EXTENSION AS AN AUXILIARY TOOL FOR PHYSICS TEACHING BY BUILDING EXPERIMENTS USING LOW-COST RECYCLABLE MATERIALS

Abstract

Historically it has been found that the discipline of physics is treated as a major obstacle for high school students. The construction and use of developed experiments have the differential of ensuring a greater degree of freedom, allowing students to interact not only with formulas, but also with the production of physical phenomena themselves. This allows meaningful learning to be achieved by piquing student curiosity and engagement in the discipline, thus generating self-confidence and self-esteem through playful and interactive approaches. In this work, we will initially take a theoretical approach on the advantages of using experimental practice in physics teaching, highlighting how this practice proves to be a powerful tool in facilitating the teaching-learning process. Subsequently, we will report on the development of extension activities through a project linked to the Federal University of Campina Grande (UFCG) Extension Scholarship Program (PROBEX) in partnership with a state public school. In this project, we work together with students and teachers to set up experiments with low- cost and recyclable materials in high school physics subjects, in grades one to three, thus addressing the school's shortcomings in practical laboratory activities.