Learning electrical circuits for the development of critical thinking

Abstract

This article presents an articulated proposal of two pedagogical approaches to favor the development of critical thinking from a physics topic. The purpose is to design a didactic sequence for the subject of electrical circuits, using two articulated pedagogical approaches so that students from a school of engineering in Mexico must solve an engineering problem linked to a relevant topic of physics, such as the characteristics of electrical circuits, the problem must be solved methodologically and systematically. The inquiry approach is quantitative, with a quasi-experimental design, a validated instrument is used for data collection. Subsequently, the hypothesis test for differences between means is applied and the results are analyzed. Thus, it is found that the development of critical thinking is incipient; however, the assessment of physics learning products reveals relevant findings such as the promotion of creativity. Likewise, the problem presented to the students allows them to contextualize their learning and recognize the relevance and application of the characteristics of electrical circuits. This inquiry confirms that the development of critical thinking through physics improves the comprehensive training of engineers. Therefore, according to the results, there is empirical evidence that both articulated methodologies can gradually favor the development of critical thinking; In addition, the methodological and contextualized learning of physics through the subject of electrical circuits is applied to a branch of engineering.