ABSTRACT
This paper shows some practical difficulties for the implementation of curricular modification when effective results concerning educational goals are desired. This work aims to enlarge the curriculum educational dimension of the four engineering undergraduate programs offered by the Federal University of Uberlândia - Brazil. For reaching this purpose it has been created an academic tool - "The Supporting Center for the Optimization of Engineering Teaching".
INTRODUCTION
In the second semester of 1995 the Brazilian research agency FINEP has created a special program devoted to the development of Engineering Programs: PRODENGE-REENGE. The most important engineering schools of Brazil are participating of this project. The main objective is to improve the quality and to modernize engineering curricula. The Federal University of Uberlândia-UFU presented a project to participate of PRODENGE-REENGE. This project includes the "Supporting Center for the Optimization of Engineering Teaching". In this sense, this work aims to enlarge the curriculum educational dimension of the four engineering undergraduate programs offered by the Federal University of Uberlândia.
A central aspect concerning the quality of education is the definition itself of the concept of
modernity of university courses and programs.
Which are the most important attributes that a given course has to present in order to face
modern life needs and to face the labor world?
The increasing velocity of changes imposed by scientific and technological advances determine new relationships of human beings with the world and the delimitation of the above mentioned concept and the corresponding definition of its attributes has not been a simple task for educators.
Even if those problems were solved another difficulty is met when studying how to incorporate such courses attributes to the curriculum. It is known that good curriculum modification proposals remain just a written project or will never reach, in practice, the desired results.
In the case of university programs an extra difficulty associated to the modifications in the labor world is added: to find a dynamic way which is able to keep the curriculum up to date. How to find manners to transmit a professional formation which is not static and does not become completely out of date in four or five years? Many of the answers to these questions which are suggested today by educators as fundamental attributes for course modernity are not really new. Two decades ago (ORTEGA Y GASSET) in his works about the mission of the university, presented the necessity to make the curricula free of a teaching based only on existing books and, for this reason, a repetitive teaching. He was also against the premature specialization and the empty and ornamental culture. He recommended to enable the student to absorb the essence of the culture of his time, to have a "cosmovision" and a critical relationship with science, technology and profession.
In the field of sciences teaching some former ideas have become actual as important theoretical and methodological contribution to curricula evolution. Nevertheless their teaching operationalization is not yet effective. To come to this conclusion a brief analysis is made about the main points of the two most recent significant changes which occurred in the sixties and in the seventies, respectively (SCHNETZLER). Emergent research in the United States and in England, in the sixties, reflected on sciences curricula in several countries, focusing the method of "learning by discovering", the experimental teaching, the importance of conducting together theoretical and practical procedures and encouraging in class discussion, opposing the traditional hegemony of the teacher knowledge system.
The studies about this attitude which is opposed to traditional methods dislocated the axis of the teaching-learning process to the student participation practice. This led to significant contribution to the formal quality of sciences curricula such as the elucidation of programs structure, their fundamental concepts, etc. The critics to the technicality aspects of this proposition due to its strong emphasis on the scientific method and on the scientific process contributed, in the late seventies, to dislocate again the axis of education quality to the student.
Nowadays the formal quality of sciences curricula is centered on the conceptual evolution which is build by the teaching-learning process and produces more significant learning results(SMITH and ANDERSON).
PROBLEM FORMULATION
Analyzing the curricula of the four engineering programs offered by the Federal University of Uberlândia: chemistry, civil, electrical and mechanical engineering, they present a very diversified situation concerning their historical development, their academic performance in teaching, research and extension and also concerning their laboratory facilities. However a wider analysis shows that due to their physical proximity, under the administration of the College of Exact Sciences and Technology, sharing library and some laboratory facilities and sharing also a significant varied of courses (most of them in basic sciences), several common points can be found for curricular modification purposes, such as:
The study of these four engineering curricula leads also to some common problems. The most significant of them are listed below:
-- very extensive programs; excessive working hours in classes; high number of
examinations;
-- lack of continuity between following courses;
-- low interaction among course instructors;
-- lack of well defined pedagogical proposals;
-- low interaction among fundamental and specific courses;
-- the programs are all focused on knowledge transmission.
When asked about the students difficulties which most influence the teaching-learning process the instructors point out: lack of fundamental basis in general sciences, unfamiliarity with pre-requisite course subjects; communication difficulties; low motivation; no team work spirit.
This picture drives the focus of the problem of curricular modification more to the educational sphere than to the merely instructional aspects. It can be said that this is a real quality problem and not only a need for formal curricular modification.
This problem of real quality leads to the analysis of how the curricular elements are meeting professional qualification necessities as required by the labor market, by the society as a whole and by the professional as a human being. In this sense, in which manner the curricular elements are inserted in the above context and how intense this happens?
In our undergraduate programs it can be observed that very few opportunities are given to the students to interact with his future profession and with the problems faced by the community or by segments of the society.
This way the problem is to use the above information to fulfil existing gaps among formal
curricular elements taking teaching and learning activities to more effective and broader results.
For this purpose the following points are required:
a - To involve a significant number of students and course instructors and overcome the
traditional teaching-learning relationship.
b - To look for new integrating ways among formal curricular elements and also among the
engineering programs themselves and with the external community.
c - To create conditions to introduce the above modifications in the classroom routine.
PROPOSAL STRUCTURE
In order to promote a "discussion for action" process involving a great number of technical and basic sciences areas, engineering instructors are working with graduate and undergraduate groups of students.
Several types of activities have been programmed involving curricular attributes such as insertion, integration and reciprocity.
Insertion
Work activity contents through their insertion in the context where they are to be applied: their social and cultural implications, technological or professional contributions. Examples: to look for real engineering problems that can be solved by students; to design a laboratory experience which is able to reproduce environmental problems; to study a mathematical model and its application to solve a real problem faced by the community where the university is located; etc.
Integration
Promote special activities whose contents have an integrating role among students, courses, engineering concepts, community members, education levels and professional areas. Examples: To adapt research results to be used as class material by undergraduate students; to promote quality seminars; to elaborate educational interdisciplinary programs; to visit community sectors and industries.
Reciprocity
It is important to promote a cooperative work involving course instructors and students. The master of a scientific apparatus is not for the instructor's power and the lack of this scientific apparatus does not justify the student's passivity.
As (DEMO) points out: "one of the greatest injustices against the new generations is to reduce them to the condition of apprentice... the first characteristic of the teacher will be his capacity of theoretical and practical production based on his research attitude... his task in the presence of his students is to motivate them for self elaboration..." the student "is not there for 'learning', 'listening to the class', copying or reproducing but, in the contrary, to participate of the academical process of self knowledge production; the relationship with the teacher is for his orientation;... the goal is to produce with autonomy...; the student who only learns is not ready for life and prejudices his process of citizenship formation."
The basis for developing such a process is the production of pedagogical material to provide a new approach for the teaching-learning relation. It will be promoted by curricular and extra-curricular activities to integrate the programs an to obtain an effective partnership with expressive community sectors which represent actual demands in engineering.
For reaching such purposes it has been created an academic tool - "Supporting Center for the Optimization of Engineering Teaching" for acting together with undergraduate and graduate coordinations. This way, departments and other sectors involved in the engineering teaching process are organized to work together.
The management of the "Supporting Center for the Optimization of Engineering Teaching" includes members of the Association of Employers, state sectors and engineering associations. They all have the same function in the follow-up and evaluation of the project. Figure 1 shows the management structure of the Supporting Center presenting also its four composing units.
1 - Unit of Support to the Modernization of Engineering Courses
This unit has the function to diagnose and coordinate the activities of curricula complementation and the development of support material for teaching basic sciences and professional courses. It will also have the task of integrating the activities related to the teaching of fundamental sciences, education for engineering, scientific-thechnological actualization, parallel recycling, pedagogic actualization and continuing education.
2 - Unit of Integration with Elementary School and High School
Its function is to establish convenants with the State Bureau of Education and with the Municipal Secretary of Education in order to bring together engineering programs and fundamental sciences teaching(chemistry, physics, mathematics).The idea is to encourage group work devoted to teaching improvement, actualization courses for high school teachers, summer courses, training activities at the university and visit programs for high school teachers and students to university's laboratories.
3 - Unit of Exchange with the Enterprises
The goal of this unit is to enlarge the convenants of technical and scientific cooperation between the university and the community. It will also have the function to determine the necessities and the activities to be executed by the students. The realization of new convenants is desired as well as continuing education courses, training activities, technical visits and projects partnership, seeking a closer interaction between the engineering programs and the regional needs.
4 - Unit of Follow-up and Evaluation
This unit is responsible for the dynamics of the evolution of each step of the project and also for giving information about the results inside and outside the university.
This unit organizes debates about the integrated work, follows student's performance,
curricular
modifications and going on convenants. Seminars will be held for sharing and exchanging
experiences with other institutions which are also participating of the REENGE program.
The management of this unit will be done by two representatives of the community and one
representative of Uberlândia's Engineers Association, with the collaboration of the group
envolved in the other units of the Supporting Center.
The undergraduate and graduate program coordinators of the engineering programs of UFU
are
invited to participate of the evaluation process.
For a comprehensive engineering professional education the developing methodology is
centered
in the implementation of five program parts.
Engineering Teaching
This part of the program detects teaching-learning gaps in the undergraduate and graduate programs concerned with fundamental sciences. From the analysis of these gaps, support material is produced in order to influence changes in the methodological procedures and in the theoretical focus. This way, concepts in basic sciences have to be learned in the context of engineering general themes. Such approach is able to provide a "meaningful learning" creating a certain degree of autonomy for the engineering student and promoting interdisciplinary among the curriculum components.
Interaction with Graduate Programs
The goal now is to use research obtained by the graduate students to enrich and to motivate the undergraduate activities. Graduate-undergraduate students educational exchanges will be promoted through programmed group activities. This procedure enables to reveal students presenting potential skills for upper level studies.
Interaction with Highschool
This part of the program will prepare teachers in state highschool to include in their classes daily engineering problems and their relation with historical and social education. For this purpose an exchange program is being developed consisting of visits, student training at the university laboratories and workshops. Groups of undergraduate students are adapting scientific experimental procedures to complement theoretical text books used in highschool.
Interaction with the Community
In this part of the program efforts are made in order to identify the actual profile of the engineers and the community and labor world needs. The goal is also to evaluate social, educational and economical aspects concerning the engineering profession in the area of Uberlândia. The results of this analysis helps to find gaps in engineering education.
Continuing Education
In this project continuing education is understood in a broader sense. It includes recycling parallel programs for undergraduate students and special courses for engineers, according to the identified needs. Thechnical updating courses are also addressed to employer sectors.
CONCLUSION
According to the opinion of the authors this proposal offers interesting points for further discussion. The education system has a very significant inertia and modification is not easily accepted. Here the modification is constructed within a practice involving all education actors. Another aspect is that a well established hierarchy can be observed in the educational system. This hierarchy stimulates the work fragmentation at different levels of education and knowledge compartimentation (KELLY). The present proposal tries to create concrete condition for integrating the educational system and to introduce interdisciplinarity to the education process (BERGER).
The program is on its first year of development and during this phase, the activities are being tunned to the fundamental areas for engineering studies: chemistry, physics, mathematics, design, material sciences and computer sciences, focusing the following activities:.
Concrete results are not ready to be presented. However it can be said that this project has been accepted by a large number of the students, instructors and community representatives involved in all going on activities. The integrated activities are providing a "discussion for action" process which is promoting a mutual academic cooperation among the four engineering programs offered by the university in order to propose a new paradigm in the emergent "teacher-student-learning" relationship.
This significant set of integrated actions aims at constructing a "social-scientific continuum" which is able to establish a real interface between the university and the community.
REFERENCES
BERGER, G. Opinions et reálités. In. APOSTEL, L.; BERGER, G.; MICHAUD, G.L'Interdisciplinarité: problèmes d'enseignement et les recherche dans les universités. Paris. OCDE, 1972. p.55.
DEMO, P. Universidade e qualidade: indagações em torno da qualidade formal e política da formação universitária. Educação Brasileira: 12(25): p. 62, 1990
KELLY, V.A. O currículo teoria e prática. trad. Jamir Martins. São Paulo. Harper e Row do Brasil. 1981.
ORTEGA y GASSET, J. La mision de la universidade. Madrid. Alianza Editorial. 1982.
SCHNETZLER, R.P. Construção do conhecimento e ensino de ciências. Em Aberto, 11(56); 17-22, 1992.
SCHNETZLER, R.P. et ARAGÃO, R.M.R. Importância sentido e contribuição das pesquisas para o ensino de Química. Química Nova na Escola (1) maio 1995. SBQ Sociedade brasileira de Qímica.
SMITH, E. and ANDERSON, C. Plants as producers: a case study of elementary science teaching. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 21(7): 685-698, 1984.
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