27-01-2023
Isabel Catarino, professor of the Department of Physics at NOVA School of Science and Technology, won the first edition of the NOVA Pedagogical Innovation Award, for the implementation in class of the project "Active Vibrations and Waves".
This endowment, inspired by the mission of NOVA to promote teaching quality in all cycles of study, with academics who have the ability to provide a transformational and intellectually challenging teaching experience to their students, aims to distinguish and encourage good pedagogical practices and reinforce the institutional commitment to recognise and reward the training and teaching talent.
The project now recognised with first place - "Active Vibrations and Waves" - is celebrated by the pedagogical methodologies applied in the classroom context that aim to implement active, personalised and global teaching-learning methods, proven to be more efficient than the classic model of the lecture class with passive students, and which is not appropriate for the current reality.
In these classes you hear the effect of overlapping sound waves propagating from the auditorium; you see the coupling of oscillators hanging from the stage; you feel in your hands the various modes of a stationary wave in a long stretched spring, for example. We also analyse the mathematical models describing them, discuss their applications and check understanding with questions and games, the answers to which are given on mobile phones by all the students. At home they consult the recommended material to solve problems that earn points. Pupils gain a taste for the content and are guided through the wealth of information available using various technological tools.
"The distinction of my work is quite rewarding for me, validating the pedagogical methodologies that I have been interested in and invested in for decades. With all the students in guided activity, inside and outside the classroom, the students enjoy it more and learn better", comments Isabel Catarino.
The NOVA Prize for Pedagogical Innovation, addressed to teachers of the University NOVA of Lisbon, consists in the attribution of a pedagogical innovation award in the monetary value of 4.500 euros and up to a maximum of five honourable distinctions in the value of 1.500 euros each. Besides being awarded the first prize, Isabel Catarino also received an honourable mention for the project "Active Introductory Experimental Physics during pandemics", within the scope of the pedagogical practices implemented in two curricular units at FCT NOVA.
