STEM CASE STUDY: THE MEDIATION OF MICROCONTROLLERS IN PROBLEM SOLVING, EVIDENCED IN A QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

Abstract

Current school culture tends to promote the use of microcontrollers to facilitate a concrete approach to technological solutions to everyday problems with a STEM focus. This study presents a case that allows us to interpret the benefits and difficulties of mediating Project-Based Learning with the use of micro:bit. The methodology corresponds to an explanatory case study with a STEM approach based on the experience of a student who proposes a solution to an environmental situation, based on the conclusions of a quasi-experiment in the classroom that revealed a statistically significant change in the average decibels generated during class, with 55 instances of absence on one hand and on the other, 55 times of presence, of a visual warning created by a micro:bit. Two key findings were obtained. One, the recognition of progress in the learning process of the student who identified the real problem and proposed the respective solution. Two, the significant differences in the arithmetic means of the averages obtained in the pretest and postest, based on a paired hypothesis test using the Student's t-statistic. It is concluded that the micro:bit mediation reduced the decibels in the classroom and, based on the case, reflects on the need to guide students towards developing skills to define problems, explore solutions, create functional prototypes, and solve them effectively in an increasingly complex technological context, in line with the STEM approach.