisfied with the curriculum. gRAT scores (mean 89%) demonstrated significant improvement compared to iRAT scores (72%) across all TBLs and all post-graduate years (p

Demotivation in learning English among vocational school students (grades 10 and 11) at Nuestra Señora de Fátima High School (Onzaga, Santander, Colombia) led us to undertake this research study. Its goal was to assess the incidence of the didactic act on this problem as well as to develop a plan of teaching strategies aimed at fostering motivation to learn English, using new ICT tools. The plan intended to improve the education quality and motivation at the vocational high school level. A mixed methodology was used in this research study, which was based on a socio-educational model. The techniques used included observation, document analysis and interviews (both semi-structured and structured). The instruments administered were a questionnaire, a survey and a Likert scale. The selection of the samples involved the use of simple probability random sampling. The results confirmed the proposed hypothesis that the didactic act has a high incidence on demotivation in learning English as acknowledged by teachers and students. The conclusion highlights the existence of a cold didactic relation, poor communication and misinterpretation of the remaining characteristics of the didactic act.

Deep meaningful learning is the higher-order thinking and development through manifold active intellectual engagement aiming at meaning construction through pattern recognition and concept association. It includes inquiry, critical thinking, creative thinking, problem-solving, and metacognitive skills. It is a theory with a long academic record that can accommodate the demand for excellence in teaching and learning at all levels of education. Its achievement is verified through knowledge application in authentic contexts.

Abstract The prevailing assumption is that a multi-age learning environment allows the learner tointeract with a wide range of students, representing a broad range of cognitive, emotional and social aspects depending on the individual development of each student. Focusing on the school vision of a multi-age elementary school, this study compares and contrasts two models, one Austrian and one in Israel. Firstly, the study presents the views and actions of the students, teachers and the administrative team to better understand the benefits and challenges of the multi-age classroom. Secondly, the study examines the emotional, social and cognitive characteristics that define multi-age education and thirdly, it looks at the teaching and learning processes that are derived from this structure and the connection with significant learning. This study used qualitative research methods (case studies) and triangulation of participants and research tools.

This article is part of a master dissertation, investigating the efficiency of a didactic sequence of Geometry, applied to 8th year students, concerning the concept and properties of triangles. The research was based on the Van Hiele Theory to determine the level of learning before and after the application of the didactic sequence, in parallel to the traditional teaching of Geometry. The didactic sequence was elaborated in order to induce the understanding of the properties of triangles and their generalization, reaching a Significant Learning, according to the theories of Ausubel and Skemp. The activities of the didactic sequence were different from the instructional text for the use of concrete materials and the constant demand for arguments and justifications. After some time it was possible to verify the retention of the learning, allowing the conclusion that the students had reached a significant learning, according to the answers to a pot-test.

Occupational therapy (OT) school is where learning begins as students prepare to become future professionals. Thus, effective course design is imperative in professional formation. This study examined the effectiveness of a course designed around andragogical and active learning principles in combination with Fink’s (2013) taxonomy of learning for a blended cohort of face-to-face and hybrid OT students. The study used a mixed methods explanatory sequential design with pre/post surveys, end-of-course evaluations, and focus groups to explore student perceptions and preferences toward learning to create significant learning experiences. One hundred six students completed pre and post testing of the redesigned course, 67 completed end-of-course evaluations from 2018 (pre-redesign), and 90 from 2019 (post-redesign). Nineteen students participated in the focus groups, nine from the campus pathway and 10 from the hybrid pathway. Results suggest the course was effective at helping students achieve a deeper level of understanding and develop self-directed learning habits significantly more so than a traditional lecture format. Students, regardless of the method of course delivery, benefited from active learning strategies and showed a strong preference for assignments and learning activities linked to real-life experiences. Instructors should invite adult OT students to participate as capable and equal partners in the learning process and consider how to best orient students to course content to help them understand the relevance to personal motivations and goals. Results of this study can help instructors create significant learning opportunities that have a distinct value in developing OT practitioners who are lifelong learners for a blended cohort of students.

The use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has increased significantly since the last decade of the 20th century to the present. This revolution in ICT is having a great impact on all aspects of our lives, including teaching and learning, helping to bring university teaching methodologies closer to the Bologna plan, which promotes a change in pedagogy towards a curriculum based on competencies and that commits to pedagogical practices that are better adapted to the digital-minded students of the new generation. Mobile Learning is a relatively new teaching and learning modality, which allows students and teachers to create new learning environments through the use of mobile devices with internet access. There is a wide variety of mobile devices such as laptops or tablets, but smartphones, because of their versatility and ubiquitous use among the youngest, seem to be the devices use par excellence in education. This paper presents a study in which the usefulness of a chatbot, specifically designed for this purpose, was evaluated through a known mobile application (Telegram) to teach complex theoretical aspects related to the structure and function of the human body in the 1st year of Nursing Degree. Likewise, it was sought to facilitate and promote oral communication as a fundamental professional competence, as well as to favor the creation of learning communities. The data extracted from the use of the chatbot, the anonymous satisfaction questionnaires, and the qualifications obtained suggest that the designed chatbot is a didactic tool that facilitates meaningful learning, the development of transversal competences, and the collaboration among students out of the classroom. We hope this experience serves to encourage the educational community to use chatbots and similar technologies in their classrooms.

This paper explains several teaching strategies derived from the Universal Design for Learning movement and Scholarship of Teaching and Learning research in High-Impact Educational Practices, especially the work of George Kuh. Two broad themes unite the successful approaches: creating opportunities for intellectual practice through cycles of feedback and establishing relationships between student and instructors, as well as among student peers, throughout the course of a semester. Furthermore, assignments and learning outcomes are enhanced when expectations are made extremely clear through multiple means, including rubrics and labeling of taxonomies of learning. The author argues that employing these methods creates better learning outcomes for all students, not only those with official accommodations. The author uses practical examples from seminar courses in Asian studies and art history to demonstrate specific ways these strategies can be employed to improve student outcomes over the course of a semester.

In this paper the methodology of cases in first year students of the Engineering Risk Prevention and Environment is applied. For this purpose a real case of contamination occurred at a school in the region of Valparaiso called "La Greda" is presented. If the application starts delivering an extract of the information collected from the media and they made a brief induction on the methodology to be applied. A plenary session, which is debate about possible solutions to the problem and establishing a relationship between the case and drives the chemistry program is then performed. Is concluded that the application of the case method, was a fruitful tool in yields obtained by students, since the percentage of approval was 75%, which is considerably higher than previous years.

The experience of being a novice sailor has put me in a peculiar, but privileged position to gain a deeper understanding of the experience of an adult learner who is also a competent professional. I initially used first-person writing in order to express and explore my experience of a week of sailing in the Norfolk Broads. I tried to capture, among many things, my fear of falling in the water, of failing and of embarrassment. I described how I overcame my fear as I enjoyed small success at simple tasks. I then reflected on what I could learn about these experiences in nine themes, drawing on ideas by Maslow (1968/1972) on growth and safety, but also by Rogers (1951) on significant learning, and the all-important role of support and skilful guidance, with doctoral students and supervisors in mind. I drew on Shotter's (1993, 2013) notions of "joint action" and "third agency" in order to explore the student-supervisor relationship and the construction of knowledge that takes place during a doctorate. This author's ideas seemed particularly well-suited to the description of learning and supervising, as involving a way of being in which we are mostly responding to the requirements of concrete circumstances in a fluid process. I tried to infer what the appropriate skills and pedagogical strategies needed on the part of the supervisor may be. However, it is possible that the readers discover more possibilities hidden in the metaphor of learning to sail as they apply it to their own experience of learning in the doctoral programme. Abstract (Spanish) La experiencia de ser un marino novato me ha puesto en una posición peculiar pero, a la vez privilegiada, que me permite obtener una comprensión profunda de la experiencia de un aprendiz adulto que es también un professional compentente. Inicialmente, usé un escrito en primera persona para expresar y explorar my experiencia de una semana navegando en velero en los Norfolk Broads. Intenté captar, entre otras cosas, mi miedo de caer al agua, de fracasar y de hacer el ridículo. Describàcómo me sobrepuse at miedo a medida que disfrutaba pequeños éxitos en tareas sencillas. Luego reflexioné sobre lo que podía aprender de esas experiencias en nueve temas, basado en ideas de Maslow (1968/1972) sobre el crecimento y la seguridad, pero también de Rogers (1951) sobre el aprendizaje significativo y el paper fundamental del apoyo y la orientación, con los alumnos de doctorado y sus supervisors en mente. Hice uso de las nociones de “accion conjunta” y “tercera agencia” de Shotter (1993, 2013). Las ideas de este autor resultaron particularmente apropiadas para describir el aprendizaje y la supervisión, en tanto que involucran una forma de ser en la que, por sobre todo, respondemos a los requerimentos de las circunstancias concretas en un proceso fluido. Intenté inferir cuáles serían las habilidades y estrategias pedagógicas necesarias para un supervisor.

Concerned about the success rate of new students in our program we designed and implemented a compulsory set of experiences which aim to support students in their transition from high school to university by 1) developing their sense of belonging to a community of learners and by 2) articulating with them the interrelationships among their first year core courses. We initiated various strategies which we have refined in response to student feedback over the past three years. In this paper we describe the pedagogical moves that constitute our initiative and the lessons we learned. We explore essential academic and personal issues that first-year students in all programs face. We share our research findings and address the big ideas that could be applied to any discipline or multi-disciplinary program.

Every year in Virginia, many teachers instruct students that capitalism is a system in which government stays out of the way. The author of this review, being a former high school teacher in Virginia, taught this very concept. Nevertheless, Sven Beckert tells a different story in his book Empire of Cotton: A Global History. Beckert argues that not only was the state involved in the development of capitalism, but also “the needs of nation-states were not conflicting”, meaning that in many instances capitalism intertwined with goals of the state. He uses a commodity, cotton, as a centerpiece to exemplify his point. From the onset, the reader may think they are embarking on a history of cotton, but that is not Beckert’s goal. His goal is to tell the story of capitalism, by focusing on a topicthat everyone knows something about: cotton.

We show in this work an analysis about how secondary school textbooks are considering Atomic Models (Thomson, Rutherford, Bohr and the current model). For this study we have analysed different publishing houses for the last four Spanish secondary school courses. The analysis was set according to current science didactic considerations. The results have detected some conceptual mistakes, a poor spiral development and a didactic strategy focused in a memoristical way to teach these models.

A linha de pesquisa em multimodos e múltiplas representações vem atualmente sendo inspiradora de ações instrucionais na educação científica. Partindo dos fundamentos que justificam um encaminhamento didático à luz dessas referências, este trabalho procura mostrar que há compatibilidade dos seus fundamentos com a teoria da aprendizagem significativa de Ausubel e com as questões levantadas pelas pesquisas que indicam a necessidade de se considerar a subjetividade dos alunos presentes numa sala de aula. Essencialmente, procuramos argumentar que a promoção de um ensino por meio de multimodos e múltiplas representações é consistente com o ambiente plural das subjetividades existentes numa sala de aula e com uma aprendizagem significativa.The research line in multi-modal and multiple representations is being currently inspiring instruction of actions in the scientific education. Starting by the foundations that justify a didactic direction in the light of theses references, this work tries to show that there is compatibility of their foundations with the theory of the significant learning of Ausubel, and with the lifted up subjects for the researches that indicate the need to consider the students' subjective diversity present in a classroom. Essentially, we tried to argue that the promotion of a teaching through multiple and multi-modal representation is consistent with the plural atmosphere of the existent subjectivities in a classroom and with a significant learning.

El trabajo trata sobre los resultados de un relevamiento de las dimensiones cognitiva y actitudinal en programas de e-learning implementados a través de sistemas de personalización y tutoría virtual. En una plataforma de e-learning, un sistema de personalización posibilita la administración flexible de contenidos conforme a características de los educandos. El núcleo básico del estudio radica en evaluar el nivel de eficacia de un sistema de tutoría virtual sobre el aprendizaje significativo y las actitudes, en el contexto de programas de e-learning aplicados a psicología. Se realizó un abordaje empírico con una muestra de 200 estudiantes de psicología extraída aleatoriamente, quienes realizaron actividades de e-learning bajo dos condiciones experimentales: a) implementadas sobre plataformas con tutoría online y b) implementadas sobre plataformas de e-learning sin dicha tutoría. Posteriormente, se administraron cuestionarios semiestructurados para indagar el impacto cognitivo y actitudinal de la experiencia. Los resultados revelan una incidencia significativa del sistema de tutoría virtual sobre las variables bajo estudio.This work is about the results of cognitive and attitudinal dimensions´ survey from an e-learning program implemented through personalized systems and virtual tutorial. In an e-learning platform, a personalized system makes possible a flexible administration of contents according to students' characteristics. The aim of the study was to determine the level of effectiveness of the virtual tutoring system on significant learning and attitudes, in the context of e-learning programs applied to psychology. An empirical study with a random sample of 200 university students was made. The subjects made activities of e-learning under two experimental conditions: a) implemented on platforms with a virtual tutorial online and, b) implemented on platforms of e-learning without this tutorial. Semi-structured questionnaires were then administered to explore cognitive and attitudinal impact of the experience. The results reveal a significant incidence of the virtual tutorial system on the variables under study.

This action research examines experiences that students in a grade 10 EFL class had with redesigning a grammar-unit into a topic-based unit. Strategies were formulating significant learning goals and objectives, and implementing and reflecting on activities with three dimensions of Dee Fink's (2003) taxonomy of significant learning: the human dimension, integration, and application. Students reported positive perceptions about learning with and about others, learning about themselves, integrating language and topics to their lives, and recycling and applying topics to other formats. They became more active and reflective language learners. Difficulties were linking significant unit goals and objectives to all participants' needs and interests, students' initial unwillingness to learn about others, and students' limited proficiency for integrating and applying English.

En el presente artículo se analiza el mapa conceptual como instrumento de estrategia educativa aplicada a las ciencias de la salud y, especialmente, al ámbito de la histología. Tras considerar los elementos constitutivos y los tipos de mapas conceptuales y el fundamento epistemológico de los mismos para estimular el aprendizaje significativo, se examina la aplicación de los mapas al desarrollo curricular, la evaluación, el diseño pedagógico por parte del profesor y el autoaprendizaje por parte del alumno en el contexto del proceso de Bolonia. En el ámbito de la histología se analiza la utilización de los distintos tipos de mapas para la definición y jerarquización de sus contenidos, su relación con el resto de las disciplinas y su nuevo paradigma vinculado a la Ingeniería tisular.This article analyzes the concept map as a tool for educational strategy applied to health sciences, particularly in the area of histology. After considering the elements that make up these maps, the different types of concept maps and the epistemological basis of maps as instruments to enhance significant learning, the article examines how maps can be used for curriculum development, evaluation, pedagogic design by teachers, and self-learning by students within the context of the Bologna process. UIT reference to histology, we analyze how different types of maps are used to define and rank concepts, examine the relationship between disciplines and to understand the new paradigm of histology related to tissue engineering.

Con el propósito de lograr una mayor comprensión de toda la dinámica de cambios que ocurren en la naturaleza, se ha implementado el ejercicio práctico "Estaciones para el Estudio de la Materia". Esta estrategia didáctica fue aplicada a una muestra de 152 estudiantes universitarios cursantes de las carreras de Educación Integral, Educación Preescolar y Educación Especial del Instituto Pedagógico de Caracas. Antes del desarrollo del ejercicio práctico se realizó un pretest para determinar las concepciones que tenían los estudiantes. Al finalizar el ejercicio práctico, se aplicó un postest con el fin de establecer los posibles cambios conceptuales producidos. Los resultados muestran una mejoría evidente en las concepciones de los estudiantes con relación a la consideración del carácter material de todos los cuerpos, sin embargo, prevalecen concepciones alternativas con respecto al carácter atómico-molecular de lo vivo, al reconocer en menor medida la constitución atómica de los seres vivos.With the purpose of obtaining a better comprensión of the whole dynamic changes that happens in nature, we have implemented a practical exercise: "Stations for the study of matter". This didactic strategy was applied to a group of 152 college students studying Integral Education, Pre-school Education and Special Education at the Instituto Pedagógico de Caracas. Before the practical exercise, we carried on a pre test to determine the concepts that students had. At the end of the practical exercise, we applied a post test to see if possible conceptual changes have happened. The results show and evident improvement in the conceptions the students had, related to the materially character of all substance, however, there is a prevail of alternative conceptions related to the atomic molecular character of all beings.

La sistematización es un proceso de construcción de conocimientos a partir de lo que enseña la misma práctica, que le aporta al mejoramiento de las condiciones materiales y cognitivas bajo las cuales tiene lugar la experiencia analizada. Se realizó una sistematización participativa del proceso investigativo de cuatro grupos inscritos en el semillero de investigación. El diseño descriptivo e interpretativo se abordó a partir guías de recuperación semiestructuradas, técnicas grupales y conversatorios libres aplicadas a cuatro grupos de interés. Se configuraron cinco categorías para la recolección en interpretación de la información: motivaciones e intereses, aprendizajes significativos, procesos directivos, coherencia y articulación curricular y evaluación de resultados-proyecciones. Se destacaron la obligatoriedad del curso y la agrupación por intereses temáticos comunes como los potenciadores primarios del proceso; los aprendizajes significativos estuvieron mediados por el papel del docente, la dinámica que le imprime al proceso, los espacios extracurriculares generados y las interacciones propiciadas por el Centro de Investigación. Sus productos les permitieron ganar un perfil ocupacional y académico, consolidar experiencias extracurriculares, afianzar relaciones interinstitucionales, académicas y gremiales. Se concluye que el pregrado debe optar por la investigación formativa, de allí que el presente estudio recomiende su implementación como herramienta fundamental que permita la sensibilización del estudiante y lo acerque al discurrir metodológico, a la producción del conocimiento disciplinar, y también a la problematización para la comprensión de los fenómenos sociales, situados en contextos cada vez más problemáticos y dinámicos, como un aporte a la formación integral de los ciudadanos estudiantes de odontología. La estrategia de los semilleros de investigación se convierte en una herramienta fundamental que potencia la articulación de la investigación en el discurrir académico, científico y social de la universidad.

This case study reports on a teacher training experience for college professors in which participants were trained, taking advantage of technological tools, in two main teaching competences. First, professors were trained to use technology to enrich students’ learning outcomes. Second, they applied strategies of significant learning in the design of students’ learning experiences. The learning experience consisted in an International Certificate on Significant Learning integrated by six modules, 20 hours each. Every module of the program consisted of two consecutive webinars with online activities in between. The results showed the positive impact of the program on participants’ perceptions about the quality of the contents, evidence of learning and products (E-portfolios) that served as content mastery evidences, as well as learning products produced by their students. DOI: 10.18870/hlrc.v3i1.72

Mount Allison University, with about 2,400 students, is a small, undergraduate Liberal Arts and Science university with a long history of faculty-student collaboration in both research and cocurricular activities. In 2005, Mount Allison introduced the Undergraduate Teaching Internship Program in which professors and senior students collaborate in instruction. The program has quickly become for its faculty participants an important springboard for teaching innovation and scholarship. Almost immediately after its introduction, it became clear that the Undergraduate Teaching Internship Program addressed two distinct but overlapping needs—the first was predictable, the second less so: (a) it presented opportunities for senior students to develop skills, knowledge and values that transcend those normally associated with undergraduate education; and (b) it provided a mechanism whereby faculty could engage in scholarly reflection on teaching and Scholarship of Teaching and Learning projects. In the 5 years since its inception, internship has become not simply a peripheral program but a strong thread woven into the fabric of the university culture. While outlining some constraints of the program, this descriptive paper explains the many ways in which internship has resulted in productive, mutually beneficial collaborations between interns and their supervising professors, encouraging an even more pervasive dialogue about teaching.L’Université Mount Allisson est un petit établissement qui offre des cours dans les domaines des arts et des sciences à environ 2400 étudiants de premier cycle. Son personnel enseignant et ses étudiants collaborent depuis longtemps aux activités de recherche et aux activités parallèles au programme. En 2005, l’Université a mis sur pied le programme de stages en enseignement au premier cycle où les professeurs et les étudiants qui en sont à leur dernière année d’étude collaborent à l’enseignement. Ce programme est rapidement devenu un tremplin important en matière d’innovation et d’érudition pédagogique pour le corps enseignant qui y participe. Pratiquement dès sa création, il est devenu évident que le programme comblait deux besoins distincts qui se chevauchaient. Le premier était prévisible, le deuxième l’était moins : a) il fournissait des occasions aux étudiants qui termine leur parcours d’apprentissage d’acquérir des compétences, des connaissances et des valeurs qui transcendent celles normalement associées aux études de premier cycle et b) il constituait un mécanisme permettant aux membres du corps enseignant de réfléchir aux questions pédagogiques et aux projets relatifs à l’avancement des connaissances en enseignement et en apprentissage. Au cours des cinq premières années, le programme de stages n’est pas simplement devenu un programme marginal, mais plutôt un fil solide tissé dans la trame de la culture de cette université. Tout en soulignant certaines contraintes du programme, cet article descriptif explique les nombreuses façons dont les stages se sont traduits par une collaboration productive et mutuellement bénéfique entre les stagiaires et les professeurs qui les supervisaient. L’article illustre également comment les stages ont favorisé un dialogue sur l’enseignement encore plus omniprésent qu’avant.

Esta pesquisa objetivou desenvolver uma sequência didática para o ensino do tema "Estações do ano", capaz de proporcionar aos alunos uma visão global dos conteúdos envolvidos e as relações entre o saber científico e o cotidiano, na busca de se possibilitar que o conhecimento seja relacionado à estrutura cognitiva dos es tudantes de modo significativo, sendo ancorado nela. Para o desenvolvimento das atividades de ensino foram utilizadas várias modalidades didáticas, tais como brains torming, dramatização, jogo, pesquisa, problematização, vídeo, entre outras, na tenta tiva de se atender às diferenças individuais dos alunos. Os achados indicam que a se quência didática desenvolvida favoreceu os processos de ensino e aprendizagem. As produções dos alunos revelaram ainda que as atividades tiveram diferentes níveis de significância para os mesmos.

A linha de pesquisa em multimodos de representações vem atualmente sendo destacada como instrumento de instrução na educação científica. Partindo dos fundamentos que justificam um encaminhamento didático à luz dos multimodos de representações, este trabalho procura mostrar que há compatibilidade desses fundamentos com a teoria da aprendizagem significativa de Ausubel. Procuramos relacionar conceitos integrantes da Teoria da Aprendizagem Significativa com a linha de multímodos de representação, argumentando também sobre a pertinência existente entre ambas nas situações de ensino-aprendizagem que ocor rem na sala de aula.

Neste artigo tratamos de um estudo realizado com o objetivo de utilizar diagramas conceituais no ensino da física, incorporados às aulas expositivas e demonstrativas, visando promover a aprendizagem significativa de conteúdos de ondulatória, acústica e óptica em nível de ensino médio. Foram elaborados "Diagramas de Referência", embasados na estratégia dos mapas conceituais propostos por Joseph Novak. Participaram do estudo duas turmas com vinte e cinco alunos cada, uma submetida às atividades com mapas conceituais, outra submetida às atividades tradicionais tais como: resenhas, resolução de problemas e exercícios formais em física. A análise qualitativa dos diagramas elaborados pelos alunos possibilitou identificar deficiências conceituais e também verificar que os diagramas conceituais elaborados pelos alunos no final do semestre foram superiores em relação aos primeiros diagramas no sentido de que evidenciaram maior facilidade dos alunos em expor organizadamente suas idéias, elaborar proposições e conclusões. Um questionário de opinião mostrou que os alunos aprovaram a utilização desse recurso didático.