The formation of operative groups and their influence on de learning processin the electricity laboratory

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present how the formation of groups contributes for the learning process, taking into account the prior knowledge and considering the accomplishment of practical activities in electricity lab. Some specific theoretical references were considered as a fundamental basis. David Ausubel's The Meaningful Learning Theory (1980) was used as the main source to identify students' prior knowledge, called by Ausubel as subsumption, and how the teacher's identification of the student's prior knowledge can aid in the learning process. Also relating to the query of the formation of groups, the Pichon-Rivière’s theory of operative groups (2009) was used to deal with group formation issues, considering affinity and collaboration among group members. This research evidenced that there was greater cooperation and collaboration in the final goal of the task accomplishment by groups formed by homogeneity in relation to previous knowledge. Taking into account the prior knowledge, only in two groups of heterogeneous groups there was collaboration, the others developed the activities without cooperation, seeking only the conclusion of the activity itself, without observing the learning process of the group as a whole.