The Theater as a mobilizing strategy of emotions and attitudes towards physics classes

Abstract

We describe a teaching strategy, namely, the Great Theater of Physics, which stages a series of eight nontrivial demonstrations in the areas of mechanics, electricity, magnetism and waves. The aim was to generate feelings and attitudes that would promote the learning of physics, and to explore the motivation of Chemistry and Biology students towards classes in physics. The strategy was applied with a group of new students in Physics and Mathematics at the Faculty of Sciences at the Universidad Central de Venezuela. The method used was exploratory-descriptive. Information was collected using a questionnaire with closed questions. In general, students from Physics and Mathematics disciplines experienced a significant increase in positive feelings towards physics after attending the theater; and negative feelings decreased, though not significantly. A greater percentage of women than men experienced an increase in positive feelings, though men experienced more intense positive feelings. This was not the case for negative feelings.

Keywords

• Gran Teatro de la Física
• emociones
• actitudes
• enseñanza de la Física