Rubric elaboration to evaluate by competences a practice of Physics laboratory: parallel-plate capacitor

Abstract

In recent years, the different educational levels continue adopting the competency-based education model as a quality assessment system; in this context, the competency evaluation becomes one of the most important tasks of the educational processes because of its formative usefulness in the learning of the students. Competency-based education is oriented towards an evaluation model linked to student training, to foster the development of skills and abilities to identify, project, solve problems and make decisions. In addition, it promotes the pursuit of meaningful learning and fosters collaborative work. The rubrics for competences evaluation appeared as a tool that allows obtaining evidence of the acquisition of competences and application of knowledge outside the classroom. We present a proposal of rubrics for the evaluation by competences of a laboratory practice of Physics in which the capacitance of a parallel-plate capacitor is measured by varying the separation between the plates and then, by means of a least squares adjustment, obtain the value of the electric permittivity of the air, ε0, and the value of the constant, k, which appears in Coulomb's law. We have designed a laboratory practice and developed the evaluation rubric applied to students of Physics for Computer Science Engineering in the Degree of Computer Engineering of the Higher Polytechnic School of the University of Castilla -La Mancha (UCLM), located on the university campus of Albacete. For the implementation of this rubric, we will select two study groups: a control group and an experimental group, the control group will develop the practice into the physics laboratory without rubric evaluation information; and the experimental group, will develop practice in the physics laboratory but with rubric evaluation information. Finally, we will evaluate the perception of the students about use of rubrics, and we will make a comparative analysis of both groups, considering the marks obtained in the practices and the results of the evaluation perception.