Educate by Law Research

Thematic Research Projects

Painel Paulo Freire
Publicado em 17 Mar. 2016. Última atualização em 24 May. 2018
ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

Summary: 

Adopting the active project methodology of thematic research in the State General Theory – SGT, the 2nd period Course Students are stimulated to understand the interdisciplinary form of the classes’ relations with the initiation research about the Public Political Effectiveness and Social Rights. To accomplish that, students are stimulated and oriented at the second unit of the SGT class to these activities: build at the beginning a research project in groups of at maximum 7 people and focused on their hometown realities; the second stage consisted on the definition of a research execution schedule, lined up with an Individual Work Plan – WIP for each student and his contribution to the development of the Project as a whole. After the research achievement, the third stage is composed by the elaboration of a scientific article using the researches that were performed. 

Objective: 

- GENERAL GOALS: the activity allows the evaluation of the Law State Democratically jurisdictional installment regarding the public politics to the promotion of social rights. The research also stablishes connections with the learning content built in the 2nd period classes, such as: Constitutional Law, knowledge Construction and research methodology. The thematic of the research project at the second classes test, making possible a common test from an interdisciplinary method.

- SPECIFIC GOALS: Using the best results about the State action at the definitions of the public politics in answer to social demands from the students’ hometowns, it is hope that the involved students face reality, making possible the read of word and world through the class analytical frameworks, also the development of the observation of reality and synthetic statements of students from the studied reality. The elaborated articles were sent to publish in local, national and international events which took place in 2015 and provided at the Project execution Schedule, for example, the VIII Congresso Científico da UnP, 67ª Reunião Anual da SBPC and the VII Jornada Internacional de Políticas Públicas -JOINPP. Besides the event publications, it was stimulated the ideas confrontation experience between students and professors from other IESs, at the space of scientific discussions about the research thematic. The main objective is the publication of a book with the thematic researched, having the participation of guest external contributors who are related to the thematic research area, as an example, in the guests there are national authors, researchers and Law judges with the acceptance to write articles to be published with the students’ article on the e-book format by the Potiguar University publishing company - EdUnP. To evaluate the Law Course student’s perception about the learning mediated by the research and the scientific production through the Undergraduate classes, we made an application of a research form sent by Google Drive, with the objective of making a student profile data, identifying the main challenges of the students in relation to the learning and work group, and also the elements that make it easy through research. The active project research methodology in the SGT class has produced qualitative significant results to the Potiguar University Law course students, as well as the synergy produced for applied studies, researches and knowledge learning, facing main skills, abilities and attitudes – SAA of the class during the formation process of the students.

- DEVELOPED ABILITIES: It is intended to develop the following capacities:

1) To Understand the relationship among State, public politics and social rights;

2) To know how to evaluate the effectiveness, efficiency, and the relevance of the jurisdictional social rights installment;

3) To develop active attitudes for the research and scientific promotion of the built knowledge;

4) To know how to work in a group, establishing and sharing goals;

5) To confront the analytical references from the SGT classes using the researched experience. 

Dynamics: 

- LEARNING METHOD: active methodology based on Thematic Research Projects – AMTRP .

- REQUIREMENTS: In relation to the students, they were stimulated to develop an Individual Work Plan – IWP to classes and also execute a thematic research through group work. Additionally, for a definition of a research Project, there was a bibliographic search and a literature review about Social Rights, as a way to understand what are the social rights and their evolution. Several readings were suggested: LENZA, Pedro. Direito Constitucional Esquematizado. ed. 18°. São Paulo: Saraiva, 2014. SARLET, Ingo Wolfgang. Os Direitos Sociais Como Direitos Fundamentais: Contributo para um balanço aos vinte anos da Constituição Federal de 1988. Porto Alegre: Instituto de Hermenêutica Jurídica, 2008. ______. Dignidade da Pessoa Humana e Direitos Fundamentais na Constituição Federal de 1988. 9ª ed. Porto Alegre - RS: Livraria do Advogado Editora, 2012. Thus, the students had to search two specific articles (published in national newspapers) related to Law that would be studied by the group.

In relation to the professor, it consisted not only of the preparation of the classes through case studies and problem-situation, but also as the accompaniment of the activities developed by the students with some extra class meetings (4 meetings of 60 minutes with the group leaders) and virtual environment service (UnP virtual and WhatsApp)

- DEVELOPMENT OF THE DYNAMICS: The dynamic was developed in 8 meetings per class with each group (each meeting in class with the duration of 100 minutes) and 4 meetings extra-class with the leaders’ group (each meeting with a duration of 60 minutes – on Wednesday, in the afternoon from 03:35PM to 04:25PM).The orientations also took place at the virtual class environment UnP Virtual and through discussion groups created on WhatsApp containing the group’s leaders for each class every semester.

The research protocol built by the students with a professor orientation consisted on the elaboration of the project, definition of the execution schedule, lifting information and documentary research in the public political institutions, which promotes the social rights studied by the groups. In addition, the protocol also had moments of brainstorming to debate class’ contents with the information of the research made from the institutions; It was predicted the process execution evaluation of the research made by the students, the construction of an interview script with eight question about effectiveness, efficiency, relevance and of public policies and social rights. Finally, it had the implementation of structured interviews with two representatives from the State institutions, the recording, preparation and TCLEs signs and also the transcription and interview analysis and the elaboration of a scientific article.

 

This was the work script followed by the students:

 

1) Reading and book report the theoretical references;

2) Definition of the interview to be made by a script containing eight questions for two representatives from the State and Civil Society institutions, following this order:

Two questions about politics and Law effectiveness;

Two questions about politics and Law efficiency;

Two questions about politics and Law relevance;

Two questions about politics and Law efficiency.

The interview should be recorded, maintain the image integrity of the people, and it had an objective treatment of the information that was used inside scientific and academic work. For this authorization the TCLE would be signed in two documents, delivering one to the interviewed and the other one to the researchers, who should attach it to the research final paper – scientific article.

3) Application/interviews realization.

4) Interviews analysis.

5) Following the orientated model asked by the professor and fixed on the results and discussions of the scientific article – model available at UnP Virtual.

6) First draft of the article for the Advisor corrections – the whole article.

7) Orientation for the Article defense.

8) Sending the presentation model by the professor.

9) Delivery and Final Defense of the article by the groups. 

All stages were elaborated by the students with a right orientation and review from the professor during class meetings and orientation moments extra-class, also with an afternoon available orientation time, virtual environment and orientation to group leaders via WhatsApp. The students were motivated to participate of the study group about public policies and social rights GEPPDS. In total, 95 articles were elaborated and defended by the student groups during 2014

For the process evaluation, that is, for the accompaniment of the class planned activities and thematic research it was developed a checklist of the class’ CHA. Every time, when the class had 25 minutes to its end, and always facing the content complexity, the students were stimulated to elaborate a class CHA. This tool synthesized the class and could be used as a checklist of the main skills, abilities and attitudes built with the class and the thematic research that was developed or done by the student groups. To confront the learning of the class CHA, the one elaborated by one student was reviewed by the other, and after it was held a debate with the students positioning for each orientation point and later professor comments.

- ATTENTION IN THE CLASSROOM: the administrative public agents contact sometimes did not happen even with a formal group routing (University letter). However, in some cases the class advisor would have to contact them personally to clarify and make it happen using the Active Methodology. 

Evaluation: 

- FEEDBACK: the feedback to the students was given by an evaluation of the CHA from the professor, with an observation and a written feedback. Furthermore, the learning process through indicated text reading (indicated by the class professor and to the thematic research) were analyzed by a Reading, Questioning, Answering and Evaluating Strategy – RQAES made by the previously constituted groups since the second SGT class. They were the same groups for the class continuous learning activities and to the thematic research realization.

- GRADE EVALUATION: It was followed a formative evaluation rubric through the process and thematic research stages, in which these were the following steps: research project definition by the group, research project execution by the group and elaboration/defense of the scientific article.

As an example, to the individual evaluation of the work group, there were followed by these criteria:

1) Attendance and Punctuality:

Few or none assiduity/punctuality inside activities: (0,0 a 1,0)

Assiduous or punctual in the activities: (1,1 a 2,0)

Assiduous and punctual in all activities: (2,1 a 3,0)

2) Practical-Theoretical Domination:

Discuss the theme without practical-theoretical domination: (0,0 a 1,0)

Discuss the theme making theoretical exposures and superficial practices: (1,1 a 2,0)

Discuss the theme making theoretical exposures and suitable practices: (2,1 a 3,0)

3) Participation and teamwork.

Passive and do not make contributions to the group: (0,0 a 1,0)

Partially participate to the development of the work group: (1,1 a 2,0)

Active participation to the development of the work group: (2,1 a 3,0). 

Activity Details

Name: 

Educate by Law Research: Thematic Research Projects

Institution: 

Universidade Potiguar (UnP), Campus Mossoró

Concentration area: 

  • General State Theory; Constitutional Law; Public Policies.

Discipline : 

General State Theory – 2nd period

Course: 

  • Undergraduate

Key words: 

  • Constitutional Law
  • Social Law
  • Scientific research
  • Public policies
  • General State
  • Theory

Number of students: 

From 60 to 550

Time of application: 

From 17 to 18 hours

Edition: 

Guilherme Forma Klafke

Copyright

Licença Creative Commons
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Atribuição-NãoComercial-CompartilhaIgual 4.0 Internacional

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