Abstract:

The main objective of this study is to develop an effective methodology for the use of computer simulations in teaching the topic photoelectric effect in order to improve student learning. The study was carried out in the Nhacoongo Secondary School (public school located in Inharrime District, southern Mozambique).

The reason for developing this research is due to the fact that students present many difficulties in learning physical concepts, especially Modern Physics, whose most evident consequence is the lack of knowledge about the concept of photoelectric effect, the low pedagogical performance and the low level of student motivation. Allied to the lack of conventional physics laboratories in most Mozambican schools, whether public or private, which makes it practically impossible to carry out practical activities on physical concepts and particularly on the photoelectric effect.

Computational simulators are learning objects used in the classroom to help improve student learning, although little explored in Mozambican schools. The great challenge is how to integrate this technological instrument in the teacher's mediation in order to make learning more effective.

For data collection, a qualitative and quantitative research of quasi-experimental nature was carried out, with the participation of a sample of twenty (20) students from the 12th grade divided into two groups, one being a control and the other an experimental group (where the applied the methodological strategy proposed here, based on a laboratory experiment followed by a computer simulation). In both classes, a pre-test was applied to find out the students backgound knowledge, and a post-test was also applied in order to evaluate the contribution of laboratory activities as well as computer simulation in learning about the photoelectric effect. Data collection was also carried out from multimodal narratives, and for their analysis, the results of the pre-test and the post-test were crossed in the two groups that make up the sample.

From this research it is possible to conclude that the use of laboratory experiment combined with the use of computer simulations values the reflective interventions of the student, thus contributing to a more realistic perception of the knowledge acquired on the topic photoelectric effect. In this sense, the use of computer simulations can be considered an alternative for the pedagogical practice, which can facilitate the understanding of the contents by the students, with a view to a meaningful learning.

Keywords:

Computational simulation, PhET simulation, laboratory experience, physics teaching, photoelectric effect, meaningful learning, perception ability.