Teaching the concept of the uniform plane wave from mathematical modeling

Abstract

The discovery of electromagnetic waves enabled us to understand electricity, magnetism, and optics under the same field; therefore, it is important for electronic and related engineers to understand the concept of the uniform plane wave, which represents the simplest case of an electromagnetic wave propagating through a medium. However, this concept is taught with a theoretical approach, shows a need for a methodological change towards experimentation to mitigate poor learning in students causing a high failure rate in electromagnetism courses. In this context, this work presents a methodological alternative for teaching the concept of the uniform plane wave, combining the CUVIMA model with the didactics of mathematical modelling, to link experimentation and provide cognitive support to the conceptualization of the physical phenomenon. For it, a single-group design is implemented, with pre-test and post-test, to know about previous ideas and identify the conceptual change achieved for the students. When applying the Student’s t-test at a significance level of 5%, a significant difference is evident between the means of the study groups. It is concluded that there is a favorable and representative conceptual change in the students, with respect to the understanding of the physical phenomenon represented by the concept of the uniform plane wave.