La comprensión de problemas de campo eléctrico en estudiantes universitariosaspectos de la instrucción en la organización de representaciones

Abstract

The author�s experience in college teaching has allowed for acknowledging the lasting reiteration of failures in a group of students when solving examination problems, in which the concept of electric field is relevant. Even among those who come up with satisfactory answers, it is quite common to notice that in their verbal explanation of these solutions they seem to adequately apply formal structures though without granting any physical meaning to the concepts they have used. The Theory of Meaningful Learning, by Ausubel and Novak, the Theory of Mental Models, by Johnson-Laird, and the Theory of Conceptual Fields, by Vergnaud, constitute the theoretical framework of this thesis. Contributions stemmed from epistemological foundations of science together with their pedagogical implications have been also applied. Research findings of this study intend to contribute to decision making in relation to future curricular and pedagogical proposals that consider the concept of electric field as an axis in reference to contents, their sequencing, and to the evaluation systems to be used.