ABSTRACT

This paper presents the development of the activities of a project aimed to reform the engineering education in the Center of Technology and Geosciences of the Federal University of Pernambuco - Brazil (CTG-EEP). This reform is based on a national program funded by the brazilian agencies for education and research development - REENGE -Reengineering the Engineering Education. A brief description of the project is presented and some considerations are made about the importance of the program for the engineering courses in CTG.

In November 1995, a cooperative program was introduced by several brazilian agencies for education and research development (FINEP, CAPES, CNPq, MEC/SESU), which aimed to improve the performance of the courses on the several branches of engineering in the brazilian schools. This program was called REENGE - Reengineering of the Engineering Education.

The REENGE program aimed to support new experiences on the engineering courses that lead to a higher efficiency on the teaching-learning process and to a modernization on the contents and on the methodology in the engineering courses .

The Center of Technology and Geosciences of the Federal University of Pernambuco - Brasil (CTG-EEP/UFPE) applied for the program and was benefitted from it with financial support and some scholarships to carry out a reform in its engineering courses.

The UFPE is the biggest University in the Northeast of Brazil, and has the third budget among the public brazilian universities. The UFPE is one of the most productive universities in Brazil.

The CTG is composed of eight Engineering Departments (Cartography, Chemistry, Civil, Eletronics, Electrical, Mechanical, Mines and Nuclear) and two courses on Geology and Oceanography. The staff in CTG is constituted of 253 lecturers (105 Ph.D., 98 M.Sc., 25 specialists, 25 graduated) and 1,800 students.

THE REENGE PROGRAM IN THE CTG

The actions carried out in the REENGE program in the CTG were driven in two directions: 1. Four general projects, which deal with basic courses, library and computing facilities; 2. Six specific projects connected directly to the professional courses.

The first group consisted on the following projects:

1. Modernization of the library of CTG;
2. Implementation of a Computing Laboratory;
3. Improvement of the basic courses on Physics;
4. Improvement of the basic courses on Mathematics.

The second group was related to specific projects on professional courses and was developed in the following areas:

1. Cartographyc Engineering;
2. Civil Engineering;
3. Electronic Engineering;
4. Electrical Engineering;
5. Mechanical Engineering;
6. Chemistry Engineering.

The distribution of financial support and scholarships allocated to the projects is presented in Table I. It can be noticed that the financial support was directed towards the general projects, while scholarships for students and professionals were allocated to the specific projects.

Modernization of the library of the CTG

Up to 1994 the CTG had three distinct libraries for the engineering courses, oceanography and geosciences. Each one had its own instalations and technical staff. In December 1994, a modern building was built to gather all the information services in CTG. The new building occupies an area of 1,400 m² and has an appropriate structure to attend the students adequately.

Despite the good instalations, the library's book and magazine collections were outdated and without an uniform catalogation system, there was no computing system for the library administration and the access via internet to other libraries was not available.

Considering the poor conditions of the library, a team of seven students and two professionals on information systems was hired to solve the problem. First of all, an unique catalogation system of all publications was created. An internal computer network was built, connecting the equipments in the library to the backbone of the University. The connection to the Brazilian Network of Libraries in Engineering was made, allowing the quick access to many national and international libraries. The access to internet is available using five computers installed in the library. A program for updating the librarie's collection was put forward. At least, two new bibliographic references of each undergraduate course were acquired. A continuous plan for acquisition of bibliographic material is in course.

Implementation of a Computing Laboratory

At the beginning of 1996, the Computing Laboratory of CTG had thirty computers 486-SX-25 MHz and ten PC's 486-DX4-100MHz , that were shared by nearly 600 students in the professional courses. Due to the low amount of equipments available to attend the students, the laboratory could hardly attend an average of 300 students for a time length of two hours a week per student. The use of computers was restricted to the students to perform their tasks without teachers assistance. Practical classes aided by computers were not possible due to the low performance of the equipments, lack of softwares for engineering purposes and a short number of equipments. Most of the applications used by the students were related to word processors and few technical applications.

The financial support allocated to the computing laboratory by the REENGE was applied to acquire forty new PC's Pentium 133 MHz and five ink jet printers. In addition to these, twenty PC's 486-100MHz were made available by the University. The low performance computers were upgraded to 486- DX4-100MHz. The computers were installed in five rooms with 16 computers each. In each room, a server computer was installed. A network was assembled connecting the computers to each other and to the backbone of the University.

New software packages were bought for general and specific applications. The development of softwares for tutorials are being made by some students under supervision of their teachers. Some of the softwares now available are listed in Table 2.

Due to the new arrangements carried out for computer facilities, it was possible to use one room just for classes aided by computer and other four rooms available wazzu for the students use. Each room is supervised by a trainee student. Since the first semester of 1997 new courses are being carried out in the Computer laboratory, as shown in Table 3. In the near future a number of new classrooms with computer facilities will be available.

TABLE 2 - SOFTWARES AVAILABLE IN THE COMPUTING LABORATORY up

TABLE 3 - PROFESSIONAL COURSES DEVELOPED IN THE COMPUTING LABORATORY up

Improvement of basic courses on Physics and Mathematics

In the initial stages of the engineering courses in the UFPE, the students are required to attend basic courses on sciences and mathematics: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Computing. These courses are under the responsibility of the departments of the Center of Sciences (CCEN), which are well known for their high level on research. Despite the staff qualification in the courses on sciences the students have shown a high degree on failure in their exams. In the REENGE Program only Physics and Mathematics courses were focused. Chemistry and Computing will be discussed in the next stage of the program.

Many engineering courses are mostly based on classical sciences and mathematics, although this procedure may be inappropriate for educating engineers for the XXI Century. New methodologies for teaching sciences and mathematics for engineers have been discussed by teachers from CTG and CCEN.

The engineering students in CTG have to attend four theoretical and two experimental courses on Physics and four courses on Mathematics. Figure 1 shows some data about the performance of the students on the credit courses on Physics I, II, III and IV. It may be seen that in the second semester of the academic year of 1996 only 35% of the students were aproved in the exams in Physics I. Nearly 50% of the students failed in the exams in Physics II and III. An abrupt reduction on students failures may be noted in Physics IV.

Figure 2 presents data related to Mathematics I, II, III and IV in the second semester in 1996. It may be seen that the results in Math I is very similar to that observed in Physics I. Nearly 40% of the students failed in Math II and III. An abrupt reduction on the students failures may be noted in Math 4. The performance of the students in the courses on Math and Physics is very similar.

A detailed analysis of the common errors observed in the exams on Math I showed that most students do not have the abilities on basic operations that should have been obtained during the basic courses on High School (Lemos, Rocha and Meireles, 1997).

A study carried out by the Academic Pro-Rector in 1995 (Ramos, 1995) showed that between 35% to 45% of the engineering students evade from the University or change their professional option to other areas of knowledge. According to a prior study developed by the CTG (CTG, 1992) the evasion occurs mostly during the initial four academic semesters. In some engineering courses, like Mining and Cartographic Engineering, the evasion exceeded 60%. The study of Ramos (1995) revealed that the high degree of failure in the exams played an important role in the high percentage of evasion observed.

The data about the courses on Physics and Mathematics are still being carefully analysed in order to achieve a better understanding of the main reasons that have led to the low efficiency on the sciences and mathematics courses. An analysis of the data available from the admission exams for the UFPE courses (Vestibular) in 1996 and the data related to the performance of the students for the last five academic years, allows us to make some preliminary considerations about the factors that affect the basic courses on Sciences and Mathematics:

1.The best students from High School have changed their choice from the engineering courses to other courses that seem to be more profitable. Table 4 shows the rate of the number of candidates for places available at the University in the top fifteen courses in UFPE in the Vestibular/1996. It may be noticed that none of the engineering courses figure in that list. In Table 5, similar data are presented as related to the engineering courses. It may be observed that the rate of candidates per vacancies available in Vestibular is very low if compared to the top fifteen courses. If we compare the absolute number of canditates enrolled in the vestibular/96 we can observe that only Civil Engineering and Eletronic Engineering would figure between the top fifteen courses in UFPE.

2. The students that come into the engineering courses might not have basic skills to cope with the sciences courses in the university. The score of the students that passed in the Vestibular in 1996 for the Engineering Courses is much lower than that obtained in other professional areas like Medicine, Law and Tourism, as it may be observed on Table 6 and 7.

3. The courses on Sciences and Mathematics may not be sufficiently interesting to motivate the students to learn and put much effort on it. The curriculum and the methodology adopted in the courses may not be updated with the development on sciences and on technology. The theoretical courses are not closely related to experimental classes due to the shortage of laboratories.

4. The lack of courses related to the professional areas during the first two years in the engineering courses may cause some desmotivation in the students, because they do not feel themselves like engineering students. In the medical courses the students go straight to professional courses and have a close contact with professional aspects of their future career in the early stages at the University. In those courses the rate of evasion is much lower than in the engineering courses.

The question now arises to what can be done about the problems discussed above. In view of the problems we discussed earlier, it will be important to make sure that the students come to the higher level courses with basic skills to cope with the teaching of Sciences and Mathematics and the courses must be adequate to encourage the students to get through their studies.

At present, some main actions have been taken in order to improve the education on Physics and Mathematics:

1. Modernization of laboratories for experimental classes, with the introduction of new experiments and an improvement on the number of existing equipments to attend the high demand of approximately six hundred new students each semester. This action counts on the cooperation of technicians and students hired specifically to deal with the experimental classes.
2. Cooperation of graduate students in Sciences and Mathematics in the graduate courses for engineering students, and participation of engineering students on research undertaken by senior researchers in Sciences and Mathematics;
3. Cooperation among teachers of basic science and professional courses in order to develop projects in areas of mutual interest, with participation of engineering students;
4. Cooperation with teachers from licensing courses on Physics and Mathematics and teachers of basic courses in High School. This cooperation aims to improve the skills of the teachers from High School, giving them the opportunity to be updated with recent developments on Science Education.
5. Inclusion of an optional basic course on Mathematics which aims to review and reinforce the basic concepts studied in High school that shall be used in the Mathematics courses in the University. This course is offered before the begining of the academic semester.

As these actions are still being carried out, the results are not available yet. A more detailed analyses of the performance of the courses on Science and Mathematics is being developed by a team of specialists on Education, Science and Engineering areas.

Actions developed to improve the professional courses

In 1992 an exhaustive study about the quality of the professional engineering courses in CTG was carried out. The ZOPP (Zeuilorientierte Projekt Planung) methodology was used. In that study a general overview of the courses was made and an action plan was prepared.

The following points concerned with the teaching-learning process and the general educational structure were observed:

1.The content structure of the engineering courses in CTG do not attend the requirements of the modern engineering;

2.The educational methods are unsuitable and lead to an ineffective learning;

3. The assessment procedure is unsuitable to ensure that the students have a good progress on their studies;

4. The CTG library in not updated and do not allow a quick access to information;

5. Modern computer tools are not properly used to improve the quality of learning;

6. The existing laboratories are obsoletes and do not have trained personnel and equipments in an amount sufficient for the number of students enrolled in the experimental classes.

In the first part of the REENGE program special attention was given to the educational structure. It was intended to create an appropriate educational structure to support a further modification in the teaching-learning process as a whole. The items 4 and 5 mentioned above have been discussed earlier in this paper. Item 6 is to be faced in next stage of the REENGE program.

Some Departments, like Chemistry and Electrical Engineering, put forward a modification in the content structure of the courses. The main objectives of the reform were:

1. Reduction in the Minimum Curriculum required for all engineering courses to allow a more flexible curricular structure. New courses were introduced to attend a new demand stimulated by recent development in Science and Technology and the demand of industry.

2. Optimization of the contents of individual courses in order to avoid multiplication of similar contents in different courses. Some courses of similar contents were fused. Special care was taken to avoid overloading in the courses.

3. Introduction of modern concepts of information technology in the contents of the courses.

It has been observed in some professional courses in the engineering areas a tendency to overestimate the importance of class attendance instead of placing a much heavier weight on homework, experimental work and assignments as an important part of the teaching-learning process.

Some attempts have been made to improve the educational methods. At this stage, existing experimental classes have been reformulated, and new tutorials and manuals have been prepared. These tasks have been aided by research assistants and students. The participation of students in research activities have been stimulated. A general reformulation of practical activities in all engineering courses is under way.

The traditional forms of assessment in basic Sciences, Mathematics and professional courses in the CTG are based on tests and exams at the end of each unit. This procedure has led the students to anxiety and panic. The students aim to pass in the exams despite the fact that they often retained little of its content. New forms of assessment have been discussed.

CONCLUSIONS

A number of problems of educational practice have been experienced on basic courses on Sciences and Mathematics as well as in the professional courses in the CTG. To achieve a better standard of engineering education some measures have to be undertaken, at different levels, to ensure a more efficient and effective teaching-learning process.

A review of educational practices on access and basic courses in CTG is necessary in order to attend the students needs. Some actions have been taken to minimize the existing problems, while a detailed study is in progress.

Some modifications in the educational structure (libraries, laboratories, etc.) become necessary to allow the implementation of a deep reform in the engineering courses. Some improvement in the educational structure in CTG have been made with the support of the REENGE program.

A close cooperation among teachers, students and technical staff is absolutely essential to create a favourable environment to put forward the reform.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

COVEST (1996), "Relatorio Analitico - Vestibular 96", UFPE - UFRPE, p.297 (In Portuguese).

CTG (1997), "Fisrst REENGE Report", CTG-EEP/UFPE (In Portuguese).

Lemos, M.; Rocha, A . and Meireles, A . (1997), "Internal Report : Mathematics 1", Department of Mathematics - CCEN/UFPE.

Longo, W. P. and do Carmo, L. C. S. (1996), " PRODENGE - A Brazilian Program for the Development of Engineering Education and Research", Int. Symposium on Continuing Education, Rio de Janeiro, Vol. 1, pp. 17 - 21.

MacDowell, L. (1995), "Effective Teaching and Learning on Foundations and Access Courses in Engineering, Science and Technology", European Journal of Eng. Education, Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 417 - 426.

Pudlowski, Z. J. (1995), "Major Issues in Developing Modern Curricula in Engineering and Technology Education", European Journal of Eng. Education, Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 403 - 416.

Ramos, M. N. (1995), "Quadro de Evasão na UFPE: Metodologias, Causas e Acoes", UFPE (In Portuguese).

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