Integrated Physics Learning Using an Interdisciplinary Inquiry Learning Space

Abstract

This work aims to understand how the use of problem-based learning (PBL), from an interdisciplinary point of view, can enhance the integration of concepts in different disciplines. In addition, the study strives to verify whether the use of computer programming can enhance this integration. In this sense, an interdisciplinary inquiry learning space (ILS) was implemented in the physics module of some lectures of undergraduate engineering degrees. For this study, the authors analyzed the learning evolution of two groups: the first with the application of ILS without a computer programming component and the second with the same ILS but with a computer programming component in MATLAB©. The ILS was organized around Newtonian mechanics, focused on the problem of planetary orbits and the possibility of orbiting around a black hole. From the observation conducted and the results of a survey, it is concluded that this type of approach can enhance the learning of physics, not only by increasing the motivation to learn, but also by the use of computer programming.