The use of games and computer simulation as a learning tool: paper airplanes championship and Hydrodynamic teaching

This article presents a Physics teaching research using as teaching-learning technique a didactic sequence constructed from educational games, experimental activities and computational simulations. The content covered in this work is hydrodynamics and its application in the physical concepts involved in airplane flight. Learning content is reinforced through the use of computer simulation using the software Modellus. The students' evaluation was made with the use of educational games: crosswords, word searches and games of the seven errors. The assessment was carried out through the application of questions that evaluated the students' alternative conceptions. The theoretical framework is based on the theory of mental models of John-Laird and in the theory of meaningful learning of Ausubel. So, the evaluations of previous knowledge of the students were made through evaluation of test type questionnaire.