Estudo de caso sobre a aplicação de estratégias ativas de ensino e aprendizagem em cinética e reatores químicos

Abstract

The discipline of Kinetics and Reactors, offered in the Chemical Engineering course at the Federal University of São Carlos, addresses the fundamental principles of chemical kinetics, the study of reactions in homogeneous phase and catalytic reactions in heterogeneous phase, the design of ideal reactors, among other fundamental content for the training of the chemical engineer. In general, there are many reports of learning difficulties with these contents and high rates of dropout and failure in the discipline. The present work deals with a case study on the application of active teaching and learning strategies for a class of Emergency Non-Presential Teaching (ENPE), applied in the second semester of 2020, with adaptations based on the methodologies “Flipped Classroom” and “Peer Instruction”. The case study consisted of a series of actions: monitoring of online classes throughout the semester for analysis; elaboration of questionnaires and virtual dialogued resolutions to guide and encourage the prior study of the subjects to be addressed in class; the analysis of the topics that caused the most difficulty in understanding from the results of the tests; evaluation of virtual applications to assist in the application of the “Peer Instruction” methodology; choice of indicators that best represented the application of methodologies; and, finally, the collection and analysis of data and student feedback. From the participation data, reports from the application and the Moodle environment and performance in the proposed activities, it can be said that the methodologies were effective in their purpose of assisting in learning when students had a high rate of access to prior study materials . The students' feedback regarding the application of the methodologies was positive, especially about the Inverted Classroom, although criticisms were pointed out about the overload of activities and possible points of improvement regarding the application of active teaching methods. Although the engineering education system in Brazil brings great challenges in the implementation of these active methodologies, this case study showed a more significant learning process for students, with a great dynamism in the teaching-learning process and a greater understanding of the concepts taught to students throughout the semester.